Gundam Seed: The Federation
by Blackshadow999
Summary: Different telling of Gundam Seed. With the conflict between Naturals and Coordinators getting worse as time passes, some nations have banded together and formed the organization known as the Human Federation. Will the Federation be able to help bring peace or will the hatred between Naturals and Coordinators destroy everything and bring extinction of humanity? Cover by SaddlePatch
1. Phase 1: Drawn into Chaos

Gundam Seed: The Federation

 **By Blackshadow999**

 **A/n: Okay, as I have been hinting at the end of the last few Phases I've written, I planned to go through this story and do work on it. I need to revise that and say that I will be rewriting parts of this story. I like the overall storyline and will be keeping the vast majority of it. Still like everyone, I'm human (a natural) and so am prone to making mistakes just like we all do and will probably continue to do so. I will state my official disclaimer in this Phase and then just refer to it going forward.**

 **I myself, do not own Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny or anything in the Gundam Universe, nor any of the related characters or the subject. Nor do I own the ideas that I borrow from other universes. All I can take credit for is my original characters and concepts that come from my musings, such as some of the vehicles, suits or other machines that are not in any series. The ideas from the Gundam Universe and other Universes belong to their respective authors, anime or whatever they belong to.**

 **That's my disclaimer, this will be the one time that I will state it, so refer to it later if you like. Now, this is one of my attempts to write in multiple points of view, including third person which I don't believe I'm very good at. So please, bear with me in this and cut me a bit of slack. The beginning section is still a historical accounting and setting the world as it will be in this story, since it isn't the same as what Gundam Seed and Seed Destiny have. If you don't like that kind of thing, skip to the last two paragraphs of the first section. However, should you do so, there will be references made later that will make less sense later. Please read and Enjoy!**

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Phase 1: Drawn into Chaos

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The human species, scientific name Homo Sapiens, unique creatures among the many that inhabit the world called Earth. Possessing one of the rarest gifts, which so differentiates them from other creatures around themselves, the ability to choose or free will. From that, having such incredible potential that it can be considered near, if not deity-like, along with the rare capacity to surpass their limitations. Yet, humanity with all its limitless potential, the species is also riddled with serious contradictions. Such faults shortcomings and limitations would bring about the destruction of other creatures, but has not done so to humanity thus far. But, the wheels of fate keep turning ever forward in what can seem a repetitive cycle.

Humanity is currently in what they call the Cosmic Era, which began when the Anno Domini or A.D. calendar came to an end. Hopes of a fresh beginning with the new era, were strained as the change of eras came with the greatest upheaval humanity had ever experienced before. Many events contributed to the shift and upheaval; one was that petroleum and the other resources that could make fossil fuels ran dry, along with the critical levels of environmental pollution. But, one of the biggest factors was the worldwide economic crisis that turned into the collapse of the global economy, bringing hard times on all.

To attempted to recover from the collapse, the global community members formed a few major powers to stand together. However, as such occurred, long standing ethnic and religious strife returned to the forefront and led to conflict that evolved into a third global war that became known as the "Reconstruction War" which started in the first year of the Cosmic Era. As the war progressed, a virus that simply was called 'Type S influenza' rapidly spread around the globe unlike an illness or plague had before. It the wake of its spread, death followed in staggering numbers. Within nine years, the world war came to an end, the cure to Type S Influenza was discovered and new territorial powers were formed to give the people of the world peace. The major powers or states were; the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, the Republic of East Asia, and the Euros Coalition. By the thirteenth year of the Era, the Equatorial Union, the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Orb Union had also been established.

In order to prevent another war from happening, the United Nations, the governing body of Earth overall, announced and began to execute a plan to go out into space and build colonies began, to explore further than the human race had before. Such an idea had been interrupted by the Reconstruction War and now was to be resumed. So, in a few years, a ship was sent out into the Solar System to go beyond the asteroid belt visit Jupiter, an announcement that rocked the world was heard from that ship crew. A member of the mission to Jupiter, by the name of George Glenn, made the confession of him being what became known as a 'Coordinator'.

A Coordinator is what were defined as a type of human beings that'd had their genes changed or altered in some way shape or form. Some of the common traits that Coordinators had, were that they tend to be faster and stronger than those who didn't have their genes changed or engineered could do, plus, the near immunity to diseases. The reasons as to why Coordinators came into existence, is a hotly debated subject even in the present time.

That particular argument came to a head during the controversy of Coordinators, brought out many things. One point that was brought up by this argument, was the formation of groups which were against Coordinators and what they represented, and they made outcries heard to the world of the "moral" wrongness that they say Coordinators were. Among those groups, one by the name of Blue Cosmos was one that shouted out against Coordinators and later were believed to commit terrorist attacks against the places in the world that did the genetic alterations. So, during year 16 of the Cosmic Era, what was known as the 'Coordinator controversy issue', a conference of representatives of the world was held in Italy. At that meeting of world leaders, the 'Torino Protocol' was adopted, which stated that the manipulation of human genes was to be stopped and would be prohibited going forward, period. However, as history had proven for human beings, when something is forbidden, then there were some that wanted to do it more than if it was not. In this case, there were some more wealthy individuals that ignored the protocol and made some of their children into Coordinators.

For the next few years, the conflict of Coordinators' existence became quiet, but not dropped, but tolerance for them grew with more than half of the human population. Still there were some that committed attacks on the few Coordinators that were publicly known and the places that could produce them, which would be classified as terrorist attacks later on. To help bring those who were committing terrorist attacks that kept happening to justice, a group was formed by the United Nations, which would to be separate from the military of the nations of the world to act as peacekeepers and hold those bring chaos and fear accountable for their action.

Even as these events occurred, the development and construction of space colonies continued unaffected by the conflicts on Earth. Years passed by and just as things were settling down, news came from the exploration group that had gone to Jupiter, that they found a mysterious fossil that was unlike anything seen before. The ship was ordered to come back to Earth at once and so, the ship that had gone to Jupiter called the "Tsiolkovsky", started its journey back towards Earth.

In the twenty-ninth year, the Tsiolkovsky returned from Jupiter and what they had found was confiscated from it and taken to one of the completed colonies named "Zodiac", located at what was called "Lagrange 5", which was 60 degrees from the moon was for research. In the following year, a period of time began that would later be called the first "Coordinator Boom", in which the creation of Coordinators was being done much more than before. Also during this time of the Cosmic Era, the construction of a device known as a "Mass Driver" which made the process of getting up into space a great deal easier than before, were under way.

As mass drivers became more available and usable, the pace of construction of space colonies increased. Then, in the year forty of the Era, an Alliance between the Euros Coalition and the Republic of East Asia and the group that the United Nations formed, joined together and formed the Human Federation, the first super power of the era. As that was happening, the Atlantic Federation had started building a base on the moon, which they called Ptolemaeus. A year later, the first space fighter, developed by the Human Federation was unveiled for the defense and protection of those in space. The Atlantic Federation soon finished their lunar base and then revealed what they called "mobile armors" which were based on the Federation space fighter.

Meanwhile, at the Zodiac colony, the research continued, but George Glenn had also developed a concept for a new type of space colony and he announced his idea. The concept caught interest of most of the major powers of Earth and so funding was provided to begin construction of them at Lagrange 5. The newer type of space colonies started being constructed and were called Productive Location Ally on Nexus Technology or PLANT for short. Their construction began in year 43 of the Cosmic Era and the first ten of this type of colonies were finished a little more than a year later.

Coordinators hoping to escape the discrimination from non-Coordinators or Naturals as they were also being called, moved to the new PLANT colonies. However, the acts of terrorism soon began also happening to the PLANTs, though a number of the attempts were thwarted by the Human Federation's military forces. The creation of the Zodiac Alliance occurred to give the PLANTs political autonomy and protection from those who wished to do harm and was done in the hope that the attacks would happen less. The PLANTs began to depend on the Federation Military for protection for a time, especially as the Human Federation was getting larger and gaining more influence, since the Kingdom of Scandinavia and shortly after so did the Equatorial Union joined the Federation. But, still wishing for independence, after the development of mobile suits, the Zodiac Alliance changed its name to Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty or ZAFT and started taking responsibility for their own protection.

As terrorist attacks against Coordinators increased, the leaders of the United Nations, met together at Copernicus City on the moon to discuss what could be done to stop these acts. Unfortunately, a terrorist attack came during the meeting, killing the leadership, coming to be known as the Tragedy of Copernicus, which Coordinators were blamed for. Shortly after the event, the Earth Alliance was formed, which brought together the Atlantic Federation, the South African Union and the Eurasian Federation. Conflicts then began popping up all over and that evolved into the Earth Alliance was formed and the war between ZAFT, which started with one event. The event was called the Bloody Valentine after it occurred, was the nuclear strike made against the PLANT type colony. The colony was destroyed and the whole colony's population lost their lives in the event.

In response as well as for their protection, ZAFT dropped ground-penetrating "Neutron Jammers" across Earth. The purpose was to stop the production of nuclear weapons, but all forms of nuclear energy was affected by the jammers. The war between the PLANTs and the Alliance has continued for near five years, with little sign of a conclusion in sight. The Human Federation did what they could to stay out of the conflict and held a stance of neutrality. So, the war that played out between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, quickly went beyond the scope of any of the previous wars human history had witnessed. For, it involved not only almost all of Earth, but space as well.

At first, it was expected and predicted that the Earth Forces, the military of the Earth Alliance, with their superior numbers would be the victors of the conflict. However, such expectations were proven wrong by ZAFT and their use of mobile suits. With the Earth Alliance and ZAFT at each other's throat, the neutral nations on earth and in space, whether small or large, were put in the trying position with the two sides that were at odds attempting to convince those nations to join their sides. But, the Human Federation would not allow any of its member nations to be bullied and the Alliance quickly stopped trying to force the Federation to assist them by physical means. With their military force made up of Coordinators and Naturals, the Federation attempted to prevent the violence between both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, yet with the hatred between the Naturals and Coordinators, it seemed an impossible feat.

Currently, it is the start of year 71 of the Cosmic Era, tensions were only getting worse between the Earth Alliance and the ZAFT organization. Around Lagrange 3, which is directly opposite of the moon in its own orbit, the three- island type colony Heliopolis which was built during the earlier part of the Cosmic Era. The colony's design had a base of a large space rock, with a cylindrical tube which made up the living space of the colony's inhabitance. From that base, running perpendicular, were three 'arms' stretched out with solar panels and the oxygen regeneration system that utilized plants and a small atmosphere that flowed to the main living area of the colony. Heliopolis was built for resource mining, but also did technical development and later, minor military research. The ownership of the colony fell to the Orb Union on Earth, as they built the colony itself. For the citizens who lived in the colony, as their nation was neutral, they didn't worry about the war affecting them, yet heard news of what was going on. A further sense of security began to be felt when rumors of Orb deciding to join the Human Federation spread. And even with the proximity of the Eurasian military satellite Artemis that belonged to the Earth Alliance, for Heliopolis peace was present.

In this colony, a young man, standing at 5'9" and was lean to the point that he was close to lanky in overall body figure. With green eyes and spiky tan locks of hair that went in random directions, the back of his hair went to just above his shoulders and on the sides, went down to the bottom of his cheeks. He was wearing a sand color T-shirt with a white vest over the shirt. He had casual black pants and didn't look out of place with the citizens of the colony. The young man's name, was Tyler McGregor, Tye for short among close acquaintances and he's 18 years of age. Officially, Tyler was in the colony Heliopolis, on an educational exchange and was attending the technical college. Although unofficially, he was at Heliopolis along with the three other members of the Federation Military, as part of an investigation team, looking into a rumor that the Earth Forces had been developing weapons somewhere within a neutral colony.

 **-Line Break-**

January 25th, 71 Cosmic Era

-Tyler's pov-

Orb Union's Resource Colony "Heliopolis", Lagrange Point 3

The morning began like most did for near a year now, but for some reason, the tension level had grown much higher over the last week. Reviewing the year that I had been here with the other members of the team, things shouldn't be so tense. Six months ago, the other three team members and I had confirmed that the members of the Earth Forces from the Atlantic Federation that were here, were using Morgenroete Inc. and its engineers to develop prototype mobile suits along with a new type of battleship to use against ZAFT in their war. Not only was that a violation of a standing treaty that the Earth Alliance is forced to follow, but they risk also dragging this colony into the fighting. However, I doubt they've thought about that possibility, too busy with their precious project to consider that, typical of them.

If it were just that, I would be less ticked and frustrated than I am, but there was more to this than just that point. There was also evidence that there was an OS for Naturals in development, yet not much as to who was doing the designing of that system or how far along that idea was. That was what the current job was, to find out more information about the OS that was supposed to go into the Alliance's mobile suits. I'd my suspicion as to who was doing the development, but I can't come up with clear proof yet and without proof, I got little to nothing. I'll say this much for the current situation, I'll need a serious vacation after this whole thing is done before going on to my next given assignment.

The sound of the communication device I had, that looked like a normal civilian com unit, went off. I took it out and input a code, before putting it to my ear, "Hey Lisa, anything unusual out there?" I asked in greeting.

Lisa Malto, a female Coordinator in her early to mid-twenties and a pilot of the Human Federation like myself. She had a height of 5'4" with mid-length straight black hair and green eyes. She was number 2 on the team and could take charge if I could not and always would have my back should things go wrong as for some reason, I was made the leader of the team.

When were had all arrived at Heliopolis, Lisa and I had agreed that there would be a ritual, where one member of the team would go out for a watch in a Federation Fighter once a day on the outside of Heliopolis. It's a boring a vigil as it is long, for I've take my turn on the weekends, so I know how tedious it is. The one in charge on the inside, usually myself or Lisa, would check in with the watcher outside for anything of note. The message came a week and a half ago that a Federation patrol would be coming out and would be around Heliopolis to confiscate the mobile suits and the ship in the next few days. When that message had come, all of us on the Investigation team breathed a sigh of slight relief and started to look towards what would happen now that the mission end was in sight.

Our tune had changed the day before yesterday when two ZAFT vessels had shown up and had begun camping out a small margin out of the range of the colony. And with them here, it meant that ZAFT could and likely did know that the Earth Alliance were doing weapon development here. That only spelled problems in my view, because there were a few in ZAFT's military that would hesitate at attacking just because Heliopolis is a neutral colony. "Other than the colony maintenance crews making their rounds for this week, not really. There's an Earth Alliance ship, Marseille III-class if I'm seeing right, approaching the dock right now. So, they'll dock soon, but other than that, it's been quiet, nothing from ZAFT," replied Lisa.

Today had been Lisa's turn to go out for the first part of the day, since we had decided that someone needed to be out more than just once a day with ZAFT around now. So, for the purpose of keeping a lookout for suspicious activity from either the Earth Alliance or ZAFT forces, there were two excursions a day. Depending on who was in charge of the ZAFT forces that was around here, they might come into the colony itself and either destroy the machines or capture them. There's a couple of ZAFT commanders that I've read about that had reputations that said they might do such things. Such an action would violate a number of the treaties that ZAFT has with the Federation and there were serious consequences that followed those kinds of actions. The real issue, neither side had shown much inclination to care of what would happen to the citizens of Heliopolis if they clash. The team were hoping, like I was that the Federation patrol would get here before things go bad.

I took in a deep breath before I gave my answer, "Let's hope it stays that way, still keep your eyes open. The feeling of tense foreboding and impending problems is getting worse faster than I like at all. If ZAFT is going to make their move, then it'll likely be soon with the increasing pace that the Alliance personnel are working at. I know we hope that the Federation patrol gets here before a fight breaks out, but at this point, can't say if they will," I said before terminating the connection and slipping the com unit back into my pocket.

Since I didn't want to dwell on the possibilities of what could happen, I decided the best way to get my worries for the moment, was to go check on a friend of mine. Said friend was here on an educational exchange like I am officially. And normally, at this time of the morning, he would be in the central quad in the residential district. So, with that in mind, I changed my direction to get me to the central quad where I believed my friend is. The friend I was heading for was named Kira Yamato, both he and I have been friends for years, we met at the lunar pep academy that we went to and so knew each other well. He is two years younger than I am, but he is a really smart. Kira is a great guy, I'll say that for him without reservation of any sort. The problem that I see, that Kira hasn't by what I can tell, is that he is naïve and enormously so! Some might call it "innocence", I call it "a special kind of stupid" it's the same concept in essence.

Back to looking for my friend Kira, within fifteen minutes, I arrived at the intended destination and as I'd guessed, Kira was there. Although, I saw that he wasn't alone, but was accompanied by a young lady that was the same age as him. The girl had a little longer than hip length hair that was pink with a yellow clip that was on the right side of her head, the clip was the shape of two waves one on top of the other. She had blue eyes and quite a pretty face. The girl was wearing a black turtleneck and tan capris. Her name was Lacus Don… okay, in reality, her real name is Lacus Clyne, the youngest daughter of the current chairman of the PLANTS supreme council, but she uses the last name Don when she comes to visits Kira. I don't blame her as the name Clyne has a LOT of influence, both good and bad depending who you're talking about. She'd friends with Kira and I would consider her a friend as well, but it's not the same as she is with Kira. Still, by what I've heard, she's supposedly engaged to Athrun Zala, another longtime friend, just one that I don't see often anymore.

I came closer to the two and began overhearing them talking, "Couldn't you have asked the professor to take some time off?" asked Lacus, pouting slightly while Kira typed away on his laptop. "I visit as often as I can, but it isn't easy getting here, and I don't have long."

"I know," said Kira, smiling apologetically, "and I did ask him, but he wouldn't budge. He said this stuff was top priority."

Lacus sighed in response to Kira's response and I admit that she's within her rights to. Professor Kato was a professor that both Kira and I have at the collage, he teaches advanced computing. And for Professor Kato is spreading himself thin with the work he does, is typical of him, does it on a regular basis. I'm more surprised that Kato hasn't collapsed from overworking himself. The issue that Kira and I share with the man, is that we end out picking up the slack by 'receiving' tasks and work from the professor. It doesn't matter that we're students and have schoolwork have to do and are expected to still complete on time, we still have Kato's work dumped on us.

For me at least, the 'extra workload' quickly got to the point, that I'd put my foot down and refuse to do the work Professor Kato tried to give me anyways. I'd told him that I had schoolwork and other things to do first and the extra work was making that extremely difficult to do and still stay healthy and keep the grades up. Not only am I a student at the technical college, but I also have a job that I work, being an assistant to a journalist, use it as a cover for my real reason for being here at Heliopolis. So, I have a full plate and rarely have a great deal of extra time to work with for unnecessary things.

Yet, Professor Kato didn't listen to me or my reasoning or requests and told me that the work he had for me took priority anyways and to somehow manage. Well, I took his 'advice' about managing and just left before he could shove stuff onto my shoulders. That was my solution to the badgering of my teacher was and I'd been avoiding Kato ever since and it's been nearly a month now. In fact, only see him during the class he teaches and that's fine with me and works out better for me. I simply leave that class as soon as it's done so that he can't catch me. Nonetheless, the consequences of that, would seem that Kato went to my friend Kira and dump the work he would give me on to Kira. Unfortunately, Kira has a hard time refusing others and he rarely if ever complains about being overworked like I do when I have to. Honestly, as far as I knew, Professor Kato was working on a project for Morgenroete, what the project involves, I can't say with much confidence, plus I don't take the time to ask him. However, my personal guess was that it had to do with the mobile suits that the Earth Alliance are developing. It was Kato that's the one I believe is the most likely candidate for being responsible for the Natural-use OS development, but I can't prove my suspicions with what I know yet.

Closing the rest of the distance that separated me and the two younger teens, who still hadn't noticed my presence. I waited for them to recognize that I was there, "Fine," she said. "But could you hurry it up a little please?" requested Lacus.

"I'll try Lacus." Kira answered.

I had waited long enough in my view after that line and was unable to stay quiet any longer, "So, Kato dumped more work on you again did he Kira?" I mused with a tone of pity.

Both Kira and Lacus twisted around and looked at me as I stood next to them now, smiling. "Tye, where did you appear from?" Asked Kira.

I gained a sheepish expression, "Oh well, I was walking around this morning, avoiding a certain professor that's been trying to bug me about stuff, you know the usual." I turned to face Lacus, "Hey Lacus, nice to see you again, didn't know you were going to visit. If you'd called ahead, then I would have greeted you earlier along with Kira."

The pink haired girl smiled, nodded at my greeting and waved at me. Kira looked tired, "That professor wouldn't happen to be named Kato, would they?"

The response from me was an apologetic nod, "Yeah, it's him," I came over and looked at the display of the laptop. "Looks like he dumped the work he has tried to get me to do the last time he got me to listen to him onto you Kira. Sorry about that, Kato can be a stubborn guy, I'll tell you, but you already know that." I rolled my eyes before I continued, "I mean, can you believe when I said to him, that I needed to catch up on schoolwork along with other stuff from my job, he brushed all that off? My job makes keeping up in school challenging enough, the work he gives me has caused my grades to suffer more. Plus, I'm falling behind a bit, due to the research I've been doing for the Journalist I help for my job as of late. He just told me and I quote, 'that I could get the work he had for me done and then catch up on the schoolwork afterward'. But lest we forget, past record says that every time I get the collection of work done that Kato gave me, he just turns around and shoves more onto me, he keeps forgetting that he does that regularly." I sighed, then looked at Kira, "But again, you would know all about how Kato does that, wouldn't you?" I posed.

Kira answered by rolling his eyes at me and then turned his attention back to the work, holding the documents in one hand and typing at a quick pace with the other. There were news reports and feeds playing in the background of the laptop, while my friend was typing away. While Kira focused on the work, Lacus and I focused on what was being said from the news feeds, as they reported on the war, though the reporting could and probably was a tad out of date. However, it was the best info I could get right now as I'm undercover on an investigation mission at the moment.

The fighting between the Alliance and ZAFT was getting worse by what the news was saying, not surprising, but still unwelcome. The Federation Military has tried several times to prevent as much of the conflict as possible and some of the skirmishes were less bloody than they could have been as a result. Yet still, people were dying because of this fighting that weren't even involved in the war. And the reason that this war started? There were Naturals who were afraid, jealous or both of Coordinators, they wanted to control and have dominion over them. To get what they wanted, they attacked, the Coordinators defend themselves and retaliate and it's descended down to this war. Atrocities like the attack on the Junius Seven colony then occur and things just got to the point that peaceful talks were blown to hell… who knows when or if that will change between the two sides.

After taking in the news, not more than a moment later, a mechanical green bird glided into the gazebo and landed on the monitor of Kira's laptop. The bird chirped slightly, tilting its head as it did so. A ball-shaped pink robot that was on the table that we were sitting at started rolling a little wildly. "Haro! Haro!" said the robot.

Lacus has had one of these ball-shaped robots for the last few years, not necessarily the pink one… for she had more than one. The thing and its duplicates rarely said anything besides "Haro" hence their name, Lacus's name and simple lines that made little sense most of the time. The robotic bird Torii, was much the same only it said 'birdie' instead and nothing else. Torii turned to Haro and chirped, tilting its head a bit more. I believe Athrun, another friend of Kira and mine, is the one that made the robots as well as the green bird. He'd always had a gift with robotics, quite amazing in fact. Suddenly, Haro's eyes began to flash. "Haro! Lacus! Run!"

I heard Kira groan when he heard that, which got me wondering what was going on. What could 'Haro' saying run be inferring to? "Kira! Tye!" came the voice of Tolle Koenig, one of Kira's friends and who had become a friend to me within the last year as well. Tolle, was a Natural type human that had dark brown hair that had a bit of a wavy quality to it. Along with his green eyes, he gave the impression of being easy going and a funny guy. Tolle stood at a height of 5'4" and was wearing an off-white button up shirt and a pair of jeans.

Ah ha, that's what that pink ball was referring to… Kira looked up and smiled slightly, but it was clear that internally, he was weeping… and I can't say that I blame him. I was also none too happy for Tolle to be looking for Kira and myself, for it meant that he was probably. Actually, scratch that, almost guaranteed that Professor Kato sent him because he had MORE work to dump on both of us, great. The college professor wasn't beneath sending out our friends to fetch us and bring us to him so that he can distribute out more weight to the workload. Our friends had little idea that they were used by Kato to get Kira and I to go to him.

Professor Kato had started 'giving' us work to help him with when he found out we had a talent for complex electronic and mechanical systems. That had begun shortly after I had gotten here and started school and hadn't stopped. As I've previously stated, I'm personally avoiding him off and on for the last month and I've been fairly successful at doing so. Still, I can hope for the best and that this could be just friends visiting us for a social call.

"So, this is where you've been hanging out with your girlfriend Kira. Tye, you really should get a girl for yourself, Kira is showing you up," said Tolle.

Kira and Lacus both blushed slightly, whereas I just rolled my eyes, "That's my business Tolle and not yours, so kindly stay out of it. So, moving on, what brings you around here?" I asked.

I would have said more, but Tolle just barreled on and answered my question, "Professor Kato's been trying to get a hold of you… Both of you actually."

"What, again?" moaned Kira.

I couldn't keep the sigh in as Kira ended his moan, "Yeah, I'm well aware that he's been trying to get ahold of me, and my answer to him hasn't changed, I got work to catch up on, so heck no!" I exhaled in frustration, but continued, "Hasn't he piled enough work that 'he says' he can't do himself on to us?" I asked rhetorically, "The man needs to learn to be patient and not keep pushing more onto others like Kira and me, then still demand top grade work in short periods, if he wants decent results in anything."

"He asked us that if we saw you two, to bring you both to him right away," said Miriallia Haw, Tolle's girlfriend. "Are you assisting him on something else?"

Miriallia, another Natural-type human who is a 15-year-old female. She had light brown hair and ocean blue eyes, stood at 5'2". Today, Miriallia was wearing an orange dress with the middle of the dress being white and the shoulders open. She's nice most of the time, but with me she can harp a bit too often in my opinion.

"Too much stuff!" complained Kira. "I still haven't even finished going through the stuff he dumped on me yesterday."

Kira slouched back, sighing at the question and its subject matter. I leaned over to Kira and spoke, "It's like I told you Kira, you got to learn how to say no to people, it makes life much more manageable I've found. Honestly, you're too nice and kind hearted for your own good sometimes my friend. A good quality to have, but others will take advantage of it if you're not careful."

I stop speaking as I caught a glare from Miriallia, for I've learned that it's smart not to keep going when I get glares from the girl. "It's pretty rude of you Kira, doing all this work when Lacus is visiting," said Miriallia, then she turned to me and gave me another glare, "Tye you should take some of that work off of Kira."

I looked at the young woman incredulously, for her claim of what I should do is unfair! I'm really busy with things right now, what with what the Alliance personnel is doing here that they shouldn't be and ZAFT camping outside. But I can't actually tell any of those here that right now, for then I would have to explain what my mission is here among other things I haven't said to them. If I was able to do all I am AND take some of the work off of Kira AND keep Kato satisfied, I would do so in a heartbeat. All that in mind, I can't justify or defend myself effectively, so like I said, this is unfair! "Seriously, you're going there again Miriallia? Then, by your claim, I should be drowning with work Kato says he can't do, ignoring all school work and most else as I do so then? Is that what you're telling me Miriallia? Sorry that I've a life outside of school, but that's how it is thank you very much," I said somewhat sarcastically.

"I'm just saying you could help Kira in this," she replied firmly.

That's the reply I get? I swear, Miriallia won't let me win in this kind of thing, it's not the first time she's accused me of shirking work that's dumped on Kira. It isn't fair I tell you! "Hey you two, calm down," interjected Tolle.

I snorted out loud, "It's not like I wouldn't love to help Kira out by taking some of the pressure off of him Miriallia. But, what you don't seem to understand is even were I to do as you say, your expectation of Kira having a lightened work load, is very wrong. Me taking some of the work has never stopped the Prof from dumping more stuff on Kira or myself before, I doubt it would start to now."

"That's the truth," agreed Tolle, who had seen the idea as it happened.

Kira paused in his typing and looked at the ground as he spoke, "I asked for a break, but Kato refused and just gave me more stuff to do," he retorted.

I shook my head as I listened and looked at my friend's explanation, "That doesn't surprise me Kira, with all the 'priority work' he keeps getting and then handing off to us, with equally stressful and honestly unreasonable deadlines attached. That's why I stopped asking for a break, and instead, I take a break and don't give Kato the chance to drop work on my shoulders. Granted, professor Kato hasn't appreciated me avoiding him, but since he won't listen to me when I tell him no, he leaves me with little other option."

"Well, Kira is the best student at the college and Tye is certainly not a bad student." justified Tolle, smiling slightly, "At any rate, let's get going… maybe you can tell him to give you a break if we're there with you."

"We can only hope for that," Kira and I said at the same time.

"You come along with us too Lacus," said Miriallia, grabbing the pink-haired girl's hand as we headed off towards the college.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Heliopolis Docking Area

The personnel operating the colony's control section, busied themselves with the docking protocol for the incoming Earth Alliance vessel. The ship was a Marseille III-class vessel, an older transport ship, but with the way the war was going, it was conceivable that older ships might be brought back into service. The vessel had clearance to dock and had provided the proper documentation, that's what matter for the time being, especially with two ZAFT vessels having come around the area recently.

"Adjusted Axis, right 6.51 points, prepare to enter dock 1," stated the Chief Controller over the com-channel to the Alliance vessel.

The Alliance ship did as it was instructed, making the correction as it kept moving forward. "Okay, entering vector is satisfactory," returned one of the operators.

"Breaking jets off, transferring control to electromagnetic bucket," replied the ship captain.

One of the console operators signaled that he had the ship coming into the dock and as some looked out the window, they saw the vessel sliding into the dock. "Deceleration rate at 2.56. Commencing final docking procedures, stand by," commanded the chief controller.

On board the ship, its captain let out a sigh of relief as the docking procedure was completed, "There you have it, this old ship has just completed her final mission and done so admirably." The man turned to the two younger people, being a man and a woman that were on the bridge with him, "The escort of you and your team has been much appreciated Lieutenant La Flaga, Major McAlester, even if perhaps it was a boring job for pilots like yourselves, with so little to do." Said the captain with a smile. "My crew and I, are in your debt."

The young blonde man at the age of 28, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, waved a hand, "Sir, just glad that all on board, along with my teammates and I were able to get you all here safely and without incident. It's a rare thing these days," said Lieutenant La Flaga.

The woman close by, Major Krystal McAlester nodded in agreement, "Indeed, what with those two ZAFT vessels around here now weren't here the last time by what the reports said. Speaking of which, what is the status on those two ships?" she asked.

"They're out there, but there is no real cause for alarm right now. As we're docked now, they are fully aware that taking action against us while we're here, would cause massive issues with ZAFT and the Orb Union Major. In future, it might be even more of an issue for them, if the rumors about the Orb Union is considering becoming a member nation of the Human Federation are true," answered the captain.

"Well, since the Orb Union is neutral, this colony of theirs is as well, still don't understand that stance while the war is going on. And even if Orb were to join the Human Federation, don't see that making much of a difference," said La Flaga.

"Well Lieutenant, I can tell you from experience, the forces of the Federation's military aren't ones you want to underestimate or have as enemies. Even ZAFT is careful around the Federation for every encounter with them on record hasn't ended well for those who do go against them. But still, it is because of this colony's neutrality that our plans have progressed as far as they have. Good thing that Earth recognized nations like the Orb Union as independent nations if only for that." Remarked the captain.

"Excuse us captain," said one of five young men who had come onto the bridge while the conversation had been going on, all saluting before they exited the bridge.

Mu La Flaga stared after the five that had just left, "You think they will be able to handle themselves on the battlefield?" he asked.

"They're so young to be getting into this war," commented Major McAlester sadly.

"Granted, they are young, but they have proven that their selection to be G-pilots was the right choice, they'll be just fine." Said the captain, then smiled. "Plus, Lieutenant, Major, don't take it the wrong way, but you two would stick out like sore thumbs with your experience and reputations."

 **-Line Break-**

ZAFT Nazca-class vessel, close to Heliopolis

Upon the Bridge of the ZAFT Nazca-class ship Vesalius, a white uniformed ZAFT commander, wearing a white mask that covered his eyes, named Rau Le Creuset was looking at the image of the colony a short distance from them, "Try not to look so frustrated Ades, it's not healthy for you." Creuset said as he turned and floated back towards the tactical table display.

"Forgive my frustration sir, but I can't imagine that it's too late to wait and hear back from the council about this. I'm not saying that your point of argument isn't valid, for I have to admit, it makes sense, especially with the evidence. However, what you suggest… it's more than just risky to do for many reasons," Captain Ades returned.

Le Creuset shook his head, "It will be too late if we delay. Your frustration is understandable, yet I've a sixth sense about things like this, and the evidence that's been acquired so far agrees." Creuset sent a picture towards Ades, "You tell me what this picture tells you. For me, it says that time is of the essence and the time to act is now. If we don't, then we will only come to regret our inaction later, likely paid with our lives." Creuset paused, "The Earth Alliance's new mobile weapons must not slip through our grasp because of hesitation, they needed to be secured before they're moved."

Meanwhile, down in the pilot locker room, a young man was thinking upon what he was about to do. The young man had neck length blue hair and green eyes and was named Athrun Zala. Athrun was sighing as he pulled on the gloves of his pilot suit, for he was having some serious reservations, questions and doubts about the upcoming mission the commander had told them about. There were so many things that could go wrong with this mission and the more that Athrun thought about this the more risks he identified. Some of those things would include the very real possibility that the information was false. The mobile suits in the images could be machines the Orb Union was developing and unrelated to the Earth Alliance. Then, the possibility of the Human Federation's military discovering ZAFT's presence here without permission as this was close to Federation territory and that had serious consequences.

This mission was akin to juggling high grade explosives, several of them of the dangerous high-yield variety, hoping to snatch the one gem among them and run for it, praying to get far enough away before the rest went off. It was no help that the very idea of the Orb Union helping the Earth Alliance seemed as off as it was ludicrous to him to begin with. Why would they do it? Even if doing so could accelerate Orb's own mobile suit development, it made more sense to remain strictly neutral and just quietly develop the weapons while everyone else ignored them. Then, Orb was on very good terms with the Federation, so if ZAFT was caught attacking Heliopolis, the Federation could use that as a reason to attack both ZAFT vessels here without further issue.

Athrun was brought out of his thought as he felt a hand on his shoulder and when he looked up, Athrun saw his recently made friend, Rusty Mackenzie. "Hey Athrun, you doing okay?" Rusty asked quietly.

Athrun frowned, "It doesn't feel right, what we're about to do."

"What's wrong with you two?" asked Yzak Joule. Athrun and Rusty turned slightly to glance at their teammate.

Yzak had medium length silver hair that went down to the top of his neck along with blue eyes and stood at 5'9". He already had his red pilot suit on as he looked to them, "Yzak," began Athrun.

Rusty gave a small smile, "We're good Yzak, just pre-mission nerves. They come to a lot of pilots before they go out on assignment," he said to Yzak.

"If you say so, you both look nervous. There's nothing to worry about in this," replied Yzak. "That's not like either of you."

"Yeah, sneaking into Heliopolis is going to be all too easy," said Dearka Elsman as he finished closing the collar of his pilot suit. Dearka had short blonde hair and brown eyes and stood at 5'9". "The possibility that we would launch an attack hasn't occurred to them in their wildest dreams." He gave Athrun and Rusty a slightly mocking smile. "You're not chicken, are you Athrun, Rusty?"

"That's enough, Dearka!" said Nicol Amalfi, coming up behind Dearka. Nicol had green hair and brown eyes, had a height of 5'5" and was the cautious one of the pilots assigned to this mission aside from Athrun and Rusty. "This is a dangerous and important mission! We can't let our guard down simply because Orb is a neutral nation! The Human Federation is neutral and yet, can match ZAFT if there are put to it."

"Nicol is quite right," cut in a new voice suddenly, drawing the attention of the five pilots to a tall, masked blond wearing a white ZAFT commander's uniform.

"Commander Le Creuset," muttered Yzak, surprised to see their enigmatic commander here.

"This mission is of great significance," said Le Creuset. "The Earth Forces have developed new prototype mobile weapons at a colony of the neutral Orb Union, and under no circumstances should this be treated lightly. The success or failure of this mission could have a tremendous impact on the rest of the war. Time is of the essence; we need the mission to be done before Human Federation patrols come looking around." Le Creuset paused, studying his subordinates, and gave a slight nod as he concluded that any joking attitude had vanished. "The fate of ZAFT rests on your shoulders, we're counting on you."

The five ZAFT Reds snapped to attention, saluting their commander without any hesitation,

"Yes sir! For the glory of ZAFT!"

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis, housing district elecar station

"So, what's Professor Kato researching for Morgenroete?" asked Tolle as we all headed to an elecar station to travel to the technical college.

"Even with him doing research for Morgenroete, that doesn't mean he says what he's working on. Kato tends to be too busy giving Kira and I stuff to do for either of us to ask." I replied tiredly.

"Hmm… well, by what he's been handing us in the last few months, I think he's developing some new operating system," said Kira off-handedly.

I noticed that Lacus perked up slightly at hearing that, maybe she was wondering if it was a Natural-use mobile suit OS. The Earth Alliance definitely wants an OS for Naturals that could be used in mobile suits, it's no secret. Professor Kato is the prime suspects I had, of who could be designing the OS for the Earth Alliance's prototype machines. The Human Federation has already developed an operating system that Naturals can use, it's not a cake walk or anything, but it's usable by Natural pilots. Said OS hasn't been shared with the Earth Alliance, even if they suspect of its existence and that the Federation have mobile suits. The Federation has neither confirmed or denied such facts, an ongoing frustration for the Earth Alliance.

"Yeah, suppose it could be something like that. Kato tells us not to ask too much about it whenever the opportunity comes up and I'm not that interested in knowing more myself," I added.

"Operating System? Okay, guess that could be," questioned Tolle, glancing between Kira and myself. "So wait, you mean neither of you know what you're helping with?"

We shook out heads, "That's so typical of you both," muttered Miriallia in exasperation.

I rolled my eyes, "Is it so hard to believe that we don't want to be put in a position to get into trouble Miriallia? There's such a thing as knowing too much for your own good," I posed.

"Hey, be nice Miriallia. Kira and Tye are just assistant students," said Lacus, coming to our defense. But then, Kira is her childhood friend and I'm a friend. "It's not like they're being told everything."

"Exactly," said Kira, nodding slightly. "Besides, making inquiries would probably just get both of us saddled with more work."

My shoulders slumped, "Yeah, bet that's what Kato would do, probably saying that it's so we take responsibility. And there's already more than enough going around, too much really," yet, I leaned in towards Kira and continued in a whisper, "Although shouldn't you also say, so you can spend time with Lacus as she can't stick around for long Kira."

Kira blushed a bit at my whispered comment, to which I smirked in response. "So that's your excuse," said Miriallia, regaining our attention, "It doesn't change the fact that this is typical behavior for you both. Most people would want to know more, so don't you?"

'Miriallia really doesn't understand how military development works or is seen by those involved. In this instance, if this is related to Morgenroete's weapons development or rather, the Earth Forces military advancement, then neither Kira, nor I should be more involved than we are!' I thought, but didn't say out loud.

Our female friend was pinning Kira and I with her gaze, clearly waiting for a reply to her question, when we were saved by an interruption. "I'm telling you it's not what you think!" came a voice ahead of them, drawing our attention to a trio of girls walking their way, a blue-eyed redhead in a pink dress leading the way. I have seen that girl sometimes, yet I've trouble remembering her name… and I feel like I should know it.

"Then what is it?" asked a brunette with pigtails.

"It's none of your business!" replied the redhead.

"Flay…" muttered Kira, slightly surprised.

Oh yeah, that's the redhead's name, as I recall, she's supposedly the fiancé of one of Kira's other friends whose name is Sai Argyle or something like that. In the field of my peripheral vision, I noticed Lacus frowning slightly, and then fell back a little behind Kira, but Tolle and Miriallia didn't notice.

"Oh, Miriallia!" said the brunette suddenly, then she must be someone that Miriallia knew. Her words alerted the redhead, Flay… still don't remember her last name, and the third member of the group, a black-haired girl. Flay's eyes immediately settled on Lacus, and the redhead seemed to recoil ever so slightly away, but only Kira, Lacus and myself noticed. Can't say what caused that reaction… maybe she has an issue with Coordinators, Lacus is one and that's obvious by her hair color alone.

"Did you hear?" asked the brown-haired girl, rushing over to Miriallia. "Flay got a love letter from Sai Argyle!"

Sai is a good guy, down to earth and often helped Kira and I to not be burdened with work from Kato… so then, why would a love letter be out of place? I mean, Sai is supposed to be engaged to this Flay isn't he? "Huh? From Sai?!" gasped Miriallia in surprise.

The words jarred Flay out of her apparent stupor as she stepped forward, a partial glare on her face. "Come on, this has nothing to do with Miriallia!" she said as firmly as she could manage.

"Why don't you just say yes?" asked one of the other girls. "He's not all that bad or anything, right?"

"It's not that…" countered Flay.

Girls can be really strange with certain things, never have figured out why. Caught sight of Lacus leaning closer to Kira I listened hard, "Isn't Sai her fiancé?" whispered Lacus to Kira.

My friend nodded slightly, "Yeah, it was a parental arrangement, a lot like you and Athrun," he whispered back.

"Oh, so that's how it was supposed to work, kind of wondered," I remarked so that they heard me.

Kira stared at me with a look that asked what I was talking about. I sighed, "I meant our friend Sai. You mentioned he was engaged, but not the circumstances as to why he was at such a young age. So, it being a parental arrangement explains it." I said quietly so that our conversation wouldn't be overheard by the others.

Lacus nodded slightly as a car drove past the group on the otherwise deserted road. "I wonder why he'd write a love letter…" Lacus mused.

"Excuse me," asked a feminine voice behind us.

All of us turned to see a woman in a red jacket, alone with a man behind her, no one answered her, so decided that I would, "Yeah?" I asked.

"If you're not getting in the car, mind if we do?" she posed.

We shook our heads and moved aside. Meanwhile, I was wondering who she was and what she was doing, paranoid perhaps, but these days, you never know. Swear I've seen the woman before somewhere, I just can't place where right now though. Anyways, we took our turn to get a car to take it to the College.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Outside of Heliopolis

In a ZAFT shuttle, the team that would infiltrate the colony waited to arrive at where they would enter the colony. "We have now arrived at the Block Six Maintenance Hatch," said the com-officer, alerting the red and green pilots that they'd reached their first mission point. Athrun looked to Nicol, who was nearest the hatch of the shuttle, and nodded.

Nicol nodded back before the hatch was unsealed, opened giving the Le Creuset Team pilots an unobstructed view… of the outside of the colony wall. Athrun raised a hand and waved the team out the hatch while five other soldiers in green pilot suits emerged from the other transport pod, floating in front of the opening that they planned to use to enter the colony.

The main mission plan called for those in red to capture the enemy weapons, since there was presumed to be five weapons, there was five chosen for this. The risk was them getting killed by those who would likely be defending and that was a real possibility. Therefore, green regular pilots were there to safeguard their comrades and, if needed, pick up the slack if something was off with their Intel. It was an unsaid given, anyone who didn't capture an Alliance machine, would probably not make it out alive. Should they somehow be left alive, it would probably only be through capture and who knows what would come after that. Still every single member of the team had volunteered for this mission.

Athrun glanced at his watch, waiting for the scheduled time to start the mission. These hatches were used almost daily, at a set time, the hatch would automatically open. Following the hatch opening, five seconds afterward the sensor lasers in the tunnel would shut down for thirty seconds normally. This routine was a relic from the time when Heliopolis was being built. With the low number of workers, the need of more automation had forced for the necessity of maintaining the colony. If they encountered any maintenance workers, they'd have to kill them, so Athrun hoped they were running a little late today so that they wouldn't need to kill someone who was unfortunate enough to just come by.

Athrun's watch lit up, just as he'd set it to do, and the maintenance hatch opened giving the view of long dirty maintenance tunnels of the resource colony. Since this tunnel was close to the outside of the colony, there wasn't an atmosphere here unless someone needed to work on this area. The ZAFT soldiers briefly caught sight of the sensor lasers as they deactivated, once they had, all ten soldiers headed inside.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis, Technical College

Our group got to the college and we headed to the office of Kato. The door of Professor Kato's lab opened, admitting our group, minus Flay and her two friends, who had gone wherever their destination was. "Ah… I see you finally gave in, the both of you in fact." said Sai Argyle, Kira's bespectacled best friend other than myself and Athrun. Sai was about the only one in our circle who was a match for Kira intellectually. I mean, Kira is intellectually smarter than me by a margin, I just have more practical experience than he does, comes with being two years older. Sai is also better than me academically, but he does more work than Kira. Sai had short yet straight blonde hair and blue eyes, covered by his orange tinted glasses, standing at a height 5'9".

"Yes, something like that," I replied somewhat begrudgingly.

"Hey, I thought it was just supposed to be Kira and Tye if you found him," said Kuzzey Buskirk, another member of their circle. Kuzzey had short black hair and brown eyes, stands at 5'3" and was the last of the four that made up Kira and my friends here.

"You got a problem with us being here Kuzzey?" demanded Tolle irritably.

I saw that Lacus and Miriallia were looking over to the left side of the room and glancing in that direction, I noticed someone standing off to the side wearing a brown jacket and hat. Said person was appearing to be attempting to draw the least amount of attention to themselves. Why that was the case, I can't say, but I did catch a bit of golden blonde hair, but not much more of the face of the person.

"The professor added this to the workload, sorry," said Sai, handing Kira a computer disk.

"Thanks," muttered Kira unhappily. Sai pushed his glasses up slightly, then he turned to me, "Then Professor Kato said if you dropped by or were dragged here, to give this to you Tye. Said that you should be able to get all of it done as you've be having a break from it," he said handing me not one, but two disks.

I took the disks, "Thanks Sai, another long day and likely night of work for me, yet another night that I get little if any sleep, whoopty freaking doo," I grumbled flatly.

Sai and Kira knew that I did other things, but I haven't told them I actual work for the Human Federation military. All of those here believed that I'm an assistant for a 'journalist' here, who was actually one of my teammates. "I tried convincing him to wait or let me handle it, since Lacus was here visiting and Tye has been busy with other things, but the professor wouldn't budge. It seems this stuff is even higher priority than we realized," Sai said.

"Thanks for that," said Kira, much more genuinely this time. Sai wasn't only Kira's best friend here other than me, but he was also the most gifted Natural Kira said he had ever met. The blonde-haired guy was certainly gifted, I could see that and I've seen some gifted Naturals. Would bet in a year or so that Sai would be scouted to work for the Human Federation. Sai, as far as I know, is the only other person other than myself that are outside of Kira's family to know Lacus's real identity, though there was no hiding her being a Coordinator.

I gave Sai a smile, "Don't doubt Kato would say this stuff is 'high priority' like he's been doing lately. At least you try to help, tis appreciated… even if it didn't get the desired result. I can't blame you for how this ended out, especially as this is his way to say thanks for avoiding him for the last month."

Suddenly from my pants pocket, my com unit began vibrating and beeping quietly. When I took it out and looking at the ID being displayed, I knew I had to take it now. "Uh sorry all, I need to take this call, please excuse me for a moment," I said, setting down the disks on the nearest surface, then stepped out of the room.

Once I was out of the room, I glanced around to make sure I was alone, and then put the com device to my ear, "Okay Lisa, what is it that's urgent you need to call me less than an hour after I checked in?" I asked.

"Tyler, you need to move, ZAFT is moving in! I think they might already have gotten in a raiding force. Alan found a large maintenance hatch open that shouldn't be and the laser detection system is off." Lisa said to me in a bit of a rush.

Dang it! I knew that ZAFT might make a move before the Federation patrol gets here, but I was hoping they wouldn't. I ran a hand through my hair, "Okay, first calm down and see if you can't prevent ZAFT mobile suits that will come, to not enter the colony if you could please. The less of them there are to deal with, the less complicated this situation will be in the end. I'll head to the factory district and see what I can do there." I said before I disconnected the com line.

I recomposed myself before sliding back into the room and facing the group that I call friends as they were all looking at me for an explanation, "Um… Sorry everyone, just got a call from the secretary of the journalist I work for, says there's an urgent task has come up that I'm need for. Duty calling and everything, comes with being an assistant to a news organization, on call all hours of the day and night." I said in an apologetic tone, before turning towards the door.

Tolle spoke up before I could duck out, "What about the stuff that Professor Kato has for you to do?"

I paused for a moment, for if things go anything like I suspect they will, then the work that Professor Kato is trying to shove on me won't be of any consequence at all. I waved a hand in a dismissive gesture and answered, "I'll get to it after I deal with the what I've just been handed Tolle. This is what it is to hold a job, you have to do things when you're asked, even when it's not convenient, Kato doesn't get that there is more to life than his work."

Now, I wasn't exactly lying, for I was doing my job, it just wasn't working for a news organization like they think I do. After doing what explaining I could, I hauled my rear out of the college and headed to my apartment to collect my bag of goodies that I had prepared for such a situation that was developing right now. Then I would run over to the factory district and see how bad things really were. In the best-case scenario, I would be able to stop things from becoming a horrible incident, by at least minimizing the damage and casualties, maybe more.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Heliopolis, Morgenroete Interior Dock #1

The ZAFT forces didn't waste time, but move quickly and laid explosives throughout the dock and other parts of the colony, taking advantage of the zero-G environment to move about in almost complete silence. Those people here wouldn't know what hit them and better they don't. The force was now heading to an access hatch that would let them enter the main colony so that they could move towards their real targets. "Heh… can you imagine the looks of shock on their pacifist faces when this goes into motion?" said Yzak lowly.

Athrun frowned, glancing at his teammate before looking forward. 'I wasn't hoping for war, but I'm here fighting one anyways.' Athrun thought to himself. 'This just feels wrong; Kira… Tye… where are you two now? What would you think of this war of ours?' The thought of the two he considered his best friends and what they would think of this, and it left a bitter taste in Athrun's mouth. Especially, when the last time he had seen the two, they had parted ways with smiles and words of good luck to one another.

All the ZAFT soldiers kept moving along until the came out into the main interior of the colony, on a hill that overlooked the place that their targets were supposed to be stored. They heard alarms starting to go off as they went, yet they kept their cool and kept going.

Meanwhile, on the Marseille III within Heliopolis's main docking area, the crew of the ship were scrambling to their battle stations, which included the four mobile armor pilots as well. Lieutenant La Flaga approached the captain, "Enemies?" was his short question.

The captain kept calm, "Two vessels, one Nazca-class and the other a Laurasia-class. We already have conformations of mobile suits launching and on course for the colony," he replied seriously.

La Flaga huffed, "Great," he muttered, before he activated his com-link in the neck of his pilot suit, "Krystal, have Luke and Gail board their Moebius units and standby for launch. Do not, I repeat do not let them go out just yet."

"Got it Mu, they're already heading for them. We'll be waiting for you down here," replied Major McAlester.

At the same time, down below ground, under Morgenroete's location, the secretly developed new Alliance ship, the Archangel-class was also a buzz with activity once the alarms had started sounding about the ZAFT ships approach. The captain of the vessel was telling the crew that was with him in the control booth not to panic. He knew if they did, all of them would be playing into ZAFT's hands and would likely die doing so. Instead, saying that the colony's controller could deal with the situation and that the priority was to focus on making the Archangel ready to launch. The need of such things to be done included transferring the prototype mobile suits to the ship and doing all of this as fast as possible.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis, housing district

I sprinted to my place and didn't waste the time bothering getting out the key for the door, just literally kicked the door open and rushed in. I grabbed the backpack filled with equipment, such as weapons and other tools that I might need, all hidden among clothing so as not arose suspicion, slung the pack over my back and ran out of the apartment, not caring that the door was left open. The current situation was developing badly so far and if it keeps going that way, then it won't matter that the door is open anyway. On my way out, I fished out the ear piece that was the Federation com-link from the backpack and put it into my right ear.

Flew down the stairs, got close to using the railing to drop down to the ground below. When I was on the ground I set off sprinting down the street in the direction of the Factory District. I didn't miss all of the weird looks I got along the way, yet I ignored them as I was focused on the task at hand. To me, it was pretty much a guarantee now that there was a group of ZAFT soldiers in the colony and right now they were waiting for the Earth Forces to make a move. When that happened, they would move in and take the mobile suits, that's the most likely scenario.

What I don't know, is what method they intend to use to smoke out the Alliance Officers and that worries me! There are several different ways it can be done… some unfortunately, would put the citizens of the colony in some very real danger and for the other members of the team and myself, we're trying to prevent that as much as we were able. Most outside of Federation Military and politics, unlikely know the Orb Union is a member nation of the Human Federation as of a year ago. Don't know why Orb leaders haven't announce the idea, but it doesn't matter, they are a part of the Federation and so their citizens are to be protected just as any other would be.

I was two thirds of the way to the Factory District, when there was a violent shaking that rocked the whole colony. Kept myself from collapsing to the ground, though it did take effort to prevent it. I came to a stop looking around, many people had fallen to the ground from the rumbling. I touched my pointer finger on my right hand to my com-link, "Was the colony just hit by an object on the outside?"

"No, I didn't see anything… Knight, Lascy, either of you see something?" came Lisa's voice.

"Not a thing from my position chaps." Replied Alan Knight, his north Euros Collation accent audible.

"Felt the tremor around ere lass, think they were caused by some sort of explosive, can't say where the charges were placed. However mate, managed to convince a good numbers of the controllers to get out before the bang went off. They say that two ZAFT ships are on course to come and bring trouble ere to the colony and they aren't responding to any communications," said Luke Lascy, his Oceanic Union drawl present.

"Okay, good for you Luke, get those people to a safe location, probably a shelter being the best choice and then get to the third fighter and get outside, asap. Lisa keep a close eye on however many GINNs are inviting themselves in. Alan, try to figure out where things stand with ZAFT's activities right now, tap into whatever colony system necessary to do so. Remember, they are likely trying to get to the Earth Alliance's prototype mobile suits, so that would be a good place to start. Everyone, time is of the essence, move!" I ordered.

Resumed running towards the Factory District once again, taking in the confusion that was sprouting up everywhere as I went. Had only been going along for a few minutes when Alan's voice came over the com-link, "Old boy, the situation is bad, expected, but more than I believe any originally thought. That rumbling you felt, it was likely from explosives that ZAFT set throughout the different parts of the colony. Sorry old chap, but with what I am seeing right now, that's what it appears to be."

Put my pointer finger back to the com-link, "And the evidence that brings you to that conclusion?"

"I tapped into the surveillance system and… well, I'll say that the main dock's control booth along with Morgenroete's dock's control booth are in ruins and the dock below just as bad if not more of a bloody mess… don't ask for details, you don't want to know." Alan said.

So, ZAFT attacked the dock, probably so they can come in and take control, but why use explosives? That's going a little far, yeah it pretty much can kill those working on the Alliance ship but… We have got to be missing something in this, explosives are an extreme method to get the Alliance to move. I shook my head to clear it, there was work to do! "Listen up everyone, keep your eyes peeled. Lisa, Alan, I'm more sure that ZAFT is not going to be nice in this, keep those GINNs busy. The less of them that get in the better, would be wonderful if none get in, but I know that none of us are miracle workers. Still, I need to know what force that is going to be made up of, McGregor out."

Resumed sprinting in the direction I had been, the sooner I get to the Factory District the better. I need to see what the Earth Alliance is doing… hope they haven't been stupid and moved or in the process of moving those weapons they've been constructing at Morgenroete out into the open. That would spell out more issues with this event and there is already more than enough to deal with in my opinion. The people of Heliopolis are in danger already as it is, don't need to be put into more. It took me around eight minutes to reach the Factory District, and it was the definition of chaos and disorder. There were people running around, lying on the ground either dead or too injured to do much. As much as it pained me, I ignored the people and made my way to Morgenroete. It's my hope and prayer that the Earth Forces are still there, Morgenroete's factory complex is a better defendable position and is more logical to work with.

Unfortunately, upon arriving, the sight the met my eyes didn't lessen my fears at all, for the Earth Alliance personnel were being stupid like I suspected they would be. They were moving out their prototype mobile suits in the transport trailers… likely to their ship to get them out of here. They're moving in a train out into the open road, heading to the back of the internal dock, which Alan had said was now a mess… makes me wonder if their warship is still usable as it is right now.

But back to the mobile suits being moved, the odds of them making it to the dock with those machines with no problems coming up… I'll put it like this, it's as likely as dedicated members of Blue Cosmos saying they're giving up their beliefs and will leave Coordinators alone, and that'll will never happen in the near future… if ever! Honestly, they might as well post huge signs on each trailer saying 'ZAFT soldiers welcome, come and we'll give you the activation codes for our mobile suits!' for it will result the same in the end. And speaking of that idea, things got worse as I spotted ZAFT soldiers in green and red space suits descending on the Earth Forces escort, more red than green.

It's time I change my position, for my own safety and to act for the best of the citizens of Heliopolis! Took out the pistol I had in my pack and began skirting around the Morgenroete Factory Complex, getting closer to the main factory building and perhaps finding something to work with in this situation. The sound of gunfire and explosive blasts were heard from the direction of the mobile suit trailers. Managed to not be noticed and get to the largest structure and was about to open a door on the side so that I could slip inside. Yet, that's when the sound of metal being twisted out of its place came to my ears and drew my attention. I turned around and watched as two of the Alliance mobile suits rose.

The one on the left, I would estimate to be slightly under 19 meters as it stood at its full height. Out of the five Earth Alliance machines that they had been getting Morgenroete to develop for them, this one was definitely designed for artillery. With the two long cannon barrels connected to the rear of the suit, makes it kind of obvious. Then, if the information we, the investigation team had gathered was correct, this unit had missile launchers built into the shoulders. Believe this particular unit is designated as the "GAT-X103 Buster" if I recall the reports correctly.

The one to the right of the "Buster", was yet another one of the five 'G-Weapons' as the Alliance officers call them. It looked like one of the two that wasn't built with a specific position or task on the battlefield in mind. But seeing the shoulder coverings on the outside of the arms, it was the very likely the "GAT-X102 Duel". Supposedly, by the reports Alan had acquired; there were different equipment load outs for this and the other General-Purpose unit.

Well, that makes things just peachy! With the fight between the Earth Forces and ZAFT breaking out in front of me, the need to haul my rear and find something to work with and fast was perfectly clear! Entered the main factory and then took the time to scan around the large factory workspace and saw most of the construction floor was a mess and was scattered with large equipment. I'd been here in this place before, not for spying… per say, was volunteering in somethings at the time. Wasting no more time, I began to explore the place to see if there was anything left to use to help in this situation. By the time I reached halfway across the construction floor, I took in that two out of the five Alliance machines were still in their trailers and hadn't been moved out just yet like the other three had. They were a possibility for me to use, but they were a very risky venture to take and use!

Ignoring the two mobile suits in favor of something that would come with less risks to obtain and use. That reasoning, forced me to keep going farther in and it wasn't until I got towards the back of the development floor that I laid my eyes on not one, but two prizes of my search that fit what I was looking for almost perfectly. Two mobile suits were laying in construction docks with scaffolding over them that held a good portion of my attention, for they seemed to be being ignored by ZAFT forces.

Although, taking the time to think about it, I don't remember hearing or seeing these two machines before, which is kind of odd. Even if I've been down here on Morgenroete's development floor a few times… not that anyone really knew that I'd been taking in what was here, but then I'm an intelligence agent among other things I do for a reason, am skilled at it. So, I'm good at not being noticed by others when I'm doing observations. The mobile suit that was the farthest distance from me, appeared to be very similar to one of the Orb Union mobile suit models, the "Astray". Not all that familiar with the suit model really, so I can't say what the differences this one has compared to the regular Astray are.

The suit that was closer to my current position, looked to be to rather similar to the "GAT-X207 Blitz". The machine itself at least appeared to have the same overall design shape, however, there were some differences. First, it didn't share the same equipment as the Blitz, where the Blitz had a shield mounted to its right arm, this suit had it attached to the left. Plus, the shield wasn't the same as the Blitz's either, looked to be like an old fashion tower shield shape, with a 'W' shaped space open at the bottom of the shield. Then the shield was curved inward a bit towards the front of the shield from where I was standing, don't know why. On the right side of the machine, there was a medium length rifle against the right hip covering, decent firepower I would guess. I can't say from where I'm standing with the current lighting here. Then, the suit's back appeared to be shaped differently than the Blitz's specs had shown.

The sound of voices above me, snapped my attention upward and on instinct, I whipped the pistol I had with me up, spinning around to point the gun in the direction of the voices, ready to dive for cover if needed. Yet, to my surprise, on the upper level was Kira, Lacus and the blonde person in the brown coat who had been around Kato's lab earlier. I could also see, that the person in the brown coat was a girl, something I couldn't tell before. But, what are they doing here?!

An explosion from behind me signaled that Morgenroete was open and company was coming in I wouldn't doubt, the unwelcome kind that is. Ran forward towards the stairway that led up to the second floor and raced up them quickly, attempting to get to Kira and those with him before they were noticed by others. Once in earshot, I heard the blonde speaking, "I knew it," she said. "The Earth Alliance's prototype mobile weapons." Caught a glimpse of tears form at the corners of her eyes, "Father, I knew you betrayed us all!" she cried.

Caught movement from below, and upon glancing down I saw that the cry of the blonde had drawn the attention of a green suited ZAFT soldier on the ground level. Looking back, I took in that Kira had noticed the attention that we had gotten and grabbed the blonde, dragging her away as Lacus followed. While he did that I twisted around to point my gun down at the soldier and fired on him, to which he ducked behind equipment on the ground level. I heard Kira yelling, "Crying won't help you! Come on now, run!"

"Kira go! I'll hold them off!" I shouted at my friend.

The ZAFT soldier had reached the same stairwell I used to get up to this level and was coming up, while I ducked into a doorway for defense. I didn't look to see if Kira had gotten both girls away, I was focused on the ZAFT soldier. He had a bigger gun than I do from what I caught sight of and probably has more ammunition, how do I get into these kinds of messes?!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

"Very impressive," muttered Yzak as he got the first prototype to stand up. "Dearka, how about yours?"

"It's great, other than this joke of an OS the Naturals put in it," said Dearka from the cockpit of the second machine. "Update activated. Nerve links reconstructed. Calibrations set. It'll move… not the best, but it'll do for now." As he said that, he moved it into a standing position as well.

"And you Nicol?" asked Yzak.

"Not yet, still working on fixing the OS," said Nicol as he typed away, adjusting the OS settings on the third mobile suit. "It's a mess and that's putting it mildly, but I'm almost there." No sooner had he said that then he finished and his machine stood as well.

"Have we heard from Athrun and Rusty?" asked Dearka. "They're taking their time…"

"Heh, I don't think they'll have any trouble," said Yzak, smiling. "Let's stick with the plan. We'll leave with these three. Let's get them to Commander Le Creuset before they get damaged." With that said, Yzak activated the thrusters on his captured machine and lifted off, Dearka doing the same seconds later.

Nicol frowned, wondering if maybe they should go support Athrun and Rusty. It had been a bit since there was anything heard from them, but he decided that they probably didn't need it. Nicol lifted off as well, following the other two as they headed for the harbor exit.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I knew that the way to win this, would be accuracy. My opponent has a gun that's more powerful, has more bullets per clip and can fire faster than my pistol. I need to make my shots count! A barrage of bullets came my way and I pressed myself further into the alcove I was in to shield my body from the barrage of bullets. Waited for a chance to come for me to shot back, when the sound of clicking was heard, I swung out and aimed my pistol and pulled the trigger. The crack was drowned out in the maelstrom all around, but the sight of the green helmet visor shattering and the man dropping to the walkway, said that I'd hit my mark.

Stored my pistol on my belt and walking forward, flipped the man over and grimacing at the bullet size hole in his forehead. However, I leaned forward and closed his eyes and bow my head as a sign of apology and respect. I dislike killing another when it could be avoided, but wasn't given much other option in this. Snatched up the assault sub-machine gun and the extra clip the soldier had… it would help me more than the soldier now.

Hearing footsteps, I turned around with the machine gun at the ready in one hand and whipped out my pistol in the other. Yet, at seeing Kira and Lacus coming towards me, I lowered the weapons. "I see you dropped off that blonde, I assume in a shelter?" I asked.

Kira nodded in reply, before we made our way down to the development floor and faced the two mobile suits that are still in their docks, "Two other mobile suits…" Kira whispered.

Was in the motions of nodding when suddenly, there was an explosion heard both in front of and to the right of us. The ground shook from the shockwave from the explosion, I grabbed onto consoles that were nearby to keep myself from falling to the floor. While I did that, Kira got ahold of the closest support pillar that supporting the second level walkways that he was next to with his right hand and held Lacus with his left arm. Once the shaking had stopped, I signaled the two to follow me, and we moved to be right next to the two construction docks of the strange mobile suits. Kira looked to me with a look that asked, 'do we really have to do this', though he didn't say vocally. Nevertheless, I decided to give my answer out loud, "If you have a better idea of how to get out of here alive and in one piece, then I would love to hear it. These two mobile suits are the best solution that I can think of right now so, let's do this."

Lacus seemed to be in agreement with me, "Kira…" she whispered, gripping his shirt.

Kira looked back at the gray mobile suit on the right, the one that looks similar to the Orb Astray type suit. He sighed, "We have no choice," he said softly, as much to himself as to her. "Come on Lacus… we'll need to get out of here. And as Tye said, these machines should be able to make that possible."

My friend then turned to me, yet I had already closed the distance between me and the other grey suit on the left and had a hand on a ladder to the catwalks. "I take it that you'll take that mobile suit then Tye?" he asked me, pointing to the machine on the left.

I turned my head and simply nodded, before I began scaling the ladder on the side of the construction dock scaffolding that's used during the building process and for adjustments. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kira helping Lacus up the scaffolding, made their way to the cockpit hatch. I stopped above the open cockpit and watched Kira helped Lacus lower herself into the cockpit before dropping in himself. After observing the two enter the machine, I proceeded without hesitation, to hop over the railing and dropped through the open hatch and into the cockpit. Took the time to adjust myself into the pilot seat as well to buckle the restraints belts and tighten them… don't doubt this would be a bumpy ride!

Scanned the controls, noticing they were somewhat similar to ZAFT mobile suits and Federation machines. Heck the switch to close the hatch was in the same position as it would be in a Federation fighter surprisingly. Flicking the said switch and the entry hatch closed, a light above me came on to at least give some visibility for me to work by. Once the entry hatched closed, two screens moved from the left and right to cover the space that I had used to enter the cockpit. The two screens came together and became one display screen and was the forward optical display for me in this. Pushed a couple of buttons and the OS began to boot up, running through a system check program.

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**

 **/Version NV8 - N099/**

 **G** eneral

 **U** nilateral

 **N** euro - Link

 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic

 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**

 **O.M.N.I. Enforcer**

Looking over the screens in the cockpit and I saw that this mobile suit was called, "OIS-X209 Shadow". … It had a similar system to the one that ZAFT uses at first glance, I thought this was supposed to be new and different. Oh well, the Earth Alliance have always said a lot of things that turn out to be either false or just exaggerated.

Inputting a command to see what made up this operating system this machine has, out of curiosity as much as relevant information now that I'm going to be driving this mobile suit. In all the reports that had been acquired, none of us on the team had seen anything concrete on the OS of the Alliance machine other than it was going to be one that Naturals could use. The overall system functions and tasks list came up on the front display and I could only stare at the screen. Two thoughts came to mind as I looked at this system, first was that it was more than just familiar, this was indeed made from the work Professor Kato had been having Kira and I did for him. The second, just from seeing the functions that the system had and the tasks that were assigned… it's ridiculous and can't be called a working OS!

"What the hell is this?! Does the Earth Alliance seriously think that they can run a complex machine like a mobile suit with a disorganized mess like this?! Now the reason Kato kept coming to Kira and I make sense, yet this is still a piece of crap!" I cried out loud.

I looked around the cockpit and spotted a keyboard and brought it out for me to use. The next minute, I used to see what I was dealing with and was further appalled at the operating system put in this machine. The more that I see of it, the more I understand how screwed the pilot would be that would even try using this! They would be weapon fodder with this piece of junk some call an OS! I mean, for example, the targeting calibration was off, I would question if the weapons this suit has… whatever they are, could hit anything smaller than a small mobile suit carrying ship. The flow of energy from the battery system to the rest of the machine was incredibly wasteful. How this machine was supposed to move efficiently with this OS, I haven't a clue and I'm a Coordinator, a Natural would have a harder time getting this thing to move right. That's just to name a few things wrong with this operating system!

If Professor Kato had told us what his work we assisted him on was going to be used for, it would have been more helpful, but then I would've refused him outright. I sighed and got down to the business of fixing, or rather finishing and rewriting this OS, instead of complaining about how crappy it is. My fingers began flying as they typed on the keyboard, "Okay, to fix this let's start with the targeting calibrations, take them and reset the zero moment point and CPG. Connect the control module to the molecular ion pump to help streamline controls input to system command execution. To help that along and to optimize the system, reconstruct the neural linkage network. Then update the meta-active field for stabilization, feed forward controls to convey functions. Adjust Coriolis deviation, and connect to motion routines. Set energy output to a flow rate starting at 45 to 50% to adjust from there." I muttered to myself as my fingers kept typing on the keyboard and made the changes to the suit's OS. "That should do it, applying system updates, restarting main system!" I muttered to myself.

The operating system fully rebooted and came up, running better and smoother with the updates and changes I made. With that happening, I moved my hands the control sticks, along with my feet on the actuator plates. The screens to my left, right and ahead came up, giving me a panoramic view of the outside the machine. The suits hydraulics hummed into life and there came a screeching of metal being twisted and forced out of position. It was the dock scaffolding being pushed out of the way as the mobile suit began to rise and the orientation of the cockpit began to change as the machine got to its feet.

Once I had the suit was up, I moved the mobile suit around, testing out the changes and how the suit responded to my commands. Used the optics and other sensors to take in the current environment of the inside of the factory and what I saw was rubble, debris and the effects from the chaos of the ZAFT attack. The last two Earth Alliance suits were gone, likely stolen by ZAFT pilots however currently, the front of the factory was now blocked by debris. Glanced behind my current position, and watched as the mobile suit that Kira and Lacus were in, rising out of the dock it was in. Began to try to figure out a way for the three of us to get out of the factory and move forward from there. Began going through the arsenal that I noticed something that I hadn't seen during my previous glance through. The shield with the mobile suit I was piloting, had a railgun build into it and a decently powered one at that.

"Tye, how are we going to get out of this structure with it being in the condition that it is right now?" Kira asked over the radio.

I focused on the task at hand, that being getting out of the factory, "Well Kira, as the phrase goes, 'when you don't see a door, make your own'," I replied, raising the Shadow's shield to have it level with the outer wall of the building. "So, one door coming up!" I stated, before firing the railgun in the shield and the blast ripped through a sizable section of the wall, making a very nice new doorway for us to use.

 **Phase End**

 **A/n**

 **This Phase is less long than it was before, even if it's still fairly long, but that's how it goes. However, I'm much happier with this version as for Phase 1, it goes into better detail and that makes the work on the references that no one else sees but me, worth the time and effort that I put into this. Should there be terms you don't understand, you can go to Gundam wiki as that's where I do a good deal of my research for this story along places connected to it.**

 **Now, as I tend to do, I ask some of you to please take the time write a review and tell me what you think, whether you think this is crap or think it's awesome, I just want to know. This is Blackshadow999 signing off!**

 **These are my official custom mobile suit specs that I'll be sticking to throughout the story. I'll try to stay with the same consistent specs, so you can refer to these. If I add 'packs' or 'sets' I will list them by the machine they go with and then the pack name followed by what equipment comes with it.**

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification** : Prototype Stealth and Infiltration Mobile Suit

 **Model Mumber:** OIS-X209

 **Official Name** : Shadow Gundam

 **Head Height:** head height 18.63 meters

 **Base Weight:** 73.1 metric tons

 **Power-plant:** Ultracompact energy battery

 **Armor:** Phase Shift armor

 **Crew:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **GENERAL DATA**

 **Manufacturer** : Morgenroete Inc.

 **First deployment:** January 25, 71 C.E.

 **Design From** : supposed GAT-X207 Blitz

 **Operator** : Federation Military

 **Known Pilots:** Tyler McGregor

 **Equipment and Features:**

 **Mirage Colloid stealth system**

The Blitz is the first mobile weapon to use the Mirage Colloid stealth system. In this system, a powerful magnetic field is utilized to hold in place microscopic prisms capable of blocking infra-red emission as well as bend visible light and radio waves around an object (e.g.a mobile suit). With the improvements done by the Donnen mechanics, altered heat disbursal from the thrusters and fixing the high consumption rate of energy. Like the Blitz, the Shadow is more vulnerable while the colloid is activated.

 **Long Range Targeting (L.R.T.) scope**

The optical camera has a huge zoom ability which acts like a scope on a long range rifle and is hidden in the right side of the head. In the cockpit, a small screen comes out from behind the pilot seat and sits right in front of the pilot's helmet on the right side.

 **Phase Shift armor**

As with all of the G Project mobile suits, the GAT-X207 Blitz is equipped with Phase Shift armor. When activated, the Blitz's color is changed from a light gray to a bright black scheme with red highlights. Phase Shift armor, when activated, renders the Blitz immune to physical attacks such as bullets, the GINN sword, or against missiles. However, Phase Shift armor continually drains the battery of energy, shortening the mobile suit's combat endurance, and uses up additional energy when it is hit.

 **Echo Trace Emitter**

This system is designed to make the machine equipped disappear from sensors and not show up. As such long-range targeting sensors have a nigh impossible time locking in a unit with the system

 **Armaments:**

 **"Igelstellung" 75mm multi-barrel Anti Air CIWS**

Mounted in the Shadow's Head on either side two "Igelstellung" CIWS guns. These light projectile weapons are used to intercept missiles and to destroy lightly armored vehicles, although it is classified as Anti-Air.

 **Beam Saber**

Stored in a compartment that sits over the right hip joint. It is a close-range combat weapon and can slice through any armor that does not have an anti-beam coating.

 **Optional Armaments** :

 **Default Armaments**

 **Barrier Shield**

An optional piece of equipment designed to increase the Shadow's defensive and offensive capabilities, it is mounted on the left forearm. The shield does not have phase shift armor, so it is not as durable as the Strike's armor, however it also does not drain energy each time it is hit. The shield's major advantage is that it's heavy anti-beam coated and can block or deflect beam weapon attacks, against which phase shift armor is ineffective.

 **Beam Saber**

It is a close-range combat weapon and can slice through any armor that does not have an anti-beam coating. The beam saber is built into the front section of the shield structure and when activated, extends 5' starting at the split at the bottom of the shield.

" **Saruan" 80mm railgun**

Mounted and built into the barrier shield, this weapon uses electromagnetic forces to launch projectiles at targets.

 **65mm High-energy Beam Rifle**

Shadow's primary ranged combat weapon, it can be stored on the side skirt armor. The beam rifle can easily destroy a ZGMF-1017 GINN with one shot, but is mostly ineffective against suits with anti-beam coating. It has an additional handle that can shift to the side, and is often used for extra stability when the Shadow is firing its rifle rapidly.

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Prototype General-Purpose Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** MBF-SA01  
 **Official Name:** Asuka Gundam "Astray Frame"  
 **Head Height:** 17.91 meters  
 **Weight:** 83.64 tons  
 **Power-plant:** 2 x Ultracompact Energy Batteries

 **Armor Material:** Phase Shift armor  
 **Crew:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **GENERAL DATA**

 **Manufacturer:** Morgenroete Inc.

 **Developed Into:** MBF-M1 M1 Astray  
 **First Deployment:** January 25, 71 C.E.

 **Operators:** Human Federation, Orb Union  
 **Known Pilots:** Kira Yamato

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Phase Shift Armor**

As with all of the G Project mobile suits, the GAT-X105 Strike is equipped with phase shift armor. When activated the Strike's color is changed from a light grey to a white scheme with a bit of blue and red mixed in. Phase Shift armor, when activated, renders the Strike immune to physical attacks such as bullets, the GINN sword, or against missiles. However Phase Shift armor continually drains the battery of energy, shortening the mobile suit's combat endurance, and uses up additional energy when it is hit.

 **Astray Flight System**

To increase mobility, the Asuka is fitted with a fixed "flight pack" derived from the GAT-X105 Strike's Aile Striker pack. The flight pack did not provide true flight but it did increase the suit's overall mobility, and allows it to fly for a short period. There is a second battery in the flight system that also extends the phase shift armor to the flight system

 **Hardpoint** (added later)

 **Fixed Armament:**

 **"Igelstellung" 75mm Multi-Barrel CIWS**

The Igelstellung 75mm multi-barrel Close In Weapon System is a pair of head mounted Vulcan guns. These guns are small-caliber shell firing weapons that are designed to shoot down missiles and lightly armored vehicles, but are ineffective against the heavier armor of a mobile suit.

 **Type 70 Beam Saber**

The type 70 beam saber is the standard close quarter weapon for the Asuka, and its equipped with two of them, which are stored on the flight backpack.

 **Handheld Armament:**

 **Type 71 Beam Rifle**

A prototype beam rifle, the type 71 beam rifle is a ranged beam weapon and fires an energy beam that is effective against most targets, such as mobile suits or mobile armor. However, it is less effective against craft that have anti-beam coating.

 **Shield**

As an Astray frame, a physical shield is equipped for defense, it is mounted on the left forearm and/or handheld. This is the same type of shield as used by Strike and Duel suit, so is coded with a layer of anti-beam coating


	2. Phase 2: Collapse

**A/n**

 **This chapter became much longer than I had expected… sorry about that. Anyways, not much else to say other than what I've already said in the previous Phase. So then, on with the story where I left off.**

* * *

Phase 2: Collapse

January 25th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Heliopolis Interior

"Rusty failed," said Athrun over the radio to Miguel Aiman, one of his ZAFT mentors as well as an ace pilot. "I saw the pilot that boarded and they are an Earth Forces officer." Athrun didn't mention that he had tried to kill that said officer, but he'd run out of ammo and tried to finish them off with a combat knife. To his misfortune, the officer still had ammo, and they had used it to put a bullet in his leg.

"What, Rusty is gone?" gasped Miguel before turning his attention to the stumbling gray machine the Earth Forces officer had boarded. Sure, not all of the ZAFT pilots were the best of friends, but that didn't mean that none cared if one of their comrades died. Miguel fired a few rounds from his machine gun at the Alliance suit, yet after watching it stumble and get lucky, he decided to not waste the ammunition. He put his rifle away and pulled out his GINN's sword, "Alright then, I'll capture this machine. Athrun, go ahead and make sure you get yours out of here. Make Rusty's death count for something Athrun."

Athrun, looked around and saw all the people fleeing in panic, and a twinge of guilt went through him. Still, he got down to making some OS modifications to make the mobile suit usable, while Miguel charged at the grey machine ahead of him. The spray of bullets from the suit's guns in the suit's head, were easily evaded with their targeting not properly calibrated. Miguel Swung the GINN sword downward, yet the Alliance machine brought its arms up to block the blade. At the same time, the Alliance machine suddenly shifted color, turning a brilliant white, blue, and red. Where the GINN sword was pushing against the opposing suit, sparks flew off in all directions.

"What the?! What's going on with this armor?" cried Miguel in frustration and surprise.

"The Alliance mobile suits are equipped with a system known as Phase Shift armor," said Athrun as he continued to type away, recalibrating the OS to something that could be control and move with relative confidence and proficiency. "Once it's activated, it renders the GINN sword useless as well as most projectiles." Athrun activated his own phase shift, turning his suit, the Aegis a brilliant red. He then used the Igelstellungs to destroy a few incoming missiles, before taking out the artillery truck that fired at him.

"You've gotta get out of here now," said Miguel, "You can't stick around this place forever or the Naturals will find a way to get the machine you have back."

Athrun nodded, and was just about to leave when there was another explosion that occurred at the front of the main factory structure sending debris flying forward. Then from the smoke and flames came two objects, which quickly became identifiable as mobile suits. Both machines were grey like the other Alliance machines had been without their phase shift armor system active. The one that was slightly in the lead, appeared like the unit that Nicol had been assigned to capture, but had a shield on its left arm rather than the right and a medium length rifle on its right hip. The other suit appeared to be similar to the white and blue one but had a large backpack attached on the rear of the upper section of the suit that had wings. The most noticeable difference though, was both suits were moving in a much less jerky manner than the other Alliance machines.

"Huh? Two more of these new mobile suits?" questioned Miguel as Athrun stared at them in shock. "Damn it… okay, change of plans, Athrun, see if you can subdue the one with the flight system on its back quick, then whichever one of us finishes first goes for the other."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I managed to come to a stop in the forecourt in front of the factory, the major changes I made to the operating system were showing off their effectiveness as the improvement and smooth operation was easy to see now. However, I'm used to working with a Human Federation fighter OS, not a mobile suit like this, not to say I'm a stranger to piloting a mobile suit. The suit was responding with the input I was giving and that's what counts. Maybe not the best it could be yet, in my defense, I'd only minutes to pretty much rewritten the entire OS even if I was somewhat familiar with parts of it, so cut me some slack. On my left, the suit Kira and Lacus was in touching down around ten meters away.

And now that we're out in the open, I took a quick glance around the general area and I didn't like what I was viewing. We were still in the Factory District around Morgenroete and ZAFT has been busy making a mess of things! I switched on the radio and connected to the suit next to me, "Kira, you and Lacus read me?" I asked.

"Yes, we can hear you." Kira replied.

Upon glancing down at the sensor detection display, I noted two things immediately; Kira and I had company and there were still people fleeing from this battle in the area. I focused back on the immediate issues at hand, "Looks like we got incoming, two ZAFT GINNs and one of the stolen Alliance mobile suits."

"What's with the different colors with those two machines, why aren't they grey like ours?" asked Kira.

Shifted my gaze from the stolen Alliance machine which had turned mostly red with a little white yellow and black to the last Alliance suit which was overall white, with red and blue parts around the torso. Saw that Kira was quite right, both suits had changed color, likely due to one of their defense systems, known as Phase Shift Armor.

By what I'm to understand, mostly from what Alan had gleamed from working around Morgenroete, it's one the major features that the Earth Alliance boasts about behind closed doors. The general idea of the system, is to use electricity to reduce damage the suit incurs, at least while power is being provided to the system. It's admittedly quite the achievement with the defense the idea can provide in battle. "My guess is one of the defensive options these units are equipped with. The unit I'm driving has it too, Phase Shift Armor I believe it's called, yours may have the same idea built into it for all we know." I returned.

Scanning the field again, took in the jerky way the white suit was moving… Oh yes, the Alliance calls that mobile suit, the "GAT-X105 Strike" the other general-purpose unit. My educated guess is that the pilot is using the piece of junk that was being passed off as an OS for these machines… which is kind of impressive when you take into account the pathetic state the 'operating system' was in. One of the GINNs was pounding the Strike, while the second GINN was in the air looking over the field, and then the red stolen machine was looking over in our direction. Posture and movement said that the stolen mobile suit, the "GAT-X303 Aegis" had a partly fixed and working OS, assuming that the pilot had done some work on it.

From where Kira, Lacus and I stood, to move forward, we needed to know a few things. I needed to know where Kira stands with the systems in the suit he's piloting is in. Going on from then, we would have to get these mobile suits to go away. "Kira, is the operating system on your unit crap, not really usable, or good enough to work with?" I asked in a slight rush.

"Uh, usable… still needs a little work though." Was my friend's answer.

So… not really usable yet, that's not what I wanted to hear. Oh well, it's what I get to work with, so roll with it! "Then get those fingers of yours typing and make the required changes, I'll hold the GINNs and the red suit at bay while you do." I replied, gripping the controls in my hands.

I honed my attention on the Aegis, the first action I made, was to push the button that activated the Phase Shift armor system for my own suit. I might as well have the best defense I can, the odds are against me when it comes to numbers. Doubt skill level will be against me, since I'm no run of the mill pilot, am very good at when it comes to piloting.

Anyway, my mobile suit's color changed to being black overall with blue on the feet, sides and back of the knee sections, both sides of the torso, and the thruster apparatus on the back of the suit. Then there were red accents at the ankles hip coverings, front vent on the hip section, vents on the chest and the outside of the shoulders. So, this suit is a kind of twin of the Blitz as I had sort of suspected, wonder why someone would build a unit so similar yet not make it a copy?

Shook my head to rid myself of the questions about this machine and focused on the task at hand. Grabbed the beam rifle stored on the right hip with the right hand of the suit, and brought it up along with the shield, to be able to shift it to block incoming shots and counterattack the situation called for. I wasn't about to let the pilot of the Aegis have things easy or their way! ZAFT may not be the ones who laid the groundwork for this situation, but they are certainly not clear and innocent. They brought mobile suits into a colony that's owned by a member nation of the Human Federation, and that goes against a couple of agreements that ZAFT has with the Federation, at least one big one.

Now, there's a fairly noticeable difference between the Shadow and the Blitz, that being the thruster system. Where the Blitz had six thrusters, the Shadow has eight and they're as far as I could tell, more powerful and robust. The top two boosters which were housed on the upper back inside of either should, set in shrouds. They were a little heavier duty than the other six thrusters. Along the center line of the back, was two sets of twin thrusters, one set near the top of the back and the other sat behind where the cockpit is. The last two boosters for this machine, were a little below the top two heavy boosters and pointed outward somewhat, but were able to pivot. In fact, all the thrusters could pivot somewhat to help in directing pushing power that came from the thrusters.

Time to get this situation going in a better direction than it is right now, began doing so by leaning my mobile suit forward, igniting most of the thrusters on the back. That sent me rocketing forward, with the shield set in front, not for defense but for a surface to deliver impact. The funny thing, the Aegis didn't move from its spot and oh… it felt awesome to smash my suit's shield… I guess for the moment, this mobile suit is mine, anyway slam the shield into the upper section of my opponent's mobile suit. Used the momentum, transferring it to the Aegis and sending the machine flying back a good distance, before it righted itself with its own thrusters.

"What the hell?!" Sounded over the field in the form of a demand from the pilot of the Aegis, clearly caught off-guard by my upfront and brute force approach.

…That voice, I swear it sounds kind of familiar, but I can't place where I could have heard it at the moment. Filed the observation in the back of my mind and got my brain back in the fight. Since my opponent has Phase Shift armor, projectiles and just most weapons that aren't beams are pretty much not effective while its going. How unlucky he is that I just happen to have a beam rifle to work with, so I'm not exactly worried about the damage department with hitting him. My concern is that there could still be people around here, fighting would put them in more danger than they already are in. Unfortunately, the choice was made for me as the second GINN dove towards me. Tilted the Shadow's head upward and used its CIWS Igelstellungs meant for interception, which were loaded with ammo that was of the 60mm caliber grade to unload. The bullets found their mark and the GINN was force to veer off its approach at me. Then I pointed my beam rifle at the Aegis which had been closing the distance between us and fired off a round forcing the machine to stop its advance.

A flash of white passed me on the right and I saw Kira's mobile suit fly to the assistance of the

Strike. Apparently, Kira had finished fixing the mobile suit's OS and was entering the fight… naïve as my friend is, he tends to have impeccable timing. "Kira listen, we only need to convince the GINNs and the red one to leave, that doesn't mean we have to kill them." I said seriously.

Aimed on my rifle back at the Aegis again and shot a volley at the red suit, making it jump back and move side to side in order to evade my shots. Within a few minutes, I was able to nail the second GINN and blast off an arm and Kira and forced the other GINN to fallback as well. The Aegis followed the other two mobile suits retreating from the area, but glanced back at us before leaving. Kira and I watched them go, and only when a voice came over the com channel did we snap out of the trance of watching the mobile suits go, "I don't know who either of you are," a female voice said over the radio. "But thank you for the assistance."

The Strike glanced around. "If you don't mind, I would like to speak to you both face-to-face," the pilot said, who was apparently a woman.

With that, the pilot, whoever she was, began moving the Strike rather clumsily over to a nearby park. Although, in the woman's defense, taking into the pre-fixed condition of the OS into account, to get the mobile suit to move at all is quite something. The Strike stumbled just as it entered the park, nearly toppling over. However, Kira suddenly rushed next to her and caught the Strike, carrying it the rest of the way and helped move the suit it into a kneeling position. While that was happening, I maneuvered my mobile suit to be a short distance away from the other two suits and brought it down to a kneeling posture, switching off the phase shift armor to conserve power in the battery. After all, who knows when the opportunity to recharge will come up and doubtless the isn't over.

Unbuckled the restraint belts, before toggling the switch that opened the hatch. Waited for the forward screen to move out of the way, then I came out of the cockpit. Then I used the zip line to descend down to the ground. I glanced over to the other two mobile suits, the Strike turned grey and the hatch in the torso opened. Kira meanwhile, maneuvered the Astray like suit to be beside the Strike and then knelt it down. After kneeling, the hatch opened, Kira and Lacus stepped out into the fresh air. Looking back to the Strike, I saw that a woman in an orange jump suit climbing out of the Alliance mobile suit. She had shoulder length brown hair and from what I could see, her eyes were brown and she was shorter than me, but a couple of inches. I've seen a few of the Earth Alliance officers here, but can't say I've seen this woman, at least I can't recall her face.

The female Earth Forces officer gained an expression of shock and surprise at seeing Kira, Lacus and myself. But then, doubt she would have expected people our ages to be the ones driving machines like these. The expression didn't last all that long, before she waved over to us, "You three!" she called making her way towards us. "Thanks for your assistance."

Kira nodded, Lacus smile, while I gave a lose salute, which were I to give to one of my superiors, I would be in trouble for disrespect! But then again, I'm known for not giving a lot of respect to others until they've earned that respect. Yet, back to the present, let my gaze scan around the immediate area and most of the friendliness I was showing faded and I felt much less inclined to be nice. The factory district was a mess with rubble all over the place… when it comes to write the report on this incident, it's going to SUCK! And I'll probably be responsible for writing that report for this as leader of the Federation investigation team… fan-freaking-tastic! How, I wonder could things get more complicated than they are now?

"Kira!" came a voice I had heard earlier.

We all spun around and saw a group of teenagers that Kira and I knew as they were our friends and they were running over to us. I had to ask… well, it does answer my unsaid question, this will be a very long day, I feel it! Tolle was in the lead of our four friends, but the sound of something collapsing to the ground brought my attention back to the three behind me. Turning around I found the Earth Forces Officer had fallen to the ground and her left shoulder was red with blood.

"What's going on? What were you three doing in these two mobile suits anyway?" Tolle asked.

"Lacus and I got stuck in the factory," said Kira. "We came across Tye and then found these two mobile suits, and decided to use it to escape."

"Uh, not to interrupt your catch-up session, but this woman needs medical attention if her shoulder, which is bleeding is anything to go by," I said flatly with a little emotion.

My comment had the desired effect and we carried the woman over to a bench and set her down softly. Miriallia did the dressing on the shoulder of this woman and Lacus was checking the lady over. Tolle and Kuzzey climbed up to the cockpit of the Strike and Tolle clambered in, while Kuzzey watched and Kira kept an eye on them both. As there was work to be done and I tend to be one of the more responsible ones in the group, I grabbed Sai, then he and I went to gather some supplies as well as check on the status of the colony.

After I access a colony console, I checked on the status of the colony, mostly to assess the current damage of Heliopolis. To say Heliopolis had come on bad times, just wouldn't deliver the picture accurately at all. The resource colony had taken a serious beating and I don't think it'll be able to handle all that much more. Hell, her construction was being put through a situation more rigorous than the tests she had passed to be considered safe. The threat level had gone up to 7, so the shelters would be locked down, even if any of us could get to one of them, unlikely would be able to get in at this point. Things were certainly not looking good for those of us stuck out in the colony… and I don't think this situation is done with its descent into hell just yet.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Vesalius, near Heliopolis

"Commander, Rusty… failed," came Athrun's voice over the radio, a tone of pain audible, "An Earth Force's officer boarded the last prototype. Miguel was attempting to capture it when two more machines appeared."

"Two more machines, you say?" questioned Le Creuset, they hadn't heard of this in anyway.

"Yes sir," toned in Miguel. "I thought that Athrun and I could handle them, so told Athrun to deal with one of them and then whoever got done would seize other. However, both the mobile suits were moving very differently. Athrun and I believe they probably had completed OSs. The other issue was the prototypes have some kind of armor that rendered my weapons useless, so we felt it was prudent that we both withdraw."

"Understood," said Le Creuset. "Your decision was sound and wise under the change in circumstances. Both of you are to come back to the ship, Athrun, make sure the captured unit is ready for data extraction. I want everyone else to withdraw for the time being and begin resupply. I'll head out myself to deal with the final Alliance mobile suit, and then investigate these… unexpected machines." Le Creuset then got up from his chair and headed to the hanger of the ship.

 **-Line Break-**

Outside of Heliopolis

Lieutenant La Flaga was flying around the battlefield outside of the colony, fighting a GINN. He managed to do damage to a leg, but it wasn't critical enough to lead to the destruction of the mobile suit. Major McAlester was a distance away fighting off another GINN and was holding her own for now. As far as either could tell, they were all that was left of the defending forces for this colony or what was inside it. But, as Lieutenant La Flaga watched, the GINN he had been fighting backed off and went back in the direction of the ZAFT vessels. It was then he saw three bright flares in the same direction the GINN had headed in, a signal from one of the enemy vessels perhaps? "They're retreating? At this point? Something isn't right about this, there's still something…" he muttered to himself.

"Mu, are you okay?" came Major McAlester's voice over the com-channel.

"Yeah Krystal, I'm fine for now, but it looks like we're all that's left." Replied Mu La Flaga.

"Am well aware of that Mu. Luke and Gail getting shot down and then the ship crashing into the colony… this is unreal. Yet, any idea why ZAFT just suddenly retreated? It isn't like them to do normally," Krystal said.

Mu knew that Krystal was right this was odd for ZAFT forces to do, they had been winning, yet they were retreating. Then out of nowhere, a strange feeling came over Mu La Flaga, as if there was someone watching him and coming closer. He turned his mobile armor around and began flying towards whatever it was causing this odd unknown feeling in him.

At the same time, Rau Le Creuset was himself in a ZAFT CGUE-type mobile suit, making his way towards Heliopolis. "Can you sense my presence Mu La Flaga, just as I can sense yours? An unfortunate fate, wouldn't you say, Mu La Flaga? But, to whom is this twist the more unfortunate? You, Mu La Flaga or me?" Le Creuset mused.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis Colony Interior, Factory District

After Sai and I finished gathering the immediate supplies that all of us needed, the two of us headed back to the park where the rest of our group was. The female Alliance officer was still out cold, probably from the blood she lost from being shot in the shoulder and not stopping the bleeding as quickly as possible. After dropping the supplies, Sai walked over to the Strike and began to chastised Tolle for goofing off. Meanwhile, I walked over to Kira who was sitting on a bench, appearing to be in deep thought. Put a hand on his shoulder and gave a weak smile, "You doing okay Kira?" I asked, real worry evident… rare as it is with me.

My friend nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so… just a lot to take in." he answered.

I snickered a bit, "Ain't that the truth Kira," I replied putting an arm on Kira's shoulder.

A moan got Kira and me to look over to the bench on the left, where the Alliance woman was waking up. Kira briskly made his way over to the bench, where as I sat down on the bench nearest to me and grabbed the assault sub-machine gun I'd taken from the ZAFT soldier and began inspecting it to make sure it was working right. My pistol was fine as I kept it in good working order. Hey, you never know when you might need a gun to defend yourself, especially during these uncertain days!

Since, if memory serves me right, a good portion of the Earth Forces soldiers and officers didn't think highly of those who were citizens of neutral nations including the Federation member nations, at least not of those I've met. They tend to think that we all should be involved in the war of Naturals vs Coordinators and are adamant about that view. Although I wasn't over around the bench or around the Strike, I was listening to the conversation very carefully. "You're with the Alliance," said Kira as a statement of fact.

Glancing over for a moment at the woman and seeing her thinking, "Yes," she said.

At least she isn't denying the facts, it was clear when you look at recent events. I lowered the sub-machine gun out of sight, hoping that using it wouldn't be necessary and twisted to watch the group at a distance. The woman was looking all of us over, even me. As we aren't part of the Earth Alliance, and we've seen what they would consider a military secret, some policies might come into play, I can't say. However, these mobile suits ain't so secret anymore and likely will never be again, for several reasons. I would defend my friends here however I needed to, and would even bring up the crimes committed here if that's what was required.

The woman sighed, "We never wanted Heliopolis to get involved… at least, not like this."

Tolle gained a look of incredulity, "Give me a break! Kind of too late to say things like that now, isn't it?" he muttered.

"We just wanted Morgenroete to help us build the prototype suits and our ship, before we left quietly, but," the woman said, before looking around, then letting out a sigh.

With my current inclination to be… well, none too friendly and a bit antagonistic right now, I decided to say my thoughts. "Well, we can all clearly see the results of your intentions, now can't we," I spoke a tad coldly, but it was clear that everyone heard me.

There was an awkward silence as everyone looked over to me, before I exhaled at the truth of the comment I just made, but said nothing. The woman looked over us all again, "Listen, you've all seen something that you shouldn't have, yet you all appear to be good kids, so…"

I snorted loudly, gaining everyone's attentions again, "Are you about to say, go find a shelter?" I asked flatly.

"We haven't been able too," said Miriallia, "Everywhere we've managed to reach so far has been full."

"Plus, with what crap that has gone down, all shelters have been locked down due to the heighten threat level to the colony. So, we're stuck in this crapshoot due to the actions of you and your colleagues, thank you very much," I remarked in the toneless voice I'd been using, now having gained a deadpanned expression.

"I see…" said the woman uncertainly. "Well… I guess we'll just have to stick together for now."

She glanced between the two mobile suits Kira and I had piloted, while the rest of us stared at her. I'd to admit, this woman was a different kind of Earth Forces officer than I'd been around for a while. She wasn't holding us hostage, since we've seen things 'that we shouldn't have'. Not that she could, for I still had the sub-machine gun in my right hand, the safety was on, but I had a finger on the trigger. "We'll probably need to rely on these things for the time being. I'm guessing we can't recharge the battery on the ones you have, but the one I have, the Strike, can be recharged with external power, which there should be one in one of the trailers that went with them. If we can retrieve one of those, then we can recharge the Strike in case we're attacked again. Meanwhile, we can try to call for assistance, while looking for the trailer."

"Calling who?" asked Kira, shifting just slightly between the female officer and Lacus, but only Sai, Lacus and myself took notice of his nervousness.

"Under the circumstances, the Earth Alliance may be our best bet," said the woman.

"I see…" said Kira softly.

A snorted escaped me again, "If you say so, that's if any are still alive right now. With everything that happened recently, who knows?" I muttered somewhat bitterly.

"Excuse me ma'am, but who are you?" asked Lacus suddenly.

The woman blinked, apparently, she has just realized that she hasn't introduced herself to us. "Murrue Ramius, a lieutenant in the Earth Forces," she returned, "And yourselves?"

"I'm Kuzzey Buskirk," answered Kuzzey.

Sai was next for introductions, "Sai Argyle."

Tolle, who was standing next to Miriallia spoke next, "Tolle Koenig,"

"Miriallia Haw," she replied.

Miss Ramius's eyes went to Kira and Lacus, "Kira Yamato," said Kira, supplying his last name to her.

"Lacus Don," answered Lacus.

Miss Ramius then turned to me, I sighed cleared my head and wiped my face of the non-nice emotions, "Tyler McGregor."

It wasn't my real name, but an alias that I used as my last name is kind of well known. But because of my father having been a fairly famous professor and scientist even after… his death. Then, my mother being in politics within the Federation, specifically for my homeland, the Republic of East Asia plays a part as well. So, I don't use my real name often to avoid unneeded attention from others. My friends here don't know my real name yet, Kira and Lacus do and they understand that I've my reasons for doing so.

Miss Ramius nodded slightly, "Well, unfortunately, for the time being, I can't really let any of you out of my sight. Since you have witnessed a classified military project, it's how it has to be. Once the proper authorities are informed, they can decide what will happen to you all, but until then, we'll need to stay together. Please don't take it personally," she said.

…The hell she can do that to me, or any of us here, I'll make sure of that should it come down to such things. One look at our group, told me they weren't interested in being baby sat any more than I was. "What kind of lame excuse is that?" exclaimed Tolle.

"In case you haven't noticed ma'am, we're citizens of Heliopolis, as such we're neutral," said Sai. "We have nothing to do with the military or anything associated with it!"

Technically, I can't claim such a reason, like my friends can, as a soldier in the Federation Military, my standing is different, but that's not the point at the moment. I gripped the sub-machine gun in my right hand, ready to whip it up and use it, should the need arise. "Besides, what is the Earth Alliance doing here in Heliopolis in the first place? Even that doesn't make any sense," remarked Tolle.

If only he knew… there's a story to how all of this developed. I may not know everything involved, but I know enough. Before the Orb Union became a member nation of the Federation, someone in their government, I don't know who, made a deal with a part of the Earth Alliance, the Atlantic Federation. The deal was for development with mobile suits and their ship for the Alliance, while Orb got to keep the data that was gleamed.

"You said it Tolle," piped up Kuzzey. "I mean, isn't that how all this started?"

Glanced over at Miss Ramius, saw that she was having the mix of regret, but also anger… I'm not liking this development one bit. "Quiet down, all of you! You kids haven't a clue, do you?" she growled in anger. Readied myself to raise one of the guns I had, both if necessary, but Murrue Ramius continued before I did, "You keep insisting that you're neutral and aren't involved, but can you really distance yourself from what's happening? You don't really seriously believe that's possible, do you? The Earth Alliance's most vital secret was here and you people have seen it. That's the reality and you'll just have to deal with it!"

Got to say, this woman gives a hell of a first impression, I'll give her that! "A little harsh don't you think?" asked Sai.

"Harsh it may be, but the reality is that we're in a war, between the Earth and that PLANTs, Naturals vs Coordinators." Returned Miss Ramius saying what she had as it was obvious.

I couldn't hold back any longer in this and so, I began to clap. Everyone turned to me, still sitting on a bench, "Have to say, quite a speech you gave there, Miss Ramius, very rousing," I took a breath and my face lost all emotion, "as rousing as it was extremely boring. So black and white in your view point, wouldn't you say?" my gazed met Murrue Ramius's, "But then, that's how your whole war came about, isn't it?"

She had a look of defiance as she stared back, "What do you mean by that, Tyler McGregor?" she asked.

I shrugged, "Merely pointing out the fact, that not all share the same view as you or the Earth Alliance have. Not everyone sees that all Coordinators as enemies of Naturals and vice versa, a fact that many in the Earth Alliance never seem to understand or accept."

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Outside of Heliopolis

Mu and Krystal were cruising around searching for any sign of there being something wrong, for what exactly, neither knew. Mu's odd feeling of being watched, was one that he couldn't explain with words. Still, they had split up when they had gotten close to the colony structure itself, Krystal taking the left side and Mu the right. Mu was getting increasingly on edge as the silence of space kept up, that's until the second Mu felt the urge to move and he noticed a CGUE-type ZAFT mobile suit coming out from behind one of the colony spars. He threw the throttle forward and sped up to avoid getting shot down by the enemy. "Bastard! That's you Rau Le Creuset, isn't it?!" Mu shouted over an open com-line.

Dodging the incoming shots, Mu deployed two of his mobile armor's gunbarrels to counter his opponent. While he did that, Mu weaved out of the gunfire from the enemy mobile suit, hoping that Krystal was on her way.

"You always seem to get in my way, Mu La Flaga! Although, I would imagine you would probably say much the same about me," replied the voice of Le Creuset

The white mobile suit was forced to move out of the course it had set to attack the red mobile armor as weapon fire came at it from a different direction. Le Creuset spotted the blue zero armor flying at him and moved out of the way, before diving into the colony dock entrance.

"Damn it! Creuset has gone into Heliopolis!" Mu cursed.

"Then that's all the more reason to go after him Mu," Krystal shot back.

"Yeah, but be careful, this guy doesn't fight fair if he doesn't have to," warned Mu. Then piloted his red zero into the colony dock with the blue zero close behind him.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis Interior, Factory District

Well… my opinion, valid as it is, was ignored, like it is a portion of the time. I tell you, days like this one are never fun and cause me stress like no other. Anyways, Kira got into the suit that he had been piloting, the orb suit, and had attempted and failed, to contact any Earth Forces still remaining. He tried the same with the Strike with unfortunately, the same results. However, with both suits along with mine low on power, none of them could cut through the interference that ZAFT N-Jammers were putting out. So then, with that failure out of the way, plan 'B' was called for. Said plan was for Sai and the others going to find and retrieve the trailer that held what Miss Ramius called "Striker packs". She explained that the were sets of optional equipment for the Strike to attach, one of had an extra battery.

While our friends were out getting the trailer, Kira and I took the time to improve and tweak the OSs of the mobile suits. Along with the adjustments, we learned more about them, it was something to do and to have time doing nothing isn't healthy in the current situation.

After delving into the Shadow's system, it was clear that whomever designed it had also been involved with the construction of the X207 Blitz. The other thing, there was other things I saw that made me think that there might have been someone that had an understanding of Federation technology, but I could be seeing things. Back to the feature of interest in this machine so far, the Mirage Colloid stealth system. It was a system that the Shadow and the Blitz had exclusively within the Alliance prototypes. The system was comparable to the Federation's stealth technology and systems, at least it's a step in the direction of what the federation employs.

Once Kira and I got together and exchanged information that we had learned, the unit my friend had used was apparently the first in a series of mobile suits being developed by Orb. It was using the same technology as the Earth Alliance machines and was named Asuka. Yet, there were differences between what the Alliance had come with and what the Asuka used. For one, the Asuka had two batteries built in, one in the suit, the other contained within the backpack, which was called the Astray Flight System that was hardwired directly into it. This made it so, the Phase Shift would extend to the backpack as well as the mobile suit itself.

It didn't take us long into our exchange of information, for us to agree that we shouldn't bring up what we had learned with just anyone, specifically Miss Ramius until further notice. From what I could see, she didn't know about either mobile suit even had existed. That told me that they were unlikely part of the Earth Forces' prototype mobile suit series. If that's the case, why were they here and who had been responsible for their design and construction?

The current issue, was that the Shadow and the Asuka were both at less than half power or so and really needed to be recharged in the near future. Kira in the meantime, was able to convince Miss Ramius to allow him to 'improve' the Strike's OS. She said the operating system was incomplete, but that doesn't change the fact that it was junk that was thrown together by those who have little idea how an OS is supposed to work. Really, Kira just made it usable from the crappy mess that the system was so that it worked decently.

Although, it was clear to me from just looked at my friend, that Kira wasn't interested in fighting anytime soon again. Yet like me, he wasn't one to be idle at times of stress like this. I was lending Kira a hand with the OS and just general stuff. Believe Kira was starting to figure out that I already knew information about this machine as I was pointing out things that would have escaped his notice. But, when a quiet voice came up to us, it forced us to pause, "Kira?" came a soft voice. Kira and I looked up to see Lacus having used the zip-line and was now right outside the cockpit. "Do you think we'll be attacked again?"

Kira sighed and nodded, while I looked away yet also nodded, "Unfortunately Lacus, with the one Alliance mobile suit here, I high doubt ZAFT will just let things be, especially after attacking a neutral colony. They're already in trouble and so until someone makes them account for that, it's going to keep happening, that's how I see it at least." I said in a pained tone.

"I would have to agree with Tye, with the two GINNs and the red suit that got away," Kira paused for a moment, "After all the trouble they've gone through… well, do you honestly expect them to just leave these last three machines alone?"

Lacus frowned, but nodded to our reasoning, "No, not with them being the Le Creuset Team," she said quietly, so no one but Kira and myself could hear her.

I blinked, "Le Creuset… as in the ZAFT commander that has a huge reputation for ignoring rules and justifying his actions after waving off standing agreements, which are questionable to begin with, that Rau Le Creuset?" I asked.

Lacus nodded the affirmative, "He's the only one who would've done something like this. My father wouldn't have allowed this level of attack to befall a neutral colony, nor many other members of the Supreme Council."

My shoulders slumped dejectedly, "Great, we have to be facing one of the few ZAFT commanders that there's nothing too low for him to commit and the rules mean nothing to him. That makes things more difficult for all of us here," I breathed out.

"Yeah," Kira said in agreement, "Hard to believe that Athrun's father might be the one that authorized this. After what happened with Junius Seven, he wasn't the same after losing his wife. But still… this," Kira stopped and looked at me apologetically.

Waved a hand at him, "Don't worry about bringing up bad memories Kira. Nonetheless, I can understand where the man is coming from, even if I don't agree with the reasoning he uses. I think he sometimes forgets that he isn't the only one to lose loved ones in the Bloody Valentine incident. But, killing to get back at those who killed doesn't change anything, only makes things worse." I mumbled quietly.

Kira paused in his work as his hands clenched slightly. "Damn it… I hate war."

Lacus smiled slightly, "That's because you are you," she said, "and don't you ever forget it."

Kira smiled back in response as I did, "She's right, and I totally agree with you Kira 100%, war sucks."

It was then the sound of a truck was heard and the sight of a large truck with Sai and Kuzzey in the driver's cab. Tolle and Miriallia were in a jeep that was rolling alongside of the trailer and when I looked at Miss Ramius, the expression said that the trailer was the correct one. The large trailer was parked next the mobile suit we were in. Kira moved the Strike as the trailer was 'opened' and was changed to being able to attach equipment. All of us set to work attaching the Striker pack to the hardpoint on the machine's back, during which I happened to hear Miss Ramius muttering, "This would be faster on the Archangel."

"Archangel?" questioned Lacus, but Miss Ramius didn't answer her, even though she heard Lacus.

Since the female Earth Forces officer wasn't looking like she would answer Lacus, figured that I would. "The Archangel, would be the new Alliance ship of a new class that was built here at Morgenroete and was supposed to work with the prototype mobile suits," I remarked flatly.

Miss Ramius spun around and stared at me incredulously, likely because she wouldn't expect me to know about the ship. It's through the investigation here on Heliopolis, the team and I had learned a good amount about this "G-Project" and what it involved. Sai was scratching his head, "So how do you know that Tye?" he asked.

I shrugged, "The journalist I've been working with for the last few months happened to get some gossip on the subject. They were having me do research on it and some of the workers at Morgenroete mentioned it." I replied with the excuse I had come up with a while ago.

The sound beeping from the com-link, drew my attention and I walked a way off from everyone activated the device, "This is Tyler, what do you got?" I asked.

"Tyler, a commander type CGUE just flew into the dock, while the rest of the GINNs were retreating. This one came from out of nowhere, best we could do, sorry! Also, two mobile armors, Moebius Zero types that were following closely behind the ZAFT suit! Watch yourself in there with them coming your way!" said Lisa in a worried tone.

DANG! If it's not one thing causing problems, something else comes along to do the job. For the incoming to be a CGUE suit, infers that the pilot isn't a novice. This isn't good, especially not right now, dare I ask what else can go wrong that would make this situation worse?! I whipped around to face the rest of the group, "Kira! We got incoming! Everyone else RUN!" I shouted.

I received confused looks however, before any could question me, a hole was blown in the central shaft. That drew everyone's eyes up in shock as a silver-gray CGUE mobile suit flew out, pursued by a red and a blue Moebius Zero type mobile armors. The mobile armors were in combat with the CGUE, but it was obvious that the pilot of the ZAFT suit was better than the mobile armor pilots.

In the meantime, I ran over to the Shadow and went up the zip line to the cockpit, got in quickly. Once strapped in the pilot chair, I activated the suit and closed the hatch and the forward screens slid into place. Noting that I'd less than half power in the battery at the moment, hope it'll be enough! The Shadow rose to its feet and looking up, I observed that the fight between the armors and mobile suit, was still going strong. The three tussled briefly, until the CGUE severed the red armor's forward gun and scored a hit on the underside of the blue armor, effectively putting both machines out of commission. The CGUE turned to face the Strike, I shot forward to put myself between the Strike and the ZAFT suit.

The ZAFT suit pointed it shield on its left arm at me, said shield had a machine gun mounted to the underside. I raised my shield in time to intercept the incoming bullets, blocking as I hadn't turned on the phase shift armor. Then I sent a barrage from my Igelstellungs, which had the desired result and the CGUE veered and flew back a bit. "Kira, get that equipment on the Strike, I'm going to run out of power soon!" I said over the radio.

I put the petal to the metal and leapt up at the ZAFT mobile suit, my shield set ahead. The CGUE fired off some rounds from its gun, that pounded my shield, but didn't deter me. When I got within range of the opposing suit, I ignited the beam saber that was built into my shield. A pink line of energy appeared, starting from the gap at the bottom of my shield and extended out five feet. Gave a forward sweep with my beam saber and managed to cut off the shield on the CGUE's left arm at where it was attached to the mobile. Gravity pulled me down and I sank downward to the ground after disabling at least one weapon the CGUE had. Landed a little hard as I was using as little power as I needed to as the battery was running low now. To further conserve more energy, but I still kept my sites on the CGUE.

The ZAFT suit adjusted its flight path and went once again for the Strike. Looking over at the mobile suit, I observed the Strike rising up and activating the phase shift armor. Yet before, the fight between the Strike and the CGUE could begin, the entire colony shook hard for a second time as it did when this horrible situation began. Upon gazing towards an explosion around a section near the secondary harbor was blown out… and from the smoke, a massive, white warship flew into the colony.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis Interior

I stared at the white warship, it was the one the Alliance had been building here and was supposed to carry the mobile suits that all but one had been stolen. It's named the Archangel as it's the first of its class. I'd looked at the basic specs that Alan had acquired a little while ago and it wasn't a bad ship, but with the ones in control of it… I can't say how things will go. Now, if things go by the recent track record, then those who are with the Earth Forces that are controlling the ship, they'll stick their noses where they shouldn't and make things harder for everyone around them, including themselves.

Thus far, that's what's been happening, the Earth Forces or Earth Alliance who they are a part of, shouldn't be here without permission in the first place. They shouldn't be using Morgenroete for their military development and that's just to start. Those two actions violate treaties that the Earth Alliance has with the Federation, since the Orb Union is a member of the Human Federation. Depending on what kind of arsenal that ship has to work with, things could go south REALLY fast!

Didn't have to wait long to see how things could become worse, for the CGUE suit turned its attention on the Archangel and opened fire. Whoever the pilot of the CGUE is, did missed the ship, those on the warship decided to fire missiles from its stern in response. …And so, resumes the poor decision-making ability of the Earth Alliance personnel!

The ZAFT machine flew backward as the missiles followed them, the issue, the CGUE went towards the colony's shaft. If that shaft takes enough damage… Heliopolis will collapse, literally come apart if that shaft goes! As that was something I don't want to happen, I leapt up and shot at the missiles in the attempt to intercept them, couldn't care less what happens to the CGUE or its pilot anymore, saving the colony is my task right now! I managed to destroy three out of the four missiles fired, but that last damage two support cables… severing them from their mountings to the shaft. One cable fell and crashed down to the ground making the mess on the commercial district to become worse.

The other cable fell towards the factory district, and as I calculated the path… and I found it would be around where my friends were right now! Moved the Shadow that way and activated its phase shift armor, in preparation for unforeseen complications.

"No, Guys!" Kira's voice came over the com channel.

I just barely managed to get in front of our friends and raised the Shadow's arms, thereby, I was able to block the falling cable. Shifted the heavy things to the side and out of the way of possible crushing those I'd saved.

"Damn it! This is a neutral colony, not a battlefield!" shouted Kira.

Not that I don't agree with my friend, but he sounded desperate and frustrated… rarely if ever a good combination. Heliopolis won't be able to take this kind of abuse for long, hell the colony had already taken more than she should… a testament of how well built this colony is! Looking over in the Strike's direction and saw the long green cannon shift from the back to a firing position. Now I'm wondering just how much power that weapon can put out… Never had gotten information on the full arsenal of the two General Purpose machines. Nevertheless, I'm getting a really BAD feeling about this, "Um Kira, maybe you should take a moment to…" I began saying, yet I was interrupted.

Before I could warn Kira to think about what that cannon could do, the easily 250mm or higher cannon let lose a powerful plasma beam that made my jaw go slack. The beam didn't score a direct hit, cause if it had, then there would be no more ZAFT mobile suit there, but it got nicked and lost the arm that hadn't had the shield. Kind of wish the suit had been nailed, then it might have been worth what came next. For what happened after that beam nicked the ZAFT suit … it didn't stop, but continued on in its path and collided into the colony wall. The beam ripped a good size hole, probably close to hundred-yard diameter in the colony structure from what I could estimate. "Wh… what kind of power is this?" questioned Kira with a tone of horror in his voice.

My mouth was open slightly. To think the Alliance had come up with a weapon that was that size and had that kind of firepower! A quick glance at those still around the trailer, showed me that the feeling of horror was mutual among us all. Miss Ramius also looked to be feeling regret, or I could just be seeing things at this distance. Turning back to search for the CGUE, I spotted it as it left Heliopolis through the hole that was just made. The sound of my Federation com-link beeping snapped me out of the stooper that the cannon firing had put me in. Putting my right pointer finger to my ear again to activate the com, "This is Tyler, everyone okay out there?"

"Yes, I'm good, though whatever weapon just made a large hole in the colony wall, certainly got me to jump. Knight, Lascy, what's your status?" replied Lisa.

"No need to worry about me chaps, it'll take more than what ZAFT or the Alliance can throw our way to take this gentleman down." Answered Alan.

"I'm alive mates. So, what's goin on in there Tyler? Certainly not like ya to make a hole like Lisa is describing," said Luke.

I let out a sigh, "Trust me when I say it's complicated however, simply put, Earth Alliance equipment is being used to show their lack of understanding of consequences of high powered guns." I returned in a flat voice.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Vesalius, Outside Heliopolis

Athrun was typing away at the Aegis's keyboard, though his mind kept going back to the two machines that had appeared during the fight with the last machine, the one that an Earth Forces officer had boarded. Those two machines had been different than any of the other mobile suits that the team had been there to take.

The intelligence reports that Commander Le Creuset was working from had only revealed to them the existence of five machines. So then, where had those two others come from, and why hadn't they been noticed by those who had gotten the intel? That's before the far more worrisome fact of the performance of those two machines, they seemed to be equipped with a full working Natural-use OS! Were that system to reached the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base or the JOSH-A base at Alaska on Earth, then the Earth Alliance would be able to produce operable mobile suits… which they'd no doubt would mass produce them and use them as quickly as possible. That meant nothing but trouble for ZAFT and any that would go against them.

There had been rumors that the Federation military was supposed to have a Natural-use OS and had mobile suits equipped with the OS. Yet, there had never been proof of either idea obtained by intelligence agents. If they did have both, then the Federation hadn't shared the technology with the Earth Alliance, which was a good thing for both ZAFT and the Federation. It was no secret that the Earth Alliance disliked the fact that the Human Federation hadn't helped them in their war against ZAFT, but kept firmly neutral. Then as the Federation didn't share their weapon developments with the Alliance either, strengthened the dislike of the Alliance. Whereas the Federation had shared some scientific data with ZAFT, but nothing to do with weapon's development. Then the pilot of the black machine, they had been skilled! How could the Earth Forces have someone like that at their disposal and ZAFT not have known about it?!

"Commander Le Creuset is returning," came a voice over the PA, which caused Athrun to come out of his thoughts and glancing up from the controls of the Aegis, "Damage sustained from two direct hits. Firefighting and rescue squads to B deck."

The second part of the announcement caught Athrun's full attention. Commander Le Creuset had taken not one hit, but two from going into the colony?! Yes, when it had been Miguel, Matthew and Athrun himself fighting the last of the known Alliance machine, it had been fine. Then had come along with those two unknown suits, and their pilots had caught them by surprise. For them to be able to pilot well enough to force Commander Le Creuset, who was an accomplished pilot, to retreat back to the ship with damage. Perhaps there was more to those machines and their pilots than any had thought. Seconds later, the CGUE entered the hangar, flying backwards, and was stopped by the deceleration cables in the hangar.

"His unit has lost an arm and the shield?" said a mechanic just outside of the Aegis, voice filled with disbelief.

Upon hearing that, Athrun maneuvered himself out of the Aegis's cockpit to get a better view of what had happened to the Commander. He could only stare at the machine, the damage the CGUE had taken as crew members began the process of cooling the armor down. The right arm of the suit was gone, shot cleanly off plus, the shield had been taken off where it mounted to the suit's arm. The question as to what kind of weapon could've done that was being asked, but there wasn't an answer to the question at this point.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Heliopolis Interior, Factory District

After the CGUE had tucked tail and ran, Kira had positioned the Strike in a kneeling stance, which when he did Miss Ramius climbed on board, probably to use the radio request the Archangel to land and open some part of it up, so that we can could board. Hopefully, when that ship does land, these three mobile suits can get on and get their batteries charged.

ZAFT is more likely now to come back after the display from the Strike, either capture the Strike and the other two machines or destroy them all. Once the ship had landed, Kira positioned the Strike's left hand down on the ground to offer some of our friends a ride; Lacus, Miriallia and Miss Ramius hopped into the hand. I moved forward a few steps and maneuvered the Shadow into a kneeling posture, opened the cockpit hatch and stretched out the right hand to Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey, who got on. "Lucky for you three, I'm such a nice guy no? Giving you a ride to the ship just like Kira is doing for the ladies," I said.

"Thank you Tyler," replied Sai.

"Yeah, you're awesome!" added Tolle.

"I'm aware that I am Tolle, though nice to be reminded of that every now and again," I returned, before making the Shadow rise and move towards the Alliance ship.

On the right leg like section of the Archangel, a part opened up and from what I could see, was the launching catapult for the ship. Probably something the same or similar on the left leg of this Alliance ship. Kira and I moved our machines into the ship and put down our passengers gently to the deck. As we did, a group of people, some with Earth Forces uniforms, some in jumpsuits and others in military combat wear and holding guns came jogging up to us.

"Lieutenant Ramius!" called a black-haired woman at the front of the group, her voice sounding relieved.

…Perhaps a surviving ship officer? Alan had been sure about the mess at the dock… hmm might as well ask him. I turned on the Federation com in my right ear, "Alan, when you saw the mess at the dock, you didn't happen to see anyone dressed in anything that makes up an Alliance uniforms did you?" I asked.

"As it happens old boy, I saw a number of bodies that I believe were wearing Alliance uniforms… many of them around what I think was the control booth before the explosion as I recall, why are you asking chap?" replied Alan.

"Because I do believe I'm looking at what's left of the Alliance ship's officers and crew." I said before I disconnected from the channel.

Saw that Miss Ramius was looking over at the woman that had just hailed her. An alarm went off in the cockpit and after glancing around for the reason it would be going off, I saw a screen saying that the battery had 10% power remaining. I quickly shut down the mobile suit to conserve what power there still was, the forward screen split apart and the two sections moved to either side, leaving the way to the opening hatch clear. While I used the zip line to descend to the deck, I scanned what was likely left of this ship's crew.

The one who had spoken to the lieutenant, had black hair which was short, only to her ears and her eyes were a light violet color. Her collar, was red and had one gold vertical bar, which tells me two things about the woman. First, she's an Ensign and then second the woman was a member of the ship bridge officers even if, it was not the highest. Also, this woman is clearly the one 'in charge' of those here currently. Hold on, she looks like the woman that had crossed paths with our group as we had been traveling to the college! I was fairly sure that she was the same woman.

Then, there were four other in Earth Forces' officer uniforms, though I believe the kind that were general commissioned ship crew officers and not commanding ones. There was also a group of twelve jumpsuit wearing people, probably engineers and mechanics. Have always had a bit of respect for those in those jobs, not an easy one and don't get enough recognition for their work. Finally, a small number of soldiers with guns were around as well, thankfully I still had the sub-machine gun and my pistol with me.

"Ensign Badgiruel," said Miss Ramius, sounding somewhat relieved herself.

"It's a tremendous relief to see that you're safe with what happened," said the woman that I assumed Miss Badgiruel as she saluted.

Miss Ramius returned the salute as I touched down on the ship deck, making sure to keep the SMG tucked in the vest I was wearing and out of sight. My pistol was in my right pants pocket, and I'm thankful that my pants had pockets were deep and so didn't show that I had a gun.

"You as well," said Miss Ramius. "I'm glad that you protected the Archangel. You do realize you saved us."

Saved us she says? That's not the way I would put it with the damage done to the colony, besides it's this ship and those mobile suits they had been building here, are the major reasons this all happened! I held my tongue and didn't state my opinion just yet, but glancing around for something to occupy me.

When my sweeping gaze stopped up and to my left, I watched the Strike's cockpit hatch opening and Kira clambered out. By this time, Kira and I were drawing some real shocked stares from most that were here. Granted, they wouldn't have expected us to be the pilots, but then we hadn't wanted to do so anyway, nevertheless that's how things had played out.

"Come on, will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" asked one of the jumpsuited people, "First there's two machines that no one knew about and now you're telling me that two kids are piloting the Strike and one of the unknown ones? Doubt either of the two have learned how to shave yet…"

…Haven't needed to shave? That's my business anyways, it would be nice for people to not discuss my personal business! "Chief Murdock, that's enough," said Miss Badgiruel.

Ignoring the question of those here with the Alliance ship, I strode over to Kira with a slight expression of worry. With the way Kira tends to think, he would blame himself for the hole Heliopolis had now. That hole in the colony wall isn't his fault, he couldn't have known what that cannon was capable of. As I got close, Kira waved a hand and gave me a smile to say that he was okay, though I could still see that Kira wasn't fine. Our friends also came over and surrounded us, Miriallia took my left hand and Kira's right and began to shake our hands up and down. "You two are amazing," she said with awe.

A little taken aback at how Miriallia was impressed at what Kira and I had done. I just gave her a sheepish look, "Thanks Miriallia… I think." I muttered.

Lacus, as I expected, ran straight up to Kira, gripping his left arm, she got Kira to face her and she stared into his eyes. Kira's eyes locked with her and one of their 'silent conversations' ensued. Honestly, the pair are quite adorable when they do this, also fairly humorous, it's not by any means the first time the two have done this. You just want to let out an 'AWW' at times like this, but I contain myself as I don't do that kind of thing often since it would likely embarrass the two. It was the voice of the first Alliance officer that had spoken that brought my attention back to the present. "Lieutenant Ramius, what's going on?" asked Miss Badgiruel, her confusion obvious.

Glancing over at Miss Ramius to try to gage her action, for I think that it'll be a big contributor to how this'll play out for all of us going forward. She looked over at our teen aged group, before she looked down at the deck, not giving an answer.

"Wow," came a new voice.

Spinning around to get a view of the one who had spoken, I found myself looking at a blonde short haired man in a purple and gray pilot suit that Alliance mobile armor pilots wear, walking over towards us. The man stood at an estimated 6 feet in height. He glanced around at all of us, but came to focus on the group of us students, "What a surprise." He said.

It was then, I noticed a woman who was also wearing a pilot suit, though hers was blue and grey rather than purple and grey as the blonde man. She was shorter than me, by four inches or so, her light brown hair fell straight down to her mid-back, along with her green eyes. The woman appeared to be in her mid-twenties, the other things that I noted, was that her suit looked to be tight around the upper torso area. Both the man and the woman walked forward and came to a stop in front of Miss Ramius.

"I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, of the Seventh Orbital Fleet, at your service" he said, giving her a salute. "It's an honor."

…La Flaga? That's a name I've heard mention of, from a colleague as it happens who has crossed paths with this man, if he is who he says he is. If what I've heard about this mobile armor pilot, known as the 'Hawk of Endymion', then I'll need to keep an eye on him. The other soldiers, including Miss Ramius and Miss Badgiruel, saluted as well, the woman with La Flaga, then came up beside him, "I'm Major Krystal McAlester, also of the Seventh Orbital Fleet. It's an honor to meet you all as well," said the woman saluting.

"Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, of Sector Two, Fifth Special Division," said Miss Ramius, introducing herself as well. "I'm a crew member of this ship."

"Ensign Natarle Badgiruel, same sector and division," introduced Miss Badgiruel.

My gaze flicked over to the soldiers, who were relaxing their postures. I stealthily got the sub-machine gun into my left hand, which Miriallia had let go of by now and drew my pistol out with my right. Lieutenant La Flaga then spoke up again, "My comrade and I would like permission to come aboard this vessel. May I ask who's in command around here?"

Everyone, minus those of us who were residence of Heliopolis and Miss Ramius looked towards Ensign Badgiruel. Witnessed her frowning slightly, her expression somewhat downcast… Ah, bad news, which I believe I already knew. Take it that she knows that the rest of the crew were around the dock when the explosives went off and so… are dead, "The captain," she began, "along with all of the ship officers have perished in battle. Therefore, I believe it's Lieutenant Ramius who's next in command."

Oooo… That's not the way most like or want to advance up in rank. I feel sorry for her in this instance, even if I rightly pin a portion of the blame on the members of the Earth Alliance for what has happened here at the colony. This still has to hurt to learn that everyone who has higher rank than you… is dead. "Wait what?" exclaimed Miss Ramius, sounding distinctly worried.

"Less than a dozen of us are left, ma'am, mostly mechanics and a few non-commissioned officers," iterated Miss Badgiruel. "I was fortunate enough to be in the shaft and survive the initial attack."

"You mean the captain is… it can't be," said Miss Ramius.

Sighing before making the decision that I might as well say the piece that I know, "Your captain was likely around the secondary docking area around Morgenroete at the time that the explosives that ZAFT no doubt set went off. If they weren't killed by the blasts, then they're likely dead from injuries bleeding out. My condolences to you Miss Ramius." I said flatly.

All eyes were on me now, it was the female pilot that asked the question that was probably on everyone's mind, "Just how do you know that's where officers were or that there were explosives set there by ZAFT?"

I twisted my head to face the female pilot, Krystal McAlester, "I don't see a viable reason to go into detail as to how I know that as things currently stand. But take a moment to look at things logically, it makes the most sense with what's happened. Rest assured, I'm certainly not with ZAFT or your enemy… you can force me into that position, don't recommend that though." I replied calmly.

There was silence for a small period at what I said, until Lieutenant La Flaga broke the it, "Oh man, what an unmitigated disaster," said lieutenant La Flaga breaking the quiet. "In any case, please grant us permission, Lieutenant Ramius. The ship we were assigned to engaged the enemy, and was downed."

"Along with our two fellow mobile armor pilots being shot down as well," said Miss McAlester a tad bitterly.

"Oh, of course, permission granted," said Miss Ramius, obviously uncomfortable with being in command.

"And…" said Mu, turning to look at our group, "Who, might they be?"

The grip I'd on the SMG and pistol tighten slightly even if the safety was still on with both guns. My gaze flicked over to the soldiers who tensed and raised their guns. I readied myself to defend, it's an ingrained instinct from the days I was in Federation military basic training. "As you can see, they're teenage civilians of the colony," said Miss Ramius, while Kira, our friends and I looked over those who were with the Alliance.

Lacus was holding Kira's right arm and standing just slightly behind him, while Sai had one hand on Kira's shoulder and one on mine. Hearing the quiet but sharp intake of breath from Sai, which makes me believe my glasses wearing friend had seen the guns I had in my hands. Miriallia, Tolle along with Kuzzey were behind us, moved in front of Kira, Lacus and myself, facing outward from us, almost as if they were forming a protective barrier around the three of us, from those here on the ship.

"I saw the three of them," she pointed at myself, Kira and Lacus, "Around Morgenroete during the attack. While they were they there, apparently, they by their own words, came across both mobile suits and after entering them, were successful at using both machines to drive off the Aegis, which was captured by a ZAFT soldier and two GINNs."

I didn't know that she saw us at all while we were at Morgenroete, but then I was occupied with staying alive as there was a ZAFT soldier trying to shoot me, so I guess it possible that I could have missed her. There were gasps from the crew at this, "They fought off the Aegis and two GINNs?" asked Miss Badgiruel, incredulous. "These kids actually did that?"

"Yes," said Miss Ramius. "With the unit equipped with the flight system out of power, we decided to utilize the unit that similar to the Blitz and the Strike with the Launcher Striker Pack to recharge the Strike and make contact." Miss Ramius paused and pointed at Kira and continued, "He was in the cockpit at the time the CGUE showed up."

Pilot McAlester glanced at me, "And what about you?" she said pointing to me.

"I was in the black unit and was keeping the CGUE suit busy while the Strike was loading up its equipment with the suit." I replied.

"I see," said Mu, looking back at Miss Ramius, "Major McAlester and myself, came here as an escort for the officers who have been specially trained to pilot the G-weapons. Where can we find them?"

"As he said," said Miss Badgiruel pointing at me, "The bombs that were set, detonated near the control booth, where the captain was welcoming them at that very moment. So, they were also…"

"Yes, I see… oh boy…" trailed Lieutenant La Flaga. He then turned and began to walk to where us teens were still standing, the others crew members following behind at a distance.

"What? What's the matter?" asked Kira, a little uneasily. Lacus's grip on his arm tightened, while I made myself ready to raise the sub-machine gun and pistol, and put them to use.

Lieutenant La Flaga for a moment, simply stared at Kira and myself, to which I wasn't liking, though La Flaga wasn't gazing at us in a hostile way. "If you have something to say, then just say it," I remarked.

"Tell me then," said La Flaga in a kind and gentle tone, "You're both Coordinators, right?"

Dead silence loomed over us all for a bit, upon looking around, most appeared to be shocked and apprehensive following La Flaga's question. Kira squared his shoulders, I tensed up and ready myself to fight if that would be needed. "Yes," Kira said, answering first. The fact that Kira and I are Coordinators, is something we can't really deny, especially once some of these people get a look at any of the three suits' OSs.

Everyone turned to me then expectantly, "Yeah, I'm a Coordinator as well. What's your point?" I asked a tad apprehensively.

The Alliance soldiers raised their rifles and aimed them at Kira and myself. In the seconds that it took the soldiers to raise the rifles, I was in front of Kira and the others and had raised the sub-machine gun in my left hand, my right whipped out the pistol I had. As I brought up the guns, I flicked their safeties off and aimed both weapons at the soldiers. Said soldiers, looked surprised and worried that I'd moved so quick, along with having two guns pointed at them they hadn't seen on me. The expression on my face was blank and unfeeling, as using guns isn't new for me by any means. However, before things got worse, Sai stepped in front of me, putting out a hand before my face, yet glaring at the soldiers.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Vesalius, Outside Heliopolis

Commander Le Creuset gathered together the remaining veteran pilots, including the three that had gone against the last Alliance unit and the two unknown machines. They reviewed the recordings made by Athrun, Miguel and Matthew of the last unobtained Earth Alliance machine and the two other mobile suits. "You really saved my hide by bringing this back, you three," said Le Creuset to Athrun, Miguel and Matthew as all there watched the screen displaying as the video of the other two units fighting was being played. Their smooth and quick movements was clear and worrisome since they were at a much higher level than the machines acquired. "If I didn't have this as proof, I would've been a laughing stock and called a fool for allowing my unit to get damaged in a battle against mobile suits of the Earth Forces. No one would've believed it was possible without out this."

"Sir, what's your opinion of the two machines that weren't accounted for in the report? I mean, there's one that's of a similar design to the one that Nicol brought back, but it moved differently than any of the other ones that we obtained. Then the second one with the flight system, never seen a suit like that one… it's like those two had complete OSs while the ones we took don't. Do you think it's just a fluke in our Intel?" asked Athrun.

Le Creuset nodded, "I can think of no other explanation with what we know at this time, though it is possible that the Alliance was somehow able to keep these two secret, or they may have had little relation to the machines you stole, for that's also a possibility." he said, a finger on his chin. "However, now isn't the time to wonder upon possibilities, moving onto more immediate matters. I believe all of us are aware of the incomplete status of the original OS on these machines as Athrun brought up. With that in mind, I have no idea why these two units maneuvered and performed so well, or anything of the other things they did. However, I want to make one thing perfectly clear to everyone here, we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to this turn of events. Allowing the Earth Forces to have possession of one mobile suit is dangerous, to ignore them having three and two proven to be very dangerous, will only lead to problems. If capturing them is possible, then the opportunity is one to be used, yet if we cannot capture them, then they must be destroyed, along with that new warship. Don't underestimate it or any of those three machines, it could get you killed. Is that understood?"

"Sir!" said all the pilots, saluting in near unison.

"Miguel, Olor, Ryan, Matthew, prepare to launch your units at once," said Frederik Ades, the captain of the Vesalius. "We've been authorized to use weapons configuration D. And this time, let's see you take down those suits along with that ship, put an end to all this."

"Yes sir!" declared the three as they left to ready themselves for the mission that they were assigned.

Nicol and Athrun felt surprise at the equipment that was being authorized for this mission. Configuration D was heavy artillery meant for assaulting an enemy base and yet, now the same weapons were going to be taken into a colony that had already been damaged to a worrisome degree. "Commander, wouldn't you consider configuration D being used inside a resource colony… overkill?" Asked Nicol.

"Perhaps Nicol, however, the Earth Forces have forced us into the position to need to do this without regard of the citizens of the colony. By what I was able to tell, most if not all the citizens of Heliopolis managed to reach the shelters and those should be protection enough." Replied Commander Le Creuset, "Miguel, Olor, Ryan and Matthew understand what's at stake, they'll be careful and end this so that as many of Orb's citizens can be saved as possible."

Nicol nodded at the answer from Commander Le Creuset, while Athrun's mind went back to the thing that had happened back at the colony and bit his bottom lip, somewhat uncertainly. He wanted to request permission to go with his fellow pilots. He wanted to make up for his failure earlier against the Earth Forces officer and the unknown machine… and perhaps avenge Rusty's death back at Morgenroete. Rusty had been a friend, and like Athrun and Nicol, had questioned the report about the Earth Forces doing weapon development here at Heliopolis.

Turning to the captain of the ship, Athrun spoke, "Captain Ades, please allow me to sortie as well sir," said Athrun, drawing the attention of Ades and Le Creuset.

"You have no mobile suit," said Le Creuset, "Besides, you've already accomplished an extremely important mission by capturing one of those units. Or is there something that you have recalled that you haven't said?"

Athrun was silent for a moment, internally waring with the desire to go and the logic of staying. No, he shouldn't turn this into a personal vendetta, and he knew that's what he was on the verge of doing. Athrun knew this fight, the war, ZAFT, and the PLANTs… they were all far more important than that.

"No Commander, nothing has come to mind. I just… what happened to Rusty…I thought…" Athrun began.

Le Creuset placed a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "What happened to Rusty is unfortunate, but it wasn't your fault Athrun, death was a risk for all who went, he knew that as did you. Doubtless, Rusty would wish you to let this go and honor his memory rather than let your feelings about this be the cause of your death. Go and get some rest, that's an order."

"Let Matthew Olar and Miguel go this time Zala, they have a score to settle. The loss of Rusty has affected them as well." Added Captain Ades.

Athrun exhaled, "Yes sir I understand," he paused, "Could I at least wish them good luck before they head out?"

"Of course Athrun," replied Le Creuset.

Athrun left the bridge and headed down to the hanger and watched the GINNs being loaded with equipment. He then spotted the three that would go back into the colony and floated over to them. It was Miguel that saw Athrun first, "Athrun, didn't expect to see you down here before we launch out."

Athrun smiled slightly, "Well, I just wanted to see you guys off. Be careful out there," Athrun said, before he stopped for a moment, then continued. "We already lost Rusty, don't let there be more that don't come back, so watch yourselves in the colony. Those two unknown mobile suits were different than those we captured, don't underestimate them."

Miguel nodded, "We'll watch out for ourselves and one another Athrun, still thanks for the reminder."

Matthew moved forward and placed a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "We'll be careful inside Heliopolis. You aren't the only one that… feels the absence of Rusty," he said.

"Olar nodded emphatically, "We promise that we'll get payback for Rusty's death, as well as cause the least amount damage to the colony as possible."

Athrun acknowledged the reassurances from his fellow pilots and wished them good luck on their mission as the moved to board their GINNs. And yet, Athrun couldn't shake the feeling that he wouldn't see some of them again if any of them.

Nicol and Ryan had headed back to the Laurasia-class Frigate, Gamow after the meeting had ended. Ryan's GINNs was being given the specified equipment that had been authorized for the operation he would be a part of. Dearka, Yzak along with Nicol watched as Ryan's GINN finished getting things attached to it and it stepped forward to arm itself with heavy assault missiles. "D equipment I hear they'll be using," said Dearka.

"I take it Commander Le Creuset is planning to storm a fortress or something then?" commented Yzak.

"What do you think is going to happen to Heliopolis?" asked Nicol somewhat worried.

"Can't be helped now, can it?" said Dearka with a slight tone of pity.

"Yeah, it serves them right, and they call themselves a neutral state," said Yzak.

Nicol frowned slightly as he glanced back out the window to the hangar. "Yzak, how many innocent civilians who only wanted to remain out of the war will die for this, tell me that?" asked Nicol softly. Then he added, "Civilians… who won't even be capable of fighting back or defend themselves."

That brought Yzak up short hearing the idea being put like Nicol did. Certainly, if the ZAFT pilots took down the targets properly, there wouldn't be much of a problem in Heliopolis. But the mobile suit had even managed to blow off an arm of the commander's machine. Almost unconsciously, Yzak clenched his fist. He had no problems with the idea of blowing up Earth Forces ships, blasting bases and mobile armors to pieces. But he hated stuff like what Nicol had just described. That's not war, that is slaughter, mass murder. Regardless of whether or not it would ever match the Bloody Valentine, Yzak had always believed that they should hold themselves to higher standards than those who cause that atrocity! "Then let us hope that none of them gets caught up in it," he said in a humbler voice.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Archangel, Heliopolis Interior

"Would you please put those weapons away?" said Sai politely, but there was definite steel in his voice.

The glare on his face that sent shivers down the spines of the soldiers looking at him, and his entire posture screamed that he would do horrible things if they're trigger fingers so much as twitched. Even I had to say that from that expression, it forced me to lower my gun a bit, out of surprise more than anything else. Never have seen Sai this serious… I'm impressed!

"Sai," uttered Kira quietly.

"Didn't know you had it in you Sai," I muttered.

"Lower your weapons and settle down men," ordered Miss Ramius, stepping forward to place herself between us and the soldiers.

Thankfully, said soldiers did as they were ordered, though somewhat reluctantly. "Lieutenant, I request an explanation," said Miss Badgiruel quietly, yet loud enough that I could still heard what was said.

"Well, if you think about it, it's no great mystery that such things would happen," said Miss Ramius with a slight smile. "After all, Heliopolis is controlled by a neutral nation. It would make sense to find some Coordinators who decided to take refuge in the territories of neutral nations in order to avoid any involvement in the war would be found here." Miss Ramius turned back to face Kira and me. "Am I wrong, Kira, Tyler?"

Nodding to the inquiry of taking refuge, as it wouldn't be me lying, since I wouldn't need to say anything about the real reason that I was here for. It's unlikely that the Earth Alliance would take it nicely, if they knew that the Federation was here investigating the rumor that they were developing weapons using Federation resources. Even if the Alliance don't know Orb became a member of the Human Federation around a year ago. Yet, the normal MO of the Alliance and its leadership, is to deny all accusations put to them, even if there's clear evidence against them. Would bet those here would appreciate it even less were I to tell them there was a Federation patrol on route here to confiscate this ship and the mobile suits. Of course, ZAFT's coming has made that more complicated for all concerned.

"No, you're right," said Kira, "Especially since I'm a first-generation Coordinator."

Why did Kira tell these people that particular fact?! Granted, Coordinators are disliked and feared by people, mostly due to propaganda. However, first-generation Coordinators are more disliked along with their families than other Coordinators are, simply because the parents chose to get their child's genes altered and the child because they are a Coordinator. "First- generation?" one of the survivors questioned Chief Murdoch.

Apparently, the term first-generation, when it's referring to Coordinators, isn't as widely known as it once was or perhaps it's just not used as it has previously. Miss Ramius, Badgiruel and both mobile armor pilots looked at me, for I would assume the answer to the question they had just asked Kira and me. I sighed, "Yes, you're right for both of us… and, I'm a first-generation Coordinator like Kira is." I answered. In my family, I'm actually the only Coordinator; yes, my parents are Naturals, but also had a sister, she was a Natural as well.

"Which means, of course," said La Flaga, mostly for his comrades' benefits I would guess, "That your parents are Naturals."

"That's right," returned Kira, while I nodded.

The subject of my parents and who they were, wasn't something I got into often and much less so around Earth Alliance personnel. I've gone to sizable lengths to hide the connections to my parents, as much for them as for myself to not have trouble. I don't see a reason to change that now or in the future, for I know nothing about any in this group. And the one that I do know, I don't trust Murrue Ramius much at all. Yes, La Flaga is quite right, my mother and father are Naturals, but for me it's a tad different. I wasn't born in an artificial womb like the majority of Coordinators are, I was "born" like Naturals are through natural child birth.

Back to the point, Lieutenant La Flaga turned away from Kira and I, rubbing the back of his neck, and glanced at Miss Ramius. "Well, I do apologize. Didn't intend to cause such a fuss with the question. I was only curious, that's all. Nothing more than that." Somehow, it was odd in an unexpected way watching La Flaga acting almost nervous at what his query brought… there has to be more to this than he's letting on.

"Lieutenant La Flaga?" said Miss Ramius, but La Flaga glanced up at the Strike.

"As McAlester and I made our way here escorting the specially trained pilots for the G-weapons," he said, "I watched the guys who were supposed to pilot this machine and the other four that were stolen, run through a bunch of simulations to practice doing so. They really had to struggle, just to get it to move." Mu turned back to Kira and me. "That's why I was so certain you two were Coordinators." He looked away, shaking his head. "Man oh man, the things you see…"

With that, La Flaga started to walk into the hangar, leaving the rest of us to wonder why he had brought up what he had. I'm having a hard time understanding this Mu La Flaga myself, he's not like any mobile armor pilot I've ever met. I have meant a fair number, most having left the Earth Forces and joined the Federation, but still. "So then, what do we do now?" asked Miss Badgiruel to the crowd at large.

"What do we do?!" asked La Flaga rhetorically, stopping to look back at Miss Ramius. "Krystal and I have been shot down and our mobile armors need major repairs before being able to fly again. The Le Creuset Team is waiting for us outside the colony, to pick us off at their leisure. The man is definitely a persistent fellow, I'll give him that. If you ask me, I don't think we can afford to spend too much time here sitting and twiddling our thumbs."

This pilot Mu La Flaga has gained some respect from me, to be able to not just grasp a situation, but to also understand that you, yourself, will be required to defer to another for the decision of what will be done. That takes humility and wisdom to do such a thing and I would know from experience. Plus, it sounds like La Flaga has crossed paths with Le Creuset before, that could be helpful. Miss Ramius let out a sigh before turning to look at Kira, "If you don't mind Kira, could you bring the wing system mobile suit aboard? You as well Tyler, if you would. Between the two of you, all three mobile suits can be brought into the Archangel." she asked. "Under the circumstances, we might as well have them ready for combat."

"Yeah… yeah, sure," said Kira, turning and walking out of the hangar with Lacus trailing after him. I took one last glance at the Alliance personnel, stored the sub machine-gun back under my jacket and my pistol back in its holster, before turning to follow my two fellow Coordinators.

It didn't take too long for Kira and me to get the three mobile suits onboard and into the ship's hanger. Once that was done, I slipped away without being noticed, wanted time away from all these people and be able to think in peace. So, I decided to take a walk outside the Archangel while I could, with the hole in the colony wall, the atmosphere would get thinner over time. Right now, there wasn't a risk, especially since there weren't many people using up the oxygen, but given several hours, the air will be gone. So, since there was the time, I'll take the opportunity to think about the current dilemma that I faced.

The original mission the team and I were sent to do, was to first either confirm or dismiss whether the Earth Alliance was developing weapons here. If they were developing weapons as the rumor entails, we then gather information on the weapons being made, before the decision is made to either confiscate or destroy the weapons. It had seemed so simple at first and as of a week ago, the decision came down from Federation High Command, that the ship and mobile suits that the Atlantic Federation were developing illegally, would be seized. That should have been the end of this situation, but ZAFT having struck before that could be done had complicated things a great deal. I don't know what will happen going forward, there's just not enough information to make a good call at this point.

It was as I was walking around thinking, that I saw that I wasn't the only one that was clearing their head. Lacus was on a bench and she looked like she was thinking about troubling things as well. Strode over to the bench, which Lacus didn't seem to notice me coming up to the bench behind her. "Hey Lacus, want some company, you look like you're trying to figure out a harsh dilemma?" I said nicely.

Lacus jumped at hearing my voice, and she twisted around to look at me, I smiled to hopefully reassure her. "Tye, what are you doing here?" she asked me.

Came around and sat down on the bench next to her, "Oh, needed time to clear my head and it would be much harder on board the Archangel. I take it that you need time to think about something troubling you as well, am I right Lacus?" I asked.

My pink haired friend didn't meet my gaze, though she nodded. "Some advice, it helps to talk about what's troubling you with someone. I'll listen if you want Lacus, I'm rather good about keeping my mouth closed on things I'm told by others. Plus, we're friends, are we not? Who better to talk to in times of difficulty?" I inquired casually.

Lacus stayed quiet, but the expression on her face said that whatever was causing her grief, was big for her… probably a personal matter. …Oh please, don't let it be about Lacus's older sister Sakura! I've nothing against her sister… exactly, it's just the woman that's four years older than me… has a... rather serious thing for me. To explain what I mean, you see, every time our paths cross, the woman doesn't leave me alone… flirts with me a lot, whether I give her permission or not and I usually don't! It's why I don't go around the PLANTs often and avoid Sakura Clyne as much as I do.

Sure, Sakura is beautiful and can be consider cute, but the girl is one who likes to be in full control and I don't like others controlling me. So, you would think that we wouldn't get along and I really wish that were the case sometimes. But no, she doesn't understand what the meaning of the word 'no' is, so she keeps making advances at me. Nope, my refusal only spurs her onward to catch me or something like that! I believe Siegel Clyne has noticed his oldest daughter's interest in me… at least he's helped me escape from Sakura a couple of times… bless the man for it! Yet, I don't know if Lacus knows about her sister having a serious liking of me that has gone beyond just being uncomfortable! The woman acts 'quite' different when she's around me for whatever reason she has.

My smile faltered a margin, "Um Lacus… the issue that's occupying you… it wouldn't have to do with your sister Sakura, would it?" I asked in an even voice.

Lacus gave me a slightly confused expression before she shook her head, "No, it's Le Creuset and the team he has." She replied.

That one line explained a great deal to me, even if it wouldn't make any sense to anyone else. A fact that had bugged me since I went against the Aegis, the way the pilot had been fighting was fairly familiar to me. The voice had added to my suspicions and what Lacus had said clenched the fact for me beyond a shadow of a doubt. Looked at Lacus, "I see, your dilemma is how to tell Kira that there is a high likelihood that he'll be fighting Athrun Zala, am I right?" I mused.

Lacus's head snapped up and she stared at me in shock, "How did you…?"

"…Know that Athrun was one of the ZAFT pilots that stole the Alliance mobile suits?" I finished. Lacus nodded slowly, so I continued, "When I went against the Aegis, the way the pilot moved the mobile suit, even if the suit had an OS that's horrid, it was calculating in the way they move to accurately counter their opponent in a very quick fashion… I know a select few that have a talent to do that while in a fight. Athrun Zala is the only one in ZAFT that I know other than your sister, that has the talent, so it made the most sense that it was him. Then there was hearing his voice which made it even more obvious to me."

Lacus slumped at my statement, I sighed, "My suggestion to you, just tell Kira outright. Then let him make the decision for himself. Doubt it'll be pretty at first, Kira won't take it well, but he'll get over it given time. I would guess that were, or rather when Athrun finds out he's fighting Kira and myself, he'll do some serious reconsideration about what he is doing and what he's fighting for. I think Athrun is being influenced by his father, but at heart Athrun hates this war as much as Kira, myself and you do. He'll come around given time Lacus, you can count on that."

Lacus nodded, "Yes… thanks Tye, you were right. Talking about this issue with you has help a lot." She said.

My smile was back in full now, "Hey now, what are friends for?"

The pink-haired girl suddenly got a look of curiosity, "Although, why did you think I was having problems with my sister Sakura?" she asked.

Used my right hand to scratch the back of my head, "Oh um… it's been a while since I've seen her and well… your sister can at times, be hard to be around and everything. So, I just thought," I trailed off.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Mu La Flaga sighed slightly while he looked out the front viewport, watching the activity of resupplying occurring. The few remaining crew of the ship were small in number, less than a usual skeleton crew. This ship, by what Mu had been told, was meant to carry a crew of a hundred-fifty, yet it was being run by twenty-five currently, a sixth of its intended crew compliment. The bridge didn't have all its seats filled, by the seats he counted, there should be eight officers, ten including the captain and vice-captain. Right now, there was three with the acting captain in her chair and even were the other general commissioned officers here, that would only be six out of the ten filled. The rest of the Archangel was suffering the same personnel shortage as the bridge and the bridge was the best off.

The mechanics along with the highest ranking non-commissioned officer Arnold Neuman were grabbing what supplies they could from Morgenroete and the surrounding area, then bringing them onto the ship. This included what was left of the mobile suit equipment, along with other basic supplies for the ship itself. Mu had even watched the two teens bring the mobile suits onto the Archangel and it had been fascinating and yet harsh at the same time. Kira Yamato, the younger one of the two, had moved the winged mobile suit onto and then into the Archangel's hanger, making the task look not all that difficult to do. Mu could accept that the kid could be smart and gifted for the reasons that it looked doable for the teenager. However, having to watch Tyler McGregor use the black machine to help bring heavy supplies onboard, wasn't easy for the mobile armor pilot. The older kid which appeared to be the oldest of the group of them and had made maneuvering a mobile suit look to be as easy as a 'walk in the park'.

Nonetheless, that wasn't what was bothering Mu the most, it was that Le Creuset hadn't made a single move since retreating. It caused a frown to appear on his face with how things were going right now, for it didn't make sense. ZAFT was outside, and the Archangel was on the inside, things hadn't changed yet. Le Creuset wasn't one to wait unless he had a reason, that man didn't sit back and wait for things to happen if he didn't absolutely have to. Mu had figured out that attribute about the masked ZAFT commander from their encounters.

Putting aside the feelings of foreboding, Mu turned to face the acting captain of the Archangel Murrue Ramius. She was currently sitting in the captain's chair, using the phone attached to the arm rest, giving out instructions. Mu couldn't help but think about what a right old mess that he and Krystal had gotten themselves into with this mission that was supposed to be simple from the start to the finish. After a few minutes, Murrue sighed, putting the phone down, "The colony interior is close to one hundred percent evacuated," she said, "However, I'm told the recent incident has upped the hazard level to nine."

Captain Ramius stood up and walked over to the viewport. "That means the shelters have been locked down completely," said Mu with another exhale of frustration. He looked to Captain Ramius, "…So then, since that's the case, what do we do with those kids?" Murrue stopped right in front of him and looked at him. "It's too late now to find a shelter to toss them into, isn't it?" Mu posed.

Ensign Badgiruel, who had been double checking one of the control stations in the Combat Information Center in the lower area of the navigation bridge below the captain's chair however, she came up and glanced over at Mu at the question. "Lieutenant Ramius detained those children because they'd been exposed to military secrets Lieutenant La Flaga," said Natarle Badgiruel, clearly objecting to the implications that Mu had put out, yet her voice betrayed that she agreed that Mu had a point. She, of course, didn't know that Murrue had never actually detained them at all, merely temporarily recruited them, mostly because they couldn't find a shelter. "We can't exactly let them go free after seeing what they have."

Mu stared at Natarle seriously, "I'd say you'd be hard pressed to stop them. I mean, did you ever see that tan haired kid, Tyler McGregor have a gun on him, let alone two, before he had them pointed at your men? Clearly that kid has seen fighting… likely been in some fights too by how he moves and reacts. Hell, possible that he could have military training of some kind, kid's a mystery." Mu paused, "So, you're proposing to have them join us in our escape then?" questioned Mu, sounding somewhat incredulous. "Once outside, we'll be involved in some pretty heavy fighting, would be a complete miracle if we aren't."

Natarle seemed to freeze at being told that, but said nothing in response to Mu's inquiry.

"I'm thinking that we'll have to rely on the power of the Strike and if possible, the Shadow as well," said Murrue.

"Then you mean to send both of those machines into battle?" questioned Natarle. "Then what about the winged mobile suit, it's similar to Orb suit model that I've seen in pictures?"

"What do you think our chances of escaping are without one or more of the mobile suits onboard?" asked Murrue in a serious tone. "As for the winged mobile suit, I guess that's up to Kira or Tyler as they both seem to be able to pilot it."

They were all silent for a minute, thinking how to say what was on their minds. "I guess we'll be relying on that precious Strike or that 'Shadow' one then," said Mu, drawing their attention back to the issue. "But, do you think either of those kids would be okay with piloting either of those machines?"

Both women gained a confused expression, "What do you mean?" questioned Natarle sharply, before she calmed down and continued. "Why don't you and Major McAlester pilot the Strike and the Shadow? In the best-case scenario, it's better to keep civilians uninvolved in the fighting itself. The less those two are involved, the better."

"Are you joking or are you just crazy?" asked Mu, definitely incredulous this time. Both women stared at Mu as he continued, "Listen, there's no way Krystal or I can operate any of those three mobile suits as they are."

Murrue and Natarle looked confused at the exclamation, Mu rubbed his forehead with a hand, "Have either of you taken the time to go down to the hanger and look over what those kids did to the OSs on any of those given suits? I couldn't make heads or tails of any of it, nor could Krystal! A regular human being couldn't possibly grasp the system or its complexity anymore. The other weird thing, the Strike and the winged suit… have similar OSs if they aren't identical, even if I can't tell you how they work. However, the Shadow is a different matter, that machine's system is of the like of which I've never seen before. Sure, I might be able to comprehend given a year or more, but right now, it might as well be written in gibberish, as that's what it is to Krystal and myself!"

"Then make Kira Yamato change the Strike's OS back and Tyler McGregor undo what he did to the," started Natarle before falling short, remembering that the OS had been incomplete before the alterations, "In any case, this is supposed to be our battle, not one for children! Even if we keep those kids detained, it seems inappropriate to then force them to fight for us."

"You're not suggesting that we should go out and make ourselves a nice sitting duck for ZAFT to use for target practice?" asked Mu in challenge.

"No, of course not!" said Natarle, clearly trying to come up with a solution to this problem. "But still… perhaps we should ask either Mr. Yamato or Mr. McGregor to try and put together an OS to let you and McAlester pilot two of the mobile suits at least? They seem to know how to write one, so…"

"A nice thought, but I doubt either of them could manage to do that in the time we have available," said Mu. "I know enough about programming, to understand that it's easy enough to design a system for your own use. To tailor it for another to use and comprehend, especially a machine as complex as a mobile suit, would probably take days at the very least, that's without testing for fine tuning the system. We don't have that kind of time, not with Le Creuset pursuing us."

"So, our survival hinges on Kira and Tyler with the mobile suits," said Murrue, stating the line to bring the discussion to a close as she stared out the window, watching the loading of supplies. She saw the trailer that was carrying equipment for the Strike returning. Murrue Ramius let out a sigh of acceptance. "I hate to do this, but… I'll ask them both." With that, she turned and left the bridge.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After the conversation with Lacus, both of us headed back to the hanger of the Archangel as there was work that could be done, while there was downtime at least. Once back in the hanger, Lacus went to help Kira and I climbed up to the cockpit of the Shadow, as there still needed adjustments and tweaking to do with the OS. From what the operating system had started as, I had basically rewritten the vast majority of it. What I had whipped up, was a basic rolling version of the OS that the Federation employs in their mobile weapons, since it's what I'm used to using. The problem with that, the Earth Force and those at Morgenroete had designed their system to be more like ZAFT's OS model, which was different than the Federation's. Granted, I've gotten the mobile suit to run and do so somewhat smoothly. But, if I could streamline the OS with the functions and tasks of the suit in an organized and sensible fashion, then it would run so much better.

However, as I'd started working towards the goal of a decent system, I began noticing some odd things within the mobile suit. I'd spotted, that this machine really did seem to be built to work with a Federation OS in mind for some reason and not the junk the Earth Forces called an OS. The reason I say that, is for some of the equipment, internal network and controls in general, were more like what is standard within the Federation military. Although, those who had been doing the work on this suit had been divided in what they wanted for this mobile suit and so, had been at odds with each other I'd say. One side wanted to go with Earth Alliance ideas and the other side had been trying to employ Federation methodology to this unit. It made fixing things a challenge as well as confusing to say the least, was also very frustration I'll tell you!

While I sat in the cockpit, I was pretty much forced to literally rebuilding more than half the functions of the machine piece by piece to fix mess this system was in. AND I was being forced to do the task one painstakingly function at a time and each one was adding to my growing annoyance. Then, once an individual function worked, I had to get them to work with the other system programs and functions smoothly, which wasn't always a simple task. The process was time consuming, but I knew it would pay off later, hence why I was taking the time to do this. I would like to continue to be alive and so, I would do the needed work to give myself the best chance of doing just that in the long run.

Tolle and Kuzzey came up while I was working and watched me for a bit, then they asked if there was anything they could do to assist me. I smiled at them and was about to tell them, though the offer was appreciated, this was something I would have to do, yet the appearance of someone else cut that short.

"Kira, Tyler!" called Miss Ramius, drawing everyone's attention as she rushed over to where the Asuka and the Shadow were docked. I saved the work I'd done and then turned off the system and popped out of the cockpit.

"Miss Ramius," greeted Kira.

My current mood was not good, and a sense of serious foreboding in the air with the acting captain coming into the hanger was just making things worse. However, I plastered the best smile I could, "So, what brings the acting captain down to the hanger?" I asked as I climbed down the ladder from the cage that the Shadow was in.

Kira followed by Lacus came down the ladder from the cage that the Asuka was in and then came over to stand in front of the mobile suits along with me, facing Murrue Ramius. "Listen Tyler, Kira," said Miss Ramius when she reached us, "I don't know how much time we have, so I'm going to be blunt, our situation is grave. The shelters are locked down, so we can't put you and your friends in one now. On top of that, the colony itself is in danger, so the only safe place for you and your friends is aboard the Archangel."

My feeling of annoyance morphed into irritation from the work I've been going through with the Shadow's operating system. Then this woman comes in stating the obvious, only adds to my irritation. But, I breathed in and then I exhaled to calm down and keep in control, which caused the woman to pause, "Are you one that normally states the obvious? Or is this an admittance of what you got yourself into with the Alliance's actions?" I posed.

Miriallia punched my shoulder and after glancing over at her and seeing her serious expression, I knew it was her way of saying to be nice. If I didn't start being nice, Miriallia might punch or hit a more sensitive area… I would rather avoid that if possible! "Okay, what I meant to say is, what's your point Miss Ramius? You said there wasn't much time, so please just get to the reason why you're down here," I restated.

Kira was the next to speak, "ZAFT is targeting this ship, aren't they?" asked Kira.

My friend then looked back at the Asuka before his hands clenched into fists. "You want Tyler and me to pilot again, don't you?" he stated as fact, not as a question.

Very observant Kira, it's times like this I wonder if you're naïveté is inherent or is you acting by choice. The expression on Murrue Ramius's face, told me that Kira had hit the nail on the head, Miss Ramius was here to ask us to pilot two of these machines and help bail them out of this crap shoot they had landed themselves in. Honestly, this is one of the points of arguments I have against the Earth Alliance and Forces I tend to cross paths with. They dive into situations, head first and then if, or rather when things go bad, they put those who can help them out of it into the horrible position of having to help them, just like this!

"I'm afraid so," said Miss Ramius. "I'm sorry Kira, Tyler, but we don't have any choice but to ask this of both you."

The woman appeared to be sincere in her apology, but that doesn't make this any nicer with what she's asking of us. Kira closed his eyes, hands clenching and unclenching, clearly saying how irritated he was at being told this. I moved over to Kira and placed a hand on his shoulder and when Kira looked to me, I gave him a look to say, 'let me handle this'. Kira nodded slowly, and I turned back to acting captain Murrue Ramius.

As things stand for us all, the shelters were locked down, and the colony itself wasn't safe from recent events. In short, Kira, our friends and I were stuck with the Archangel for the foreseeable future. And we had no choice in this and still have little going forward as things are, what a mess! "You wonder why the Earth Alliance has the reputation it does, it's because of situations like this one. That's especially true of those who are Coordinators that aren't citizens of the PLANTs or the Human Federation. We avoid being around the Earth Alliance, since you have a tendency to put us in the position that if we don't help out, we lose or die… Sometimes both." I said in a controlled tone of frustration.

Miss Ramius looked at me with slight shock, "That's not…"

I cut her off, "Not what you intended to happen? Yeah, heard that line quite a few times before now. Tell me, did you seriously think you would be able to finish the mobile suits and this ship, then just slip away without being noticed? Please don't say that you're so ignorant and/or blind, you've shown yourself to be smarter than that." I said flatly.

Kira set one of his hands on my shoulder and squeezed, stopping me from talking. I glanced over to my friend in question of what he was doing. "Alright, fine," he said, opening his eyes and glaring at Miss Ramius. "Our situation can't be helped, so we need to work together I guess for the time being. Besides, I can't just let you walk to your deaths, even if… even if it is because of you that ZAFT is here in the first place."

Damn… after Kira says that, I can't refuse without feeling like a real douche, which I'm not a douche. I sighed, "Okay sure, I said too much just now, whether the subject matter is true or not. Since Kira has agreed to help, so then shall I," was my curt reply.

"I'm grateful," said Miss Ramius with a slight bow. "Again, I'm sorry it came to this. It was never our intent, but… well, you know what they say about the road to hell."

"Is paved with da-darn good intentions, yeah… not the best phrase to go with for yourself, as the current situation is a prime example of that saying and how it applies." I finished for the woman.

Miss Ramius straightened up, "Due to the present circumstances, we'll allow you access to the Strike and the Shadow," said Murrue. "You can both use them or the… Orb mobile suit at your own discretions."

"It's apparently based on the Astray type frame, but it's been nicknamed the Asuka," said Kira. Miss Ramius blinked in surprise, just how much will these Earth Alliance officers underestimate us?

"If Kira's going to be out there, then please allow me to pilot as well," said Lacus suddenly, shocking everyone including myself.

Lacus… in a mobile suit?! Well, that's unexpected… no, more from left field if anything. Sakura is the warrior of the Clyne family, there's never has been a doubt about that, especially with how she performs on the battlefield. So, Lacus never came off as a fighter in this way as long as I've known her. She could probably do it, don't doubt Sakura gave her a lesson or two, but never thought Lacus would get into one by her own will. "I'm a Coordinator as well. If we put a proper OS in, I can handle it." She went on.

"Lacus…" uttered Kira.

"I have to admit, quite surprising you'd volunteer for the job Lacus, don't see anything wrong with it though," I commented.

"Tye! She can't," Kira started loudly.

I was about to tell Kira, he would be hard pressed to stop Lacus, when the girl in question beat me to it. "I won't let you or Tye fight alone Kira," said Lacus firmly. This girl hasn't ceased to amaze me… definitely a Clyne, has the stubborn drive that her father and older sister are famous for. She looked back to Miss Ramius. "There isn't any harm in me piloting, right? Trust me, I can be of help."

It was difficult not to burst out laughing at how Lacus had countered Kira's protest! The acting captain seemed to be considering the offer, finally nodded. "Okay, I'll allow it," she said. "How long will it take to put together an OS?"

Kira looked at me as I did him, after a moment I shrugged, "As I see it, that's already been done. The Strike and the Asuka have pretty much the same OS, right Kira?" I asked.

He nodded, "The OS I built for both machines are identical," said Kira quickly, brushing some hair out of his eyes. "Between the two of us, it shouldn't be too hard to modify one of them for Lacus to use without much difficulty, but can't say how long it would take."

I put a hand on my friend's shoulder, "As we're modifying instead of building one from scratch, it shouldn't take us more than an hour I would think, likely less." I said.

"It'll take at least that amount of time to resupply the machines on board and find what supplies we can acquire anyway," said Miss Ramius.

She sighed in slight relief, "Thank you, please get started as soon as possible. If the rest of you, please follow me, I'll show you to the mess hall. You can rest there for the time being, with all that's happened, it would do you good." She looked around. "Chief Murdoch! Tyler, Kira and Lacus will be piloting the three mobile suits, if you could continue with the resupply, but please, don't get in their way with adjusting the mobile suits!"

"Sure thing!" Murdoch called back distractedly.

Shaking her head again, Miss Ramius led Tolle, Sai, Miriallia and Kuzzey out of the hangar. Their support was nice, but while Kira and I were making adjustments to the machines that we would be using now to defend the ship, it wasn't needed actively. So interestingly, between the Asuka and the Strike, Lacus chose to pilot the Strike. Kira got into the cockpit first, getting behind the pilot seat, Lacus followed him, sitting in the seat and I got on the hatch itself and leaned in over the forward controls.

"Lacus, are you really sure about this?" asked Kira softly when he was certain we wouldn't be overheard… namely, when we our heads were in the cockpit while we were trying to examine how to modify the Strike for her use, with the OS displayed. "It's one thing for me to fight, another for Tye, but you're from the PLANTs."

I nodded with what my best friend had said, "In this, I would agree with Kira, though I still say it's up to you Lacus." I put in my view.

Lacus looked at both Kira and myself, before she answered, "I know… but it'll be fine," said Lacus. "I want to protect you both too… and all of them as well. I don't just want to sit by and watch, doing nothing when I know I can."

"Lacus…" muttered Kira in surprise.

I snickered, "And the lady has spoken Kira, no arguing with that, doubt we could stop her if we tried anyways. Got to say Kira, must be nice to be told by your girlfriend that she wants to protect you as well. You lucky boy you!" I said with a smirk, while elbowing him in his middle.

Kira blushed noticeably, yet, what Lacus said to us next, surprised both of us, "Besides, I can probably do better than both of you in battle. At least, better than Kira for sure, can't say if I could do better than you Tye, but possibly."

"Huh?" both Kira and I uttered at the same time in response to what Lacus had said.

"I never told either you, did I? I've gotten lessons and some training from my sister Sakura." Replied Lacus serious.

"Oh, is that so? You two have made up after the disagreement you two had then?" asked Kira.

Lacus nodded, I frowned slightly, "Wasn't aware that you two had a disagreement, but Sakura taught you how to pilot a mobile suit did she?" I asked, to which she nodded again. That would mean she would do decently, nowhere near my level, but then I could take on Sakura and have a chance of winning the battle. There would be large chance of me losing against Sakura, she has more experience than I do, but still. Not that Kira or Lacus have any idea how skilled a pilot I really am, since I've said nothing about it or what I do for a living. "Well, if she did so, that's good enough for me. I can't argue with the skills that woman has when it comes to piloting a mobile suit."

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Murrue let out a small sigh as she returned to the Archangel's navigation bridge and sunk down into the captain's chair. Mu and Krystal were there along with Natarle and they were looking towards Murrue. "Did you manage to convince them?" asked Mu, looking over from the tactical station where he was sitting.

"Yes," said Murrue. "Both Kira and Tyler did agree to pilot for the time being and then Lacus Don volunteered to pilot one of the machines as well. Apparently, she's also a Coordinator like Tyler and Kira are."

"The pink princess did that?" questioned Mu a little surprised. "I'm not exactly surprised that she's a Coordinator. That pink hair didn't appear like any dye job I've ever seen, so it had to be her natural hair color. Although, I'm impressed that she would volunteer to pilot just like that."

"Lieutenant Ramius, are you really sure about this? Letting those three teenagers pilot those machines." questioned Natarle.

"Under the circumstances, I don't think there is any harm," said Murrue. "Kira said that with the current situation, it's best for us to work together to survive. Those three have the best chance at piloting those suits, so it can't be helped. Tyler however, viewed the present circumstances as ones that we got ourselves in, and seem to think that we were putting them into this to use their abilities."

Natarle appeared shocked, "Tyler McGregor believes that we're trying to use them for their abilities as Coordinators?"

Murrue's face fell, "He said, 'We avoid being around the Earth Alliance, since you have a tendency to put us in the position that if we don't help out, we lose or die… Sometimes both'. What you said about Tyler McGregor being in fights of some kind before now Lieutenant La Flaga, I think you're right. And I think some of those fights involved Earth Forces soldiers in some way and not nice ones."

"I've heard the view you say he brought up, Coordinators being taken advantage of, being use and seen for their abilities alone only," Mu said. There was silence to his statement, until Mu spoke up again, "Well, at least they all agreed for now, Tyler McGregor doesn't seem to be a bad person, just has had some hard times I guess." said Mu. "Say, did Kira tell you the name of that Orb machine?"

"He said it's based on the Astray model, which Orb uses and is nicknamed Asuka," said Murrue. Mu quirked an eyebrow at that while Natarle barely suppressed a snort.

"Asuka you say…" murmured Mu. "Interesting name for a near sixty-foot death machine I guess…"

 **-Line Break-**

From the hanger, Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey were brought to the mess hall to wait with the process of bringing supplies onto the Archangel was done. "So, what do you guys think of all this?" asked Tolle, glancing around at the others a little nervously. Knowing that two of your friends are different than you is one thing, to have the point proven in the way that it had, was much harder, right?"

Sai shrugged slightly as an answer, while Miriallia seemed to chew on her bottom lip a little. Although, it was Kuzzey who ultimately answered the question vocally, "We always knew that Kira, Tyler and Lacus were Coordinators. Kira and Tye told us outright that they were Coordinators, and Lacus… it was fairly obvious." he said. "Yet, before today, how many of us here really thought about what them being Coordinators actually meant? I mean, none of us even know Lacus all that much other than she's friends with Kira and Tye and some other basic facts." Sai shifted imperceptibly at the statement, since he knew more than they did, but he had promised to not say anything, none seemed to notice Sai's reaction.

Kuzzey continued, "As for Kira, sure, we always knew that he was more… 'advanced' than the rest of us, but Sai is just as accomplished in schooling, so we never thought about it. With Tyler, when he arrived a year ago, Kira greeted him as an old friend and so we just took like that. But, you heard what those officers said… Kira managed to reprogram that mobile suit's OS in the middle of that fight, and Tye did the same for that black suit at some point and fought off the red mobile suit. Then Tye gets a hit on that silver machine followed by Kira getting a near bull's-eye on the same silver mobile suit. That ZAFT pilot and those they fought before that have probably gone through combat training and are Coordinators themselves. Both of them are our friends, yet at the same time, can we really look at him the same after witnessing what they can do?"

"I can see where you're coming from Kuzzey," said Sai. He pushed up his glasses a little. "However, you're missing something in this, Tye and Kira have been building parts of the original OS those machines were using."

"Huh?" uttered everyone else.

It was not a moment later, Miriallia gained an expression of comprehension, "That's right," she said. "While we were traveling to the college earlier, we asked them about what Professor Kato had both of them working on and Kira said he thought it was some kind of new operating system and Tye seemed to agree."

Sai nodded, "Exactly right," he said. "I did a little work on it too, but Kira and Tye were the main contributors, it seems likely that this is where the work was going, looking back now. The OS was incomplete, just like Professor Kato's project. Given the likelihood of that, Both Tye and Kira were very likely already pretty familiar with much of the OS. I doubt it would take as much for them to get it to a state where it could work well for themselves. Think about how the other mobile suits had trouble at first and then still had difficulty moving the machines, the ZAFT pilots wouldn't have been so capable. Finally, the machines are protected by that Phase Shift armor system, making ZAFT's weapons ineffective."

"I get what you're saying, Kira and Tye would be intimate with the working of the incomplete OS, where the guys from ZAFT would be new to the system that the mobile suits and so, the two machines that worked better would worry them. So, they would be more likely to just walk away more easily," said Tolle, Sai nodded in response, "Thanks for that… it's reassuring, in a weird way." Replied Tolle.

-Line Break-

Around fifty minutes passed without anything happening to the Archangel, ZAFT hadn't come to attack them. Of course, the crew of the new Alliance warship wasn't fool enough to think that the ZAFT forces would leave them alone for long enough to fully supply the ship and leave Heliopolis. It was not long after the resupply on the mobile suits was done and a little bit of basic supplies, when Petty Officer 2nd-class Pal Romero, manning the fire control station on the bridge, watched as his screen quickly blurred out. "Electrical interference throughout the whole colony occurring," he announced. "N-jammer levels rising."

"Damn, looks like ZAFT is coming our way again," cursed Murrue, before she turned her chair slightly to face Pal.

"Well, appears Le Creuset is done waiting for us to come out and has decided to come in after us, curse that man!" said Mu angrily, standing up.

Krystal glanced over at Mu with a serious expression, "Did you really believe that the man would wait all that long before he would come or send others in to finish what he started?"

"No, but I was hope he'd hesitate a tad longer, enough for us to be ready. Yet, that's too much to hope for, I know," replied Mu.

"They don't really plan to hit us again while we're inside the colony, do they?" asked Natarle to the room at large.

"For them, it's an easy choice," said Mu with a sarcastic tone. "They can fire all they want, the inhabitance has been completely evacuated, so no risk of hurting the citizens anymore. But we on the other hand, have to aim so carefully we might as well not shoot back… Nice."

"Order all hands to level one battle stations," said Murrue grimly. "Have Kira, Tyler and Lacus prepare for takeoff in their mobile suits. Ensign Badgiruel, please equip the Strike with the Sword Striker pack. Lieutenant La Flaga, since neither your mobile armor nor Major McAlester's is ready for launch, please man the CIC. Major McAlester, take the electronic warfare station."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Close to an hour went by, before the call to battle stations came which in turn, got Kira, Lacus and I hurried down to the hanger. Lacus looked nervous at the prospect of having to launch out in a mobile suit for the first time, even though she volunteered for the job. Once in the hanger, we separated to board our respective machines, Kira to the Asuka, Lacus to the Strike and me to the Shadow. I buckled myself into the pilot seat and turned on the Shadow's main systems and closed the entry hatch. As I activate the OS, both halves of the front screen moved into position for use.

"Hey you three, listen," Came the voice of Chief Murdoch, an image of the man appearing on one of my com-screen and probably Kira's and Lacus's, "I just want all you kids to know, whether you're a Natural or a Coordinator makes no difference to me or any of us mechanics and engineers down here beyond assuring us that you can do fine and protect this ship. So, good luck to the three of you… get out there and give 'em hell."

"Thanks Mr. Murdoch," said Kira over the radio.

"That's a good chief mechanic, Chief Murdoch. Him and his whole team with him, I won't deny that at all," I said on the radio.

"Alright you numbskulls, open the number three container and attach the Sword Striker equipment! Let's minimize the chances of causing the kids to damage their own home colony!"

Again, this mechanic Murdoch is a good guy, even if he works with the Alliance. Even if I dislike the Earth Alliance, I'm well aware that not all that work within the Earth Forces are bad people. The Shadow jerked and moved to the left catapult, by this time the Shadow's OS had fully booted up and so all the displays for the outside were up and I saw the airtight shutters closing behind me. looking up, I spotted Kira on the left com-screen and Lacus on the right.

"Nervous?" Kira asked.

"After training with that sister of yours, this should be fine for you Lacus. Plus, Kira and I will be out there with you, so things will be okay." I said in the hope that it would reassure Lacus.

"Yeah… even with 'that', this is still a whole different experience for me," she said. "Kira, Tye… promise me you'll both be alright?"

I saw that Kira looked confused at the request from Lacus and I can't blame him, this was weird. Granted, neither Kira, nor Lacus know that I'm a pilot for the Human Federation, and one of their excellent pilots, but when have I ever given the impression that I couldn't take care of myself?

"I promise," Kira said.

Lacus looked at me and was silent, waiting for my answer, "Uh yeah sure Lacus, you got it. I'll be good and will help you both. My personal guarantee," I said a bit awkwardly.

"And…" Lacus trailed off for a second, "Promise me… that you won't hesitate… no matter what happens you two."

This is getting more than awkward here! "Listen Lacus, it'll be fine out there, the goal is to get those coming to go away. That doesn't mean that we have to kill them… doesn't mean that we won't have to either, but you get the idea. However, if it makes you feel better, I promise you, I'll be careful and do the job, wouldn't doubt Kira will do the same," I replied calmly.

"Like Tye said Lacus, we'll be fine," was Kira's intelligent reply… swear my friend can be too naïve sometimes. Kira shook his head, before he continued, "Alright, I promise too Lacus."

Lacus was quiet for a moment after Kira and I made our promises. "Thank you Kira, Tye."

The catapult that I was in opened and light from the outside came into view. The electron rails extended out and the lights lit up the linear launching rails. I leaned my mobile suit forward a bit, preparing for launching sequence, looking up towards the launch command display, waiting for the system to be ready for me to fly out. The signal to go appeared and I accelerated forward quickly, firing up my suit's thrusters just before I hit the end of the catapult. Shot into the air and gained height and as I did so, I scanned visually around to locate the ZAFT mobile suits that would be our opponents. Observed Kira launch out in the Asuka from the left catapult after I did and Lacus in the Strike come out the right leg of the Archangel. The three of us activated the phase shift armor systems on our machines, when the sight of the first GINN came into view from the docking area of Heliopolis. What had me staring for a brief moment, was the machine was… equipped with artillery that's meant for the purpose of taking heavy armored targets out. And so it would seem, that Le Creuset has no interest whatsoever anymore in what happens to the colony, that's just peachy!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

"One heat source approaching… no, make that two," announced Natarle to the bridge crew, "Matching thermal patterns… heat source confirmed to be two GINNs." The GINN in question suddenly came up on the front screen, shortly followed by a second one, the sight of heavy missiles attached to each arm and the legs of both GINNs was a horrifying picture to the crew.

"What are they thinking?!" cried Mu. "It's equipped with heavy artillery used for taking out bases!" Mu looked over his shoulder at Natarle sitting at the station behind him. "Are they planning on using that here?!"

"Unfortunately, I do believe they are Mu. Le Creuset wouldn't have had them equipped with such weaponry if there was no intent to use them. I bet they're not thinking about Heliopolis much if at all by this point," remarked Krystal McAlester from the electronic warfare station.

As if to confirm Krystal's view, an explosion rocked Heliopolis and a second sizable hole was created in the colony wall, allowing a second pair of GINNs entry to the colony through it with the similar artillery type load out as the first two. "Separate group approaching from the Tannenbaun district, also equipped with heavy artillery." called Natarle showing slight apprehension now with four GINNs in sensor range.

"Send out the Strike, the Shadow and the Asuka. Activate Gottfrieds and Valiants," ordered Murrue.

The Shadow shot out the left catapult less than a minute after the order from the bridge had been given, shocking some of the crew members on the bridge. The mobile suit was followed by the Asuka, from the left leg of the ship and the Strike from the right catapult. The three machines headed towards the GINNs shortly after launching. "Have Igelstellungs ready for interception and link target laser designator for Gottfried cannons to aim for the GINN directly ahead of us. Load all stern missile launchers with Corinthos," continued Murrue.

The Archangel's weapon systems activated, the Valiants rotated to point forward while the Gottfrieds came up before moving to aim in the direction of the GINNs, then fired. The pair that were shot at, broke away from each other completely, dodging the beams sent their way and went on the attack, coming in from different angles.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

As the blasts from the guns of the Archangel went past us towards the GINNs, they dodged, flying in different directions from one another. We matched them, with Kira, Lacus and I, picked whom we went after. My fellow pilots picked one of the GINNs, which left me with the remaining two as this fight was three of us, verses four opponents. The two suits that I got to dance with, one had a heavy beam cannon while the other missiles on one arm and an assault rifle in the other.

The GINN with the cannon aimed the cannon at me and fired. I moved to the right hard and avoided the shot, and then was forced to throw myself to the left as the other GINN shot its assault rifle in my direction. As I maneuvered around I pointed the Shadow's head at the GINN with the cannon and peppered it with 75mm rounds from my suit's CIWS guns. That ZAFT pilot backed off and pointed the beam cannon at me again, let lose another blast. I did a backflip to dodge and shot at the other GINN with my beam rifle, though I didn't score a hit. However, as the shot from the beam cannon passed me, to my frustration and growing anger, I watched the energy blast disintegrated another of the colony support cables that were part of the structure holding the entire colony together melt and break before falling to the surface of the colony. The crash of the cable to the ground, caused even more structural damage to the colony itself making the whole colony structure more unstable.

Overriding the irritation of this chain of events and the ludicrousness of them, I brought the up the list of offensive equipment that the Shadow has since I hadn't memorized it yet. After looking it over, I made my decision on what to use along with taking in the positioning of both GINNs I was going against. With my beam rifle moving to point at the suit with missiles and the Shadow's shield railgun to aim at the cannon wielding GINN, I pulled the triggers for both weapons. The missile carrying GINN managed to avoid being nailed by sacrificing its assault rifle.

Nonetheless, just after the boom from my railgun and then the sight of a clean hole through the GINN's torso, told me that I had made a textbook "money shot" on the GINN. The ZAFT mobile suit ended up exploding, killing the pilot along with the machine. In response, a bitter taste filled my mouth at seeing what my action had done, though I don't regret what I did. I don't like killing another if I can help it, but if it comes down to either me or them, I choose me and my friends pretty much every time!

I turned to face the other GINN, but as I did, a volley from one of the Archangel's main beam cannons hit the mobile suit, destroying it. Yet, the shot missed the missiles, which fired off from their racks before the suit exploded. I shot forwards, using my beam rifle to shoot at the missiles, to prevent them from striking any part of the colony. I managed to intercept both missiles before they hit anything and I let out a small sigh of relief at knowing that at least that hadn't gone bad.

Focusing back on the field and I took in a sense of what was happening on the battlefield and how things were progressing. Kira was still fighting one of the other two remaining GINNs and doing so up close and personal, while Lacus had taking up to defending the Archangel. Why would Lacus need to defend? Because, like the Alliance prototype mobile suits, this ship wasn't finish and so had bugs to be worked out. Those bugs would include targeting for all defensive and offensive ship guns and missiles, the movement of the ship itself needed work. Although, whoever was steering was doing a great job with the incomplete system the Archangel is working with. In other words, this battle could still go either way as things stand. The previous shot that had hit the second GINN that I had engaged, was sheer luck.

As Kira appeared to be doing fine with the GINN he was fending off for now, I flew off towards the Archangel to give Lacus a hand. Along my way, I turned off the Shadow's phase shift and activated the Mirage Colloid system. Unfortunately, the two features can't be used at the same time, so got to pick which one to use and take the pros and cons of the said features. The Mirage Colloid deployed and the Shadow vanished from sight of all others on the battlefield. Becoming invisible was nice, no one paid attention to me and that suited me just fine. I headed at the GINN, which was equipped with four heavy missiles and two somewhat smaller missiles pods attached to its legs. Before I reached a range, where I could make a shot at the machine, the GINN fired off the missiles from its leg-mounted launchers. The Archangel's Igelstellungs opened fire, but as its targeting was not aligned correctly, meaning they couldn't lock onto the missiles for interception effectively.

With little other options and being hit being unacceptable, the Archangel maneuvered to the right and tilted out of the path of the missiles. The caveat of that, due to the heavy interference of the N-jammers ZAFT was putting out affects their weapons as much as ours. Simply put, their targeting system, if it isn't line of sight, then the margin of error can cause a miss of hitting the intended target. That meant the missiles shot from the GINN couldn't tell the difference between the warship and the ground below it. So, the missiles crashed into the internal surface of Heliopolis after sailing pass the Archangel.

" _Just stop it!_ " cried Lacus, rushing forward and slashing at the GINN with the Strike's large sword. It dodged, twisting to bring all four of its anti-fortress heavy missiles to bear on the Strike. However, I wasn't about to let anyone hurt a friend of mine while I could prevent it. Plus, should Sakura find me, and learn that I let her little sister get hurt when I was around and could have prevented it, she would make me regret it in horrible ways, before possibly killing me in equally painful methods. Lacus threw the Strike into a quick spin and bring the anti-ship sword around, clearly to cleave the GINN in half at the waist.

The GINN pilot barely managed to move out of the way of the sword, but had no idea I was coming up behind and from below. As I rocketed upward, I ignited the beam saber in my shield and my beam saber passed on the right through the center of the suit like a hot knife through butter. Yet, before the two haves that were made by the cut I made blew up, the heavy missiles launched from their racks like the other GINN I'd faced. I switched off the Mirage Colloid, gazing in horror as they went flying for the largest object they could find: the colony's central shaft.

Next moment, I began firing the Igelstellungs in the Shadow's head and the beam rifle, trying to destroy the four missiles before they slammed into the central shaft. I WOULD do my utmost to keep Heliopolis from collapsing period! As I was trying to take down the missiles, I noticed out of the corner of my eye, that Lacus was firing the Strike's Igelstellungs at the missiles along with me. I hit two out of the four and get them to explode harmlessly, Lacus got one of them. Unfortunately, that left one that got beyond the range our machines' guns and one was enough to cause problems. The missile made contact against the shaft and exploded, shredded a good section of metal and other material that made of the shaft structure.

My eyes widened as parts of the central shaft either blew out or fell apart. Yet, to my intense relief, the central shaft of Heliopolis held together overall and the colony itself as well. But, with the damage that had just been delivered, the shaft and the colony were hanging by mere threads! I connected the radio on my suit to the Strike, to see Lacus was scared that the colony was close to breaking apart. "Lacus, Heliopolis is still in one piece, focus on the last GINN. Once that machine is either gone or taken care of, we can worry about Heliopolis and the citizens when that's settled," I said in a firm and steady voice in the effort to calm the girl.

" _I… I know, it's just,_ " Lacus began saying.

"Trust me Lacus, whatever way this ends, I promise that Kira and I will see it through with you." I returned to her.

Lacus nodded at my statement, " _Okay._ "

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

As the colony shook and trembled from the mobile suits fighting one another, the citizen in the locked down shelters were scared at what was happening. It was as much for them having no control over the situation as it was not knowing fully what was going on in the colony interior. In particular, inside one of the shelters, which was in the factory district section of Heliopolis, the civilians looked around as everything shook around them for a moment.

"Has another battle started up?" one of them asked in a worried tone.

Then, lights in the shelter suddenly turned red, "The hazard level has now been increased to ten," came a feminine, yet mechanical voice over the speakers. "This shelter may be ejected as a lifeboat. All personnel are to fasten their seatbelts for their safety."

Glancing around briefly, a blonde-haired, topaz-eyed girl bit her lip nervously, worried about the two who had helped her and pushed her into this shelter. Both the light brown-haired boy and the pink haired girl had run off in the direction they had dragged her from when they had headed to the shelter. She didn't know what had happened to them, but she hoped they were alright, they both seemed like good people.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Lacus and I were flying over to where Kira was still in combat with the last GINN, I reactivated the Shadow's phase shift armor. Half a minute later, we spotted the Asuka using a beam saber against the ZAFT suit, yet the GINN kept dodging at the last moment. Just from what I was seeing, the pilot, whoever they were, was fairly skilled and had been on the battlefield a decent amount before now. But, Kira was also evading the shots from the ZAFT pilot so they were at a stalemate for the moment. Lacus rushed forward and swung the large sword at the GINN, yet the ZAFT pilot evaded again. I didn't think this fight would take all that much longer as it was now 3 against 1. Plus, if we work together, we can end this in such a way that this ZAFT pilot doesn't die like his comrades did already. I got the radio connected to the Asuka and the Strike, "Kira, Lacus, surround him so that we can bring this to an end while Heliopolis is still in one piece!" I ordered.

Kira got on the right of the GINN and Lacus moved to its left, while I was in the front. The GINN's optical sensor was swinging from side to side, no doubt the pilot was seeing that he or she was trapped. I then, switched the radio to an open channel, so that the ZAFT pilot could hear me, "ZAFT pilot, you can see that you're surrounded. None of us want to kill or be killed in this, so put away your weapons and come out of your cockpit peacefully. You do that and I promise you that we'll let you walk away from this battle with your life and even have a good chance at getting back to the ship you're assigned to," I stated with clarity so that the pilot wouldn't misunderstand.

There was a slight pause and then, to my relief, and if the two sighs that I heard were anything to go by, Kira and Lacus were just as relieved as me, the ZAFT pilot was doing what I said. The situation appeared to be working out for everyone's benefit and that doesn't always happen, especially these days. However, then things went south… REAL far south, VERY fast. The GINN stored its gun, but then the cockpit opened instead of the GINN landing. The reason became clear when an alarm in my cockpit went off. Looking down at the sensors, I saw that there was a beam heading my way!

I steered forward, used my suit's hands to grab the ZAFT pilot and then shot downward. The beam passed over me, since the GINN disappeared quickly after the beam passed over, I assumed that the beam vaporized the machine. Upon calculating the direction that the beam had come from, it had been fired from the Archangel and with their current aim, it was a miracle that they hit the GINN and not any of us instead! I was about to get on the radio with the Archangel and give them a piece of my mind about how their poor decision-making was putting us all at risk and in colorful terms! But, before I could, the screeching of metal came through the sound channels gaining my attention. I shifted my mobile suit to be able to look upward and a horrific sight filled my vision. The central shaft of Heliopolis began to rip itself apart, the beam from the Archangel had struck the shaft and destroyed the remain integrity of the shaft! I turned on my Federation com-line and shouted the thought that had come to my mind, "HELIOPOLIS IS COLLAPSING, DISCONNECT NOW!"

The beating that the space colony had taken had finally gone beyond what it was rated or meant to take in any way. Those who engineered Heliopolis I bet never imagined that this structure would be put under the strain it had undergone. Now the colony's rotation which gave the colony itself gravity, was now tearing the central shaft into pieces. The inertia from the rotation tugged at the shaft, parts of it began to come off in fragments. I had to force myself not to close my eyes as what came next, though I knew what was happening and it was painful! As Heliopolis is designed, the central shaft provides the main support to literally hold the colony together, without the shaft doing that, Heliopolis's colony wall, fall apart in chunks, pieces separating from one another at the seams.

As Heliopolis began coming apart, the atmosphere that was still inside the space colony was sucked out through the openings into space. That was created strong winds that pulled in multiple directions as the air was rushing out into the vacuum of space. The Strike, Asuka and my mobile suit were all pulled in different directions. I flew backwards and was forced to concentrate on dodging debris and objects as I was in an uncontrollable flight path out of the colony at a breakneck pace. I did manage to keep ahold of the ZAFT pilot in the Shadow's hands and not have him get sucked away to who knows where along with other random debris.

Within about a minute, I finally stabilized and reoriented the Shadow and had come to a stop, just floating in space. I looked around and saw that I was in a debris field made up of chunks and pieces of what had been Heliopolis. It felt like I'd gone to sleep and was now in some sort of nightmare, even though I knew that I was awake and not imagining what I was seeing. All that was left of Heliopolis was some frame work and all the debris that had made up the place, and that had happened in a matter of minutes!

I switched on my suit's radio to find out if I could contact anyone else. It would be unlikely for me to get someone else, due to the interference of the N-Jammers. Also, there was much more heat and other ideas now adding to the previous interference, making communication even more difficult. The simple fact would be the farther the distance I would attempt to communicate over, the worse the connection would be. So, short range radio would work fine to okay, while long-range would be crap. But, it's worth a try to check anyways.

When I turned on the radio however, all I heard was static… meaning that my expectation was right. There was too much interference to contact the Archangel and I'm on my own for the time being, with the exception of my single companion. I switched over to an open channel, "Hey ZAFT pilot, are you okay?"

There was a moment before the reply, " _Yes, I believe so… why did you save me? You're with the Earth Alliance, aren't you?_ " asked a male voice.

I wanted to say, 'hell no' right off the back to being with or a part of the Earth Alliance, but, I pausing to think about how I should answer this nicely. I came to the conclusion that my job and the required secrecy, was as good as blown to hell by this point thanks to recent events. "I saved you as I firmly believe that no one should die if they don't have to. Second, I was with the Earth Forces due to unexpected mitigating circumstances that I couldn't control and I'll stick to that. Technically, I'm a part of the Federation Military and a pilot therein," I said.

" _Hmm… Federation huh, always heard that their pilots were good, guess it's true. So then, what do we do now?_ " He asked.

Okay, I don't think I should be a point of comparison for Federation pilots as I'm among some of the best, I'm just saying. As to the question he had asked, I haven't the faintest idea, it's something I would love the answer to myself. "Well, introducing ourselves would be a place to start, my name is Tyler McGregor, and you?" I posed.

" _I'm Miguel Aiman,_ " was his reply.

The beeping of my Federation com-unit sounded in my ear, "This is Tyler, what's your location? … I'm kind of in a bind at the moment and could use some help out of the current circumstances."

I've have a few issues as things are right now, which will affect me soon enough if nothing changes. The first would be the most obvious, air. I've a limited supply of breathable air and that will run out, likely in the next hour or so. Next, as much as I would prefer to bring Miguel into the cockpit as it would make things easier, I can't. The reason being, that would lose me all my air in seconds, since I don't have a space suit on right now. The last issue which effects the others, I don't have any means to change my current situation.

" _We're almost to where you are Tyler, you okay?_ " Asked Lisa me in response to my plea.

"I'm good for the moment, but I've a ZAFT pilot with me on the outside and I'm without a pilot suit, so have a limited air supply to breathe. Thus, is the current plight for me, any ideas of a way to change it for the better anyone?" I asked the members of my team at large.

" _You're lucky, you know that right?_ " returned Lisa.

" _Too right lass, but then, Tyler has always been lucky, haven't ya mate?_ " came the voice of Luke.

Lucky am I? That depends on how you look at how things have played out in this so far. I pondered what Lisa said, "Uh, thanks for the vote of confidence Luke, but how lucky do you mean Lisa? Because, from where I'm sitting right now, I don't see myself as being that lucky."

One of the Federation fighter appeared next to me as the optical camouflage of the machine disbursed, " _The Federation Cruiser the Donnen, is about two hundred yards in front of you right now. So again, I say you're lucky,_ " said Lisa.

Ah ha, so… that's what Lisa meant by me being lucky, now I understand. I switched over to the radio to talk to the Miguel, "Miguel, hold on, we're going to go forward and get on a ship. From there I'll do what I can to help you back to the ZAFT ship you were assigned to if it hasn't been downed, I promise you that."

" _Okay, I believe you_ ," said Miguel back.

I used the Shadow's thrusters to move forward and started in the direction that Lisa had indicated the Federation Cruiser was in. It took a little less than five minutes of traveling, when I spotted the lower catapult entrance for our destination. The cruiser wasn't visible as it would have its stealth field up and running. I turned my suit around so that the rear would hit the deceleration cables and not my front as I have a passenger with me. Lisa and the others I assume went in the Federation vessel through the top linear catapult. My mobile suit came to a stop, quickly connecting the feet of my machine to the deck as the catapult door closed. Next thing that occurred was that lights came on, illuminating the lift shaft, but the Shadow stayed where it was as the space began to pressurize with oxygen.

" _Pressurization sequence, complete,_ " announced a mechanical voice that came through the sound filters.

After the announcement, the lift rose towards the main hanger and we shortly came into the hanger. Now that there was an atmosphere outside my machine, I toggled the controls so that the front screen split and retracted, before I opened the hatch. I popped out of the cockpit, instantly looking down to the hands of the Shadow. I saw that the ZAFT pilot Miguel Aiman, was looking around the hanger, not that I blame him. It's rare for those who weren't crew or members within the Federation Military to be on board a Federation vessel. I used the top section of the cockpit's hatch to launch myself and sail down to his level as he took off his helmet. "Nice to meet you face to face, Miguel Aiman," I said holding out a hand.

Miguel took my hand and shook it, "Yes, I have to say, this is not what I would've imagined the inside of a Federation ship would look like. But then, there isn't much information on what the inside of a ship belonging to the Federation looking like."

The reason for the 'outsiders' not seeing the inside of Federation vessels, of course is the Federation doesn't share that kind of information with others… Federation High Command is rather notorious for that type of thing. The less information others know, then the longer the advantage of information possession the Federation keeps, or that's the idea in mind I think.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Ruins of Heliopolis, Lagrange 3

The Federation Military cruiser named the Donnen, had a length of two-hundred-fifty meters from bow to stern, with a cylindrical shape for the back half and a slight conical form going towards the front. Like all Enterprise-class ships, it supports a crew complement of two-hundred made up officers, general non-commissioned officers, engineers/mechanics along with pilots. The navigation bridge of the ship was halfway along the back half of the ship. Wings come out of the back fourth of the ship's length, have a span of fifty meters from wing tip to wing tip. The engines are mounted on the top of the wings and the underside of the of the ship's hull parallel to the other engines. The main engines were mounted in the back of the ship's central structure.

An Enterprise-class cruiser is equipped with an optical camouflage field generation system as all Federation ships are, to make the ship is undetectable. As well as having the ability to be undetectable, the sensor array the ship has is able to detect the system that the Alliance and ZAFT have made in the attempt to copy the Federation's stealth capabilities. None of the said tries have succeeded, but that didn't stop either the Earth Alliance or ZAFT from making more attempts.

For the Enterprise-class cruiser's arsenal, three high output beam cannons codenamed 'Lancers', give the cruiser firepower. There was one on either side just forward of halfway point of the ship on the sides of the ship and the last one is ahead and below the navigation bridge. Missile tubes are housed in the wings above and below on both sides of the ship, which pop up for use. Then for defensive systems, there were twelve 75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS guns known as 'Falcoguns'. Eight of the guns were forward of the wings, four on top and four on the bottom. The other four guns of the twelve total, were on the back section of the ship. None of the arsenal of the cruiser interfered with the two fighter catapults that were built into this class of Federation ships. One catapult ran along the top of length of the ship in front of the bridge and the other ran along the underside of the cruiser. The Enterprise-class could carry up to five Federation fighters at a time and still had enough room for some other support craft.

Within the tactical command center, which comprised of the back half of the bridge, officers were at control consoles that lined the edges of the oval shaped room. In the center of the room, was a table that also acted as a holographic display which also had Federation officers looking over and inputting data to help to have a clear picture of the current situation.

At the one end of the table, was a red-haired woman that was 5'5", was gazing intently at the area of debris, that was supposed to be Heliopolis. Her red hair had the length down to the middle of her neck and brown eyes. The woman was wearing the standard Federation commanding officer uniform, which was the blue long sleeve coat, that buttoned left of center and was black from mid-chest down. There were gold bars on the shoulders and wrists, denoting the woman's rank. On her shoulder pad was one star and four gold straight bars in a row and the same arrangement of star and bars on her sleeve at the wrist. This woman was named Mary Shepard and she was the captain of the Federation vessel.

Captain Shepard's expression was serious and calculating as she kept studying the incoming data. "Ensign Cob, how long will it take to get accurate readings on the area that Heliopolis is supposed to be occupying?" Asked Captain Shepard.

The short brown-haired man that was on a side of the table, typing away on a console, looked up at the red-haired woman. "We're already working on it Captain, we'll have it as soon as possible ma'am" stated Ensign Cob.

A male bridge officer came up behind Captain Shepard, "Captain, even if we can't get clear readings yet, the sensors have been able to make out two ZAFT vessels in the area. Although, we can't say where they precisely are right now, too much interference at the moment. But, if reports from the Investigation Team are correct, one is a Nazca-class destroyer and the other is a Laurasia-class frigate," said the man.

The man was in the same uniform as the captain, though on his wrist and shoulder pads was a star and three bars, symbolizing his rank of Commander. His face showed Asian descent, along with his black hairs and brown eyes. Captain Shepard glanced over her shoulder, "Tell me Commander Sulu, have we been able to confirm which of them is which type for the two ZAFT vessels?" she asked.

"Not yet captain and it's not for lack of trying. As I said, there's a great deal of interference around the area, likely due to neutron-jammers transmissions and the after effects from the collapse of Heliopolis. And upon the collapse of the colony, we have already detected a few of beacons from life boats. We're awaiting your orders to start recovery opts to retrieve them and bring them back to the ship. The cruiser Enkeya and Marsis, along with the dreadnaught Boyd will begin retrieval of the lifeboats in the next ten minutes when they come into range to do so captain," replied Commander Sulu.

Captain Shepard nodded and turned back to the central display for a moment, then faced Sulu again and was about to speak when something interrupted them. There was the sound of an alarm, then the security door to the rest of the ship opened and in walked a woman in a Federation pilot suit.

The woman stood at 5'4" with raven black hair that went to her mid-back. Her eyes were green and she appeared to be in her early mid-twenties. The suit the woman was wearing, consisted of an outfit that was similar to a one-piece jumpsuit. The arm, upper chest along with the collar sections, front and back were a neutral blue color. The side that started from the arm pits, going down to the ankles was also a neutral blue. From the mid chest, down to the mid-shins was dark blue front and back of the suit. There was a white stripe that acted like a dividing line between the neutral and dark blue sections, as well as the shoulders being white. Lastly, there was a grey belt and chest plate and shoulder straps that connected to a back piece that would attach to a pilot seat in a Federation fighter and secure the pilot in. The coloration of the suit, denoted that the woman was a member of the Human Federation Special Forces.

The black-haired woman came over and stood in front of Captain Shepard, "Captain, I'm Lieutenant Lisa Malto, Federation Special Forces and a member of the Federation investigation team that was assigned to Heliopolis." She said saluting

Captain Shepard saluted in return, "Welcome aboard the Donnen Lieutenant Malto. What is it I can do for you?" Asked Captain Shepard evenly.

"Well Captain, my team leader Tyler McGregor, came on board in a prototype mobile suit as I don't doubt you noticed. But, he also brought a ZAFT pilot on the Donnen… due to circumstances that I'm not fully aware of at the moment, yet I know he wouldn't do such without a reason. I thought it best to inform you of the development," said Lieutenant Malto.

 **-Line break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The ZAFT pilot Miguel Aiman and I, exited the cruiser's hanger and made our way through the corridors of the vessel. Our destination was the captain's cabin, so that they could know of how things stood. I have found that having the captain's cooperation can make a big difference in doing a job and so it's a habit of mine to attempt to have their assistance. In this, I would ask the captain if they could help me keep my word that I gave Mr. Aiman to get him back to the vessel he was assigned to. There shouldn't be much of an issue with doing what I promised, heck can be used as a reason to board one of the ZAFT vessels to get answers for what happened to Heliopolis. Honestly, the collapse of the resource colony shouldn't have happened at all, the Earth Forces shouldn't have been developing weapons there and ZAFT shouldn't have attacked the colony. Yet, there's no reason to complain about what shouldn't and should've happened at this point, there's nothing that can be done to change what has occurred.

Miguel was looking around as we traveled through the ship, yet that's to be expected. As I stated already, rarely do any non-Federation personnel walk the decks of a Federation military vessel. So, this is a treat that most don't get, Alliance or ZAFT. It took us slightly less than ten minutes to reach the captain's cabin.

Now, where I might have the rank of Commander, as of thirteen months ago in the Federation Military. I was a Lieutenant commander before that… long story how I started with the rank I did, perhaps I'll get to the story later. Anyways, I also was a part of the Federation's Special Forces, again an unusual point with me being as young as I am and yet doing the things I do. Not only that, but I'm also a member of the Federation's S.O.L.A.S. or the Specialized DeplOyment TacticaL Antiphon Squadron. SOLAS is pretty much the best of the best that the Human Federation has, much like ZAFT's 'FAITH' pilots or the Earth Forces' 'SWORD' pilots.

Yet, my point is that while I'm on board this ship, even if I would be treated as having equal rank as the first officer, if not the captain, I'm still not able to do whatever I want to. The ship's captain can overrule me in matters concerning the ship, if they see a reason to. So, I'm taking a risk here in asking that Miguel is returned to the ship to which he's assigned. Technically, per regulations, I shouldn't have brought him on board to begin with, yet I don't see leaving him to die being something I could accept. Still, what's done is done and I can't change my actions now, so time to man up and take responsibility, that's what I do.

When Miguel and I reached our intended destination, I knocked on the door and we were told to enter, the door opened and into the captain's cabin we went. I snapped to when I got in front of the desk and faced the captain of this Federation Cruiser, this would be the time to be on my best behavior. "Commander Tyler McGregor, reporting as per request," I stated.

I looked at the person in front of me and found that the captain was a woman… not that it's unheard of by any means, there's just a difference between male captains and female captains. I'm not discriminating, giving the truth as I've seen it, different style of leading. The woman looked up at me, "I'm Captain Mary Shepard, I assume that your companion is the ZAFT pilot I've heard about?" she replied in an almost emotionless voice.

I see Lisa is as quick to minimize risk as she ever, thankful for what she does as it tends to save hassle later on. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Miguel salute, he must have read the situation and figured like me, good behavior would be best to practice. "Ma'am, I'm ZAFT green pilot Miguel Aiman," he said stiffly.

Have to say, this woman is giving off a serious, no-nonsense vibe, kind of reminds me of how my mother can get when she's ticked off about something and I avoid her when she's like that! So, I don't blame Miguel for being uptight, probably better that manners are employed in this situation. Captain Shepard nodded in return to the introduction, then she turned back to me, "Commander, as the leader of the investigation team, perhaps you can explain somethings to me as sensor readings haven't said much as of yet." I inclined my head to signal her to keep going and the she did, "With the orders that I received along with the other ships in the patrol, it was my understanding that we would be here to bring to task the Alliance forces that were in the Orb resource colony."

Straight to the point then, is it? I swallowed and then nodded. "That sounds about right Captain Shepard," I confirmed, but wasn't given the chance to explain as Captain Shepard continued.

"And yet, when we in the patrol arrives on site, we find debris where the space colony should be. What happened Commander for this to be the case?" She demanded.

Well… that's a long explanation she's asking for. I knew that the question as to what happened here would come, I just don't know how to explain it without placing blame on ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. And where I would normally not have much issue with doing such a thing, the situation with Heliopolis is complicated in a way that isn't normal. I cleared my throat, "Well Captain Shepard, things got far more complicated in the last few days, which wasn't expected." I received a bit of a cold glare from Captain Shepard, which I took to mean, don't ramble and just answer her question outright. "Put simply ma'am, things were going fine at the beginning of the week, then things started getting tense and complicated quickly. Today started alright, then ZAFT forces got involved. They entered the colony, I believe with the evidence I've seen, they were aiming to only foil Earth Forces weapon development and them moving any of it."

I paused and looked back at Miguel, hoping that he would backup my statement. He was nodding at my last statement, "Yes, we were only there to get the prototype mobile suits. It was never intended for the citizens of the colony or the colony itself to be put into harm's way," he said in a sober tone.

Turning back to Captain Shepard, I continued, "Unfortunately, the Alliance forces' reactions added lots of fuel to the chaos, which in turn, put the colony and its citizens in danger. My fellow team members and I tried to minimize the damage. Unfortunately, it didn't work out the way that we hoped. I managed to board a suit at Morgenroete Inc. complex, along with another and we fought off the last stolen Alliance machine and two GINNs. The three machines retreated and then I hooked up with the Alliance forces that were still alive for a bit. It was in the hopes that further damage to Heliopolis could be prevented. I'm ashamed to say, the results… speak for themselves ma'am," I lowered my head slightly and didn't meet the woman's gaze, "I made a bad judgement call, I admit that. The new Earth Alliance ship and remaining mobile suit, both proved more powerful than I'd calculated from the blueprints that had been obtained. That was made worse with lack of experience crew operating the ship and lack of knowledge of the weapons of the mobile suit. Because of those screw ups, Heliopolis is now in pieces. This is due to my bad call, so it's in part, my fault," I admitted as I finished my recounting.

I couldn't read the captain's face from what I had told her, but she shifted her gaze to Miguel, "And how did you come to keep the company with this ZAFT pilot?" she asked.

"During the last fight, three GINNs… well, were destroyed and when I and other mobile suit pilots surrounded his suit, I gave him the option to exit his machine and give himself up. When he exited his suit, the Alliance ship fired one of its beam turrets. I reacted and grabbed Miguel and shot downward to avoid being shot. However, that beam hit the colony central shaft and… it didn't take nicely at all. During the process of the colony breaking up, I was pulled outside of the main colony from the force of the atmosphere being sucked out. I gave my word that I would return him to the vessel he is assigned to, that's all captain," I said.

I waited for the verdict to come, what that will be, I can't say, but I will face the consequences of my decision. The captain seemed to be considering what I had said for a couple minutes, then she looked to Miguel, "And what ship were you assigned to?" she asked curtly.

"The Nazca-class vessel Vesalius ma'am," replied Miguel.

Captain Shepard nodded slightly, "Very well, I don't see why that cannot be arranged. One last question of you pilot Miguel Aiman."

"That is ma'am?" asked Miguel.

"Whom might your mission commander be?" inquired Captain Shepard.

I'd a good guess, thanks to Lacus, but I was curious too, I wanted to be sure. Miguel looked somewhat surprised at the question, "Oh, that would be Commander Rau Le Creuset."

The captain nodded at the answer, then she touched a communication control, "Sulu, move the ship towards the nearest ZAFT vessel, identify it visually if you have to, you're looking for the Nazca-class destroyer. Once you have identified it, inform me please."

" _Understood Captain, will do,_ " was the reply to the request over the com-channel.

Captain Shepard turned back to the both of us, "We will return you to your ship Miguel Aiman. Plus, I would like a word with your mission commander," she said in a tone I couldn't read.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **Hope you readers are liking the revision I've taken the time to make. Please take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of this story. As I said before, this is an idea that came after reading some of the fanfiction of Gundam Seed and watching the anime, of which I love most of the Gundam series. It is close and dear to my heart as it was one of the anime series that started my interest and love of anime.**


	3. Phase 3: Aftermath

**A/n**

 **I hope you readers are liking the changes thus far, here is phase 3.**

* * *

Phase 3: Aftermath

January 26th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Heliopolis Debris Field

Aboard the Archangel, red lights flashed throughout the ship and normal lighting had been dimmed, creating a cold feeling throughout the ship. In the mess hall, the Heliopolis students stared at the view screen in shock, gazing at the ruins of their home, having trouble taking it all in. It felt surreal, to see Heliopolis which had appeared so solid and structurally sound, turn into floating masses of material. While on the bridge, the crew was in just as much shock, "I can't believe this… it was, so fragile," said Mu softly, looking out the viewport on the bridge.

Murrue clenched a fist at the sight of the results of this fight displayed in front of them. This wasn't supposed to happen! Heliopolis wasn't supposed to be attacked, nor collapse! Yet, that's exactly what had occurred and there was nothing that could be done to undo this. Murrue turned and look down at Natarle in the CIC, who was trying to contact Kira, Tyler and Lacus. In the chaos of the colony breaking apart, all contact had been lost.

"X105 Strike, X209 Shadow, SA01 Asuka! Do you read," she said, tones of worry becoming audible. "Lacus Don! Tyler McGregor! Kira Yamato! If any of you hear me, respond!"

There was crackling heard from the communication channel for another moment, then it was broken, " _This is SA01 Asuka,_ " more static resounded before Kira's voice came again," _This is Kira Yamato._ "

" _X105 Strike, Lacus here,_ " came Lacus's voice an instant later, though the com-channel would go from being clear to having static cut over the one speaking off and on.

At hearing two out of the three pilots, and knowing they were okay after the chaos that had happened, Natarle let out a sigh of relief. Yet, the third reply that all were expected and waiting for didn't come. Static was all that came from the Archangel's com-channels after Kira and Lacus replied. "X209 Shadow, respond!" Natarle repeated. Nothing but static was heard, which made the bridge crew uneasy. Natarle accepted that for the moment, the Shadow wherever it was, it couldn't communicate with the Archangel, "Are you two alright?" Natarle asked the other two teens.

" _Yes, we seem to be fine,_ " replied Lacus.

"Do you have our position?" inquired Natarle.

" _Yes, we do,_ " said Kira, sounding strained.

"Then return for now," said Natarle. "You're able to, right?"

" _Is there anything from Tyler?_ " Asked Lacus.

Murrue frowned at the question, "None yet, but with the interference, it might be hard for contact to be made if he's much of a distance from the ship. We will keep trying though, come back to the ship for now," she said

 **-Line Break-**

The Vesalius

Much of the bridge crew of the Vesalius gazed out at the wreckage of the former space colony off and on while they did their work worked. The air of worry and apprehension was easy to feel by all on the bridge, "Who could have anticipated this?" muttered Ades. "What will you do now? The Council won't overlook the annihilation of a neutral nation's colony. And even if they do, it's unlikely that others will."

"How can a colony that was building new weaponry for the Earth Forces be considered neutral?" reasoned Le Creuset.

"But Commander," started Ades.

Rau Le Creuset turned away, while Captain Ades was clenching his fists, the whole mess with Heliopolis had been blown out of proportion quickly. He had agreed with the view of Commander Le Creuset before with what they had known. The information on the mobile suits being developed had been solid, but for the results of the actions to be this wasn't the outcome hoped for. Now the new Earth Alliance warship was somewhere in the debris, which with the heat and other interference, wouldn't be found for the time being as the sensors couldn't tell the difference between it and the surrounding debris. They were down four mobile suit pilots between the Vesalius and the Laurasia-class ship, the _Gamow_. They had lost all their green uniformed pilots and that was harsh, and all they had to work with was the four Alliance prototypes and those weren't very usable just yet.

Commander Le Creuset was looking over the map display, he had said that he was attempting predict where the 'legged ship' as he had begun to call it was right now. Ades knew that Command Le Creuset had a reputation of disregarding rules, he had read up on him before the masked man had come onboard the Vesalius. Rau Le Creuset's record of service for ZAFT was good and bad, had participated in well-known battles, but on missions, the results didn't always justify the means he chose to go with. In this, the situation wasn't simple anymore and there were consequences that would come. Once the PLANT supreme council got wind of what happened, and they would probably by the curtesy of the Federation Military or Human Federation politics. Then, there would be bad repercussions for those involved! One of the few ways things could become worse in Ades's view, was if a Federation patrol were to come by with them still around the area.

The tense silence was interrupted by the communications officer, "Captain," he said a tad shakily. "There's a Federation ship requesting to have a word with us sir," said the officer.

Captain Ades had been apprehensive before about how things had played out, now he was seriously concerned for what was going to happen. Granted, there had always been the risk of the Federation finding out that ZAFT had attacked a neutral colony was possible, all on this mission knew that in the back of their minds. However, for them to be here now with the space colony just collapsed, put the Vesalius and the Gamow in a very incriminating position! Looking over at Commander Le Creuset and seeing he hadn't looked up at all at the statement from the com-officer. It wasn't surprising that there had been no warning of the presence of a Federation ship, they were pretty much undetectable until they wanted to be seen. The Federation's stealth capabilities were no great secret, even if the methods certainly were from both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. Yet, the Federation's ships all had the ability to seemingly appear out of nowhere, that was made clear to both sides early on during the war, if not before the war official started. Ades sighed since it fell to him to answer the call, "Very well, put them on," he said calmly, even if he didn't feel so.

A moment later, an image of a woman came up on the main screen, she had red hair and was in the customary Human Federation military uniform that was mostly blue, and the rest black with gold trim. Captain Ades cleared his throat, "This is Captain Fredrik Ades of the ZAFT Nazca-class destroyer Vesalius. What can we do for the Federation?"

" _This is Captain Mary Shepard of the Federation cruiser Donnen. Captain Ades, you are to stay where you are and prepare to have Federation personnel come on board your vessel._ " Said the woman that had identified herself as Captain Shepard in a serious tone.

"And what reason would the Human Federation have to come aboard this vessel, Captain Shepard?" Asked Commander Le Creuset looking at the main screen now.

" _In case you haven't noticed Commander, the neutral resource colony Heliopolis has collapsed, and by the heat in the general area, it happened recently. The Orb Union, who owned the space colony, since they are members of the Human Federation, will want an explanation as to what happened. With you in this area, it is assumed that you saw what could have caused the event, so an exchange of information is in order. Then, one of our pilots picked up a ZAFT pilot that has said that he is assigned to your vessel. We are bringing him back to your ship to return him,_ " stated Captain Shepard curtly.

Captain Ades was surprise at the mention of a ZAFT pilot being returned, as well as the fact of the Orb Union being a member of the Human Federation. There had never been any report or announcement of that fact and it was a fact that would make this situation possibly worse. "How nice of the Federation military, to wish to return one of our pilots. Of course, there's no problem with Federation personnel coming on board our vessel and an exchange of information would be welcome," said Commander Le Creuset.

The channel with the Federation vessel closed and Captain Ades turned to Commander Le Creuset, "Commander, do you really think it's a wise idea to allow Federation personnel on the Vesalius? The Alliance ship could use the time to escape," Ades remarked.

Creuset thought for a moment, "That is a possibility however, the more that we cooperate with the Federation Military at this point, the less blame of what happened to Heliopolis we'll likely receive. Plus, I am quite curious which of our pilots they saved," replied Le Creuset.

Ades nodded slowly, but still had reservations about this event. The next five minutes were extremely tense ones, especially when the Federation cruiser became visible above the ZAFT vessel. The Vesalius shook a bit as the Federation cruiser connected to one of the upper hull airlocks.

Commander Le Creuset left the bridge and headed to the upper deck, to greet the Federation personnel that would come aboard the Vesalius. It would be interesting to find out how much the Federation had known about the Alliance weapon development. There were already a number of ZAFT officers and crew members gathering at the two hatches in the upper hull of the ship, Nicol Amalfi among them. Then with little warning the hatch closer to the ship's rear opened up and two uniformed Federation officers floated through the hatch and oriented themselves perpendicular to the deck of the Vesalius. Moments after the two officers came through, the woman that had spoken on the radio channel came through the hatch.

Le Creuset made his way to the front of the crowd, "Ah, Captain Shepard, welcome on board of the Vesalius. It's always a pleasure when officers of the Federation military come and visit."

Mary Shepard's face took on a serious expression, "This is not the time for flattery Le Creuset, nor am I interest in hearing any from you."

Seconds after the brief exchange of words, another person came out of the hatch, yet this time the person was wearing a green ZAFT pilot suit. "Miguel!" called Nicol with surprise.

A second person came through the hatch, rolling to orient themselves with the ship deck. That second person was a young man with tan hair and wearing grey and tan camo pants and a black leather top. The top had shoulder pads that had belts that went under the armpits and connected on the back of the shoulder pads on both sides. There was an inch-wide strip of leather that went across the upper chest that attached to the belts on the shoulder pads. Then there was a two-inch wide belt around the waist area of the uniform. Chap like lengths of leather extended over the outside of the upper legs, yet still were connected to the top piece. The sides of the top were grey as were the two-inch cuffs of the short sleeve top and to top off this uniform, blue lining the folds and seams of the clothing. The uniform was the less formal uniform of the Human Federation military.

"Miguel, it is wonderful to see you alive and now back on the Vesalius," greeted Commander Le Creuset.

Miguel saluted, "Thank you Commander, sorry it took me so long."

"Not at all Miguel, having you back is enough," returned Le Creuset, before turning to Captain Shepard. "You have my thanks as well as ZAFT's, for bringing back one of our own Captain, it is very much appreciated, especially with the losses taken today. Now then, if you would follow me, we can exchange the information that we have on recent events."

Captain Shepard nodded and followed the ZAFT Commander down the corridor. Nicol came forward and put a hand on Miguel's shoulder, "Miguel, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I am, thanks Nicol… only wished that Matthew, Olar and Ryan were here with me too," replied Miguel.

Athrun Zala came into the corridor, to find out what was going on and stopped once he saw Miguel. He had thought he had died along with Matthew, Olar and Ryan when the report that all four GINNs that had been sent out to finish off the mobile suits had been lost. It had pained him as much if not more than worried him. If those two odd mobile suits and the last Alliance machine were able to dispatch four GINNs, they were becoming more dangerous as time passed! Athrun floated forward towards the thinning crowd, "Miguel, you're alive!" uttered Athrun in relief.

Both Nicol and Miguel turned to face Athrun as he came towards them. Miguel nodded, "Yeah, thought I wouldn't make it for a bit, but it's really thanks to this guy over here," said Miguel pointing to the Tan haired young man who smiled slightly at being gestured at, "I wouldn't be here if not for him, especially when my GINN was destroyed."

At hearing that, Nicol faced the young man that was a little older than himself and then, bowed to him. "Thank you very much for helping even one of our comrades to make it back to us."

When Athrun heard Nicol's thanks, he shook his head a bit as he focused on the one responsible for Miguel being alive and back on aboard the ship. No matter who they were or what a member of the Federation had been doing around here, it was because of them that Miguel was here now. However, as Athrun looked to the face of the young man that was a couple of years older than Athrun himself, he found his mind coming to a halt. The face was familiar, but… It couldn't be who Athrun thought it was, even with the five or so years that had gone by since he had seen him! Yet, the young man waved at Athrun with a smile, "Hey Athrun, long time no see. Although, I've got to say, I was expecting a bit more of a greeting rather than a shocked gape. I mean, since it has been a while since the last time our paths crossed one another's," said the young man.

Miguel looked between Athrun and the young Federation pilot, "Wait, you two know each other?" He asked.

The tan haired young man rubbed the back of his head, "Well, yes, I would definitely say that we do. By the way, I don't think I've introduced myself yet, my name is Tyler McGregor, and I'm a Federation pilot. It's nice to meet you all," said Tyler.

"I'm Nicol Amalfi, nice to meet you Mr. McGregor," replied Nicol stretching a hand out.

Tyler took the offered hand and shook it, "Nice to meet you Nicol, but please, just Tyler will be fine," he said.

Athrun snapped out of his shocked state, "Tyler what are you doing around here?" he asked.

Tyler frowned, "That's the first question you ask me Athrun, not how have you been doing, or what's been going on with you? After all, it's been around five years since you and I have been in each other's presence," he said in a very convincing hurt tone.

The blue-haired ZAFT pilot looked down, "Sorry Tye, I didn't mean…"

Tyler chuckling, put a hand up to stop Athrun to stop talking, "You still take things way too serious my friend. I was just messing with you, didn't mean anything by what I said." Tyler moved forward and embraced Athrun, "Although, I have to say, it's good to see you Athrun, you're looking well."

Nicol cleared his throat, "Well, it seems you two have catching up to do, so I'll go and finish the adjustments to the mobile suit I brought back." He said.

"Yeah, I'll come with you Nicol," interjected Miguel.

Tyler pulled away from Athrun and waved a hand, "Oh, we can all go, I have to wait for Captain Shepard anyways and she's talking with Commander Le Creuset. Who knows how long that'll take? So, I need something to do to keep myself occupied," he said.

And so, the five of us proceeded down to the Vaselius's mobile suit hanger, along the way, Tyler and Athrun were making small talk between one another, catching up on thing. Miguel and Nicol were smiling while they listened and glanced back at the two friends speaking avidly with one another. Once in the hanger, Nicol floated over to the X207 Blitz suit and popped into the cockpit. Tyler looked around and his gaze stopped briefly on the two stolen Earth Alliance mobile suits. Athrun noticed this and frowned slightly, "These two machines…"

Tyler didn't let Athrun finished, by speaking up, "Are two of the Earth Alliance prototype mobile suits, specifically; the X303 Aegis and X207 Blitz, both of the 'GAT' series," Tyler said flatly as if the information was common knowledge.

Miguel and Athrun gaped at Tyler, Miguel was the first to gain use of his voice, "How do you know that?" he asked.

"Learned about them during the last year, as a member of the Federation investigation team that was sent to Heliopolis. In fact, know about all five prototypes, including the three that aren't here," Tyler replied tiredly.

"Wait, there's been a Federation team investigating at Heliopolis for the last year?" Asked Nicol, having come out of the Blitz and floated up to where the group was.

Tyler turned to face Nicol and nodded, "Yes, for around a year as of this week, you have very good hearing Nicol. Back to the point, there's been the rumor that the Earth Alliance was doing weapon development in neutral territory. So, I was with one of the teams looking into the rumor's validity. As I believe we all know now, the Alliance was using Heliopolis to do the development." Tyler's tone had been gaining a bit of a spiteful tone halfway through his explanation.

Then Tyler suddenly got a look of interest on his face, "Say, Athrun, Nicol, what do you think of the OS the Alliance suits have? Never was able to get much information on the operating system the Alliance was supposedly designing. Makes me kind of curious about it, since the Alliance has been attempting to develop a Natural-use OS for who knows how long now. I've been wanting to know if they have made much headway or if they still have a long way to go," he said.

Both Nicol and Athrun's faces got an expression of disgust, "OS… I don't think you can exactly call the system that was installed on them, which was to 'run' these machines, an Operation System," replied Nicol.

Athrun nodded in agreement, "Yes, the system was a mess, I can't guess what the designers were thinking with how it was working."

"So," Tyler posed, "Would you say the OS is garbage, junk, something like that, yes?"

Both Nicol and Athrun nodded, "Yes, something like that would be fairly accurate," replied Athrun, "I know that I had to pretty much rewrite the OS to have something that would work."

The conversation ended when a ZAFT officer came into the hanger and went over to the group of pilots. The officer said that their presences were needed on the bridge of the vessel; so, the four pilots head up to the bridge. In the command center of the vessel; Captain Shepard, Commander Le Creuset and Captain Ades were looking over information being displayed, when Tyler, Athrun, Nicol and Miguel entered. Le Creuset glanced over as the four pilots entered, "Ah, you four are here, very good." Said Le Creuset waving over the pilots.

They came over to the display table, the information that the commanding officers had been looking at, was still there. Tyler glancing over the table and read information that was there. "As you can see, the Vesalius has been called back to the PLANTs by the Supreme Council. They want an explanation for what happened at Heliopolis in detail." Said Le Creuset.

Captain Shepard inclined her head, "And since the Donnen is going that way as well for the same reasons. And because the members of the investigation team are on the Donnen, they will be giving their report to the council. Traveling together seems better," she said.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

After returning to the Donnen, I was shown by Commander Sulu to quarters for the journey to the PLANTs. The room wasn't large, but nor was it what the mid and lower ranked officers of the ship had, their quarters are meant to bunk three to five officers. The room I was given had a bed, a sink, a couch and desk for working space. I would have to thank Captain Shepard for the quarters, as I'd a report to write about what happened at Heliopolis. It wasn't one that I looked forward to writing, that's for sure! Putting the pack that was pretty much what I had with me down by the bed, I floated over to the desk 'sat down' and began to recall recent events and getting my thoughts into order. I was brought out of my thoughts by a knock on the door. "Come in," I said.

In the door came the other three members of the investigation team. It's not the first time that the whole team had gathered together, but it wasn't a common event throughout the last year either. Seeing that Alan Knight was in the lead, standing at 6' in height, he had short blonde hair that was styled with the hair going back, leaving his forehead in clear view. Alan's eyes were hazel and was still in his pilot suit. Even if Alan was the only Natural on the investigation team, that didn't make him any less a value member.

Luke Lascy was just behind Alan, with his height at 5'11", had his customary smile. Luke had spiky hair that was an average of three inches in length and was charcoal black. His eyes were a grey color, rare color but as a Coordinator, it's what his parents chose. Luke was also still in his pilot suit like Alan was and lastly, Lisa brought up the rear.

Alan sat on the bed, Luke floated up into a corner of the room and Lisa floated by the desk. I cleared my throat, "So, what do I owe the visit from you all?" I asked as I type the title and first sentence of the Heliopolis report.

"Well, the three of us thought we could help you with the investigation report by discussing the events that came out to the collapse of the colony. Since the report will be unpleasant to write I wouldn't doubt," said Lisa.

It's at times like this, that working with comrades that are also good friends on missions are wonderful. The discussion started with the time of our arrival at Heliopolis. We all got there in a thee day period, as it could be suspicious if we all arrived together at the colony. With the assignment we were on, discretion was a big thing, so the less attention that we drew, the better. Each of us had a different story for the 'reason' that we were coming to Heliopolis and allow us to access different place in the colony.

My story, was me being there on an educational exchange as well as getting to "experience the culture", and with my age of 18, that was much more believable. Plus, that would give me the excuse to search of the technical college and its professors that could possibly be involved in weapon development if the Alliance was at Heliopolis. For Lisa, she came as a liaison between the ones in charge of the resource colony and the maintenance workers within the administration structure. That would allow her to look into the leaders of the colony and the maintenance sector as well. Alan came under the guise of a contracted architectural engineer that would work alongside Morgenroete personnel. That gave him easy and unnoticed access to the records of Morgenroete itself. While Luke would be at Heliopolis as a journalist and part-time photographer, making he able to mingle with the population without suspicion. So, we had most of the bases covered to find out if the Alliance would be in Heliopolis.

Admittedly, bumping into Kira again, though unexpected, was very nice for me and helped my job not be noticed by others. Yet, a side note to that, I hadn't seen my friend for five years and he hadn't changed all that much. It took us six weeks to discover that the Earth Alliance was indeed using Heliopolis, specifically Morgenroete Inc. for their development project. Actually, it'd been Lisa and myself that had found the fact out… and it had been by accident.

Lisa had come across some of the Archangel officers that were around the maintenance personnel, while I'd seen a man later identified as the captain assigned to the Archangel, or was supposed to be, at the college and had caught a view of his Alliance ID. From that point on, we began investigating more closely into the activities in and around the space colony. The three Federation fighters had been delivered four and a half months into this mission, when Lisa had gained the trust of the maintenance workers enough for them to tell her about the original construction docks in unused section of the colony that we stored the fighters when we weren't using them and no one would perhaps come across them.

The team had found out about the warship, the Archangel first. It was when Professor Kato had started giving Kira and I 'work' to do for him that the first thoughts of mobile suits entered my mind. Alan had gotten a view of one of them and had confirmed my suspicions. Most of the rest of the time we had been at Heliopolis was used to get as much info on the warship and mobile suits. Once we had handed in our findings, we were told that a Federation patrol would come to cease and confiscate both the mobile suits and the warship.

Everything had been going really well… then ZAFT had come and messed things up. Granted, they couldn't have known that the Federation had been looking into the activities of the Earth Alliance. But really, attacking a neutral space colony, did Le Creuset truly believe that the Human Federation would let that slide? If so, then he's not as smart as his reputation says he is, or else he's very good and worming his way out of things. I'm inclined to assume the latter rather than the former and that doesn't sit well with me at all.

The discussion with the others did help me to decide what to put in the report as I started writing it. Compiling the information would be time consuming, but as the journey to the PLANTs is a between ten and nine-hour trip, I have a good amount of time to work with.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

The crew and officers of the Archangel except Chief Murdoch and the mechanics, who were doing work to get the ship working smoothly and efficiently, were gathered on the bridge. All of them were wondering what was next now that Heliopolis was gone and the was so little of the crew on this ship as most were dead. All that was left of the original bridge crew were Ensign Badgiruel and Lieutenant Ramius, the rest were general crew. Even if no one said it, all on the bridge knew things were grim for the Archangel and there were slim prospects of seeing improvement any time soon.

"So, what do you plan we do now?" asked Mu, breaking the silence.

"Our ship is still in a combat situation," said Murrue, looking over her shoulder at Pal. "Have you detected the ZAFT vessels?"

"No, that's impossible as things are right now," he said with a slight shake of his head. "All that debris is throwing out a tremendous amount of heat and presenting a solid mass to interfere with other forms of detection."

"ZAFT will have the same problem as us," said Krystal, turning in her seat to look at Murrue. "And they will likely wait for us to make a move, then follow us."

Murrue wasn't appreciating having been shoved into the captain's chair, with all that had happened. She was going to be manning the electronic warfare station down in the CIC, never had Murrue thought she would be in the captain's chair. "Tactically speaking, I would have to agree. I think we should move based on that assumption, but if the enemy tries to attack us right now, we'll be in a lot of trouble."

"Trouble is putting our situation mildly," said Mu. "All we've got are those two mobile suits with inexperienced civilian volunteer pilots, Krystal's and my badly damaged Zeros and a warship that is severely understaffed. The third pilot we did have, who might have had some knowledge with piloting a suit which would help, has vanished with his suit. Overall, we're in no real condition to be putting up much of a fight at this point." Mu sighed, "Is there anything going for us in this right now or are we just a couple of steps from being screwed?"

"The Archangel's firepower is tremendous," said Murrue but she then paused, "But, not only are we short-handed, but of those of us left, only Ensign Badgiruel and myself were trained for bridge operations and then neither of our stations were weapon control, so I don't think either of us know much else other than loose basics for other stations. It would be different if we had another four bridge crewmen fully capable of handling the tasks, yet we don't. This ship is built to support a crew of a hundred-fifty, and we're nowhere near that."

Mu looked around, the only people they could offer for bridge operations were Murrue and Natarle. Arnold Neumann was handling the piloting and doing very well, considering that he wasn't any one of the ship pilots at all to begin with. Pal was currently sitting fire control and running the enemy search & detection with it as he at least knew the system even if it wasn't his assigned position. Optimally, the bridge should've had at least six more people staffing it, to make a total of eight. But of the surviving Earth Forces soldiers, which included Krystal and himself, around ten of them were mechanics too busy making sure the ship didn't fall apart to do anything to help out on the bridge or almost anywhere else on the ship. The other seven were those of them on the bridge, running the ship as best as they could.

"Maybe we should punch up to full speed, try to outrun them?" said Mu. "I was told this is supposed to be a pretty fast ship."

Murrue shook her head, "This ship has very high acceleration and cruising speed, but its mass is significantly more than the enemy's Nazca-class and has fewer engines for acceleration," she said. "We do have mobility and firepower on it, but…"

"But an inexperienced crew and lack of people to run this ship," finished Mu, looking over at Arnold. "Think you can maneuver this bulky thing around a Nazca?"

"Well sure, if I had a few weeks to practice," said Arnold. "Sorry Lieutenant, but I'm doing the best I can. What about you?"

"I wouldn't recommend that," piped up Krystal, jabbing a thumb at Mu. "The Lieutenant is a good mobile armor pilot, but a ship this size wouldn't do well with HIS driving style."

Mu gained a down casted look at pretty much being told he was a crazy driver by Krystal, even if she did have a point. "She unfortunately has a point, instinct would have me trying to fly it like my Zero in no time flat. Plus, if a fight breaks out, I'll need to be out there, not in the driver's chair, no offense."

Arnold shrugged in response, then Mu turned back to Murrue, "Well, I suppose we could always surrender captain," he said, catching the others off-guard, though Natarle remained focused down in the CIC. "That's always an option you know."

"If we were dealing with the Federation Military instead of ZAFT, I would be more inclined to go with that, since they tend to be more reasonable than ZAFT is, who shoots first and asks questions later with the Alliance," Krystal added.

Murrue was about to response to Mu and Krystal, but was caught off guard by Natarle's voice, "What was that?" demanded the ensign. "Are you two out of your minds?! If you bring them aboard, you're putting them right in the middle of a dangerous combat situation! Do you really expect to be granted permission for such a thing?!"

All the bridge crew turned to look at Natarle in slight confusion, "What's the situation Ensign?" questioned Murrue. Natarle came up out of the CIC, with a slight grimace on her face, as she still listened to Kira's and Lacus's retort to her telling them no to their ridiculous request. She was about to say that it was nothing to be concerned about and that she would handle what the two teenagers that were piloting the mobile suits. Yet, Lacus then gave information and logical reasoning, which Kira backup, which Natarle couldn't deny without regretting it later.

Natarle sighed after hearing the teens, "Understood, please standby," she said over the radio before focusing on Murrue. "The Strike and the Asuka have heading back to the ship however, they have two Heliopolis lifeboats with them and have requested to bring them aboard the Archangel. According to them, it seems that one of them suffered some kind of damage or malfunction and its beacon along with its thrusters aren't working properly. The other has taken some damage as well, which has affected its beacon, for isn't activating at all."

"That means the chances of either boat being found in time is slim, at least before all their passengers are all dead," said Mu, looking at Murrue.

"Tell them they have permission to go ahead and bring both pods aboard," she said. "We can't leave them stranded out here. Plus, we don't really have the time to argue at the moment with ZAFT searching for us."

"Understood," said Natarle, switching the communications back on. "You have permission to bring them aboard."

" _Thank you,_ " came Lacus's voice.

Natarle tapped in the commands to open the catapults for the mobile suits and what they carried. Then Natarle contacted Chief Murdoch and informed him that Heliopolis lifeboats would be coming on board. Meanwhile, above the CIC, Murrue returned to the original subject, "I know we're in a critical situation," she said, "but I have no intention of surrendering." Mu, who had sat down in the navigator/co-pilot seat, turned to look at her curiously. "I refuse to hand over either this ship or the Strike to ZAFT. We must get it and this ship safely to Atlantic Federation HQ, no matter what the risks or costs are."

"Captain," said Natarle, coming out of the CIC after arranging things with the mobile suits and those who would be coming onto the ship, "I recommend we select Artemis as our next destination."

"Artemis…?" questioned Murrue quietly, and somewhat doubtfully. "But that's a Eurasian Federation military satellite."

"The one with the umbrella shield?" said Mu, turning his chair completely.

"That Eurasia claims is the ultimate and unbeatable defense," added Krystal.

"Hmm," mumbled Natarle, nodding slightly. She then turned to the primary display screen, which brought up a general map of the area. "Given our present location, it is the most easily accessible allied outpost, and we are in real need."

"Both the G-weapons and this ship lack a recognition code acknowledged by our allies, right?" said Murrue. "The question remains, would Eurasia…?"

"I'm certainly aware," said Natarle, interrupting Murrue, "Of the fact that the Archangel and the Strike are both considered to be sensitive military secrets of the Atlantic Federation, and we can probably safely assume the same of the Asuka for Orb. The tension between the Atlantic and Eurasian Federations is not the best lately, but with the situation we find ourselves in, I believe they would possible help. Should we set a course to the moon from here, you can't expect us to arrive there without encountering at least some resistance along the way from both ZAFT and the Federation Military. In addition, we left in a hurry and we weren't sufficiently supplied, which means were urgently in need of provisions, all the more so if we're to be carrying additional Orb refugees."

"I realize that," said Murrue.

"I have to say that even Eurasia will be sympathetic to our situation as it stands," said Natarle. "With the situation as it is, the most practical course of action would be to avoid confrontation as much as possible, and then resupply at Artemis. When we're there, we could also attempt to contact Lunar Headquarters."

"Artemis, then?" asked Mu. "I wonder if everything will go exactly as planned with how things stand."

"Doubting before we start out Mu?" Asked Krystal, in a joking manner.

"This is not a joking matter you two, it's hard to say how this will play out," said Murrue, "but it does seem to be our best viable option right now."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

A little more than half a day passed without much event of note happening as we traveled to the area of Lagrange 5 where the PLANT colonies are. The announcement of our impending arrival sounded throughout the ship, and I finished the sentence I was writing and closed the terminal that I had written the report on. As I would likely be required to appear in front of the PLANT's supreme council, it would be wise to put on my formal officer uniform. I'm not very fond of the set of clothing, feels stiff and doesn't move well, it's why I don't wear the clothing unless I have to. Unfortunately, going to a meeting with the PLANT's supreme council does qualify as one of those occasions that I have to wear the formal uniform.

I mean, the outfit is much like what Captain Shepard wears when she's on duty, the same black pants and top. The over coat is still the black siding and back below the shoulder blades, the identical blue with gold trimming. Really, the only difference between my formal uniform and the one the captain wears on this ship, are the markings on the shoulder pads and wrist. She has four gold bars and a star, I have three gold bars and a star. Also, I had a crest on the right side of my neck collar; the crest had laurel wreath that surrounded two arrows, one in front of the other so that the back on was only two thirds visible. It was the crest and symbol of the Federation Special Forces, which I'm a part of. On the left side of my neck of the pin or crest that was given to members of SOLAS. It was a yellow four-pointed star with a yellow crescent with its center touching the bottom point of the star and the two points of the crescent almost contacting the two horizontal points of the star.

Once I was dressed, I exited the quarters I had been given and headed towards the forward airlock which would be where those who would leave the ship would get off. By the time I got to the airlock, the Donnen had docked at the capitol of the PLANTs, Aprilius One. Met Captain Shepard and we disembarked into the colony. Council aids met up with us at the dock and they guided us, saying that the Council was waiting for us. Before we enter the council chamber, we were met by Supreme Councilman Siegel Clyne along with a woman with medium length silver hair and blue eyes. Siegel Clyne bowed to Captain Shepard and myself, "Hello, I'm Siegel Clyne, chairman of the PLANT's Council and this," he pointed at the woman next to him, "Is Ezalia Joule, a part of the National Defense Committee and representative of the committee on the council."

The silver-haired women bowed in greeting to us, to which Captain Shepard and I returned, "I'm Captain Mary Shepard of the Human Federation cruiser Donnen and this is Special Forces Commander Tyler McGregor, and he was the leader of the Federation investigation team that was at Heliopolis," said Captain Shepard, pointing to me as she introduced me.

After the greetings and introductions were made, we all went into the Council Chamber, where the rest of the PLANTs Supreme Council was already seated. Chairman Clyne and Councilwoman Joule took their seats, while Captain Shepard and I stood off to the side as did Le Creuset and Athrun who was with him. Siegel Clyne brought up an image of Heliopolis… While it had still been a working resource space colony. "This meeting was called, due to the event that occurred to the Orb Union's resource colony, Heliopolis. Less than twenty-four hours ago, the colony came under attack, by ZAFT forces," stated Siegel Clyne

There was muttering to the last statement, some angry, others shocked, and a few outraged. "Accusing our own forces of such atrocities chairman?" Posed Patrick Zala, the father of Athrun.

I stepped forward, "He speaks the truth Councilman Zala," I said.

All eyes focused on me, Patrick Zala gazed at me, "And whom might you be?" He asked.

Apparently, Athrun's father doesn't recognize me anymore, it has been years. The question however, in this situation, do I use my real name or my alias. I took a deep breath, "My name, is Tyler Blass," I answered.

There were gasps at me saying my name, Patrick Zala looked at me a bit harder. Yet, it was the silver-haired woman, Ezalia Joule that spoke up, "Blass? As in related to the Republic's Prime Minister Ellen Blass?"

I faced the woman, "You are correct that my mother Ellen Blass, is the political and governmental leader of the Republic of East Asia. However, I'm a member of the Federation Military and so, I'm here as Tyler McGregor, a soldier of the Federation." I answered.

"Then please," injected another council member, "If you were at Heliopolis, tell us what happened."

I glanced around at the rest of the Supreme Council and saw they wished to know what had happened like the one that had asked me to tell them. And so, I told them how I was a part of a team that had been looking into a rumor about the Earth Alliance developing weapons in neutral territory. There were whisperings between some of the council members at me saying the rumor about the Alliance. Went on, ignoring the mutterings, saying how the team and I gathered information, and how the decision that came down from Federation High Command, when it came, was that a patrol would be sent to confiscate the ship and the mobile suits. However, before I could say more detail, Commander Le Creuset came in, "Interesting as your accounting is Mr. McGregor, by your account, the Federation knew about the construction of the prototype suits and ship and yet, did little about them," said Le Creuset in an aloof tone.

My gaze shifted over to the blonde masked man, trying to figure out his angle in this, for it didn't make sense to me. He had given out the orders for each time that ZAFT forces entered the colony, the fighting had ended out destroying the colony. "What are you getting at Le Creuset?" Asked chairman Clyne.

"Well Mr. Chairman, Heliopolis is said to be neutral, but with the development of Alliance ships and mobile suits, their neutrality is a lie, is it not?" Posed Le Creuset.

The blonde man stepped forward to the table and after putting in commands into the display controls. The information that was being displayed changed and pictures of the Archangel, designs of the four stolen machines and the three mobile suits that ZAFT didn't get up for all to see. "As you can see, these are far more than just attempts at building machines to match ZAFT mobile suits."

There was a great deal of angry mutterings around the table. Patrick Zala slammed a hand down on the table, "The Earth Forces have managed to develop mobile suits without us knowing! How did this happen?!" he growled loudly.

Athrun moved forward, "The mobile suits aren't complete yet!" He called over the din.

The muttering died down and Athrun's father looked at his son, "What do you mean the suits are incomplete?" Patrick Zala demanded.

"The suits are well designed true, but there are faults that weren't solved, the major one being their operating systems don't work, not for Naturals or really even for Coordinators. For those of us that acquired the suits, we had to almost rewrite the OS to get the machines to perform decently. And even then, there is still a lot of work to make them reliably usable," said Athrun.

I nodded, "With the specs on the prototypes my team was able to acquire, it was clear that the development was being rushed and so the machines weren't usable in combat and wouldn't be any time soon," I added to help clarify the situation.

That explanation seemed to calm most down, yet Patrick Zala still didn't appear happy, "Even if their unfinished, the fact that the Naturals were developing mobile suits is very worrying. Should the Earth Alliance obtain the use of mobile suits, the war against them will get worse!"

…How in the hell, did this discussion that began with talking about what happened to Heliopolis, turn into the dangers of the Earth Alliance developing mobile suits? Whether the Earth Forces developing mobile suits or not, isn't what this is about… So, that's what Le Creuset was doing, get the focus off the incident itself.

"Councilman Zala," I called, "I ask for your pardon, but the merit of the Earth Alliance getting mobile suits, isn't what this is about. A neutral colony that belongs to a member nation of the Human Federation has been destroyed. The event happened because of the decision of the very ZAFT commander in this room, regardless of his intentions. ZAFT mobile suits and soldiers entered Heliopolis and their actions put the citizens and colony in danger, those are the facts. Those actions are violations of a couple of treaties that ZAFT has with the Federation."

 **-Line Break-**

I wandered around after I had been released from the meeting with the Council and my path brought me to a park in the colony. I quickly sat down at one of the benches, opened my overcoat and closed my eyes, beginning to think. The meeting with the council could have gone better, though it could've been worse too. It served as a reminder of why I decided some time ago not to go into politics like my mom is. I mean, with how Le Creuset put his side of things, he had been the good commander by trying to prevent the big bad Alliance forces from getting access to mobile suits. His "version" of events has made me angry because it wasn't what happened exactly, for he left out specific points that would have shown him in a bad light.

Because of that spin, he'd managed to take the focus of the incident off the damage and danger to the citizens, and placed it on the Alliance and their activities in Heliopolis. Thankfully, by what I could tell, the majority of the council had listen and frowned down upon the actions of Le Creuset. The problem is that key figures were evenly divided on this and that won't help prevent this kind of thing from happening again. In particular, it had worried me that Athrun's father Patrick Zala had taken the same focus as Le Creuset did. Patrick Zala had the most influence on the Supreme Council after Siegel Clyne and a good deal in the ZAFT military as the head of the National Defense Committee, so I can't say what he might do.

The man had been a friend of my father, and the times I recall being around him, Patrick Zala had been a reasonable man. Strick at times yes, but more to help in understand, he had taken great interest in my father's work, calling it one of the best developments for all of mankind since colony development. Yet, the person I'd faced in the meeting, wasn't the person that I'd met with my father all the years ago that the encounter had occurred. The loss of his wife, clearly hadn't been taken well, but… the way Patrick Zala was acting, it was dangerous!

Upon hearing footsteps coming towards me, I opened my eyes and glanced over in the direction of the person walking my way. To my slight surprise, I saw that it was my friend Athrun Zala that was making his way towards me. He sat down on the bench next to me, "So Tye… The meeting with the council… Went okay, wouldn't you say?" Said Athrun, trying to break the silence.

"Okay, I guess so. Rau Le Creuset certainly making sure to shift the blame on the Earth Alliance and off the damage done along with the danger the citizens were put in with that his actions and those who followed him brought about. But, that's what I saw, so my view could be skewed right now. Anyways, your father was rather vocal about how the 'Naturals' were at fault. I don't remember him disliking Naturals so much, at least he didn't make that known when he was around my dad. Yet, I haven't seen him for years now, so I can't say much in this," I replied dryly.

Athrun grimaced, "Yes, he's been like that since…"

He trailed off and didn't finish, but I could give a very educated guess, "Junius Seven and the Bloody Valentine incident. You and your father lost your mom… Didn't you Athrun?" I asked quietly.

I knew the fact that he had lost his mother. I remember that day that what would be come to be known as the Bloody Valentine Tragedy with complete clarity. It had been February 5th, 66 CE. I'd been at the lunar school, which was the same one that Kira and Athrun were going to. I was just a year above them, yet we were neighbors with how our living arrangements ended out. The three of us had become the best of friends, as well as I helped them on stuff with school. Kira and Athrun had been in class that morning and I was enjoying a free period. I'd been watching the news for something to listen to, when the breaking news report came on. When I heard the announcer say that a nuclear missile had struck Junius Seven and the colony had broken apart. It had put me in a state of shock! The very next day was to start a break from school. My plan had been for me to stop by Junius Seven to join up with my dad and sister, before we headed back to Earth and spend time as a family with my mom, just the four of us.

Junius Seven was one of the agricultural PLANT type colonies. Plus, there was also a university in the colony where there was some of the most advance agricultural research was being done and tested. My father was one of the lead scientist in that research, that he had hope would benefit both Earth and space colonies… perhaps become a major step towards solving the hunger problems that still exist. Heck, there'd been representatives from ZAFT that had come to see my dad, including Siegel Clyne and Patrick Zala, which both were very interest in his work. Even people from the Earth Alliance had visited my father and showed interest in his work. The Alliance had offered him a lot of stuff to work for them exclusively, though my dad had said no. But now, with one action… Junius Seven was changed into debris and everyone that was there was gone.

I had somehow gotten back to my room, where Kira and Athrun had found me later. And once I had found use of my voice and told them what had happened, Athrun fell into the same shock as I was in. It had been Kira, who had managed to bring us out of the pain of loss and comfort us. Yes, Kira Yamato may not look like the kind of person that could comfort friends like he did, but Kira did just that.

I sighed as Athrun was still silent, "You and your father weren't the only ones that lost loved ones in that tragedy Athrun," I said quietly.

"Sorry, I never meant to infer," he replied.

I cut Athrun off, "I know that you don't, but your dad is really taking what the Earth Alliance does, as some sort of an insult to him personally and as an excuse to cry a call to arms. I understand the pain of what the destruction of Junius Seven brought… but Patrick Zala's actions don't provide a good solution or a lasting one at all," I paused and bit my tongue. Athrun gazed at me, "I'm sorry Athrun, this won't sound nice, but it's my view and opinion and only that. The man that looks like your father isn't looking out for the best interest of citizens of the PLANTs like he's supposed to be as is the duty of the position he holds. He's out for revenge that could and likely go beyond vengeance and the scope of what happened with Junius Seven Athrun."

I was trying to soften the blow for my friend, but with the movement of ZAFT's military lately and the action taken in this conflict had made it clear. Patrick Zala, who is one of the major leaders of the ZAFT military and been using unnecessary force and action against members of the Earth Forces. The Alliance wasn't doing much better, yet that's the point, Athrun's father is lowering himself to the same level as those that are fanatic about exterminating Coordinators. I set my hands on the back of my head and leaned back a bit, "Anyway, enough about dull and dreary subjects, they're not healthy to dwell on long. What's been going on with you Athrun? I haven't seen you or talked to you for a few years now other than that short time on the Vesalius," I said to clear the air.

My question had the desired effect of clearing the bad feeling around us and Athrun smiled a bit, "Well, not too long after finishing at the prep academy, I enlisted in the ZAFT military at the suggestion of my father. After a year and a half of training, I did my first tour with Commander Hersey, who was under the command of the Black Zephyr herself. After a year of that, I was promoted from green to red uniform and I was transferred to the Le Creuset team," He answered.

"Nice, sounds like you've been busy, but you're missing something," I posed, setting up Athrun with a straight face.

My friend looked at me with a confused expression, "Missing something, what are you talking about?" he asked.

I got a smirk replacing my straight face, "Oh… the fact that you're engaged to a young lady, that you're supposed to marry in the future… she's supposed to be very good looking, have a nice personality," I then lowered my voice for my next comment. "At least, she has a much better personality than her sister does, I can attest to that." I switched over to a normal volume, "I believe her name is Lacus Clyne. Or is that rumor incorrect, my dear friend?"

Athrun cheeks gained a red tint to them, "Well, it was my father who arranged the engagement between Lacus and me," he said.

I poked him softly in the side with my elbow, "Yeah so? You don't sound like you're against this engagement with Lacus, Athrun. I mean, come on, Lacus is pretty, has a nice personality and good golly, can she sing!" I returned still with a smirk.

"Indeed, Lacus can sing well and loves doing so," said an older male voice.

Both Athrun and I turned to our left to see a man that appeared to be in his forties approaching us. He had medium length blonde hair and same color mustache. His eyes were a dark grey and was taller than both of us. The man was one that I knew and had seen less than an hour ago, he was none other than Siegel Clyne.

"Hello Chairman Clyne," greeted Athrun politely.

The line that Siegel had said was kind of amusing, so I snickered a bit, "Well, you would know better than either of us how Lacus sings, being her father and everything Chairman Clyne." I remarked.

Siegel Clyne took the bench next to us, "Please, no need of formality from either of you, especially in this kind of setting," he said with a smile.

The atmosphere relaxed a bit more, yet with Siegel Clyne here, I had to ask a question even though it meant going back to a subject that I wasn't fond of. "So then Siegel, what did you think of the council meeting?"

Siegel Clyne frowned at my question, "Certainly not as well as some of us would like I would imagine, personally not how I wanted it to go," he said.

I figured that his answer would be along those lines. Siegel saw the wrongness of what Rau Le Creuset had pulled and sees the need to prevent such things. But, that then brought up a serious inquiry, "Tell me Siegel, how much pull and influence does Patrick Zala have within the Supreme Council and outside of it?" I asked.

"Within the Council, probably second to myself," answered Siegel. "Outside of the Supreme Council, mostly in ZAFT itself."

Those pieces of information worried me, for they spelt trouble in potentia and leaving that to its own devices is never a wise idea. Patrick Zala's hatred of Naturals bordered on a fairly managed obsession and those can be more dangerous than an unmanaged one. However, another thought crossed my mind as I thought about the events of today. I wanted to make sure Athrun knew what Le Creuset would likely put him and the others under the masked man's command, was going to put them to. I turned to Athrun, "Hey Athrun, I have something to tell you, and it would be best that you keep to yourself for the time being. Definitely do not tell Rau Le Creuset, since it will likely make no good difference and possibly be a motivations. I can't say with that man," I said to my friend.

Athrun stared at me for a bit, but then nodded to me, "Okay, what is it?"

I took a deep breath, "First, the Alliance's new warship, named the Archangel, had three mobile suits, but right now is carrying two. Of those two, the machine that is like Orb's suits. the one with the winged backpack… Well, the pilot is someone that I know," I started.

My blue haired friend's eyes went wide, "You know the pilot of the winged suit?! Then do you know any of the pilots the Alliance are using for the other two mobile suits?" He asked.

I nodded and I pointed to myself, "The machine with the frame that's near identical to the Blitz, the pilot for that one is me," I said quietly, but Athrun heard me.

"You… were the pilot for…?" Athrun stuttered.

"Of the X209 Shadow mobile suit, yes indeed and that's its designation the machine. I'm the pilot Athrun, though I didn't choose to be, it happened more due to necessity," I returned. Athrun looked like he had just gotten smacked, but I wasn't done yet, I kept going, "The pilot of the mobile suit with the winged backpack… It's Kira, you know, Kira Yamato our friend," I finished.

My friend's shock increased further, yet so did Siegel Clyne, "Kira Yamato you say? Tell me Tyler, was Lacus with him?" Asked Siegel Clyne a little worriedly.

Athrun's expression morphed into horror at hearing Lacus's name, "Wait, are you saying that Lacus was at Heliopolis when the mission to steal the Alliance machines was going on?!" He questioned.

I hesitated for a moment, then slowly nodded, "Yeah, she was visiting Kira when everything when down, probably would have been heading back today or tomorrow, were I to guess. At least, I believe that was the plan, but well… that's not what happened or is happening," I remarked with a strained tone.

Athrun gained a look of guilt that mixed with the expression of horror at coming to understand more factors to what happened at Heliopolis. I sighed, knowing that Athrun was now internally beating himself up, "Athrun, you didn't know everything that was happening, even I didn't know all that was going on. That being said, don't blame yourself for what happened at Heliopolis. If anyone is to blame, it's Rau Le Creuset for his choice of actions without taking into account the consequences of them," I said.

I can't say if Athrun heard my attempt to help him not blame himself or felt guilt about what happened to Heliopolis. Silence pervaded the air and five minutes passed by before my friend spoke again, "So then, do you plan to go back to the Alliance warship?" he asked me.

That query caused me to pause and take a moment to think about how I should answer. I would like to go back to the Archangel, if I'm given the choice in the matter. However, with the investigation mission over now, it's more likely that my teammates and I will be reassigned to something else. So, I might not get an option to go back to the Archangel for the time being, I really don't know right now, I'll have to play it by ear for the time being. "Well, I can't say for sure at the moment Athrun. Technically, the assignment that I had is over now, so I really don't know what I'll be given to do. If I'm given an option, then I would like to go there yes. For there are people I know on board that ship and I would very much prefer they don't die because the Alliance and ZAFT go at each other," I answered.

Athrun was silent at my reply, which caused me to exhale heavily, "Look Athrun, we're both members of a military force, different groups true, but nonetheless, we're both soldiers. I assume that you understood that taking the job of a soldier meant that you would have to at times do things that you don't want to, such as destroying someone's home, or killing another." I said flatly.

It's not a truth that I like or wish to admit, but I can't deny the validity of what I just said to Athrun. As a soldier, I've killed people and did it in the last twenty-four hours, I'd killed three ZAFT soldiers myself. Pulled the trigger, shooting one in the head and then, used a mobile suit to kill the other two. The look in Athrun's eyes said that he knew what I was talking about, not to the extent that I've experienced, but the message was one that we both understand the meaning and validity.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **And that's where this phase ends now. Please some of you take the time to write a review and either point stuff out or comment on what you think.**


	4. Phase 4: Paths Forward

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 4, so read and enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Phase 4: Paths Forward

January 26th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Heliopolis Debris Field

Kira and Lacus brought in both the Heliopolis lifeboats on board the Archangel once they had been given permission. Reasoning with Natarle Badgiruel, that the life boats were damaged and if they left them floating, they would unlikely be found in time. The mechanics under the direction of Chief Murdoch assisted in the opening and unloading of the shelters. Some of the Non-commissioned crew set up a station to get the people's identifying information, specifically occupation as there were some skills that were in high demand at the current moment. Thankfully, skills such as medical knowledge and skill, were among the list as there was no ship doctor. Kira and Lacus also did what they could to help the process along and for Kira, he hoped that he would see some that he recognized and yet, didn't want that at the same time. However, both he and Lacus were surprised when they saw the blonde girl that they had gotten to a shelter before joining back up with Tyler come out of one of the lifeboats. Neither actually talked to her much, but both Kira and Lacus were glad that she was okay with all that had happened recently.

The two teens kept assisting with the unloading for a little bit, before it became clear that they were just getting in the way for the time being. So, Kira and Lacus were about to leave and find a room to get some sleep in as they were both tired. Defending the Archangel had been tiring and the collapse of Heliopolis had been taxing. Then, there had been no news of what had occurred to Tyler or the mobile suit he'd been piloting at all, and it worried them both. Yet, before they could disappear from notice, a certain redhead approached them, "Oh it's you! You're one of Sai's friends," said Flay Allster, floating to be in front of Kira.

The girl suddenly embraced Kira and he wasn't quite sure how to react to the gesture from the redhead. Sure, Kira previously had a 'thing' for Flay, Tyler and Sai had called it a crush, Tolle had said Kira was tripping over himself, but Kira had to admit, he had been attracted to Flay a little for a time. However, since Lacus had been visiting more frequently over the last year, that attraction and the feelings that had accompanied it, had faded. Kira thought Flay was nice and everything, but as she was Sai's fiancée, Kira was being careful. Sai was a close friend, Kira didn't what that friendship to be hurt by some sort of misunderstanding.

Lacus felt some irritation, for she didn't like how Flay was hugging Kira. It wasn't jealousy… exactly, at least she didn't see it so. No, Lacus was worried for Kira, her friend, not thinking about separating the two from the position she wanted herself. Of course, Kira hadn't gotten any of her hints, gestures or advances, and she had been trying to figure out a way to get the message across to him. Anyways, from what Lacus had been told, Flay was already engaged to Sai so, why was she hugging Kira like she was?! Once Lacus had this thought, she took a moment and calmed down, not letting her emotions show outwardly.

"Please," said Flay, not really paying attention to Lacus who was next to Kira, "Tell me what happened to Heliopolis. What was going on? What happened there in the end?"

"Uh," uttered Kira, uncertain how to respond to the barrage of questions.

Flay didn't seem to hear Kira, for she continued speaking, "I was with… my friends and I were," said Flay, stumbling over her words some, "I lost Jessica and Misha in a store when the crowds formed and panic took hold. I managed to run alone to the closest shelter I could get to and then everything…"

Lacus had stayed silent for long as she was willing to, yet as she was about to say something, but was interrupted. "Haro! Haro! I won't accept that! I won't accept that!" announced Haro as it flapped the circular flaps it had, spinning in the air towards them.

Flay flinched as Haro made its opinion and presence known, while the redhead herself finally seemed to take notice of Lacus being there. "Haro, stop that," apologized Lacus admonishingly grabbing the pink robotic ball Haro, then turned her gaze to Flay, who shrunk back just a little. "I apologize, I thought it was turned off," Lacus remarked.

The redhead shook her head slightly, looking back to Kira and doing her best to ignore Lacus. "This is a ZAFT ship, right?" she asked, her tone worried. "What's going to happen to us now? And what in the world are you doing on this ship anyway?"

"Actually," said Lacus, further annoyed by Flay's behavior of intentionally ignoring her, "This vessel belongs to the Earth Alliance."

"You're lying," said Flay, finally acknowledging Lacus. "There are mobile suits on board," Flay glance at the Strike and the Asuka.

"No," said Kira waving his hands slightly, "They actually belong to the Earth Alliance and Orb, one to each, but as things are right now, the distinction isn't really needed."

Flay looked at Kira, surprised, there was an awkward silence following Kira's explanation. he rubbed the back of his head and smiled a bit, "Well, it's good to know you're okay at least," he said, attempting to break the ice, but shook his head when he didn't get the results he had been going for. "Hey, guess what Flay? Sai and Miriallia are here too. I know you're going to be just fine."

Flay moved along with the rest of the refugees that were on the lifeboats from Heliopolis, while Kira and Lacus returned to their intended hunt for a room that they could get some sleep without being disturbed for a while. Once they had found a set of quarters that fit what they wanted, they wasted no more time and fell asleep next to one another on one of the beds. The pair were soon found by their friends, who didn't want to disturb them as they looked exhausted. So, they quietly left them be and went to the mess hall to talk to each other.

"Got to say, Kira and Lacus looked completely drained with the way they were sleeping." Said Sai.

There were mutterings of agreement between Tolle, Miriallia, Sai and Kuzzey. "Can't blame them, they were fighting ZAFT mobile suits to protect us. Then, with Tye disappearing without a trace just adds to this mess that we're all in." Tolle paused and hissed out with irritation, "I just wish there was something we could do to help them. Nothing against Kira or Lacus, but I'm tired of them having to defend us while we just stand around doing nothing!" Tolle said with frustration in his voice.

Miriallia nodded strongly, "That's right, it's not fair to them to be forced into fighting ZAFT pilots just because they have the ability to." She remarked.

"That all sounds good, but what can we do?" Asked Kuzzey.

The four thought about the question, what could they do? They were students, not soldiers and still, they didn't want to just accept things as they were. It was Sai that broke the silence that hung over the group, "Hey, I think I might have an idea that could help take some pressure off Kira and Lacus, plus, give us something to do."

Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey looked at Sai, waiting for him to elaborate on what he was talking about. "We could go to the Captain or Ensign Badgiruel and ask either of them if we can help by volunteering to help with the ship controls. They're shorthanded, we have the skills to at least operate systems and they could teach us the finer point that we would need to know. What do you all think?" Asked Sai.

"Sai, that's one of the best ideas you've had in a while!" Replied Tolle.

"Yeah, none of us can pilot mobile suits, but we could help with the ship and that would help both Kira and Lacus," agreed Miriallia happy that the suggestion had been made.

Kuzzey simply nodded and with the decision made, the four friends rose and began to seek out the two women that were in charge on the Archangel. They bumped into Ensign Badgiruel first, and laid out their wish to volunteer to help run the ship to the Earth Alliance officer.

Natarle Badgiruel was surprise and a little shocked at the teens asking to help with of the operation the ship. These teens were of the age to be able to officially enlist, but they were so young to be involved. She would have said no, if not for the fact of the ship being so shorthanded, refusing help is a very foolish choice and Natarle knew it. So, Natarle granted the teens their request with the understanding that they would be treated like any other member of the crew. That meant that all four of them would be expected to listen to and follow orders given to them. And even if it was temporary, they would be members of the Earth Alliance military, volunteers, but still considered the same as non-commissioned officers. Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey accepted the consequences and still said they would do their best to help.

With the matter settled, the next few hours for the four teens were spent being taught how the Archangel's controls worked at the stations they would be assigned to. All four were given the rank of crewman 2nd class and with their help the Archangel had enough to now have a skeleton crew.

During those hours of training, Kira and Lacus woke up from their nap and headed to the mess hall to get something to eat, though before the pair reached the mess hall, Mu and Krystal came up to them and asked to talk to them for a moment. Kira and Lacus agreed and looked to the two mobile armor pilots, wondering what they could want to talk about. Mu spoke first, "Look Kira, Lacus, for the moment, you two are the only ones that can defend this ship if it's attacked. As much as Krystal and I would love to go out with you and protect the Archangel alongside you both, we can't right now," began Mu.

Krystal sighed, "With our mobile armors still under repair, it will still take a little over an hour until they're ready and ZAFT still could attack us during that timeframe. Since the one in charge of the force that tried to take this ship down already is Rau Le Creuset, trouble with ZAFT is far from over. We realize that you two aren't pilots and have been forced into the position," She trailed off.

Kira frowned, "So, you two want us to go out again? Is that what you're asking?" Kira inquired in a flat tone.

Lacus hugged Kira's left arm, both Mu and Krystal nodded slowly, "That's pretty much what we're trying to say, we wish it weren't the case," answered Krystal warily.

Kira started to become angry at this, "You know, what Tyler said about the Earth Alliance is making more sense than it did before. It feels like Lacus and I are being used and it isn't nice! We aren't pilots, yes we used the two mobile suits on board this ship, but that's all."

Lacus squeezed Kira's arm and he stopped, Mu looked at the two teens, "It's your choice, but the fact is you two are the only ones that can do it. If Krystal and I could use and pilot those mobile suits, we would, believe me. And if we were being chased by most other ZAFT commanders, I would say that we should be okay for a little while. But with the personal experience I've had with Le Creuset, he isn't one to give up a chase he starts… for almost any reason other than being directly order to and even that doesn't necessarily stop. Fact is, we can't pilot those mobile suits Kira, we can't change that fact right now. We hope that ZAFT won't attack us until our mobile armors are fixed… But honestly, it's unlikely. All I can say is no matter what, only think about protecting this ship, those onboard along with yourselves. This isn't about the Earth Alliance or the war, it's just protecting the ship, that's all."

Both Mu and Krystal said farewell to the pair and headed to the front of the ship. The two continued to the mess hall and found that their friends, yet they were in Earth Forces uniforms. The four came up to Kira and Lacus saying that they were going to help the crew run the ship so they could be of help to both Kira and Lacus while they protect the ship. Then the four said they were needed to go to the bridge for their duty shift and they left.

It wasn't long after Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey started their shifts, when things started going not so nice for the Archangel. "Captain, three heat sources approaching from behind, and another larger heat source behind the first three," said Kuzzey. "Distance for the closest heat sources, um… sixty-seven. Heat signature indicates mobile suits. The heat source behind them… Is the ZAFT Laurasia class vessel."

"What about the Nazca-class?" asked Murrue, letting Kuzzey's stumbling over his words pass. He was just a civilian volunteer after all still, it was a huge relief when they offered to help out.

"Nazca-class isn't in sensor range, don't know where it is," replied Kuzzey.

Mu looked up and around at hearing the Nazca-class vessel wasn't chasing them. Le Creuset was infamous for pursuing those he hunted down and he was well-known for it. To only have one ship and the lighter of the two pursuing them? Something wasn't right, they had to be missing something, other than the location of the Nazca-class vessel. Mu turned back to his station and focused on the battle that was coming.

"All hands, level one battle stations! Commence preparations now for anti-mobile suit combat," ordered Natarle, "Activate Igelstellung, load stern missile launchers tubes thirteen through twenty-four with Korinthos. Activate both Gottfrieds turrets and Valiant linear cannons. Input target data, your target, the ZAFT Laurasia class vessel and incoming mobile suits."

"We've identified the enemy mobile suits behind us," said Kuzzey. "System is showing match for… the Duel, Buster and Blitz?"

"What?! Those three?!" questioned Natarle, sounding worried.

"They're sending the G-weapons into combat?" Murrue looked at the forward viewport, "But what about the Aegis?" she asked.

Mu turned, "Well, as the Nazca-class is gone for the time being, maybe the fourth one is on board that ship, wherever it is," he said.

"Anyway, we're about to face down three out of the four stolen G-weapons," announced Murrue in her commanding voice.

That fact concerned the entire crew. It's true that the Archangel had two mobile suits of its own, but even with the Asuka and Strike, yet Kira and Lacus were just civilians. The ZAFT pilots were in machines of comparable power, and had received military training. What kind of chances did they have against those odds? The pair of civilian pilots would be pushed to the extreme just to survive the encounter, much less defend the ship as well.

 **-Line Break-**

After hearing that their friends were helping by volunteering to assist the crew of the Archangel, what else could either Kira or Lacus do, but pilot the two mobile suits and protect the ship the best they could. When battle stations were sounded, Kira and Lacus headed down and put on pilot suits and then went to the hanger. They got into their respective machines, Kira into the Asuka and Lacus into the Strike.

"… _No matter what, only think about protecting this ship, along with yourselves…"_

Kira remembered Mu's words, and refused to forget them for they were the reason they both got back into the mobile suits cockpits. Certainly, it was an idea that was easier said than done, but for Kira, it was further reinforced by his promise to Lacus. Kira's eyes narrowed as both suits moved to the launching catapults and images of the enemy machines were displayed.

" _Kira, those are,_ " muttered Lacus.

Kira nodded, "Yeah, they must be the other three Alliance machines… But I don't see the red one, or the suit Tye had. Maybe he's okay and not captured by ZAFT?" he said, bringing up the information that had been added to the Asuka and Strike on board computers to help Kira and Lacus against the stolen machines, if or when they should come and attack. "I guess we have more than enough to worry about already without adding to them. Looks like the incoming mobile suits are the; X102 Duel, X103 Buster and X207 Blitz…"

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Aprilius One

With the meeting with the Supreme Council done, along with the 'shore leave' that I had to use. I saw it wise to report back to the Donnen so that, perhaps I could hitch a ride back to wherever I get to go next. I'm hoping that destination would be to wherever the Archangel had gone to, but I can't say right now.

I headed back towards the docking area where the Donnen was, yet as I came into the corridor that led to the docks, I felt a shiver run down my spine. That shiver made me freeze where I was and look around, to attempt to find what had caused the shiver to come over me. As cliché as it may sound… I was having the feeling I was being watched and I don't like this feeling much at all. Oddly, the corridor that I was currently in at the moment, was devoid of other people. Granted, this passage is meant for military personnel, but to be empty at this time when it should have activity… there's something wrong here.

Another shiver run down my spine, but before I could react in any way, a pair of arms wrapped around my torso. The grip of those said arms were tight and as I hadn't expected them, I was entrapped within this hold. From what else I felt, I was being 'embraced' by a female, likely a woman that was my age or a margin older. However, the most telling thing for me, was the voice I heard shortly after being trapped. "Ah, I found you again Tyler, this must be fate saying that we are a pair destined to be together. By the way, you do look very handsome in that uniform of yours," cooed a voice that I was put on edge hear, and it was feminine.

There was no way I would ever forget the voice that spoke, nor whom it belonged to, not after the things they had done to me. They don't leave me alone when our paths cross, no matter how many times I tell them or the way I deliver the message! I struggled hard in the hold, but the arms didn't release me. If anything, the embrace tightened around me and the sound of giggling filled my ears. That motivated me to try MUCH harder, as if my life depended on it… and it just might. I finally managed to squirm out of the hold the woman trapping me, made distance between her myself and then I spun around to face her.

The woman was twenty-two years in age and had a height of 5'8" and half-an-inch so, she was about the same height as me. Her hair was a neutral shade of pink and it went to her shoulder blades with its length. She had a noticeably full hourglass defined figure and nice feminine curves. In fact, she looks quite a lot like Lacus, or rather what Lacus could and would likely look like in a few years. Although, the woman's eyes were green and not blue like Lacus has and normally she has a completely different feel around herself. The woman's name is Sakura Clyne, Lacus's older sister. Currently, Sakura was wearing a light blue blouse and black dress pants.

As I've mentioned before now, Sakura isn't easy to get along with all the time. She has a huge reputation with the service she's done in the ZAFT military. Mention her name and you can silence a room filled with ZAFT military personnel and kill the mood in no time flat. The reason is that Sakura is known to be cold unyielding and outright stubborn. The woman doesn't accept defeat or take crap from anyone, enemies or allies, whether they be superior officers or subordinates. Sakura is seen to be one of the most ruthless commanders that ZAFT has. Officers in the ZAFT military respect her… Or they're out right scared of her, and I don't blame them! The Alliance is normally scared of her and if they aren't, by the time she's done with them, they will be. Hell, even commanding officers in the Federation are wary of her! That's the kind of reputation that the eldest of the two daughters that Siegel Clyne has.

Yet for some reason when she's around me, especially when it's just the two of us, she's VERY different than her reputation paints her to be. No, the pink-haired woman that was before me acts like a girl obsessed over a pet or boy when I'm around her. I've never been able to explain why that's the case or why Sakura is so fixated on me. Even with the time and effort that I've put into trying to figure out why, none of the facts have made sense or helped me connected the dots.

Seeing the expression on Sakura's face, made me wanted to bolt and run away from her. But, I know from previous times, that running is pretty pointless with Sakura. Yet, dang it! I've got to try to get away from her! I gave no sign or warning, I just bolted off down the direction I had been heading before I'd stopped. For the briefest moment, I believed that I could get away, but alas it was not to be. My attempt proved fruitless as I didn't get far, before Sakura caught up with me and wrapped me in her embrace once again, giggling at my actions. "Still playing hard to get Tyler? You know that makes chasing you all the more fun, but it's foolish to think that you can get away from me. Although, it's so cute," said Sakura in a sweet voice that was admittedly pretty, yet didn't fit her at all with the person she's supposed to be.

Shortly after entrapping me again, Sakura moved her head to start running her left cheek against my right. I struggled to free myself… oh, did I ever struggle however, it was in vain, Sakura didn't let me brake her hold this time. "Accept that I'll have you as mine," she whispered in my ear.

At hearing that, my struggling transformed into me thrashing as I became more desperate to get away from Sakura. But, the grip of Sakura Clyne was too strong for me to break. Hell, she was giggling at my efforts to escape! She was moving her face in the view of my face, probably to… kiss me, when the situation mercifully changed! "Ah Sakura, there you are. I was wondering where you had gotten off to," came the voice of Siegel Clyne.

I'M SAVED! Sakura turned around to face her father Siegel Clyne, my back was still held against Sakura's front, so I was forced to face the man as well, a rather embarrassing position to be in. "Hello father, what is your reason you would need to find me? I'm a tad busy as you can see, so if it's not important, then whatever it is you need can wait," replied Sakura, hugging me a little tighter when she mentioned being busy.

Oh no, I'M POTENTIALLY SCREWED! My worry and panic returned in full force at hearing Sakura. As if to prove me right, Sakura then once again turned me around, but just my whole body this time and leaned herself forward. I could clearly see where the situation was heading and I don't want to go there. Sure, Sakura is pretty, I don't dispute that, but I'm only eighteen damn it! I'm not interested in a romantic type of relationship right now and not with Sakura! Still, I had the thought that Tolle would be rolling around on the floor laughing and as well as cheering me on. He would be completely and blissfully ignorant of the real situation I'm facing. I tried to pull away from the motion of the woman about to kiss me, but it didn't help, she drew ever closer. "Sakura, the Defense Committee wanted to have a word with you as soon as possible," remarked Siegel.

The pink haired woman stopped an inch from kissing me on the lips and frowned slightly, "Is that right? Fine, if they're so insistent, then I'll give them the time. They'll regret it if this is a method to waste my time with their personal agendas and/or vendettas. I'll make sure of that personally," she said in an emotionless voice.

SALVATION! That's the kind of attitude I expect to see and hear from this woman by the reputation Sakura has, cold and emotionless. Yet, before Sakura let me go, she leaned in and kissed my cheek and then push away from me. She 'blew a kiss' as she floated down the corridor and turned around a corner, disappearing from my view. My body involuntarily shivered before I let out a relieved sigh, "Siegel, thank you for your impeccably timely arrival! You saved me from the clutches of that eldest daughter of yours," I said gratefully to my savior.

The man smiled, "Yes, Sakura has always been stubborn and determined to achieve the goals she sets out on. She gets that from her mother, pity that she's not around to see either her or Lacus as they've grown. Although, I've never understood why she's so set on having a relationship with you Tyler. Still, I have little complaint were you two to end out together," returned Siegel.

"I guess anything is possible, yet it won't be anytime soon if I've anything to say about it. I'm still eighteen for goodness sakes! I'm too young to enter a serious relationship, let alone think about getting married and I don't have an interest in such a thing right now. The way Sakura acts around me verses others, is just weird!" I commented.

I continued to the dock after making my farewells to Siegel Clyne and boarded the Donnen, not wanting to stay and give Sakura the chance of catching me again. Once on board the ship, I headed to the quarters that I'd been given for the journey to wherever it will be to. I'd barely had the time to change out of the stiff Human Federation uniform and into the much less formal uniform, when a knock came at the door. When I answered the door, I found Commander Sulu and he said that the captain wanted to see me in her cabin. Since I'd nothing else to do for the moment, I went to Captain Shepard's cabin and once let in. I… hovered in front of her desk. "You wished to see me captain, what is it that I can do for you?" I asked.

Captain Shepard pushed a folder towards me, "New orders for you and your team from Federation High Command, you should look them over." She replied drily.

I caught the folder and opened it, then scanned the two pages that were contained in the folder. My eyes widened a bit as I took in the orders from Federation High Command. To me, what I was being ordered to do for my new assignment, was good and bad at the same time in my mind. The orders were as follows:

To: Commander Tyler McGregor,

Lieutenant Lisa Malto,

Sargent Alan Knight,

Sargent Luke Lascy

From: Federation Admiralty

Subject: Priority Assignment

Commander, you and your team were assigned to investigate Earth Alliance activities at the neutral resource space colony of Heliopolis. That mission is officially considered concluded and as such, regulation would have all of you getting time off before a new assignment would be handed to you all. However, due to recent developments, all of you are being assigned to an important mission right away. It is regrettable that this is being asked of all of you after what occurred with Heliopolis, but time is of the essences. The before mentioned mission which is being put to you is very important and the experience you gained at Heliopolis will serve well.

Your mission, is to track down and follow the Atlantic Federation's prototype warship known as the 'Archangel'. The knowledge of the ship and potentially the members that make up the crew along with the possible equipment on board the ship which was gained on the investigation, will be valuable. Time is limited and will become more so the longer this assignment takes to complete. That being stated, this assignment is to be completed as quickly as possible, but the completion of the objectives is of the highest priority.

The objectives that must be achieved for the mission to be considered completed are as follows:

Prevent data pertaining to mobile suit construction blueprints or schematics from reaching either Earth Alliance Lunar Headquarters or the Alliance's Earth based JOSH-A headquarters.

Preventing a mobile suit unit from reaching either before mentioned Alliance bases.

Delaying the Alliance vessel named the "Archangel" in their journey to either base, and prevent the ship from reaching them if possible

The methods which are used to accomplish this mission are up to you and your team. The more of the objectives that are achieved, the better it will be for all in the Human Federation. Current information obtained, indicates that the "Archangel's" location is in the area of Lagrange 3, heading away from the remains of Heliopolis. Evidence points towards the vessel making its way to the Eurasian Federation's military base Artemis.

Understand the critical importance of the success of this mission, for the Earth Alliance gaining the capability to mass produce and use mobile suits is viewed as extremely dangerous for the Human Federation. To all of you, do your utmost to succeed in this assignment and the best of luck.

Admiral Ben Moses

Admiral Matilda Ajan

That was the first page, the second page gave other details about Alliance forces that might be in the position to help the Archangel along its journey from what I saw. There was more specific detail on things with the assignment, but that was for study later.

This mission had several points that were difficult for me at least specifically, which can happen with any mission. In this instance, there were things that I might have to do that I REALLY don't want to do! Don't get me wrong, it's great that I get my wish to follow the Archangel, I'm now being given the permission to do so by my superiors. Yet, the objectives are where I see problems would coming. To Have to prevent the Archangel from getting the Strike and/or the Asuka into the hands of the Earth Alliance wouldn't be an easy task at all.

Why won't it be easy? The mission of the Archangel to do exactly what my team and I were to prevent. I certainly didn't disagree with the view of Federation High Command, the Earth Alliance obtaining mobile suits is a very BAD thing. They would use mobile suits against ZAFT true, but it wouldn't take long before they were used against the Human Federation as well. There were those in the Alliance who didn't hide their frustration with the Federation and they would likely attack the member nations to acquire territory and resources from the Federation on Earth. It's the of the major reasons that the Federation doesn't share scientific information with Earth Alliance anymore… far too much risk involved.

I glanced back up at Captain Shepard, "Captain, could I request the Donnen to provide transport for my team and me for the time being while we chase an Alliance vessel? Or at least take us part of the way," I posed.

The woman nodded, "Yes, as it happens, my new orders for the Donnen, state it is suspected that there are probably citizens of Heliopolis on board that ship and as citizens of the Human Federation, it's our duty to protect them as best we can," she replied to me.

I bowed, "Thank you captain, your hospitality is very much appreciated and my team and I will be staying on the Donnen for a time and look forward to working with you and your crew." I said politely.

Shepard returned the gesture, "Likewise commander."

After that, I left the captain's cabin and searched for the other members of my team to tell them of the change in what we would be doing. I was happy that the team wouldn't be split up, we work well together and in a mission like this one, we need to work well together. I found Alan and Luke in the room that they had been provided and Lisa was there helping them pack. We'd assumed that we would be leaving the Donnen and going to either be reassigned, very likely separately, or be given leave to get some R&R. Neither of which would be occurring, we would be staying together for a while and I had no problem with that.

I cleared my throat to get their attention and the three turned and looked at me, "Hey all, new orders have come already, Priority mission. So, stop packing, we'll be staying on the Donnen. Now sit down, shut up and listen, I'm going to lay out what our new orders will have us doing."

My three teammates sat down on the pieces of furniture that were in the small room and focused on me. I took a deep breath, "Okay then, our," I said, emphasizing the inclusion of all four of us. "New assignment is to pursue the Archangel and to prevent them from getting even a mobile suit or data upon the subject into the Earth Alliance's hands. We'll still be working as a team with this assignment. The methods of how this will be done will be up to us. Are there any questions?" I asked.

When no one responded, I took that to mean that the information was understood and there were no questions about it. So, I left the room, while Alan and Luke began unpacking their stuff. However, before I got too far down the corridor on my way to my quarters, Lisa stopped me, "Tyler, are you okay with this? You do understand that to obtain the objectives, you might have to either betray those you know on the Alliance ship or at least appear to do so. You still going to go through with this, I doubt any would blame you if it were mentioned that there are friends of yours on board that vessel," she inquired.

I frowned, "Thanks for your concern Lisa, but it best and in my view, has to be me, someone else might get it wrong. And the consequences that would come as a result of getting things wrong in this, with be people dying. Plus, if I don't, I very well may end up attending the funerals of at least one of my best friends, if not more than just one. I… I don't think I would be able to forgive myself if my two best friends end out killing each other and I did nothing to stop them."

Lisa had an expression of confusion on her face, "What are you talking about?"

"I've two friends that I went to a lunar prep academy with, now one is a ZAFT pilot that's with the team that's pursuing the Archangel. He's piloting one of the stolen Alliance suits, specifically the X303 Aegis. The other is on the same Alliance ship that we're going to chase and is one of the two pilots no doubt protecting the ship." I paused, shuttering at the thoughts at the possibilities of what could happen in the future, "At some point in the future, they're going to be forced onto the battlefield on opposite sides and will have to fight one another. If I side with either one of them, I'll be seen as an enemy to the other… I just don't know what to do in this!" I was writhing my hands in frustration and being unable to change how things were right now. "And that's why I hate this war! It's pitting friend against friend, and those who are leading this conflict don't give a freaking care that their views and choices are causing this!"

Lisa tried to comfort me in this, she didn't succeed, but she didn't fully fail either. I returned to my quarters, and just after I got there I felt the ship moving. I looked out the viewing port that was in the room and saw that the Donnen was exiting the docking area of Aprilius one. And so, the journey begins and I feel it will be a long and harsh one in more ways than I want to know.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

"It looks like the ZAFT vessel is pulling back," said Miriallia, pulling double duty of mobile weapon controller and com-officer. "Mission accomplished, both the Strike and the Asuka are now returning to the ship."

Even if the battle had been against one Laurasia-class ZAFT vessel, it had been a three against two when it came to mobile suits. When the Blitz, Duel and Buster had come from the ZAFT vessel there had been a lot of worry and some despair. Having to go against three of the five prototype G-weapons, and with them having experienced ZAFT pilots, who had likely had the time to make the OSs on the prototypes usable and capable… hopes hadn't been high to say the least. What had happened to the Nazca-class ZAFT ship, was anyone's guess, for it had been absent. Since the Aegis hadn't been on the battlefield, it was likely on the Nazca-class, wherever it went to. Yet, if what Mu La Flaga had said about the ZAFT commander that was supposedly pursuing them Rau Le Creuset was true, the question on many of the minds on the Archangel wondering, why was only one vessel giving chase?

On the Bridge of the Archangel, the crew were relaxing a bit from the tension that had built up from the collapse of Heliopolis and the recent battle. There were a few murmurs of awe followed her words as Murrue sighed in relief. "Captain, since the Laurasia-class is falling back, we should make a break for Artemis," said Natarle.

"Indeed, let them go for now and set course," said Murrue, "Best to use the opportunity to forge ahead to Artemis."

"Engines to maximum," ordered Natarle.

Meanwhile, just after Kira and Lacus exited the two mobile suits they proceeded to the pilot changing room. Once there, Lacus removed her helmet and tears floated from her face. Kira noticed, and he made his way over to her and hugged the girl, saying nothing. Lacus returned the embrace and silently cried as Kira held her. Kira smiled slightly, "It will be alright Lacus, we're both still alive and everyone on the ship is okay, that's what counts." He said.

Lacus sniffled, "Yes, but Tye isn't with us anymore… He might have been shot down or is dead," she choked, holding back sobs.

Kira's smile grew a bit, "There is no doubt in my mind that Tye is fine wherever he is right now. He is strong and won't die easily, trust me when I say that. He'll show up when he can, but even he needs some time to work with to get things done. As he has said to me from time to time, 'I'm good at what I set my mind to, but I'm not a miracle worker'. You'll see Lacus, Tye has never failed at coming through for those he calls friends yet, and I doubt he'll start now," replied Kira.

Lacus started to calm down after hearing Kira's confident reply and nodded in agreement. Before the two teens could start changing, the door to the room opened and Chief Murdock was at the doorway. "Oh, there you two are, just wanted you to know, both the Lieutenant's and the Major's mobile armors are done being repaired. So, from here on, you two won't have to be the only ones out there defending the ship. The Lieutenant and Major will be supporting you out on the field as well," he said cheerfully.

Chief Murdock waved to them and then left the room, heading back to the hanger. Kira and Lacus then headed off to the quarters they had found before. However, the two had been watched and listen to without them knowing it. A little way down the corridor was Mu La Flaga and Krystal McAlester, Krystal smiled a bit after hearing the exchange, "It's hard to believe that those two defended the ship on their own, isn't it Mu?" Mused Krystal.

"You're right, though they may have incredible talent for piloting," Mu said, "They're still just teenage kids… probably a good thing we have both of them. I don't want to even think of what sort of emotional state they'd be in without having each other to lean on for support."

Krystal nodded in agreement, "Well, now that we have mobile armor to work with, we can help those two so that their emotional state doesn't get all that much worse," she said.

The next few hours that passed by were uneventful, and when the sight of the Artemis Asteroid came into view, there were feelings of relief for most on the Archangel. On the bridge, a request was sent to the Alliance base to dock and those on the Archangel waited for the reply. "Message from Artemis," said Miriallia. "Request to enter port acknowledged. Inspecting officer Will be sent on board when you dock."

"Alright then," said Murrue, her relief obvious. "Thank you."

Things had gone surprisingly well for them… sure, things didn't go as was hoped originally by any means. First, the collapse of Heliopolis along with the loss of Tyler McGregor and the machine he had been piloting. Things only got direr when they had almost lost both Kira and Lacus with those two being only civilian volunteers, and going up against three trained soldiers. And, with only relatively minor support from the Archangel, they'd been successful in driving off the enemy. The two had successfully held their own against three other machines, all three of them of the same model series as their own. It was nothing short of astounding really what the two teens had done. Murrue didn't want to admit it, but when she realized what they were up against, she'd been certain that both Kira and Lacus were going to die. The two had a natural talent for piloting that Murrue knew only appeared in one out of every thousand or even hundred thousand individuals… but they were still just untrained kids, not soldiers.

Yet, now that the Archangel had reached the Artemis base, things could finally start going better. Granted, it was doubtful that the ZAFT forces that were pursuing them would give up the chase, but at least at Artemis those on the Archangel could have a rest bit. "We were lucky…" Murrue muttered under her breath.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

The Donnen was under way and there were things to do in the time it would take the Federation cruiser to get in range of the Eurasian military base Artemis. I wasn't one to be idle when I have time to wait for something to happen. There would be more than twelve-hour trip that would need to be made to get to their destination, so I have to give myself work, not to be restless.

The first thing I did, was heading down to the hanger bay, to talk to the chief mechanic to see if he might be able to do some work on the Shadow, for there were things I wanted to get improved and changed. When I found the man I was looking for, I began to lay out what I was hoping for.

I'm not saying that the X209 Shadow is a badly made mobile suit, it's a marvel of engineering and I'm becoming very optimistic of what it could do. However, there were systems that weren't designed to work well with the rest of the system or to work efficiently by themselves. The Mirage Colloid for instance, was a jump in a stealth system, but the way that it is, sucks down power and generates a great deal of heat. Both issues of power drain and heat output, make the stealth ability to work for a short timeframe, and the heat can give away position to an extent. Given time to refine and improve it, those two major issues could be lessened or fixed onboard the Donnen.

The shield the Shadow had, was nice and had worked for the three instances that I'd used it in. However, I want it tailored a bit, mostly for personal preference and as I'll be the one piloting it, why shouldn't I have it fit my personal preference? Would like to increase the defensive capabilities, specifically blocking power against beams as phase shift takes projectiles and minimize damage to the suit.

The chief mechanic had no issues with my request, especially since the majority of the mechanics on the Donnen have been looking at the mobile suit with great interest as it was quite different than Federation machines. He did however, tell me that it would take him and his crew a decent amount of time to get what I wanted done as my requested changes were fairly extensive. I told him if problems that required me to be out on a battlefield, I would use one of the four fighters that were onboard the ship. The chief was good with that and so he and the other mechanics set to work and I went back to my quarters.

When I was back in 'my' quarters, I went to the bed and 'laid' on it, or rather I floated up with there being no gravity. Yet I didn't take much notice as I got to think about recent events. With the collapse of Heliopolis, a lot had changed, yesterday morning, I was with friends I go to school with. Within the last twenty-four hours, I've been separated from them, don't know what their circumstances were or if they were okay or hurt. I feel horrible that I'm not with them right now, but it's what it is. How can I face Kira and the others after leaving them as I had? Admittedly, I was a member of the Federation Military and not even Kira knew that fact, yet that's not a very good excuse for me to have. I would have to think of an apology that I would make to them when I see them next… hope that will be soon.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Near Artemis, Lagrange 3

Kira and Lacus stepped out of the quarters they had chosen for theirs, blue for Kira and pink for Lacus, the uniforms had been brought to them along their way to the room. Their breathing was still somewhat strained, as they were still recovering from the strain of the battle and the near-death experiences they had undergone. Their dependence on one another, was probably one of the major reasons that either of them weren't having a mental breakdown or close to having one. They drew strength from one another and were able to keep going forward. The two were heading towards the mess hall to see what was going on, when both Mu and Krystal came into the same corridor from one of the side ones.

"Huh?" muttered Kira, as they found Mu and Krystal coming up behind them as they floated along the hall. The lieutenant playfully grabbed Kira, wrapping his arm around his neck, while Krystal held Lacus's left shoulder.

"I forgot to mention this earlier to you two," said Mu pleasantly, then he leaned in and lowered the volume of his voice, "Put a lock on the Strike and the Asuka activation programs," said Mu.

Both teens looked between the two mobile armor pilots, "Is this some kind of joke Lieutenant?" Asked Lacus.

Krystal shook her head, "Not in the slightest, we'll be docked at the Artemis base soon."

Mu nodded, "Yes, so make sure that no one can operate those mobile suits but you two," he said seriously.

Both Kira and Lacus looked between the two mobile armor pilots, "It's not that we don't trust the people from Eurasia, but," Krystal paused, then continued, "To say that the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasia Federation see eye to eye… that would be wrong. Let's just say that they will likely make trouble as this ship is a secret from parts of the Earth Alliance." Commented Krystal.

Kira looked at both pilots, then he shook his head, and shared a quick look with Lacus. "Alright, we'll do it," he returned.

Both Mu and Krystal nodded and then continued to wherever they were going to on the Archangel. Kira and Lacus went back to the hanger and Kira put locks on the OSs before the pair resumed the journey to the mess hall. Once they reached the doorway, the went in, though they saw Sai and Flay who were staring out of the window at the asteroid that was an Alliance Military base.

"Wow…" murmured Flay as the Archangel backed into Artemis, moving through the inactive section of the umbrella.

"It's a lightwave barrier, known as the Umbrella of Artemis," explained Sai. The two were standing at the observation port in front of the mess hall. After Flay had recovered from her fear of the battle, and Sai had recovered from Flay's earlier anger at him for leaving her alone like he had to take a station on the bridge. "They say it even blocks laser beams. It's the ultimate defense that the Alliance has." He finished.

"I'm so relieved," said Flay, smiling. "We can finally feel safe. Wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah," said Sai, matching her smile.

Mu and Krystal reached the elevator after telling Kira and Lacus to put locks on the mobile suits and took it up to the bridge to watch how this situation would unfold. Neither of the mobile armor pilots were expecting what most would consider a 'warm welcome' by the Eurasian forces in the base, quite the opposite. The real question would be how much trouble would come to the ship and those on board while they were here at Artemis. The Archangel backed into the base through the hole that was opened in the umbrella. Yet, as the warship descended into the dock the crew had been told to go to, shuttles along with mobile armors surrounding the ship.

' _Oh great_ ,' thought Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal at the same time as they realized the ship was being locked into place in several ways and wouldn't be able to leave the dock while those methods were in place. The help that had been hoped for, wasn't likely to come their way.

"Captain… I think that we are going to have problems." said Natarle in a worried tone.

"What was your first clue Ensign Badgiruel?" Asked Krystal in a flat voice.

It wasn't long after being locked into one of the docks inside Artemis, when the door to the elevator opened and armed soldiers spread themselves across the bridge and aimed their weapons at those present. "What's going on there?" asked Tolle.

Murrue turned to the inspection officer from Artemis that was floating out of the elevator. "Well, what is this about… commander?" she asked.

"I must advise you captain, remain silent," said the officer.

"I was afraid of this…" said Mu under his breath.

Krystal glanced over to Mu, "Yeah, not the warm welcome that we hoped for, but more than what we expected. That why we prepared for this idea the best we could think of Lieutenant," she whispered.

Mu smirked slightly behind his hand at Krystal's comment, for she was right. The Alliance officers won't get the Strike or the Asuka… But that brought up the question of who's in charge here… even with the bad relationship that existed between the two major powers that made up the Earth Alliance, this was more than what should be happening, most Eurasians wouldn't behave quite like this…

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's Pov-

The Donnen

Admittedly, it was nice to get some sleep as things had been stressful as of late, what with recent events of the meeting with the Supreme Council and Heliopolis. And since the trip to Artemis wasn't short… well, I managed to catch some much-needed sleep. It wasn't the best quality sleep, but I'll take what I can get right now. The trip itself from the PLANTs at L5 to the area of L3 passing by the debris field of Heliopolis, took ten hours or so. Then there was another hour almost two to arrive outside the range of the Earth Alliance's Artemis military base. So, the whole trip was twelve hours and that time was used for preparations as there was a very high chance that my team and I would be going into Artemis.

Once we had come in sight of the Eurasian base, I made my way to the Bridge of the Donnen, or specifically, the Tactical Center section of it. In this area of the bridge, the holographic display system to help ship officers see the battlefield in a way that makes more visual sense overall and in real time too. When I entered, I saw that Captain Shepard was at the table, looking at the general area of Artemis and what surrounds the base. "Captain Shepard, what's the current situation thus far with Artemis?" I asked closing the distance between the door and the table.

Shepard glanced up at me and then back down at the digital display. There was a holographic representation of the asteroid base and there was a layer over the base itself. Then, there were three much smaller images which were that of ZAFT vessels that were in range to attack the Alliance base. "As you can see, Artemis has it's lightwave umbrella up, like due to the three ZAFT vessels nearby. By the radio chatter we've picked up on the Alliance channels, the Archangel is inside of Artemis. Although, given the relations between the Atlantic and Eurasia Federations, I doubt that the Archangel is being given the nicest treatment. My assumption is that those inside Artemis are interested and intent on inspected the mobile suits onboard."

From what I know of the internal workings of the Earth Alliance, Captain Shepard isn't wrong. The Eurasia Federation wasn't on good terms with its ally the Atlantic Federation, the two were at serious odds as of late. If Eurasia could gain an advantage over the Atlantic Federation, then they wouldn't likely say no to the opportunity.

Shepard moved the image so that the Artemis base moved to one end of the field displayed and three other smaller images appeared. "Then, there are these three ZAFT ships, a Laurasia-class and two Nazca-classes. They're on the edge of Artemis's defensive range and that would be why the lightwave umbrella is up. Unfortunately, with that barrier up, even Federation fighters wouldn't be able to get in while it is active."

I was silent at what I was being told, for I knew the situation would be difficult coming into it, with the facts that I had at this point. However, even with that mindset, I hadn't thought it would be THIS bad! This meant there would be significant amount of difficulty in helping those on the Archangel as things stood, any could see that. However, as my father would tell me often, there's not a problem, to which there isn't methods to obtain a solution, a lesson that had been reinforced during my time in the Federation military. There's a way into this Eurasian base, even if it isn't a simple one to see, it just needs to be found!

Captain Shepard, took a breath and kept going, "Plus, as this is an Alliance base, it makes us go around or inside it is more of a political mess more than anything else. Artemis is especially problematic, being as close to the border between the Federation and the Earth Alliance as it is," she finished.

I didn't speak or reply to the information that Shepard had stated, I was looking over the field, studying it carefully. With how things stand, this situation that's a bomb waiting to blow up and the explosion won't be small, were I to give a prediction. I don't expect that ZAFT would just sit and twiddle their thumbs while the Archangel sits in Artemis. They'll be looking for a way into Artemis… plus, I know for a fact that Sakura has dearly wanted to defeat the umbrella of Artemis, just to prove that it can be done among other reasons. As I've said, the woman is very determined when she has a goal set in mind, plus she loves a good fight and challenge.

When this is viewed from a political standpoint, don't see that preventing us Federation pilots from entering the base. From the huge amount of observation of my mom at her job when I visit my homeland, to blame another in the world of politics, you need concrete proof. If you don't, well you might as well keep your mouth shut, for your complaining is nothing more than angry cries. "You have a point on most of the situation Captain however, I disagree going into Artemis being a problem," I remarked.

Shepard stared at me with a brow raised, "And why would you disagree Commander McGregor?"

I smirked, "You say that politics make this a problem for my team being in Artemis. That would be true IF, and only if, two things occur. The first being that the base is still around and functioning when this situation is said and done. Then the second thing, you assume that the Alliance personnel will see or detect us enter or us moving around Artemis. If we're being honest, what amount of currency would you bet, that ZAFT will attack Artemis as their quarry is inside? That alone will give the Alliance much more to worry about than Federation pilots being inside their 'impregnable fortress'? As for us being in their base overall, they won't have proof of any of us being there, so politics is of no real concern in this," I answered confidently.

Captain Shepard blinked and then chuckled, "Indeed, you have a valid point." She replied with a slight smile.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, Artemis Interior

Those in the mess hall who worked as crew of the Archangel and were off duty, were curious as to why they had been ordered to gather here. Their curiosity grew when the refugees came in and appeared to be worried and scared. However, it was clear that something was off and wrong when the non-commissioned crew came in and were followed by Alliance soldiers with guns. "Alright, freeze!" said the Artemis soldier in the lead. The soldier behind the first, followed suit and leveling their assault rifles at the people in the mess hall. "No one move!" said the leader.

The refugees huddled in a tighter group, further confused and scared at what was happening, while the crew members in the mess hall were just trying to process what was going on. Artemis was supposed to be an allied base belonging to the Eurasia Federation, so this action wasn't expected at all. Meanwhile, the same actions of pointing guns and capturing members of the crew were happening throughout the ship. The next twenty minutes, all over the ship except the on the bridge, Eurasian soldiers herded any members of the crew and passengers they could find towards the mess hall. It was a means of containment for those on board the Archangel for those at Artemis.

On the bridge of the Archangel, the commanding officers were the most confused and puzzled at what was occurring. The only two that had even the slightest idea what this was about, was Mu and Krystal and this was more of a reaction than even they had planned for entirely.

"What are you doing?" demanded Murrue.

There was no reply to Murrue from any of the Eurasian personnel or the one they listened to. "Lieutenant Commander Biddulph," said Natarle, controlling her growing irritation, "I request an explanation for these actions. I assure you, we…"

"This is only to lock down the ship's controls and weapons systems as part of our standard security procedures," said Biddulph, interrupting her.

Natarle experienced a mix of incredulity and irritation, "Lock down, since when do lock down," Natarle stopped herself in her outburst and took a quick moment to regain control of her emotions. Then she continued in a calmer voice, "There's no need for you to go this far."

The response that Natarle received, was a soldier aiming a gun at her. "Isn't a large and heavily armed force a bit much for a standard 'lock down' of an allied ship, Lieutenant Commander? It's almost as if you're treating us as prisoners, rather than allies," remarked Krystal flatly.

The man in charge of this glared at Krystal, but she returned the glare and for half a minute there was a stare down, which Krystal won in the end. The commander straightened his uniform before turning back to both Natarle and Murrue, "Your vessel isn't recorded in the ship register," continued Biddulph, "Naturally we have no identification code for it. Given the circumstances, we permitted you entrance to our port. Unfortunately, it hasn't yet been determined if we recognized you as friendly."

"But that doesn't," Natarle began to object.

"This is a military facility," said Biddulph. "At the very least, it'd be appreciated if you kept that in mind."

 _Something else is up_ , thought Murrue, gritting her teeth. _Mu and Krystal were right after all…_

Meanwhile, Mu and Krystal couldn't help the thoughts of, _what an obvious lie._ Both could see there was more to this than met the eye and it likely had to do in some way to the two mobile suits on the Archangel.

"Now then, I would like the officers to brief us on the current situation," said Biddulph. "You shall accompany me."

Meanwhile, in the command sector of Artemis, Rear Admiral Gerard Garcia to himself, the leading commander of the Artemis base, staring at screens displaying the harbor from his office. "The top secret military project of the Atlantic Federation," he said smiling. "Who would've guessed it would jump right into our lap? This is very good fortune for Eurasian Federation."

"So, all those rumors that have been circulating about Heliopolis were true after all," said Garcia's second-in-command. "It's more surprising that the Federation nor ZAFT found out about it and did something before this."

"Indeed… We'll invite these people to remain here," said Garcia, still smiling, "On an extended 'shore leave'." At that moment, there came a knock on the door.

"Excuse me sir," came the voice of Biddulph. "I've brought with me four officers from the unidentified vessel."

"Yes, enter," said Garcia. Biddulph opened the door and entered, followed by Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal. Garcia stood up, smiling even more broadly. "Greetings, welcome to Artemis."

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

By the time the commissioned officers the Archangel had were taken off the ship, all onboard of the Archangel had been brought to the mess hall and were divided into two groups. The first group was the rest of the crew of the ship and the other was those who weren't helping run the ship. The only thing that had been told to any of them, was that they would be kept here while the 'lock down' was in place. Any resistance to this had quickly been put down, and none asked their watchers anything since they would unlikely get anything from them. Sai himself was getting irritated at what was happening, both Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation were a part of the Earth Alliance, weren't they? The subject was so frustration, Sai leaned over to Romero Pal, "The Eurasian Federation is supposed to be an ally to the Atlantic Federation, isn't it?" muttered Sai, looking at Pal. "Don't they have good enough relations with the Atlantic Federation for something like this not to occur?"

"No, not really," replied Pal quietly. "In truth, the only part of the Earth Alliance that the Atlantic Federation is on tenser terms with than Eurasia Federation, would be the one between us and the United States of South America. Honestly, the members of the Earth Alliance don't really get along with one another. The only reason the Alliance hasn't fallen apart or collapsed, is the war against ZAFT. Our current situation might not be as much of a problem if we had proper identifications codes, but I can't say"

"Don't have proper codes my rear, they're just latching onto that as an excuse to do what they want," said Murdoch quietly, glancing at Arnold. "There's something else going on here."

"I would agree," said Arnold.

Listening in on the exchange, Kira sighed at the subject matter, it made him feel uneasy and worried him. He stepped over into a corner bringing Lacus with him so that they could have a private conversation, "What do you think of this?" asked Kira quietly.

"I think we may be in trouble," she said softly. "Even if Le Creuset wasn't with those chasing us at the start, he will be as soon as he can. He is one of ZAFT's elite, a dangerous strategist and extraordinarily persistent. My sister may not like him, but she can't deny that he gets results, even if she doesn't like the methods he uses to get them. We have lost some that would help us and from the looks of things, we haven't found allies at all. It's like were shoved back to square one."

"Yeah," mumbled Kira in a disheartened tone.

Back into Office of Garcia, he was looking over the personnel files on the four officers that now stood in front of him. "Lieutenant Murrue Ramius, Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, First Lieutenant Krystal McAlester and Ensign Natarle Badgiruel," stated Garcia. Then the man glanced up at the four he had referred to, "Well, it would appear your identification is authentic Atlantic Federation IDs."

"We apologize for any trouble we might've caused," said Mu, taking the lead.

"And thank you for allowing us to dock here in Artemis sir," added Krystal, instantly seeing what Mu was trying to do.

"Think nothing of it," said Garcia, before he smiled. "As a matter of fact, I'm well acquainted with both of your illustrious names Lieutenant La Flaga and you Lieutenant McAlester." He pointed to Mu first, "You're the one they call the 'Hawk of Endymion'." He then pointed to Krystal, "And you're the one known as the 'Lunar Peregrine'. I too saw my share of action while stationed at the Grimaldi Front." Garcia grimaced slightly. "Came closer to death there than anywhere else… And when the Roc and his demons behind him showed up, doubt I was the only one that thought I would make it out alive at that point."

"Ah, then you were with Commodore Marks's defense unit were you?" asked Mu, hiding his own grimace. The "Roc" to which Garcia referred was the infamous "Grimaldi Roc," an elite ZAFT commander and one of ZAFT's champions. His team had the nicknamed the 'Vultures', as they cleaned up a field like the bird they were named after.

The Roc himself had the infamous reputation for his talent with close-combat tactics, as well as his use of a scythe to cleave his enemies into pieces whether mobile armors or ships. And lastly, the other point was his love for attacking from above in a manner reminiscent of the same mythological predator he was named after. Mu had tangled with the man at the Battle of the Endymion Crater, managed to tick off the man by shooting down one of his comrades. It was an encounter Mu barely survived, though the Roc later saved his life by warning him of the Cyclops System blast that ended the battle. The man had vanished and nothing was heard of him after that battle and was presumed dead.

Krystal also suppressed a grimace at the mention of the ZAFT Campion and ace as well. A close friend of hers had been shot down by the Roc, when the man had decided to leisurely sit outside the carrier she had been assigned to, blowing apart the mobile armors after they distanced themselves from the ship as they did for resupply. She herself had been a fresh green armor pilot at the time and so could do very little but watch and pray. The man seemed to have a bizarre sense of humor, but the results achieved couldn't be denied.

"That's right," said Garcia, in response to Mu's query. "The battle may have ended in defeat for the Alliance, but your heroic feat in single-handedly taking multiple GINNs each, gave us a sorely needed morale boost." Garcia glanced over at Krystal, "Then you, damaging and disabling the Black Zephyr's Jade Knight along with half of their team forcing them to retreat, didn't hurt at all," said the man, referring to another infamous ZAFT team which Krystal had managed to take on.

The ZAFT mobile suit team, which had been led by the 'Jade Knight', had been under the command of the most infamously dangerous of ZAFT's champions, the Black Zephyr. There were rumors that the Jade Knight, was also another ZAFT ace, also known as 'the Mocking Jay', but no fact could confirm if that was true or now. Most of them had been destroyed in the Endymion Cyclops blast, including their leader assumedly. If the pilot was somehow still alive, what they were doing now, none knew as there had been no evidence about what happened to them.

"Very kind of you to say, sir," said Mu with Krystal nodding, but saying nothing.

"However," continued Garcia, "Who would've believed the two of you, of all the people that could have popped up and appear on the prototype ship of the Atlantic Federation?"

"My comrade and I are on a special mission sir," said Mu seriously. "Unfortunately, we aren't at liberty to disclose any details at this time."

"I understand," said Garcia. "But it'll be difficult to resupply you right away."

"It's absolutely vital that we head to Lunar HQ as soon as humanly possible," said Murrue. "As you no doubt know, we're being pursued by ZAFT."

"By ZAFT you say?" said Garcia, something almost condescending about his demeanor. He pressed a button on his desk, and the nature scenes displayed on the screen behind him disappeared, replaced by an image of Artemis, umbrella shield activated, the surrounding space… and a single Laurasia-class frigate and two Nazca-class Destroyers. Murrue gasped, "As you can see, the ships have been roaming around outside the umbrella." Garcia said turning his chair to face the screen. "They've been there for a short while now. One or two, even three vessels are of little concern to us here, though if you were resupplied…" Garcia turned his chair back to face them, "it would still mean you'd be unable to depart, wouldn't it?"

"They won't abandon their pursuit of the Archangel sir," said Mu. "We cannot afford to remain here for long and risk damage to Artemis."

Garcia chuckled. "Did I hear you right Lieutenant?" he asked. "Damage to our base? They're powerless to do anything to us, and they'll eventually leave, it happens all the time."

Mu held in the frustration he felt at that, "With all do you respect commandant, their commander, Rau Le Creuset won't just give up," Mu stared, but was cut off as Garcia raised a hand.

"At any rate, I recommend you get some R&R," said Garcia. "You appear to be exhausted. I'll have your quarters prepared." He pressed another button.

"Commandant couldn't we…?" started Krystal.

"Excuse me sir," said an officer, opening the door.

"We'll have a chance to get in contact with Lunar Headquarters once they leave," said Garcia, seemingly to reassure them. "We'll make arrangements afterwards. So, relax and get some rest, all of you."

"You're that certain?" said Mu after a moment. "You think Artemis is that safe?"

Garcia smirked, "I assure you Lieutenant, it's as safe as an infant in its mother's arms."

Naturally, this did nothing to reassure any of the Archangel officers. After the 'meeting', the Archangel's officers had been escorted to a room that had been prepared for them. once inside the room and the door closed, Natarle privately let her companions know her opinion. "I understand that the Archangel may be unregistered," she said, "but this kind of treatment is inexcusable!" Military protocol was so heavily coded into Natarle's mind and psyche, that the thought of ambitious soldiers acting against protocol to further their own goals was almost entirely foreign to her. She herself, came from a family that for many generations had served in the military and done so with distinction.

"Logically speaking, you're probably right, but people aren't always logical. Besides, there isn't much we can do for the moment," said Mu. "Right now, those guys would much more prefer we didn't return to the ship. A way to keep us from organizing resistance against them I would bet, but there's something that concerns me even more." Mu looked down at the ground in thought.

"Would it be the fact that these soldiers here on Artemis have an unquestioning faith that their secure against any enemy assault?" Inquired Krystal.

Mu nodded to Krystal's question to him, "Exactly, there is no such thing as a base that cannot be taken," said Murrue in agreement, "and no defense is perfect or absolute. That fact is one that has been proven in this war by both ZAFT and the Federation to the Alliance."

 **-Line Break-**

The Gamow, Near Artemis

The mood aboard the Gamow was tense and it was mostly due to a few people on the ship. One of those, would be Yzak Joule and he was in a very, VERY bad mood, and the reason why was readily apparent. While Dearka and Nicol got to keep their fancy new captured machines after the battle with the Alliance vessel, the same couldn't be said for Yzak. He had gotten stuck in a GINN so that he could fly while the heavily damaged Duel was being repaired. However, while everyone knew why he was in a bad mood… being around him and having to deal with his foul mood, wasn't something any of them really wanted to tolerate. Not even his fellow pilots Dearka and Nicol could ignore how their comrade was acting. So, Yzak did his best to rein in his foul mood… mostly by just keeping his mouth shut.

Right now, after settling themselves fully, Captain Zelman, who had gathered the three pilots in order to discuss how to go about their current mission, began the briefing. They had been watching the Alliance base for around an hour and nothing had changed, "The Umbrella blocks all lasers and projectiles coming at it," explained Zelman, as the tactical screen displayed a digitized model of Artemis and the umbrella, "Although the same could be said for anything going out."

"So, what it comes down to is, they won't be attacking us and we can't attack them," said Dearka, somewhat condescendingly. "What a perfectly lame invention."

"Although it is a purely defensive system, it's quite an achievement nonetheless," countered Zelman. "This base hasn't had any strategic importance, so up to this point, our forces have pretty much ignored it. That's of course, outside of the Black Zephyr expressing an interest in trying to crack it open to prove that it can be done."

"I'm guessing the opportunity never arose?" said Nicol. "I've met and have known the Black Zephyr for a couple of years, I can't see something like this slowing someone like her down for long."

"Correct, but that reason is irrelevant to our current situation," said Zelman. "For us, it's a matter of not having the means to break through that Umbrella, even with three ships on station. So, we're in a tricky position, but they're pretty much stuck as well."

"So, what's the strategy then?" asked Dearka. "Kick back till they come out?" Dearka snickered to himself at that.

Zelman frowned at his behavior, "Stop clowning around Dearka," growled Yzak angrily. "When Commander Creuset gets back from the PLANTs, do you want to be the one to tell him we weren't able to do anything about the 'legged ship'? We'd be totally humiliated if we have nothing to show for the time we've had!"

Nicol kept quiet and ignored the argument between his comrades, focusing on the tactical problem they faced. He frowned as he stared at the tactical screen, trying to come up with something that could change the current situation. What would the Black Zephyr say at a time like this? She certainly wasn't one to just accept that there is nothing that can be done facing an opponent that's in a place of security. Then Nicol remembered a line that she had said while visiting his father the last time, 'In war, the way is to avoid what is strong, is to strike at what is weak'. However, there wasn't a weakness apparent or obvious, not while that Umbrella is… up… wait, that's it!

"Captain Zelman, when does the Umbrella of Artemis close? I assume that it isn't up all the time, it would draw lots of power if they did that. So, it has to be shut down at some point," asked Nicol, drawing everyone's attention.

Zelman put a hand to his chin, "You would be correct, it does close and shut down. The umbrella only remains active while enemies are within a particular range of the base," said Zelman, before he looked at the display and frowning. "The problem, is that range is greater than any ZAFT vessel's weapons can reach. So, even if we were to approach while it's closed, they'll detect us before we get close enough to fire upon the base, since they will simply reactivate the Umbrella."

"In war, the way is to avoid what is strong is to strike at what is weak," muttered Nicol to himself.

"Nicol?" questioned Dearka uncertainly.

"What is the weakness of the lightwave barrier?" asked Nicol, before barreling on to answer his own question. "It's the emitters that generate it. The umbrella made up of a network of projectors across the surface of the fortress that emit the lightwaves that construct and maintain the barrier. That's where the defense of Artemis is weak, and so that's where a strike must be made to take down the defenses."

"Sure Nicol, you're probably right with the emitters but, not even the Buster's combined rifle in the sniping configuration could hit enough emitters before the Umbrella went up. You would have to take out enough of them in a small area and you would have to know exactly where the emitters are. The other difficulty is that N-jammers will start interfering with targeting and throw off your aim within a few shots." Shot Dearka in return.

"True, but that's a direct approach that ends up striking at what's strong again," said Nicol. "All warfare is based on deceiving your opponent while thinking ahead of them to bring about victory for yourself. So, breaking that down, we need to find a way to strike at the fortress's weakness, and a deception would be the best way to do that… and I think I know the perfect tool for the idea."

"And what is that, coward?" demanded Yzak irritably.

Nicol looked up, seeming almost serene, "The Blitz is a rather unique machine," said Nicol. "Sure, it has the same Phase Shift armor as the other mobile suits, but it has another rather interesting feature as well, one that, used right, will put me in a position to take down enough of the umbrella emitters." He tapped the screen. "To strike at what is weak… to give us a tactical advantage."

 **-Line Break-**

Artemis Interior

Garcia stood in the Artemis control room, looking out at the Archangel docked right outside, smiling, still not believing his luck. The power this would bring, not only to Eurasia, but also to him personally… there was a lot of possibility. The console in front of him beeped suddenly, alerting him that someone wanted to speak with him. Activating the intercom, he spoke.

"What is it?" he asked.

" _The ZAFT Laurasia-class and the two Nazca-classes are leaving the area,_ " said the officer, " _Yellow eighteen, mark twenty, Charlie, distance seven hundred and increasing steadily._ "

"Very good," said Garcia. "I'll leave it to Rize to handle the rest of closing the Umbrella when ZAFT is gone. Continue to maintain surveillance of the area." At that moment, his lieutenant entered the control room behind him. "Find anything?" asked Garcia.

"Sir, it's proceeding smoothly," reported the lieutenant. "We're still in the process of examining the unregistered vessel. However, about the mobile suits…"

"Well, what is it?" asked Garcia.

"There is some kind of lock on their OS's that we simply haven't been able to figure out," he said. "We have been attempting to activate them, but have had no success."

"What?"

"We have assigned all of our technicians to study how to remove the lock, and they're working on it as we speak," continued the officer. Garcia gritted his teeth. This could be trouble and he didn't like that at all.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **I think this ends at a slightly better transition point than I had before. Plus, it doesn't then leave a LONG chapter 5 to read through. Please take the time to write a review and tell me what you think of this story, Thank you for reading and peace out until the next chapter!**


	5. Phase 5: Bailout at Artemis

**A/n**

 **This chapter is now more 'average' length for my writing, not as long and beefy as before, but still covering a lot of material. I'd like to thank those who have written reviews as they help me to improve my writing. As always, I don't own nothing but my own characters and inspiration, nothing else. Hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Phase 5: Bailout at Artemis

January 28th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

Once the Donnen was within decent range of the Artemis base, that was the cue for me and my teammates to start towards the hanger. In the pilot locker room, we went over the plan for the stunt we were going to attempt to pull. I wasn't that worried about how things would likely work out, the others and I could pull this mission off, that I was confident in! It's just unforeseen circumstances that could come up that worry me in this. Once Lisa, Alan, Luke and I had finished put on our pilot suits, I went over the mission, its objective, possible problems that could come up and the requirements that we would be under. None of the others had an issue with the plan that I had come up with, so we exited the locker room and headed to the hanger.

Now, as much as I would LOVE to use the Shadow on this mission… it's still getting work done on it that I, myself had requested the chief mechanic to do for me. That being said, there were parts and cabling exposed and not in the places they should be, meaning that the mobile suit wasn't usable at this time. So, as I'd said to him, I would be using a Federation fighter… it's not that it's a bad trade. Federation fighters aren't machines to scoff at or underestimate! With the current fighter model that's used and developed by the Federation, it had mobility and weaponry that could match ZAFT mobile suits.

The HFCS-D201 Delta Fighter or just Delta Fighter as it's referred to for short, is as mobile armors are for the Earth Alliance and mobile suits are for ZAFT. It has a length of 18.6 meters from the end of the rear thrusters to the tip of the nose of the machine. The fighter has small thrusters at different places that give the machine the superior mobility that even ZAFT mobile suits have a hard time matching. The fighter is white in overall color and had blue along the wing edges and top of the rear jets. There was also blue color on the center and top of the fighter's middle and the inside of the nose of the craft. The nose and forward section of the fighter, was made up of a shield like shape that was wider at the back than the front. A large blue fin was set in the center, starting about a meter from the nose tip.

The wings system was made up of two different sections; the first was the main wings on either side and was in line with the upper center of the craft. The piece comprised of two wings extended out, the front one was less than a meter long and the back wing has a length of a couple of meters and both were parallel to one another. The second part of the wing system, was above the main wings and was separated by the meter and a half diameter front mount of the rear thrusters. The wing's length was around the same as the back wing of the main wing system, though it was thinner. There were also short fins on either side of the wing, the inside more forward than the outside fin. Plus, there was a booster halfway down the wing, built into a raised section of the upper wing.

The fighter's systems were standard within the Federation, what would be considered standard optics that the Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces use. For power, there is an efficient battery built into the machine that's based on ZAFT mobile suit power plant development. The big difference comes with two systems equipped that both the Alliance and ZAFT would love to have. The first is the Specter Optical Camouflage Field or SOC field, which allows the fighter not to be detected or seen by current sensors. Combine that with the method used in the heat disbursal from the thrusters, even the heat won't give away position. The second system would be the recharge cable, that can be tap into a facility's own power grid… or into a mobile suit's battery, very helpful in tight situations.

For armaments, the Delta Fighter had a pair of "pepper" 60mm vulcan guns that are mounted next to the forward optical array in the upper half of the nose sections, which nose is also made like a shield with something like beam coating. The guns might not penetrate mobile suit armor however, it causes impact, shaking the cockpit of the other machine and that can have an effect. Against mobile armors, it punches neat holes in most models the Alliance uses. Next, is a pair of railguns that attach to the backpack for mid-ranged combat. The final weapon, is located on the underside and rear of the nose section, which can be one of two optional weapons. The first is a Plasma Pulse Cannon or PPC. It causes heavy and explosive damage on the intended target, can make the difference in battle. The other is a rapid assault machine cannon, that had the capabilities of a machine gun and is loaded with high caliber armor piercing rounds. All the armaments could be used and fired while the optical camouflage is active without affecting either in a noticeable way.

My team and I separated and moved to the Delta fighters that we would use. Approaching the fighter that I was going to pilot, an area in the midsection of the craft rose up and aside to allow access to the cockpit. The fighter cockpit wasn't really tight or confined, but it was cozy and left little extra room for the pilot. I slipped into the fighter's cockpit and settled into the seat, feeling and hearing the audible click of my suit's backpack section clipping into the seat. As I was buckling the belt restraints, a mechanic came over the hatch, "Commander, all systems on this fighter should be fine as we checked them a few hours ago," he said.

I glanced up and nodded in thanks and acknowledgement to what the mechanic. "Thank you, it is appreciated," I returned.

The mechanic nodded, "Good luck to you and your team commander," he said before withdrawing from the space the fighter cockpit hatch left when it was open.

I pushed the button on the right control set console that had one of the joystick manipulation control, the hatch for the cockpit closed, throwing the interior of the cockpit into darkness. The darkness lasted only for a moment before two lights from just behind my seat came on and I was now able to see the forward control console, along with the left and right control board sets. The right control set has a vertical joystick and other buttons and switches. The left had a horizontal oriented joystick control and like the right control set had an assortment of buttons and switches including a throttle sliding lever. The forward console had my main sensor and information display in the center with a small touch board connected to the bottom of the display screen. On either side of the information screen were other smaller screens that would show the status of the fighter's primary systems. Under my feet were actuators that could be used for more fine piloting control with the thrusters.

I touched a button and the controls lit up and the screens on the forward console came to life and hummed as the system started up. The forward screen displayed the startup of the OS that the fighter was installed with and went through the system checks. To my left, right and ahead, images of what was outside the fighter's cockpit appeared that were fed by the optical sensors on the outside of the machine. I felt a jerk as my fighter moved towards the rear and center of the hanger for launching out of the ship. By the time that my fighter's OS was finished loading and running checks, my machine connected to the elevator and it shortly began to take me up to the upper linear catapult on the top of the cruiser's length.

Once I reached the top of the elevator, there was a clunk as my fighter was released from the lift. Next, shutters closed over the lift shaft after the elevator went downward, creating an airlock. The air was sucked out of the space I was in and the outer door of the catapult rose up and I got a view of the Donnen's upper hull and the stars outside. I observed the two electron rails on either side of the catapult raise up and lock in for their part in the acceleration the catapult makes possible. A low hum began as power was supplied to the catapult and there was a second clunk from the supply cable was unlocked so that it could come off when I launched. I set my hands on the right joystick and the throttle, looking forward, waiting for the signal to take off.

The signal came shortly and I shot off down the catapult, the electro rails increasing my speed as I left the Donnen. I was followed shortly by my teammates off the lower linear catapult and one off the upper one like I had shot from. When clear of the ship, we engaged our fighters' optic camouflage before turned our fighters towards Artemis. However, before we flew off we got one final message from the Donnen, " _Commander, the Donnen will be heading to the other side of Artemis. You'll be on your own from here, all that we can do is wish you and your team luck with your objective,_ " said the voice of Captain Shepard.

That's one of the nicest things I've heard from this female captain, "The information is appreciation captain. We'll meet you on the other side when everything is said and done," I replied.

" _Very well, Donnen out,_ " returned Shepard.

Now that we were on our own the major difficulty ahead, was getting through the lightwave umbrella shield WITHOUT being noticed. As long as the shield is up, slipping into the base would be a no go. So, the team and I would have to come up with a method on entering and I have no idea what that would be. It took a margin under ten minutes for the four of us to be in a very short distance from the lightwave umbrella. And being right up close to Artemis's lightwave shield, it's an impressive achievement in the area of defensive technology, but it does have its drawbacks. Anyways, to the issue at hand, "So, anyone got any ideas on a way of slipping into to this Alliance base?" I asked on the encrypted Federation channel.

A discussion ensued, yet none of us could come up with a viable means of entering Artemis. I was listening to the others, getting frustrated at just sitting outside of this shield and not able to get inside it. That's when out of the corner of my eye I spotted an Earth Alliance shuttle of the type that tends to be used for maintenance around colonies or bases… And it was outside the shield. …Hello opportunity, thank you for appearing in our time of need! I cut over Lisa who was currently speaking, "Hey all, listen up, I believe I got a way in… Approaching at our three-o-clock." I remarked.

There was silence for a moment, _"You talkin about the Alliance shuttle mate?"_ asked Luke.

"Indeed I am Luke, the shuttle is outside the lightwave barrier and will need to get in at some point. That requires the umbrella to open sometime for that to be possible, even if it is only a small gap. That should work well to our advantage, would anyone disagree?" I posed.

I heard nothing from anyone, so I took that to say that none disagreed and that the idea I had was what we would go with. Now that we had a plan, we moved our fighters to be in line around the shuttle as it kept skirting Artemis's shield. The plan was to use the Alliance shuttle like historical accounts say those who defeated the Trojans with the trick horse. The craft traveled for five minutes to where the front entry to the port into Artemis was. Once in that area, a section of the umbrella the size that would allow a moderate sized warship through with a little room to spare formed. With that amount of space, my team and I had no issue whatsoever getting inside the umbrella with the shuttle. And there was no sign that any Earth Alliance personnel were any the wiser to our presence in their base.

We quickly stopped following the shuttle and began cruising around the docking area, avoiding being in the path of any Alliance craft. As we moved around the open area, we spotted Alliance ships and mobile armor docked and smaller craft floating around. I did note that those here looked bored and therefore were being lazy… I'm betting that will change soon enough. Anyways, it didn't take long for me to catch site of the Archangel as it was the only white ship here. I slowly made my way over to where the vessel was docked and flew over it to see what had been done to her. After I took a moment to look over the vessel, there wasn't any obvious evidence that anything had been done to the outside of the Archangel, other than locking her into the dock she was in. The moorings would make leaving more difficult while they were in place, but a good aimed shot would handle that. Yet, that would draw serious attention, and that's not what we want at this point.

I knew the best course of action to take next would be get in the Archangel, but there is still a need to know what was happening out here. Two pairs were required and as nice as it would be for Lisa and I to be a pair, it ain't going to happen as our leadership skills would be need for both pairs. So, I decided that Lisa and Alan would keep an eye on the activity around the docks and warn us if something comes up. And that left Luke and myself to slip inside the Archangel and see what the situation was and do what we could to make it better. I honestly can't see those who made up the crew of this vessel being interested in letting those here at Artemis have the way. It was more likely that they had been herded somewhere or, possible just killed. I hope it's not the latter, that would be very bad.

I gave out assignments before I maneuvered my Delta fighter to be on the left side of the ship, heading for a unobtrusive airlock that I knew about. The airlock was located between wing at the bottom of the bridge tower and curved wing that went towards the rear of the ship. I brought my fighter to a halt behind the upper wing, before I opened my cockpit and popped my head out of the fighter. I glanced around to make sure that none of the Alliance personnel were looking in my direction. Once I felt that I hadn't been seen, I hauled the rest of my body out of the machine.

After exiting the Delta fighter, I activated my pilot suit's thrusters, which are attached to the backpack section, they flipped out and extended for use, moving forward. The distance that separated me from where I had parked my fighter and the airlock that I would use to enter the Archangel, was around twenty meters. I looked back to see the hatch to the cockpit of the Delta fighter close and the fighter stay where I had brought it to be. I moved over to the airlock and when I came to touch the hull of the Archangel, I pressed a small plate which revealed a keypad. I inputted the default code which I had found out during the investigation mission and it still worked as it happens, to access the airlock. A moment later, the sound of the airlock cycling, depressurizing the space on the other side of the lock. Then the airlock clunked and opened, revealing a small space that allowed access to the Archangel's internal components from the inside of the ship.

I grabbed the edge of the airlock and pulled myself inside and pressed the control that shut the airlock behind me. The room went through the process of filling the room back up with oxygen and pressurized the space. The process completed as signaled by the green light above the door that would open onto the Archangel itself. I pressed the switch by the door and it slid open, granting me access to the inside of the ship. I sailed 'forward' and 'upward' in my view, through the doorway and found myself gazing at the deck. I reorienting myself to be perpendicular to the deck of the ship before looking around to take in my surroundings.

I identify that I was in a corridor that was on one of the middle decks and there was no one here but me. Before going forward, I took the time to check over my equipment, making sure I'd quick and easy access to the sonic concussion grenades. The grenades were wonderful tools that use heavy shockwaves that have high pitched sonic tones that are loud and powerful, even if they were short with the emission. They can pretty much knock out anyone that doesn't have protection against sonic or pressure waves, especially in a closed space. Then I had my trusty S13 "Hornet" sub-machine gun sitting on my right thigh, ready to be whipped out and be good for use. The firearm can fire a nice one-hundred-fifty rounds a minute, with fifty round per clip... A nice gun and one that I have a liking for. With everything in order, I started off, activating my visor's plate blocker so none would see my face, in case I should come across someone. I would try to avoid being seen, but best to be prepared!

Making my way forward down the corridor, I set my route to take me to the navigation bridge. That's where Luke and I had agreed to meet up, for we could check on the ship's status there better than anywhere else. I made my way through the Archangel, using the emergency access ways to go up to the decks above where I'd entered at, since using the lifts could attract suspicion. It wasn't until I reached the upper deck and was looking carefully out of the side corridor I was in, which branched off the central one that led to the lift that went to the bridge of the Archangel, that I stopped. For when I looked towards the lift, I spotted Alliance soldiers floating as 'guards'. I noticed Luke in the corridor on the opposite side of the hallway that we were looking into. We had both peeked into the main hallway and saw the four soldiers and they looked bored with what they were doing.

" _So mate, how do we get past this lot?"_ Asked Luke over the com-line that connected to the Federation pilot helmets.

"Luke… Do you not remember some of your basic training?" I inquired, putting my left hand into the pouch that held the grenades I was carrying, "Disable problems, which would be those who are standing there. Watch and learn," I said in reply. I pressed the button on the grenade, priming and arming the explosive and then I chucked it into the hallway. The grenade sailed through the air and three seconds later, there was an air vibrating boom combined with a thud. Both Luke and I glance into the corridor and saw four bodies floating, unmoving as the small amount of smoke cleared. "And that, is one what to take care of an issue," I said with a bit of satisfaction.

Luke stared at me, _"See your tact is effective as always mate,"_ he commented.

We both made our way forward, pushing the four bodies aside, then boarded the lift and rode it up to the bridge. When we reached the top, we were greeted by nothing, for there was no one. I found it odd for the Alliance personnel here at Artemis, not to have anyone on the command deck of a ship that they have no registration for. Yes, I get that the Eurasian soldiers here are extremely lax, but… this goes beyond that, it's plain obliviousness! Luke flew over to one of the forward consoles and began to tap in some commands, _"Mate, looks like the ship's systems are fine, just shutdown… Cricky, the Alliance people here aven't even lock down the ship's controls or main systems… These blokes are downright sloppy!"_

I snorted audibly, "Sloppy is a loose way of putting it, I would say more like stupidly self-assured that their defense umbrella can't be beat and so, are lax with a capitol 'L'." I retorted, "The team getting into Artemis is just one form of proof that this base's shield isn't impenetrable or infallible."

Luke turned to face me, _"So then, what do we do from here mate?"_ he asked.

I took a moment to think, my head lowering a bit as I did. We still have not seen any who had been on board before and information said there were also refugees from Heliopolis on the Archangel. None of us has seen any sign of that being true at all, Luke had said that the way he came was deserted and it had been the same for me. The ones in charge here would be interested in the mobile suits on the Archangel, so it didn't make much sense for them to harm the crew. After a minute my head came back up, "We make our way to the hanger using different routes, first searching to the rear of the ship. The ones in charge here will be interested in the mobile suits onboard, so they're a good place to start in finding out what's going on. Also try not to be seen by the soldiers on the ship, but if they do see you, then disable them. You take the upper decks of the center line of this ship Luke. I'll take the lower road doing the same, we'll meet up in the hanger, got it?" I said.

Luke nodded, _"Too right mate, sounds like a plan,"_ he replied.

Both of us reentered the elevator and at the first deck stop, Luke got off and I continued down a few more decks before I got off. And I move down the corridor, glancing in the rooms that I passed, searching for any of the crew of the Archangel. I hope with everything I got, that I didn't find bodies, especially of anyone that I recognized. If that does come up, then those responsible will be made to regret that, I'll personally make sure of it!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Gamow, Lagrange 3

"Distance from Artemis, twenty-five hundred, still no change in the protective lightwave barrier," said the Gamow's sensor officer.

Meanwhile, down in the hangar, Nicol was doing the final preparations with the Blitz, "Mirage Colloid voltage check," said Nicol to himself. "System all green, ready to launch," he paused and the sighed, "To do trial and error with an untested system… well, guess I'll be counting on Lesson 31… 'If it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid completely'."

While Nicol was doing his preparation, up above the hanger in the pilot lounge, Dearka and Yzak were looking down through the viewing ports down in the main hanger. "The Earth Forces sure come up with some bizarre stuff," commented Yzak to Dearka.

"Yeah, obviously an attempt to compete with the Federation's stealth capabilities, though it seems appropriate for Nicol," said Dearka, smiling condescendingly. "It's an ability fit for a coward."

Yzak agreed with Dearka, but then Nicol had shown that he could be quite the tactician when he tried. Plus, the comment before had brought up a point, the Human Federation's military had proven just how effective stealth could be used. So perhaps, their fellow pilot had more in mind than they were giving him credit for, "Perhaps Dearka, but then, Nicol is resourceful and can surprise others, so we'll see how this goes," returned Yzak.

The Blitz meanwhile, left its dock and headed to position itself for using the catapult, to launch its attack against the "undefeatable Artemis base".

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

Garcia stepped into the mess hall with other Artemis personnel. He looked over all the remaining crew of the Archangel that had been herded here, "Who among you are the pilots and mechanics of the mobile suits onboard this ship?" asked Garcia, to which he received silence as a response.

"Apparently, none of you heard the Admiral, the pilots and mechanics of the mobile suits," repeated his lieutenant a tad irritated, "They're here in this room, aren't they?" Kira almost spoke up, but stopped when he got a quick glance from Murdoch that silently told Lacus and himself to remain quiet.

"Why are you asking us this?" asked Arnold Neumann, standing up and approaching the officers. He was the highest ranking non-commissioned officers with the rank of chief petty officer second class, so with the commanding officers absent, chain of command then fell to him, to lead and protect the crew and those on board. Arnold had never thought it would come to him to do this, but with what had gone down so far here at Artemis, he wasn't going to shrink under the gaze of these idiots!

"You think you can talk back to us?!" demanded the lieutenant, grabbing the front of Arnold's uniform.

Arnold however, kept his cool and simply gazed back at the Lieutenant acting badly, "By your question apparently, you haven't asked either the captain or our officers? Wasn't that one of the reasons they were escorted away for briefing others," posed Arnold. "Or are you not permitted to ask about the information and so just are going to others in an attempt to get around not having permission?"

The question reminded Kira and Lacus of Mu and Krystal's words to both of them just before entering Artemis. Telling them to lock their machines OS's so that only Lacus and Kira could activate the two mobile suits. Now, after seeing how these Alliance officers here were acting and what they were asking, it all made sense. For whatever reason, those here knew about the Atlantic Federation developing mobile suits, and wanted them for themselves. But, with the locking program that Kira put on both mobile suits' OSs, they weren't able to see any of the systems of the machines.

"Enough Lieutenant, calm yourself, there's no need of violence in this," said Garcia calmly. The lieutenant released Arnold, who took the time to straighten his uniform as Garcia stepped forward. "That's right. We're well aware that you're elite personnel of the Atlantic Federation, who've been specifically selected for this top secret military project."

There was silence at the statement, it was clear what this was about, "You're referring to the mobile suits on the Archangel," stated Arnold, but there was part of this that didn't make sense. "Why would you see the need to come here? With all of us being kept here, you can go look at both mobile suits all you want and we can't do anything really about it."

Arnold had a feeling that it would be best not to mention that the Asuka was actually an Orb machine that happened to be at Heliopolis. "You are right, and impressive mobile suits they are," said Garcia in a nice tone. "The fact of the matter is we feel privileged to have the opportunity to see them before they're officially announced. We're merely curious about them; now, who are the pilots of the two mobile suits?"

' _What a load of crap_ ,' thought Arnold, along with several other crewmen. Nevertheless, with the question posed, put the crew into a bind. There was a chance that they could pass of Mu and Krystal as the pilots. But, with being as shorthanded as the crew was, it would be unlikely believed to be true. To run the ship, they needed at least one of the two on the bridge for the time being, even with the students from Heliopolis volunteering, they just didn't have the skill for ship operation yet.

"We're shorthanded," said Arnold, gesturing behind himself. "Some have volunteered, which has let us manage. None of us are pilots, the only two who are pilots in any way, is Lieutenant La Flaga and Major McAlester."

"Now, don't lie," said Garcia. "But a good effort I'll admit, yet it's unlikely as their experience would be needed on the ship. Volunteers could very well help, but with what you'd faced that wouldn't be enough. Both of the mobile armor pilots are good at what they do, but with looking at the previous battles you fought… That level of skill is unusual and while I might have believed one of the suits could be piloted by one of them, yet for them to be both out is foolish as they would be needed on the ship. Gut instinct says that given your other lies, all of it is a lie." Garcia walked over to the nearest of the volunteers, who was Miriallia, and grabbed her arm hard and tugged her to her feet.

"Miriallia!" exclaimed Tolle, rising from his seat as she cried out slightly in pain. Kuzzey and Sai quickly moved forward and held Tolle back from lashing out at the soldiers and possible getting killed.

"But who would have thought that one of the pilots could be a woman," continued Garcia, "But, it occurs to me the captain of this ship is a woman as well."

"Ow!" cried Mir as Garcia tightened his grip.

There was visible upheaval with the actions from Admiral Garcia, "Hey, cut it out, you're just being a bully!" said Kira, stepping forward.

"Kid, don't," started Murdoch, but Kira ignored him. Lacus was right behind him, completely in agreement with Kira.

"You want to know who was piloting them?" asked Kira.

"We were," said Lacus, her hand on Kira's shoulder, an uncharacteristic glare on her features.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I worked my way towards the rear of the Archangel, searching for signs of anyone, whether it was a crew member or refugee. Each room I glanced in was empty, every corridor I went down was devoid of signs of life. Nonetheless, the worst thing to me as I went along, was the silence, it was deafening and complete. It wasn't just odder than hell, but it was eerie in a way that didn't feel right at all, much like the silence that had been around the ruins of Junius Seven.

The silence caused me to wonder two things; since I've found nothing thus far, is there anyone on the ship anymore? Then, the lack of security was irritating the hell out of me! I'd expected lax manners and laziness from the Alliance soldiers here at Artemis, but this is getting freaking ridiculous! I mean, come on... seriously, I could probably waltz on over to the control booth, access the lightwave barrier controls and turn them off, before almost anyone here would notice! Their confidence and unwavering faith in the lightwave umbrella, it's going to bite them in the butt at some point in the very near future and HARD. Just seeing the behavior of the Alliance personnel here, helps me understand the interest Sakura has in successfully assaulting Artemis, if anything to show them their mistake and idiocy, they're asking for it!

The crew and the refugees could've been taken off of the ship and be somewhere in the interior of Artemis itself, it was a possibility. However, I want to be sure no one is on the Archangel, before having to go into the inside of this Alliance base. It's just as likely that everyone has been gathered in to one area so they can be watched by the soldiers here at Artemis… the extremely lazy way to do this if you ask me and so the one I expect. I'd looked through a full deck and started the second, without resistance, could do anything I felt like I bet. The four soldiers I'd come across by the bridge, were the only other people I'd come across and they weren't going to be of any help to anyone for a while.

I'd thought about accessing the Archangel's systems while I have such free reign of the ship, this isn't an opportunity I believe I'll get often if ever again. Then, there had been evidence that had been acquired during the time at Heliopolis, which inferred that the Alliance might have stored specs and plans for their prototype mobile suits onboard if something unforeseen happened. This was literally, a pure golden opportunity to look and take care of the problem if it did really exist. But, the safety of my friends and the refugees… and even the majority of the Archangel's crew take priority.

It was as I came into the corridor that as I recall the mess hall is off of, that I received the first bit of solid evidence of there being anyone on the Archangel. That came when I heard voices ahead of me picked up my audio filters in my helmet. Upon hearing that, I stopped and listened hard to figure out what I was hearing, " Apparently, none of you heard the Admiral, the pilots and mechanics of the mobile suits," said an arrogant male voice, "They're here in this room, aren't they?"

I plastered myself to the wall and inched closer to the doorway into the mess to better understand the situation. I heard silence in response to the demand from the Alliance officer for a minute, "Why are you asking us this?" asked one of the Earth Forces officers that was on board the Archangel, I think his name had been Arnold… Something. He was the highest-ranking non-commissioned officer that I remember and noticed during the short time I was with the Archangel… As brief as it was.

"You think you can talk back to us?!" demanded the Artemis officer that had made the demand when I started hearing this conversation. This makes me wonder what's going on within the Earth Alliance lately, I've been out of the loop for a while. Since I've been on the investigation at Heliopolis, the information I have been able to get is mostly through the news feeds and those aren't reliable. As far as I know, Artemis was an Earth Forces military base, even if it belongs to Eurasia Federation technically so, wouldn't they all be on the same team? Or perhaps, there's a schism developing among the members of the Earth Alliance? I can't say that it would exactly surprises me if that's the case, with members of Blue Cosmos dominating the leadership of the Earth Alliance, mainly the Atlantic Federation.

Blue Cosmos was originally an environmental group, how that became the organization that is hell bent on exterminating every Coordinator they can, I don't know. They're terrorists, as they kill for no viable reason other than their hatred of Coordinators, no matter what else they claim. It's clear that they are good at manipulating people and sees no problem with doing dirty business. Should Eurasia leadership somehow be taken out… it's a scary thought as then Blue Cosmos political leaders would have close to full power of the Earth Alliance.

"By your question apparently, you haven't asked either the captain or our officers? Wasn't that one of the reasons they were escorted away for briefing others," posed 'Arnold'. "Or are you not permitted to ask about the information and so just are going to others in an attempt to get around not having permission?"

I'm definitely missing something in this conversation I was overhearing. It had something to do with the Strike and the Asuka, but what this demand is about, is a mystery to me. But, there was a piece of information that I heard that said something of interest, the officers of the Archangel weren't on the ship. Could it be that those in charge of Artemis are wary of them stirring up resistance? "Enough Lieutenant, calm yourself, there's no need of violence in this," said a different voice than either Arnold or the other officer that had made the demand, though it was calmer than the demander. Heard rustling followed by a short period of quiet, broken by the newer voice. "That's right, we're well aware that you're elite personnel of the Atlantic Federation, who've been specifically selected for this top secret military project."

There was silence at the statement, and during that time, I got to within a couple meters of the mess hall doorway. None had noticed me at all thus far and I'll take that, "You're referring to the mobile suits on the Archangel," stated Arnold. "Why would you see the need to come here? With all of us being kept here, you can go look at both mobile suits all you want and we can't do anything really about it."

This conversation keeps getting more intriguing the longer it goes on, informative in ways that most wouldn't know. "You are right, and impressive mobile suits they are," said the one I'm guessing is in charge of the group from Artemis, in a nice sounding tone. "The fact of the matter is we feel privileged to have the opportunity to see them before they're officially announced. We're merely curious about them; now, who are the pilots of the two mobile suits?"

That's the best excuse that the man comes up with? That's just sad! It's clear those here at Artemis want the specs to build mobile suits themselves so they can use them."We're shorthanded," said Arnold "Some have volunteered, which has let us manage. None of us are pilots, the only two who are pilots in any way, is Lieutenant La Flaga and Major McAlester."

A nice attempt at hiding who the pilots are. I'm guess Kira and Lacus have been earning the trust of the crew of the Archangel. "Now, don't lie," said head honcho.

It would seem that they know better than to believe that the two mobile armor pilots were piloting the suits. "But a good effort I'll admit, yet it's unlikely as their experience would be needed on the ship. Volunteers could very well help, but with what you'd faced that wouldn't be enough. Both of the mobile armor pilots are good at what they do, but with looking at the previous battles you fought… That level of skill is unusual and while I might have believed one of the suits could be piloted by one of them, yet for them to be both out is foolish as they would be needed on the ship. Gut instinct says that given your other lies, all of it is a lie," said the leader.

I'll give the man marks for deduction, it was sound and thought out, but then what will he do now that he has determined La Flaga and McAlester aren't the pilots? I heard a yelp from a female… No, it was Miriallia that was yelping to be specific. You have got to be kidding me! "Miriallia!" exclaimed Tolle, likely in response to her cry of pain. There was a scuffling after Tolle's exclamation, my assumption is some are holding Tolle back.

"But who would have thought that one of the pilots could be a woman," said the one that I was thinking was the head honcho of this bunch, "But, it occurs to me the captain of this ship is a woman."

"Ow!" exclaimed Miriallia as Garcia tightened his grip.

My hand went down to my SMG gun and I drew it out of the holster at hearing Miriallia's outcry. My left hand went to the pouch on my left thigh and grabbed one of the sonic concussion grenades and withdrew a grenade. I was about to move closer to the mess hall and chuck the grenade in, when another voice stopped me. "Hey, cut it out, you're just being a bully!" said the voice of Kira, my friend.

Uh oh, I've a bad feeling about this, suspect things will soon get more complicated, "Kid, don't," began chief Murdoch's voice. "You want to know who was piloting them?" asked Kira.

Oh please no Kira… don't tell them you're one of the pilots! That will make problems for you and me trying to save you! "We were," said Lacus.

CRAP… That complicates things! I deciding to air on the side of caution for the time being, I backed off. I can't go in gun blazing, it would likely get others killed and that's to be avoided if at all possible. The probability of me getting a second shot of making a difference is very low, so I have to get this right the first time. So, with that in mind, I moved away from the mess hall and concealed myself in the nearest room, leaving the door open a bit so that I could keep listening.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Artemis Base

"Regular patrol sweep," announced one of the Artemis control officers. "No sign of enemies within defensive perimeter."

"Okay, it's fine now," said the officer in charge. "Switch lightwave barrier facilities to level two alert status."

Outside the defense perimeter, the Gamow detected the closing of the umbrella, and opened the catapult for the Blitz to launch out. As Nicol left the ship in his machine immediately after the shield when down, he activated the suit's mirage colloid. From the Gamow's point of view, the Blitz suddenly vanished into nothingness as it set out on its mission.

"Mirage Colloid formation looks good," the green-haired pilot said to himself. "Dispersion loss rate, thirty-seven percent. Its usage is limited to a maximum of eighty minutes… this'll be cutting it close."

That in mind, Nicol set the Blitz's thrusters to the maximum safe speed and made his way towards Artemis.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

There was total silence after my two friends blew the current situation to hell from where I was standing. I would bet that everyone in the mess hall was staring at them now… Perfect. I activated my com-unit, "Luke, I've found were the crew is being held. However, things have become … complicated, so you continue to the Hanger ahead of me, I'll meet you there after I'm done doing damage control here."

" _Copy that mate,"_ replied Luke.

I returned my attention back to listening to what was going on back in the mess hall, "Well young man," said the leader, "I admire your sense of duty in protecting the girl."

No, that's not what Kira is doing, I wish it was, but it would be expected a great deal from Kira and I don't when it comes to reading the mood. Although, I wouldn't doubt Kira is protecting Miriallia along with everyone else, his response is more due to his naïveté and that's driving him to do what he is. My friend believes that all people can be reasoned with, when that's not how the world we live in works. There are people that won't listen to reason, full stop, end of discussion and I wish Kira would understand that. Athrun and I have been trying to help Kira understand this point, but alas, we haven't had success yet.

There was a moment of silence after the one in charge gave the 'compliment', then he spoke again. "But those machines weren't made for mere children like you to operate! Get serious, you twerps," continued head honcho, snapping the last bit.

The sound of motion came, which I'm guessing is someone trying to hit another, can't say for sure from just what I'm hearing. Then there was a thump of a body hitting the floor, "I haven't done anything to deserve you getting angry and hitting me," said Kira.

I feel sorry for my friend, I really do, since his view of the world is more a dream… one that I personally wish was real, but alas, it isn't. Yet, I don't know how I can get the point across to Kira about this kind of thing and it's not for a lack of trying on my part as best I could to help him understand. "Commandant!" exclaimed the demander from before.

"What is it with you people?" questioned Kira.

Kira is digging himself a hole and a deep one, that will be hard to get out of! It pains me to hold myself where I was and not rush in the mess hall and teach those Alliance officers a lesson. However, that wouldn't be the best option if I want the least amount of injury to happen to those here. …The needs of the many, outweigh the urges from the loyalty to the few. Why do I end out having to fix situations like this?!

"Don't do it!" said Sai.

At least Sai is trying to help, can always count of him to keep a good working head connected to his shoulder. Hopefully Kira will listen to him… but I fear that's wishful thinking at this point, "Is this how Eurasia treats its allies?" questioned Lacus.

Lacus should spend time around her father, she'd learn about some of the politics of the Earth Alliance, for by what I've seen, there's major issues developing. Really, I'm more surprised that it hasn't fallen apart already or gotten into a civil war, likely some under the table deals done to keep things from crumbling with the Earth Alliance. My attention was snapped back at the sound of guns being positioned came to me. I came out of the room I was in, which was a supply closet I believe and started creeping along the wall, getting closer to the mess hall, "No, stop!" said a different feminine voice. "What they're saying is the truth! They're the pilots!"

… Isn't that the voice of the redhead from Heliopolis… Flay, I think it was? Didn't expect she was among the refugees from Heliopolis. I'm hoping that the Alliance officers don't take what she says seriously. It's better if they buy that Kira and Lacus aren't the pilots, even though they are.

"Flay!" hissed Tolle, trying to stop her no doubt.

This is getting volatile real fast! I was halfway down the hallway, around six meters away from the doorway to the mess hall, "That's enough," said the demander, "Will you kids give it a rest?"

That's what I was wanting, the officers of the Alliance are ignoring the claims, that would work out for the better in this. Yes, technically Kira and Lacus are Coordinators and did pilot the two mobile suits on board, but the Alliance needn't know that. There still was a risk if someone was insistent, but if all kept their mouths shut, then all should be fine in the end.

"Are you really that _stupid_?" demanded Flay, which brought about silence.

And the redhead doesn't keep her mouth shut… Does the redhead dislike Coordinators or something? She had shown a few signs that she didn't like us, but this is a tad harsh, she could also not see the consequences of situations like this. However, it didn't stop there, "Open your eyes and look at Lacus! Do you think that sort of hair color occurs in Naturals? I realize that you're a bunch of morons taking your own allies prisoner to try and advance your own positions without having to go out there and get involved in the war, but I'd expect reaching your position to require at least enough intelligence to recognize a clear sign of a Coordinator when you see her and be able to extrapolate the truth from that!"

…Wow, I know I've wanted to say how stupid some of those who are in positions of power and command in the Earth Alliance can be and are normally, but I've never said it to their faces! Either Flay is very brave or very dim, saying what she did. Not that the fact of Lacus's hair is an unnatural color isn't true, but… oh this is going back towards bad situation again. "They're Coordinators?" asked head honcho.

' _Warning, idiot in charge!_ ' was the thought that came to my mind and I doubt that I was the only one thinking that. Nevertheless, things changed when I heard movement behind me. When I turned around… I saw two Alliance soldiers at the end of the corridor that I was in. For a moment, the three of us looked at each other in silence, the two soldiers were staring at me unable to process that I was standing there. They couldn't see my face, yet that didn't matter in this, I was there and to them, wasn't supposed to be. I then shot forward arming the grenade I still had in hand by pressing a button on the top of it to prime the electric fuse and lobbed it forward.

The two didn't have the time to react, as within three seconds, the grenade went off and a boom thundered down the corridor. The boom was felt more than heard, I kept flying forward unaffected by the blast, with my helmet and suit protecting me from concussive blast. I grabbed the two bodies and dragged them down the corridor and around the corner, where I threw them into a random room. But, I caught the sound of others, likely Alliance personnel popping out of the mess hall asking themselves what was going on.

After dropping off the two idiots that just happened to come across me, I popped into a different room down the intersecting passageway. I floated up to the ceiling and made myself as conspicuous as possible and waited. I expected soldiers to search for the source of the disturbance and so I bided my time. With having used a grenade in the corridor, I might as well have announced my presence over the internal ship com-system. Yet, there still may be a way to salvage the situation in my favor, if I play my cards right that is.

Listening for the Alliance personnel getting closer, the room I was in was dark as the lights were off, still I was above the door. I fetched another Sonic concussion grenade, a finger ready to press in the primer button. The door to the room slid opened and to my surprise and good fortune, four Alliance soldiers came in without noticing me at all. I oriented myself to have my head pointing towards the floor and be within arm's reach of the door control panel. Then I pushed the primer in and softly tossed the grenade towards the center of the room. The scene was comical, one of the Alliance soldiers caught sight of the grenade just as I hit the control to close the door. The concussive blast reverberated around the room, contained with the door closed and the four guys were flung against the walls hard.

Once the sonic barrage the grenade caused had ceased, I reoriented my body with the floor and left the room, leaving the four soldiers behind and headed back to the mess hall. Once at the doorway, I covertly looked in from the outside and took stock of how things had changed within the last few minutes. I saw that the members of the Archangel crew along with a number of other people, who I would guess are refugees from Heliopolis, both divided into two groups. There were still two guards inside watching both groups on either side of the room and they did have assault rifles.

I tried to come up with a way to disable those guards at the same time as then the risk of injury to anyone else would go down. Then Lady Luck smiled on me once again in a most unexpected way! The sound of crying from the refugees was heard and one of the guards went over to the kid that was sobbing while her mother was trying to comfort her scared daughter. You have to feel sorry for the young girl, she had to be less than ten years old and has soldiers scaring her along with pointing guns at her and her mother… it's just wrong in so many ways! "Keep your girl quiet," the soldier ordered.

That was a signal to me to act, I grabbed the edge of the door frame and launch myself forward. I managed to get on the right side of the soldier, one leg in front of him and a hand on the back of his head. Then, I pulled my leg back, thereby sweeping his legs out from under him, while I shoved his head forward and slammed it into the nearby table. There was a horrible sounding crack as the guy's head made hard contact with the metal table. Next, I shifted myself to face the other soldier, drawing my SMG as I did so and pointed it in his direction. Yet, I saw that members of the crew had taken action and had subdued the other soldier.

Once the scuffle settled, Chief Murdock stared at me with shock and confusion, "What the?! What is a Federation pilot doing here?"

Huh? Oh right, my helmet is still on and with my helmet's visor plate blocker active, none of the people here would be able to see my face. Normally, I keep it on to prevent trouble that being identified could bring however, I need cooperation from the people here to get the Archangel out of here in one working piece. I stored my SMG, raised my hands to show I had nothing in them, before I went through the process of releasing the seal between my helmet and the rest of my suit. That was done by a switch on the right side of my neck and then, disconnected the clasps that held my helmet in place. After all that was done, I lifted my helmet up and off my head. the second my face was clearly visible, much of the crew gaping at me as they no doubt recognized me. It was Sai that spoke first once he saw my face, "Tye?! How did you get here?!"

I stored my helmet under my left arm, "Well, hello to you too Sai. You're welcome for getting you all out of a jam," I said with a slight amused tone.

"Well, now that guards aren't watching us, we can regain control of the ship," said one of the bridge officers.

"What about Kira and Lacus?" asked Miriallia.

"Yeah, thanks to Flay and her mouth, they're with those Alliance officers heading towards the Hanger. Why'd she have to go and say that stuff about Kira and Lacus?" muttered Tolle.

Sai frowned at Tolle, "She didn't know that this would happen Tolle," he said.

I sighed, "Perhaps Sai, but this is an example of why it's unwise to run one's mouth without thinking," I remarked.

Miriallia glared at me, "Tye, that's rude!"

I shrugged, "What, I doubt that I'm the only one that is thinking along those lines," I returned, then glanced around the room. "Anyone wish to deny that?"

No one said anything, until Arnold spoke up, "We were all thinking something like that," said Arnold quietly. "Even if she has a point though, there's no doubt anymore about what the Eurasians are up to."

Arnold looked around the room, "Was there ever a doubt what they were after?" I asked to the group at large.

"Does anyone have a plan to get out of this?" asked Sai.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it," replied Arnold.

I exhaled heavily, "Well, luckily for you, I've doing clean up along my way here and so, have removed obstacles. You should have a clear shot to the bridge for the moment, so recommend that you don't waste the opportunity." I slid my helmet back onto my head, "As for Kira and Co., leave helping them to me."

I didn't wait for any to reply, just left the room and began my journey forward towards the hanger. I took care to pop into one of the maintenance spaces and kept going, choosing the route I was taking to avoid notice. And let me tell you, going through the small maintenance shafts that go throughout the ship was not easy. Thankfully I'm not claustrophobic in any way or taking the route I was would SUCK! I had around half a foot in front and in back, separating me and the other stuff in the tube I was moving through. The ones I went through were some that were large enough for me to move through and then there was those that were thinner but, eventually, I got to be under the floor of the hanger at the front of the ship where the hanger was located. All I can say to justify being able to get through the spaces I did, is thank goodness for Zero G, this would kill parts of my body if not for that!

Anyways, after lifting the vent plate up slowly so that it didn't make noise and came out of the maintenance tube. The sound of voices came from above me and I became still, "You want us to remove the locks on the OSs, correct?" asked Kira.

Oh goodie, I got here around the time they did… again, worming through small spaces is best done in zero gravity. I got to where I needed to go and in a very timely manner and that's what counts.

"For starters," said the leader from the mess hall. He said it in a way that sounded as if he was anticipating much more than just the OS lock on the mobile suit. Now the previous conversation makes sense, the Alliance forces here want access to the mobile suits on the Archangel. Kira must have put a lock on them that the techs here can't crack. Why Kira put that in place, I haven't the faintest, but I think it's a very wise idea and it's paid off. Head honcho kept going, "But I imagine you're capable of doing many other things."

I was still in the shadows of the edges of the hanger specifically, under the platform where the door to the hanger came onto. When I looked up, I saw Kira Lacus and Flay… yes, technically I could see up things, I had no wish to. I wish the redhead hadn't been wearing a dress, it's kind of distracting in a non-good way. Ignoring the view which I didn't ask for, nor wanted, and I could tell that none of the officers had taken notice of me or were looking around the hanger. They were looking at the two mobile suits alone, "What's that supposed to mean?" asked Kira, eyes narrowing.

"Luke, you in the hanger yet?" I asked with my com-line.

" _Yeah mate, keeping out of sight, specially with the Earth Alliance officers that just came in."_ replied Luke.

"Good, stay that way until I say so, we'll see how this plays out." I returned.

" _Got it,"_ my teammate replied.

I turned my attention back to the conversation that was going, "For example," said head honcho. "You could analyze this machine's design and build more like it. Or perhaps you could even come up with a weapon that's effective against this type of mobile suit."

Oh, I had to hold in the anger I felt at the implications that the man in charge was making. He was one type of example which gives me reason not to like being around Alliance officers much, they don't see Coordinators as people… as human beings like they would see fellow Naturals. They see us as tools to advance their interests whatever they be! "Look, we're nothing more than civilian students," replied Kira, "We're not soldiers, and we're not some military contractors. There's no reason why we have to do any of those things."

Ah, I see Kira is protecting Lacus by saying she's a student like he is, but he's still naïve to think that he'll be given the fair choice to refuse what the man was saying. "But you're already traitors to your fellow Coordinators, are you not?" said the leader.

How black and white this officer going to paint this to favor what he wants! Kira and Lacus have been defending themselves like any human being would. "Us? Traitors?" said Kira incredulously.

"I don't know what your reasons were," said head honcho, "But regardless, you did betray your own people, and so by rights…"

This leader is not much different than those who are members of Blue Cosmos. Granted, he isn't out to kill Coordinators out of principle, but using us isn't all that much different.

"You're wrong!" said Kira. "We did it cause…"

"Being Coordinators siding with the Earth Alliance makes you two very valuable," interrupted Garcia. "There's nothing to worry about, I assure you that someone like yourselves could be made welcome, even in Eurasia. But if you still don't want to cooperate…" He looked pointedly at Flay.

The group moved over towards the mobile suits. "Luke, you got eyes on the redhead that's being used as a hostage?" I asked.

" _Yeah, I see her mate, why?"_ said Luke.

"You think you could separate the soldier from her and get the redhead out of the potential line of fire before she gets hurt? I'll take care of the two other soldiers, you up for that?" I posed.

" _Mate, I live for missions like this! Just give the signal and we do this,"_ answered Luke.

I looked back at the group that was in front of the Strike now, Kira and Lacus's body language said that they were unwillingly being forced to concede.

"Kira's the one who put the locks on the OS's," said Lacus. "I'm afraid I won't be able to remove the lock from either machine."

That doesn't sound true at all, Kira would have made sure Lacus could unlock either machine; so, mitigating risk maybe? "Very well then, start with this one," said the leader, motioning towards the Strike.

Kira climbed up to the Strike and clambered into the cockpit, while two soldiers stood just outside, rifles trained on both Lacus and Flay. I took out my SMG gun and deployed the thrusters on the backpack of my pilot suit, "Luke, go go go," I said, before moving forward.

The bang of a gun firing resounded throughout the hanger, causing chaos and confusion.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Outside Artemis

The Blitz had made its way and had now arrived in range of being able to hit the Alliance base. Nicol hefted the Trikeros offensive shield, which had a beam rifle, beam saber, and three lancer darts built in, and took aim at the asteroid. The point of an attack, for the Alliance to show where the lightwave emitters were since they're hidden when not in use. Nicol pulled the trigger and fired the Blitz's beam rifle and saw Artemis shake in a satisfying manner. The question is, how long will it take the Alliance officer in charge to react and bring out the barrier system. After firing off over a dozen more shots, Nicol spotted one of the umbrella emitters rise into position. "There is one," he said softly. "Strike at what is weak!"

He deactivated the mirage colloid and switched over to using phase shift armor and continued has assault. Nicol ignited the beam saber in the Blitz's shield and pierced the emitter, causing it to explode. Nicol then, began to actively scan around for more of the emitters, with enough of them destroyed, the lightwave shield would fail. That was the goal as then reinforcements could then move in and Artemis would fall. Plus, there would be a fair chance to catch the white Alliance vessel, that was also an objective in this too.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

Luke shot at the soldier that was holding Flay hostage and forcing him to back away and separate from the redhead. Then, my comrade floated down quickly and grabbed a very scared and confused Flay, before moving both of them backward into the shadows. While Luke did his movement, I shot forward with a boost from my thrusters, shooting the soldiers and disarmed one and landed a shot in the arm that was holding the guns.

"What?!" cried head honcho in surprise.

I came to a stop a few feet from the two Alliance officers and two soldiers, keeping my SMG trained on them. Lacus move to be a short distance behind me as she had been separated from Kira, whether she recognized me or not, which she probably didn't. I would assume that it was to get away from the Alliance officers. However, I held my focus and weapon trained on the members of the Alliance. The leader of the bunch glared at me, "What is this?! What would a Federation pilot be doing here and how did you even get in?!" he growled at me.

The nice thing about the com-system built into Federation pilot's helmets, it can change the sound and tone of your voice so that you aren't recognized. "I'm preventing a fiasco from occurring. As to how I got into your so called impenetrable defense, it wasn't very hard, security was more than just lax," I said. The sound of my voice was lower and had a more mechanical tone to it so that it didn't sound like my own voice.

Suddenly, the ship trembled, the head honcho seemed genuinely surprised at the shaking. That gave me a feeling of impending trouble, yet the sound that came from the radio that the leader of this base had with him, answered the question of what was going on. " _Sir, a mobile suit is in our defense perimeter!_ " came the report over the radio. " _Our Lightwave reflectors are being destroyed!_ "

"How can that be?!" questioned head honcho angrily to the room at large.

So, ZAFT starts their attack on Artemis, I get the feeling that stealth was involved and that infers that the X207 Blitz was used. For those of us near the man, which was Kira, Lacus and myself as we were all by the Strike, but everyone else would've only likely gotten this end's part of the conversation. The shaking continued at a fairly consistent basis, the radio crackled again, _"We've already lost a number of emitters, if we lose too many more, then the umbrella will fail!"_

"They're cutting through the umbrella? That's impossible!" shouted Garcia as the tremors grew worse.

Stealth is an effective concept, and this proves it once again. It makes me interested to take a closer study of the mirage colloid feature that the Shadow has.

"Commandant!" said the lieutenant, his worry obvious.

Everyone appeared to have expressions of worry, Kira shared a quick look with Lacus, and the two gave slight nods. Kira flew over to the Asuka and kicked the engineer out of the suit's cockpit, then quickly closed the cockpit hatch. Lacus was still behind me as the Alliance officers were in disarray, she began to move towards the Strike. I however, spun around and grabbed Lacus, then moving forward with my suit's thrusters. The two of us got over to the Strike faster than if Lacus had floated there herself and saw there were two engineers still in the cockpit. Although, once I pointed my SMG at them, they were quick to vacate the machine and when they had, I gestured at the cockpit, silently telling Lacus to board the mobile suit. She looked at me, confused, I sighed… not that Lacus heard me doing so and left my com inactive so that my own voice would be heard. "Lacus, it would be safer if you got in the Strike and closed the hatch. Don't worry, I got this," I assured.

Lacus's eyes widened at hearing my voice, "Tye?" she breathed with the tone of hope evident.

I switched off the visor blocker that prevents someone looking in from the outside of the helmet being unable to see my face at all. Once my face was visible to Lacus I inclined my head, "Were you expecting someone else milady? I'm one that can really make a very timely entrance when I put forth the effort," I returned to my pink haired friend with a bit of a cocky grin.

Suddenly, Lacus lunged forward and hugged me, to which I just patted her on the head, "We can catch up later, now get into that cockpit. I'll handle things here in the hanger, don't worry about the redhead. A colleague of mine saw to her safety," I said.

My friend pushed away from me and entered the cockpit through the open hatch, caught sight of Lacus waving at me as the cockpit closed. …Sweet girl Lacus, very different from her older sister Sakura, Lacus shouldn't be in a situation like this.

"You traitors!" shouted the idiotic leader of the lax Alliance soldiers here up at us as the shaking continued.

I aimed my SMG at them as they filed out of the hanger and I just shook my head at them. I got on the com-line and told Luke to drop off Flay and get back to his fighter. Meanwhile I would go out one of the linear catapults to get to mine. The goal in this hasn't changed in the slightest, we were to get the Archangel out of Artemis in one piece. With ZAFT "banging" on the front door, time was now a much bigger factor. It didn't take a genius to assume that this force from ZAFT had those who had been under Le Creuset command and they were still after the Archangel. I glanced over at the Strike and the Asuka, noting that both had their cockpits close, which worked out well for me.

I sailed over to the nearest console, and input the command to depressurize the whole hanger. An alarm sounded in the room and the door to the hanger slid shut and a few red lights began flashing, signaling that the room's atmosphere was being sucked out. While that was happening, I brought up my right arm and tapped some buttons that was on my forearm control set that was standard to Federation pilot suits, used to control one's fighter. Yes, Federation fighters can be operated remotely, simple commands mind you, but they still can be remote controlled to a respectable degree. I was telling it to be positioned close by the exit of the Archangel's left linear catapult.

A different alarm sounded, saying that the hanger was now a vacuum. Next, I typed in the command for the airtight shutter that closed when a mobile suit launch out. The shutters opened, and before going through them, I set a timer for the to close after I went passed. I pushed off the console and flew through the hanger, passed the airtight shutters and into the main catapult area. The shutters closed behind me shortly after I was inside and the other catapult door rose up as I had programed it to. I used my suit's thrusters to move forward, down the catapult's length and towards Artemis's docking area.

Once outside the Archangel, I turned and looked to my left and saw the vague outline of the Delta fighter. If you didn't know what to look for, you wouldn't see it, that's how good the Federation stealth system are use, it's not perfect, but still very good. The machine still has the faintest outline even if what's seen over where the rest of the fighter is, happens to be what's behind the fighter, no matter what direction your looking at it from. That's the principle employed with the optical camouflage, makes you see what is behind and glance over what is really there. Thus far, both those in ZAFT and the Earth Alliance haven't found a way to cut through the methods that the Federation military uses for stealth.

I transmitted the command for the entry hatch to open and it did revealing the cockpit. Closing the short distance, I grabbed the edge of the entryway of the cockpit and swung myself into it, settling myself into the seat. Felt my body locking myself into the restraints as I buckled in and activated the fighter's systems. I closed the cockpit and took in the situation around me and began to come up with a plan to get my team, the Archangel with those on board along with myself out of this fast-growing chaotic mess.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

Arnold and the other members of the bridge crew and other than the commissioned officers. The four Heliopolis student volunteers brought up the rear of the group, as they had left the mess hall. They all saw the bodies of some Alliance soldiers floating along the way in the corridor with the main elevator, all four of them knocked out cold. The unsaid thought was that they were probably involved in the "clean up" which Tyler had mentioned. Most if not all in the group were a bit curious how Tyler had knocked the soldiers cold and yet, appear to do no damage to the surrounding area or a lot of visible injury to the soldiers themselves. They all recalled hearing a dull boom before those from Artemis had gone their separate ways however, none of them had known what had caused that... now it was clear that Tyler had done something.

They all crowded into the lift up to the bridge, when it opened and the group came out, the bridge was dark until Pal hit the switch for the lights. Arnold headed for the helm while everyone else went to their customary stations. Everyone glanced out of the front viewing port, to find that space suited Eurasian soldiers moving away from the ship along with the mobile armors caused slight confusion.

Arnold refocused on the task at hand and gave out orders, "Start up the engines and bring all main systems online." Some small part of Arnold wondered how they would get out of the dock with the moorings still in place, but what else could they do.

"What about the captain and the other officers?" asked Pal as they began working.

"Unfortunately, we can't stay here or we'd be sitting ducks! We need to get the ship moving… and, let's hope that they can get back to the ship soon," said Arnold.

There was silence at the reply, but all those there did their best to get the Archangel up and running.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Artemis Base, Interior Docking Area

Once in my Delta fighter, I switched the com-line on, "Lisa, Alan, we need to act quick if we want to get the Archangel out of this base operational and in one piece. The first thing that needs to happen, is those dock moorings that keep the ship in place have got to go! So, do whatever it takes to get rid of them or disengage. I don't care which happens, start blasting them if that's what it takes. Just get things so the Archangel to be able to leave the dock. Time is really short with ZAFT banging hard on the front door!" I ordered.

" _Understood… Alan, start on the forward right mooring, I'll take the back left,"_ said Lisa.

" _Got it,"_ replied Alan.

Maneuvering my fighter away from the Archangel and turning towards the forward entry to Artemis. I saw that the lightwave umbrella was developing holes… and those holes were slowly becoming bigger. ZAFT wasn't wasting time peppering the base's outside, they invited themselves in and they didn't care if the owners were against that. And unfortunately, they were getting very impatient at being distracted by mobile armors.

Two explosions got me to glance back over to the Archangel and noted that the explosions were two of the mooring clamps being blasted apart. Shortly after that, the third mooring was destroyed and so, everything was going as smoothly as they possibly go with the current situation. Lisa set up for destroying the last clamp keeping the Archangel in the dock, when I caught sight of the first few ZAFT mobile suits getting past the mobile armors that were defending the entrance to the docking area.

Lisa fired her fighter's Plasma pulse cannon, which the shot shattered the final clamp. ZAFT suits came into view, including the Buster among them and they were finishing up dispatching the half a dozen of Moebius armors that had been defending the base's entrance. The Buster and a GINN broke off from the other suits and came into Artemis's interior. A few more mobile armors launched from further inside the Alliance base to intercept the two invading machines. But honestly, it was pointless for the Alliance by this point, the armor pilots here were like the soldiers…. Lax and have forgotten what a real fight against those who were going to try hard to kill you is like. It was kind of hard to watch as the Buster and the GINN effortlessly blew apart the mobile armors. One of the mobile armors went crashing into the command booth after taking a missile hit from the Buster, throwing whatever organization the base had, if it had any to begin with, out the window as they fell into complete chaos.

Thankfully, events began moving in a slightly better direction as the Archangel lifted out of the dock now that it was unbound and slowly moved forward. Out of the corner of my vision, I caught sight of a shuttle heading towards the ship. However, the need to focus on the ZAFT mobile suits that were now bringing chaos fast became much harder to ignore. Just hope those on the ship could handle things if that shuttle held problems.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Artemis Interior, Command Sector

The moment that the first tremor was felt; Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal agreed that waiting was pointless and they all left the room they had been escorted to. Mu and Krystal disabled any who even tried to slow their progress of getting back to the Archangel. But, most were rushing around in panic and it didn't take long for that to sink in to the officers of the Archangel. "What in the hell is going on?" muttered Murrue.

Mu glanced over at Krystal, who nodded, "My guess is that ZAFT found a way to successfully assault Artemis. They proved that this place isn't impenetrable as they claimed it was and now their being caught off-guard," Mu said to the group at large.

"Then, that's all the more reason to get back to the ship as quickly as possible," stated Natarle.

The four picked up their pace, though they stop for a moment when they reached a viewing longue. The sight of multiple mobile armors moving towards the entrance of Artemis and the glimpse of ZAFT mobile suits didn't give comfort in anyway. The four continued forward towards the dock where the Archangel was, hoping to get to her before ZAFT forces got too far inside Artemis.

Mu and Krystal were the first to come into the shuttle bay to find it was in the same chaos they had been seeing along their way. Mu led his companions over to a shuttle and got onboard, Mu moved to the pilot chair, while Krystal took the copilot seat. Murrue and Natarle buckled into two of the other seats on the shuttle as Mu turned it on. The shuttle lifted upward and then headed out into the massive docking area.

The shuttle was maneuvered and began making its way towards the dock that the Archangel was stuck in. As it approached, the moorings were blasted apart by seemingly nothing and quickly the ship became free from the restraints. Krystal was looking at the sensors as the shuttle got closer to the Archangel, "Mu, I would hurry, it looks like ZAFT is getting inside the docking area as we speak," she said.

Mu looked to the Archangel and noticed that the left linear catapult was open for whatever the reason. Right now, he didn't care much as it worked out for the better, so Mu flew the craft into the catapult. Krystal communicated with those inside the hanger so that they would close the catapult and bring in the shuttle.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel, Navigation Bridge

With the ship now fully operating, those on the bridge were taking orders from Arnold as he had taken charge with the other commanding officers absent. Everything was going okay… other than still being locked into the dock, and how that would be undone none on the bridge could guess. Still none of them brought that particular point up as they were trying to look at the bright side of things as there wasn't much going for them.

Actually, Arnold had to admit, the teens saying that their friend Tyler McGregor reappearing was one of the few good things that had ever since the Archangel had arrived at Artemis, was very true. Hell, none of them had expected to see the teen again after he vanished during the collapse of Heliopolis. Yet, not only had Tyler popped up out of nowhere, but he had taken care of the Artemis soldiers and had, of all things been wearing a Federation pilot suit. Whether that mean the teen had connections or work for the Human Federation, was anyone's guess.

Suddenly the Archangel shook as two explosions that were close rocked the ship, the tremors didn't last all that long, when Sai spoke. "Sir, incoming communication, source unknown, but it's heavily encrypted."

Arnold didn't know what was best to do in this, he wasn't a commanding officer, just the pilot in the driver seat of this ship. "Then let's hear it." He said.

" _Archangel, do you read me?"_ said a voice.

Everyone was a tad shocked to hear Tyler McGregor's voice coming out of the speakers on the bridge. Sai was the one that found use of his vocal cords first, "Yes, we read you Tye, what is it?" he asked.

" _Well, I was going to warn you about the explosions that probably rocked the ship… but the attempt came a little late. Just so that you all know there will be two more blasts soon, don't panic, it's the clamps holding the Archangel in the dock being remove… actually blown to hell would be more accurate, but same idea in the end."_ Said Tyler.

Arnold cleared his throat, "Understood, thanks for the warning." He remarked.

" _Don't mention it. Once you're free start moving towards the back entrance of Artemis, the front is rather crowded right now as ZAFT is taking down the front door and that door is not holding well at all. McGregor out,"_ finished Tyler and then there was silence.

Shortly after Tyler had given his warning the Archangel was rocked hard from first the right side and then the left. Pal was staring at the console in front of him, "The docking clamps are gone, we're free!" he said loudly.

"Right," said Arnold as he moved the Archangel up out of the docking space and began to crawl forward slowly.

The ship hadn't been going forward long when the door to the elevator opened. Out of the lift came Murrue, Mu, Krystal and Natarle to all on the navigation bridge's surprise, as none had heard anything about the four officers and so hadn't expected to see them. "Hey all, excellent work everyone, you kids included, definitely better than was expected from any of you!" said Mu, putting a hand on Kuzzey's heads.

While Mu did that, Murrue and Natarle took their seats and Krystal looked ahead out of the front view ports. "Hope you had less trouble than we did," remarked Sai in a frustrated tone as Natarle settled into the command chair in the CIC.

Murrue didn't reply to the comment, just ignored it and focused on the current predicament, "We can't maneuver while we're in here, launch the Archangel and get us out of port."

"Let's hope leaving here will be as easy as that, what happened with the soldiers anyway?" Natarle asked to the bridge at large down from the CIC.

"Well ma'am, we got assistance from a source we certainly didn't expect and it was very helpful indeed," answered Arnold.

Murrue cut over Arnold, "We can catch up later, swing us around and point us towards the entrance so that we can get out of here," she ordered.

Tolle spoke up right after Murrue finished her order, "We can't, ZAFT forces are coming in that way!" he shot back, "We need to go out the back of Artemis."

Mu stared at Tolle, "And how do you know that?" Mu asked.

"It's true Lieutenant, we'll catch you up after this is done, but the front entrance won't work," agreed Arnold.

Murrue nodded, "Very well then, engines to half and get us to the back entrance to the dock."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

My heart slowed down a small margin once I saw the Archangel moving forward out of the dock and began to make its way towards the back of Artemis. However, my pulse shot back up to high speed when the Blitz appeared and moved towards the Archangel. The mobile suit raised its shield and as I recall, that's where its beam rifle is… OH NO YOU DON'T!

I moved the throttle to its forward stop and maneuvered myself to be between the Archangel and the attacking machine. Leveled my vulcan guns and held down the trigger and let loose rounds towards the Blitz. My aim was true and simply dead on, hitting the torso of the mobile suit. But with its phase shift armor active, I might as well have been shooting at a heavy armored wall for my guns had little effect. Not to say I was doing nothing, the Blitz came to a halt and it shifted its shield to protect its cockpit. Yet, there's no way that I would allow the ZAFT pilot attack the Archangel successfully while I'm around! Since my Vulcans were doing little, I decided to use something that has more oomph in it, a.k.a. my PPC, it should get some better results on the point of the Blitz leaving!

I flew to put myself between the Archangel and the mobile suit, then locked the Blitz in, before shooting off a round from the PPC. And oh boy, was it satisfying to see it hit the Blitz and push that machine back! My fighter's weapon didn't do major damage, thanks to phase shift armor absorbing the majority of the heat. However, I'm merely getting the ZAFT pilot to back off and leave the Alliance vessel that he was chasing alone. The black mobile suit quickly got distracted by a couple of mobile armors and so, lost sight of the Archangel and those of us defending it. I followed the Archangel as she flew to the back of the dock, the white Alliance ship didn't see any of the Federation fighters following and it's probably better for the time being that they don't know that we are.

By now, the lightwave umbrella behind and in front of us, was collapsing and failing from the number of emitters that ZAFT has likely destroyed. Well, Sakura should be beaming with whomever came up with the plan that defeated Artemis… either that, or she'll be miffed that she hadn't gotten to do it personally. If it's the latter of the two… my condolences to whomever will face her wrath, it'll suck!

The Archangel sailed out of the rear of Artemis and away from the chaos within. For the moment, I would say that ZAFT is none the wiser of the fact of the Archangel's exit. I was about to consider the mission accomplished when the Archangel flew out of Artemis, until I spotted a two Drake-classes ships and a Nelson-class ship coming out of the back of Artemis not too long after we had, following the Archangel. A few mobile armors were flying alongside the Alliance ship… I don't like this development at all!

I used my com-line and connected to the Donnen, "Captain Shepard, I think we might need an assist soon enough. Two Drake-classes and a Nelson-class are following the Archangel and us in a rather menacing way. So, I assume that some Artemis officers are out to get some payback on the Archangel."

" _Understood, we'll take care of the ships, while your team manage the mobile armors,"_ was the answer from Captain Shepard.

I don't know what the woman plans to use to 'take care' of the Earth Alliance vessel pursuing us, but I'm interested in finding out. My attention was snapped back as the Drake-classes fired on the Archangel followed up by the Nelson-class. The mobile armors moved forward in the clear intention of attacking the white ship. I switched my com-line over to talk to the rest of my team, "Listen up everyone, none of those mobile armors are to be allowed to attack the Archangel. The two Drake-classes and Nelson-class will be handled by the Donnen. It's time we stop being nice and take those armors down, pick your target and nail them!" I ordered.

I chose the lead mobile armors and adjusted my course to head towards it. I locked it in my sites on the armor furthest ahead, and lined up my railguns. I fired off a shot from one then the other but, the mobile armor dodged it mostly due to luck. It had been evading the defensive gun turrets on the Archangels that were shooting at it. However, the armor pilot didn't miss the projectiles zooming through where they had been.

As there was no further point in staying invisible, I shut off my fighter's optical camouflage rushed forward. With the camouflage down, the fighter had a much better top speed and acceleration and I would use it. My third shot from my railgun, found its mark and destroyed the lead mobile armor, yet their fellows then turned to face me. The two mobile armors got behind me, one directly behind and the other to the left side. Nonetheless, I was ready for them and let them position where they were.

If there was one thing that could be said about my style in piloting, it would be, there's no place around me that you can be, which I can't counter and attack you. In other words, I don't have any blind spots for an opponent to hide in, so sucks to be them! As the armor pilot behind me began to lock in a shot at me, I smirked and jerked back my throttle, tilted the nose up and hit the brakes.

My Delta fighter shot back, flipping over the mobile armor, nose first in a clockwise directional arc. At the point that my fighter's nose was moving over the machine, not perfectly vertical, but to have my crosshairs have the rear of the armor in them, I had the Alliance pilot exactly where I wanted. So, I lit up my vulcan guns and unloaded round after round from them at the Alliance machine. Made a very clean and neat double line down the center of the armor as I continued to rotate over the mobile armor. I finished my fighter's flip to end out behind the armor and quickly swung my pulse cannon's barrel to point at the other mobile armor and fired. The first mobile armor shortly exploded after I'd ended out behind them and had peppered it with holes from back to front. His partner followed suit just after the plasma pulse cannon nailed them square in the rear end. Long story short, my team and I made short work of the mobile armors that outnumbered us more than three to one and showed how Federation fighters can whip Alliance mobile armors.

That left the three ships to be handled and I'm very curious how Captain Shepard intends to handle the opposing ship, there are several options that one could go with. I've worked with a couple of different Federation captains, but Captain Shepard is the first female captain I've worked with directly. Not saying anything against women, been on ships that have female commanders who are second in command, but not in the captain's position.

My point is every captain has their way of doing things and Shepard has been a tad different than captains previous to her I've worked with. There came a loud boom and a second later, I saw the Nelson-class gain a good size hole punched through its central ship structure. That ship shortly exploded and became debris after being shot at and that was quickly followed by two shots from beam turrets, one at each of the Drake-classes. I sat in my cockpit in a state of mild shock, for I knew what had just happened. But, I'm surprised that of all weapons the Donnen has to use, Captain Shepard had chosen to use the one she did.

The weapon employed in the destruction of the Alliance vessel, was one that the ones that the Federation exclusively had and wasn't willing to share… for a couple of reasons. What had just fired was known as the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon or a MAC gun for short. The cannon fires a massive metal projectile, that can either be explosive or nonexplosive, using a linear system of magnetic fields coils down a long shaft. The idea is with utilizing the coils, the projectile's velocity increases, until it carries an incredible amount of kinetic energy.

The energy is dependent on the length of the barrel and how many coils were involved in the acceleration. But basically, with the average length of the barrel that the Federation builds the MAC guns with, which is the forward forth of the Donnen's length. Well, you might as well say that armor is pointless… would be the same results were paper to be used for defense with the speeds that projectiles get chucked from the guns. The drawback is the MAC gun takes a decent amount of time to warm up and you have to point the ship in the direction you want to fire in. You can't fire consecutively due to the need of a cool-down time. I had known it was there, I just didn't think Captain Shepard would use it against the Nelson-class!

Well, I suppose that since the mobile armors and the Alliance ships are no longer chasing us, as they are no more, the situation is settled. The Archangel was safe and that's what counted right now no matter what anyone else said. Yes, there's still it the fact that my team and I would've to somehow stop the Alliance from getting their hands on the Strike and the Asuka, nor data pertaining to mobile suits. Yet, I would think about how that would be done later.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **Again thus ends the events at Artemis! I do admit two pieces of this chapter were influenced by different ideas other than things in Gundam Seed; those being the MAC gun and the Delta fighter. For those who have played first person shooter games, they will probably know the Magnetic Acceleration Cannon from the Halo games and that's where the idea came from. The Delta fighter, is actually a Gundam from the Universal Century, specifically the 'Gundam Delta Kai'. Now as always, I appreciate if some would take the time and say what they think of the story development. Below are specs for the Federation fighter and the cruiser, until the next time!**

Machine Specs

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification** : Mass Production Transformable Mobile Suit

 **Model number:** HFCS-D201

 **Official name** : Delta Fighter

 **Overall Height:** head height 18.6 meters (Mobile suit mode)

 **Base Weight:** 68.6 metric tons

 **Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery

 **Armor Material:** unknown

 **Crew** : Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **GENERAL DATA**

 **Manufacturer** : Teswa laboratories, Human Federation

 **Developed into:** HFS-E100 Excel

 **Variants:** HFCS-D201E Delta Fighter Eagle Custom; HFCS-D201R Delta Fighter Roc Custom

 **First deployment:** July 23 65 C.E.

 **Operator** : Human Federation

 **Known Pilots:** Tyler McGregor, Lisa Malto, Alan Knight, Luke Lascy, Kurt Gream, Cormag Swift

 **Equipment and design features:**

 **Long Range Targeting (L.R.T.) scope**

The optical camera has a huge zoom ability which acts like a scope on a long-range rifle and is hidden in the right side of the head. In the cockpit, a small screen comes out from behind the pilot seat and sits right in front of the pilot's helmet on the right side.

 **Specter Optical Camouflage Field system (SOC field)**

The system allows the fighter not to be detected or seen. It does so by projecting real time images of what's behind the field with the method used in the heat disbursal from the thrusters, even the heat won't give away position

 **Recharge cable system**

The equipment is attached to the underside of the machine, is made of three parts, a line that connects to the battery of the Delta Fighter, a junction that the line connects to and a combination of hydralic launcher and cable that can connect to other connectors. The system can be used to tap into a facility's own power grid or into a mobile suit's battery, simply when what's connected to the other end of the cable is in contact with either cables or other means power is transferred by

 **Fixed armaments:**

 **"Kai" 120mm Railgun**

The two cannons are mounted on the backpack, one on the left and one on the right, like all railguns, they use electromagnetic forces to launch the projectile they carry.

 **Shield**

A standard defensive feature the Delta Fighter, it's arm-mounted shield which goes over the left arm in mobile suit mode. Originally a thick piece of extra armor designed to stop physical rounds, shield technology has been forced to adapt to the development of beam weapons by incorporating an anti-beam coating. The Delta Fighter's shield also has the function of serving as the unit's forward section in flight mode. Beside the Beam Sabers/Beam Cannons and it can mount a large variety of weapons.

" **Pepper" 60mm Vulcan**

The 60mm vulcan gun while not very powerful and typically unable to penetrate mobile suit heavy armor, the vulcan gun is useful in intercepting missiles/rockets, destroying mobile suit sensors, and engaging lightly-armored targets such as tanks and small aircraft.

 **Beam Saber**

The Delta fighter's close combat armaments, they are stored in the rechargeable racks on the shield. The beam saber is capable of cutting through any metal that has not been treated with anti-beam coating. They are also dubbed as beam cannons while mounted in the shield and could be utilized in flight mode

 **Optional armaments**

 **Plasma Pulse Cannon**

An optional weapon that can be mounted on the underside and rear of the nose. It causes heavy and explosive damage on the intended target, and is the default heavy weapon the Delta Fighter has at its disposal. The secondary effect, comes from the highly-heated plasma that can remain after the impact and corrode a machine's armor.

 **Rapid Assault Machine Cannon**

An optional weapon that can be mounted on the front side of the shield. Developed by Koovos Weapons Development Institute, it fires heavy-caliber armor-piercing rounds.

Federation Enterprise-class

 **Technical Specs**

Classification: Space Cruiser

Overall Length: 250m

MS Capacity: 5

MS Catapult: 2

 **General Data**

Manufacturer: Human Federation

Operator: Human Federation

Machines carried: Delta Fighter, Shadow Gundam

Crew Compliment: 200

 **Standard Equipment**

 **Optical Camouflage Field System**

Similar to the Delta fighter's optical camouflage system, but on a much larger scale.

 **Phased-Array Sensor Detection System**

Works much like ZAFT or Alliance sensor detection systems, but can also see through fields or systems like 'mirage colloid'

 **Standard Armaments**

 **3 x "Lancer" high-energy beam turrets**

There's a double-barreled turret on either side just forward of halfway point of the ship and the last one is ahead and below the navigation bridge.

 **20 x Missile Launchers**

Missile tubes are in the wings towards the back of the ship on both sides.

 **Magnetic Accelerator Cannon Gun**

The operation principle of a MAC is that of a coilgun. The cannon fires a massive metal projectile and often explosive projectiles, using a linear system of magnetic fields coils down a long shaft, increasing the projectile's velocity until it carries an incredible amount of kinetic energy. Mounted in the front fourth of the ship.

 **12 x "Falcogun" 75mm Multi-Barreled CIWS**

8 in the front, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom, 4 in the back.

 **Basic description:** see chapter 3


	6. Phase 6: Supplies from the Silence

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 6, Enjoy!**

* * *

Phase 6: Supplies from the Silence

January 29th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

There was not a single sound on the bridge of the Archangel after all had witnessed the destruction of the three Alliance vessels and the accompanying mobile armors. For the Alliance officers and crew members, it was a show of undeniable evidence that the Federation military could still out do them by a painful margin. And watching the three ships get destroyed as they had, most could only gaze at the screen that had shown them mere moments ago. "What was that?" asked Tolle in a quiet voice.

For a short period, there was silence, but then Krystal answered Tolle's question, "If I had to guess, there's a Federation vessel in the general area."

Natarle popped her head out of the CIC, "And how do you come to that conclusion Major?" She asked.

"Because," returned Krystal, "One, the type of damage the Nelson-class took is from a weapon that only the Federation has. And two, the Federation are still the only ones that can strike another vessel without being seen."

Mu nodded slowly, "Krystal is right, I've seen the remains and the visual records of the idea that she's referring to. What happened to the Nelson-class fits what I've seen perfectly, though this is the first time I've seen the damage done first hand. It certainly gives a different perspective that just seeing pictures and what's left of a ship, that's for sure," he said.

Murrue turned to Mu and Krystal, "Just what kind of weapon can do that then?" she asked.

Krystal and Mu looked at each other and then their heads fell, "It's a question that the higher ups in the Earth Forces want to know, but never have found out. It's not for the lack of putting for the effort of trying to and what is known, isn't much to go by," replied Mu.

"Yes, all that any have been able to do is make guesses as to what the weapon the Federation uses, from the damage it causes and that's not enough. And now that you see the idea, you can see that it doesn't help understand how it can be done." Krystal glanced around the room, "Whatever it is, makes a large hole with little if any warning, armor does little to protect from it, and when done in a vital spot, the ship is destroyed. The Alliance has very dearly wanted to engineer the weapon that causes that kind of damage that we've seen, but none have succeeded yet. The Federation Military has given no information, hints or anything when pushed," added Krystal.

"Ma'am! Federation vessel appearing ahead of us, at yellow eleven, 25 degrees to starboard, distance 200," called Jackie Tonomura, who was sitting at the sensor station.

That served to end further conversation on the matter as a Federation cruiser appeared off to port of the Archangel. The Archangel's crew stood down from level one battle stations, and most on board were letting out a sigh of relief. Although they didn't relax with a Federation vessel close by, but it was better than having ZAFT hunting them relentlessly.

Down in the hanger, both Kira and Lacus exited their mobile suits and exited the hanger. However, it was clear that Kira was bothered by the events that had taken place at Artemis. In fact, Kira could hear Garcia calling him a traitor over and over in his mind and it was infuriating him as much as it plagued him. Kira didn't look closely to where he was going and Lacus just followed him, worried about his silence and the expressions that were going across his face. After a few minutes, the pair found an empty crew quarters which Kira entered followed by Lacus, Kira immediately floated over to the bed and sat down on it.

Lacus had been quiet for the whole trip to the room, trying to figure out what could be causing this kind of reaction in Kira. Granted, it was obvious that this had to do with something that happened while the Archangel had been docked at Artemis, but other than that, Lacus couldn't figure out what was wrong. Perhaps Kira would open up and talk if she cheered him up, that always helped her when she was having a hard time. No doubt Kira would perk up, when he hears that Tye had been on board and had been helping out. Lacus was certainly happy to know that Tyler was alive and okay, hopefully it would do the same for her friend that was hurting right now.

"Traitor," Kira muttered to himself.

At hearing that one word, Kira's mood made sense to her, even if it surprised her as was evident with her blinking. After processing the fact that explained Kira's mood, Lacus moved over to the bed and sat beside him, placing a hand on his arm, "No, Kira," she said reassuringly. "You are no traitor. Remember, your genes aren't what make you who you are."

Kira glanced over to his left at her and saw Lacus smiling gently his way. "You are yourself Kira. Even if Coordinators have greater mental and physical growth than Naturals, our emotions, heart and soul make us just as human as any other type of human. Your choices, the people you choose to be your friends, family, and country say who you are. Not the people of the same genetic type. As Tye often has said, no matter whether one is a Coordinator or a Natural or any other kind of human, we're all human beings first, regardless how we came into the world or our heritage."

Kira, looking into Lacus's soft eyes, saw the truth of them and then smiled. He realized just how much of an idiot he was being right now by letting words effect him so much. "Yeah, you're right, I don't know why being called a traitor effected me so," he said trailing off.

Lacus gained a down casted expression, "Besides, I can be considered more of a traitor than you are," she said. "Unlike you, the place I call home is the PLANTs, I'm the daughter of the Supreme Council Chairman and my sister is the foremost commanders and a champion of the ZAFT military. Yet still, I haven't betrayed the ideals of my father or myself. Kira, you and I are fighting for what we believe in, and the friends we must protect. Tye would be saying well done and good job were he in this room right now and you know it."

"Lacus," said Kira softly in surprise.

Lacus hadn't seemed the type to be this out spoken, her father Siegel Clyne yes, but Lacus, not as much. It impressed Kira to see and hear her talk like this, then he noticed that Lacus was smiling, "Oh, by the way, that person in the Federation pilot suit that we saw in the hanger before, it was Tye," She continued cheerfully.

That caught Kira off guard and he blinked in surprise, "Wait what? Tye was the one in that pilot suit?" he questioned.

Lacus nodded, "Yes, don't doubt we'll see him soon enough," she said happily.

Before Kira could inquire further, a knock came on the door. "Hey kids, you alright?" came Mu's voice. The two looked over at the door before it opened, revealing Lieutenant La Flaga with Flay standing right behind him. "The majority of us on the ship have been worried about you two."

Mu fully stepped into the room, "I mean, by what Flay here said, the Earth Alliance officers from Artemis said some harsh things to you and called you horrible names," he continued.

"Its fine," said Kira, straightening up a little and waving a hand to have the subject dropped. "They're only words and they're untrue so it doesn't matter really, thanks Lieutenant."

Kira then looked over to Flay, who was looking embarrassed and ashamed, "Flay, are you alright? Things got bad back in the hanger and I lost sight of you during the scuffle."

"Yes… I'm fine… Thank you," she said. "Listen, I just wanted to apologize… for doubting you. I hadn't realized how hard this must be for you and that you aren't as different as I thought before."

"It's okay," said Lacus reassuringly.

Shaking his head slightly, Mu turned and left the three teenagers to fix the relationship between them. Yet, he hadn't gotten more than a couple of steps down the corridor, when a thought occurred to him. Once that thought had popped up in his head, a small smirk formed on his features. The idea was amusing, but at the same time a fitting thing. Hell, the two weren't real soldiers anyway, so why not? They have done enough to deserve it. With the thought firmly set in mind, Mu set off to find the captain and talk to her.

Meanwhile, Murrue had left running the ship to Natarle and left the bridge. She was exiting the lift to head to her quarters, in order to prepare herself for the Federation officers that would likely come on board the Archangel and so was thinking. Sure, during her officer training, she had been told and heard accounts about the times that Federation forces had disabled ships, both ZAFT and Earth Alliance, before boarding them. In some of those experiences, apparently, armed soldiers would come and take control of a ship. The worst story she had been told about, an armed force of Federation soldiers had been able to cease control of an Agamemnon-class in under ten minutes, no losses to them, plenty of Alliance crew injured in exchange.

And then, Murrue was aware that the state of the relationship between the Human Federation and the Earth Alliance wasn't the best lately. In fact, it was only slight less bad than the relationship between the Alliance and ZAFT. Yet, the fear she shared with others in the Earth Forces, was what would push the Federation to ally with ZAFT or just go against the Earth Alliance. To be honest, it wasn't a question of if the Federation did join up with ZAFT, it was more a question of when with how things were going. And when that was to occur, the Earth Alliance would be defeated completely, estimations put the campaign lasting less than a year as things stood. Even if the higher ups didn't want to admit the point, it was clear that the Human Federation was more tolerating the actions of the Earth Alliance rather than accepting them for years now. The few displays of military might from the Federation, had shown that the Alliance had better chances against ZAFT. And if the Federation had mobile suits, like some rumors suggested, then the Earth Alliance was doomed even more. She was in her thoughts so much that she didn't notice Mu coming up to her, "Yo, captain!" said Mu.

Murrue jumped a bit as she looked at Mu, "Um… Yes, lieutenant, what is it?" asked Murrue.

Mu smiled, "Calm down, you look rather stressed, any reason for that to be the case?" He asked.

Murrue looked away, "Well, it's likely that we will have Federation officers on board the Archangel at some point soon. I know this ship isn't exactly a secret any more, but still, it's weighing on me, that's all. What did you need Lieutenant?" She asked.

"Don't worry about Federation officers, they're not as intimidating as reports and some people make them out to be. I've met a few of them and those I have, are decent people, all you have to do is keep calm and explain our situation. I'm pretty sure even they can understand, and there are the refugees on board as well. As to what I'm here to ask you, it's just a little favor I'd like to ask of you," said Mu.

The captain blinked, "Favor?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Now that the kid and the pink princess are officially volunteers crew members, I figure, with what they've done, we should give them some better quarters to work with. We've got plenty to spare with less than a full crew aboard. They are the star mobile suit pilots here after all, which we depend on to defend the ship. I think they deserve to be a tad more comfortable with the job they do, don't you?"

"Yes actually, I do," said Murrue, with a smile of her own.

Did Mu really think she was born yesterday? What Mu was going for was fairly obvious and she could tell where Mu was going with this. And that's what made taking him down a peg or two enjoyable, "Well, I believe I know just where to put them Lieutenant. They're college level educated pilots like them are generally assigned the rank of ensign. So, I think I'll put them in two of the ensign-rank quarters."

Mu was taken aback a bit, but recovered quickly, "What, you think they'll need that kind of space?" asked Mu, wanting to prod her slightly in his own direction and to show that he wouldn't be outdone so easily.

"Actually, I was thinking I'd rather not have them uncomfortable getting undressed in their own quarters and not worry about others looking in." Murrue gave him a pointed stare.

 _Ouch_ … thought Mu with a wince, _that wasn't what I was implying, but point taken_.

"We can put them right next to each other," continued Murrue. "They'll doubtless need one another's support during this journey, so keeping them close by is probably a good idea. Besides, we might as well keep both of those annoying little robots in one area."

Now it was Mu's turn to blink, "Annoying little…? Oh right, those things!" said Mu. "They have names, what were they… Oh yes, Haro and Tori as I recall."

Murrue chuckled at his reaction as it showed she had gotten the better of the man. "Geez, I wonder who made them… they certainly do a good job at producing annoying little appliances, I'll give them that."

 **-Line Break-**

The Gamow

"Damn it!" Nicol shouted in anger to himself, banging a fist against the locker in front of him. "I can't believe we let them get away a second time."

It was a rare thing for Nicol displaying emotions like this, and it put off his comrades a bit, "It's not your fault Nicol," said Dearka with a small sigh. "Unexpected circumstances came up that we couldn't predict. The enemy ship has better speed than the Gamow, so once they got a head start."

"I guess you're right," said Nicol. "Even still, after all of that… the Zephyr is going to be disappointed in me."

Yzak snorted at Nicol's worry, "I doubt that," he said. "We may have missed the objective, but we still managed to blow half of Artemis to dust, and you made it all possible. If anything, you've probably scored brownie points with the Zephyr, which isn't an easy thing to do."

Despite what he was saying, Yzak was pretty pissed off at their target getting away, but there was nothing that could be done about the situation, and even Yzak couldn't deny that it wasn't really anyone's fault. And the way Nicol had disabled the Alliance base's defenses that were supposedly impenetrable, was impressive. Yzak had to say that, for of the many things Nicol may be, such as a coward and a fool sometimes, he'd a talent for tactics that was rare. What happened at Artemis, was a prime example of that said talent and it made Yzak a bit proud to work with someone that could find ways to do what many considered impossible.

"Did you forget about the Zephyr's reputation or how she earned it?" asked Nicol soberly.

Dearka and Yzak winced at the question and its implications. They had indeed forgotten for a moment that the Black Zephyr, in addition to being one of ZAFT's most brilliant strategists, and the feared champion, she was also one, that you don't want to disappoint for fear of what she would do in response! She could scare others with a simple glare or a couple of words with the way she came off as. But the biggest thing, the Zephyr loved a good fight and challenge… And to take such an opportunity from her… Was something you WILL regret… a lot! With what had gone down at Artemis, Nicol could have just taken away a good opportunity for battle for the Black Zephyr.

"Yeah… forget what I said," returned Yzak in as somber of tone.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

Close to an hour had gone by since leaving Artemis and the Archangel had been traveling forward. "Reconfirming status," announced Pal. "No enemies within a five-thousand-kilometer radius, just the one Federation cruiser. It appears ZAFT forces lost sight of us for the time being."

Murrue sighed in relief. She really wasn't up to more fighting, after the events of the past twenty-four hours, give or take a margin either way. "All that pandemonium at Artemis must've covered our escape from others," said Mu from the copilot's seat. He turned the chair to face Murrue, "So, we should be thankful to the Federation, if only for that."

"True, however," started Natarle, "Ahead of us is Human Federation controlled space. They have a reputation of not taking it nicely, when those who don't have permission, travel through their territory."

"Yes," said Murrue in agreement, "I share both of your points of view. We're fortunate that the Laurasia-class is no longer able to track us. But we still have many problems as we did before, and not one of them has been resolved other than losing the ZAFT vessel for the time being."

The others on the bridge all heaved a unanimous sigh that said it all. Murrue was speaking the truth, after all, supplies were short… especially water.

"So anyways, what happened to all the Eurasian soldiers on the ship?" asked Mu, glancing around in hopes of an answer.

Arnold shrugged, "Well, as surprising as it sounds, Mr. McGregor appeared and took care of the majority of them. After that," he said, not finishing the line.

"Mister Murdoch said he'd take care of it," piped up Tolle, "something about tossing them out the airlock."

Murrue and Natarle shared an uncertain glance at that, neither were sure they wanted to know the whole story of what happened while they were locked up. Even if it sounded outlandish with the facts they had just heard, there was still more than enough to worry about. The shift change came and positions were switched out and other replaced.

Sai, once he was relieved of duty, went searching for Flay as he hadn't seen her since she had been used as a hostage. He found her when he glanced into the mess hall finding it deserted with one exception, "Flay, are you alright?" asked Sai.

"Yeah… Kira and Lacus made sure I was safe after we were dragged away… and then, in the hanger, there was a Federation pilot that helped me and made sure that I was okay before that in the hanger. I just talked with Kira and Lacus a bit… I wanted to apologize for what I started," she replied.

"That's good to hear," said Sai, sitting down next to her. "This has to be a lot harder on them then they really show. That goes for Tye as he's also fighting to protect us as well. Not only are they fighting other Coordinators, but all three of them have friends who are living in the PLANTs."

"I can't imagine," Flay remarked quietly.

"No, I don't know if any of us really can," said Sai. He looked at Flay, smiling slightly. "So, uh, try not to trouble them, okay?"

"Yeah… I understand."

Sai glanced down, thinking of how hard this must really be for Lacus. Kira had trusted Sai with the whole truth of who Lacus was, and it was a secret Sai had kept even from his own parents. He suspected that Tye knew who Lacus really was, since Tye always seemed to be informed somehow. If the Federation pilot suit he had been wearing was anything to judge by, then the way he got a lot of that info was through the Federation, who could somehow find out almost anything from what Sai had heard.

The truth was, Lacus was from the PLANTs, her fiancée had lost his mother in the Bloody Valentine, her father was the leader of the Supreme Council. She was a morale-boosting idol singer, and to top all of that, she had a close connection one of the foremost and feared commanders and champions ZAFT has ever had. Given all of that, calling what she was doing hard for her, may have been an understatement.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Donnen

After returning to the Donnen, I was left looking for something do occupy my time. Before I left the hanger, I checked up on the progress on the adjustments to the Shadow. The work wasn't done quite yet and I don't think Chief Montoya was appreciating me hovering over him and his team as they worked. So, when he sent me a serious look, I took the hint and left the hanger to let the mechanics work in peace. However, that still left me with the continuing problem of having something to do, I don't like to be idle if I can help it.

Then, there's the dilemma of the Archangel, which was made up of a series of problems. Right now, the Earth Alliance vessel is on the very edge of different territories. On one side that was behind us, the Earth Alliance was in control and ahead of us, the Human Federation calls the shots.

As far as I know, the Archangel's destination from what I learned back at Heliopolis and the short time on board the ship itself, will be the Earth Alliance's Lunar HQ, their Ptolemaeus Lunar Base. The other option, would have the Archangel descending to Earth to get to the JOSH-A Alliance base at Alaska. That's the Earth Alliance HQ for Earth itself after losing Victoria to ZAFT around a year ago. Were the ship to travel ahead through Human Federation territory without permission, I don't see that going well. The chances are that they would be shot at before they got to the other end of Federation space as things stood, since it ends close to Earth's outer orbit.

If there's any chance for me to help, I would need the help of Captain Shepard. With that in mind, I headed to the bridge and found out from commander Sulu, that the captain was off duty and in her quarters. Not being deterred, I made my way to the captain's quarters and knocked. After being told to enter, I did so and once again I find myself in the Donnen's captain's cabin. Captain Shepard was still in her uniform, but the coat was partly open, the top half of the fastenings undone. She glanced up at me, "Commander, to what do I owe the visitation?" she asked tiredly.

"Well, Captain," I said, "I was thinking, since both our current assignments involve the Archangel in some way, it might be a wise idea to get the Archangel's crew to cooperate. It would make things easier for most in this and I would imagine much better in the long run."

Then, I went into detail about the plan I had in mind and though it may have sounded simple, it wasn't in the long run. The mission of preventing Mobile suits or data of them falling into the hands of the Earth Alliance when they have been desperate to get either or both for years, is no easy task. So, to get the cooperation of the Archangel and her crew, then appearing to help them would gain their trust and that would be required for success in the standing objectives.

That being said, if the Archangel could go through Federation territory, then ZAFT would be a little harder pressing in attacking the ship. Do I believe it would stop Rau Le Creuset from pursuing the Archangel? Not in the slightest if his reputation is accurate, and with the encounters I have with him thus far, I'm inclined to believe he earned his reputation well. So, I'm expecting him to not really care that the Archangel would be going through Federation controlled territory. The ZAFT commander, had been dogmatic about this pursuit of his query thus far, I don't expect being in an area that he shouldn't be in to stop him or even slow him down much, if at all.

I'm aware that Rau Le Creuset is one ZAFT commander that a number of leaders of the Federation military would have no complaints should he be discharged or go away in some shape or form. Those in the admiralty of the Federation military, may not say out loud, but there are signs that say that they don't like Le Creuset or his actions. I don't blame them, from what I've seen, I'm not liking the guy either nor do I believe I'll ever be fond of the man, for he only brings chaos. Meaning, if the Archangel could be 'escorted' through the area, they would be a little safer and if ZAFT forces do strike or rather 'when', then there's help on hand, I call that a bonus and good preparation.

Captain Shepard agreed that having the cooperation of the Alliance officers aboard the Archangel being helpful. That would require her to talk with Murrue Ramius and Natarle Badgiruel… and honestly, it's better the captain do it than me. I've the hunch that I'll have less credibility with the ship officers when they figure out that I'm not just a pilot of the Federation, but also that I'd been working to stop them at Heliopolis, among the other things I haven't told them… I don't know how bad the reaction will be when it comes.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

Arnold sighed as Tolle entered the bridge and took his station. With ZAFT momentarily out of the picture, Tolle would be able to handle flying the Archangel for a while and at the same time, get some practice driving the ship. The teen was learning fast as decently how to pilot the Archangel and Arnold had told him that a few times already. Plus, Arnold could finally get some rest and well-earned it was like most breaks he got. Most of the crew was getting a little nervous as the message had come that there would be some Federation officers would be coming on board to discuss current and future standing. So, Arnold was hoping to get some sleep before the tense atmosphere got stronger.

"Chief Neumann, please wait for a moment," said Murrue, following him outside the bridge.

"Yes captain?" asked Arnold, managing to keep the weariness out of his voice.

"I would like to ask you along with Major McAlester, to go and greet those from the Federation as they will be here rather soon as they are coming our way. Although, on your way, could you find Kira and Lacus for me," said Murrue. "I had a discussion with Lieutenant La Flaga about it, and we agreed upon something…"

Murrue explained to Arnold that Kira and Lacus would be moved to new quarters and told him which ones they were. Arnold agreed to tell the two pilots and then he and Krystal left the bridge of the Archangel. The two began heading towards the center part of the ship, guessing that's where the Federation would come onto the ship from theirs. Glancing in the barracks rooms, looking for Kira and Lacus the found them in the quarters they had been using since the incident with Heliopolis. The light level was dim so only parts of the room's interior was distinguishable from the doorway. "Excuse me? Mister Yamato, Miss Don, are you in here?" asked Arnold.

There was a form stirring on the left, "Yes… is there something you needed Chief Neumann?" asked Kira, sitting up in the bunk where he was lying. Lacus was lying on the bed opposite his and she was waking up as well.

"Sorry for waking you both, but the captain asked Major McAlester and me to show you two to your new quarters," said Arnold. "Since you've been doing volunteer work, as our key pilots no less, it has been felt that you should at least get better sleeping arrangements than what you have right now."

"Oh, I see," said Kira, swinging his legs over and to the floor.

He looked at Lacus, who was getting out of bed, he did the same and they both rummaging around for what few possessions they had on them at the time of this all got started. A short while later, Arnold and Krystal led the two Coordinators down a hall to their new quarters. To the surprise of both Kira and Lacus, their new rooms were right next to each other.

"The captain assigned you quarters' right next to each other," said Arnold. "They're for low-ranking commissioned officers normally, but since you're pilots, she thought it was appropriate. Ordinarily, you'd be sharing with another officer of the same rank, but given the small crew compliment and the circumstances, you'll each have your own quarters. Lieutenant La Flaga and the Major here, are in quarters down the hall, and you can talk to either of them if you need anything."

"Understood," said Kira.

"Thank you, Chief Neumann," added Lacus. Arnold gave a slight nod as they arrived at their new quarters.

With Kira and Lacus getting down to the business of settling into their new rooms, Arnold and Krystal resumed on their journey to greet the Federation officers, both were a little nervous at the prospect of meeting some of them, as the Federation had a reputation for being mysterious and strict and neither of them had personal experience with any.

Meanwhile, the Donnen moved to the position that it was over the Archangel in preparation to connect. Most of the time, a Federation vessel over another ship had the intent to disable the opposing ship. However, this time disablement wasn't the intent, just to connect the two ships so that shuttles would be needed. Once in position, the Donnen used a tunnel from the bottom of its hull which connected to one of the top hatches on the Archangel. Captain Shepard accompanied with two other officers, arrived at the Donnen's end of the tunnel. There was four soldiers in space suits armed with assault rifles with them, ready to jump in if things went bad. The captain nodded at the soldiers and told them to stay aboard the Donnen for the moment while she and the two officers when over to the Archangel. When the connecting tunnel was pressurized and filled with breathable air, Captain Shepard along with two other officers entered and sailed over towards the Earth Alliance ship.

Once the three reached the hatch on the upper hull, one of the officers connected an electronic device to the small access port beside the hatch. The hatch shortly unlocked and opened with the aid of the small electronic device use for hacking through Earth Alliance and ZAFT security and Captain Shepard, the two Federation officers right behind her floating onto the Archangel.

So, the only real warning that any aboard the Alliance vessel had was the dull thunk of the tunnel engaging its magnetic pressure seal and start filling with air. Arnold Neumann with Krystal McAlester right behind him caught sight of a door to maintenance access ways of the Archangel, including an airlock to the outside opening. Out of the door came three Federation officers, in the known Federation uniform and quickly faced Arnold and Krystal. The officer in the center was a woman and had a serious look on her face. Both Arnold and Krystal didn't miss that the woman's uniform had more symbols and markings than the other two officers had, meaning she probably had higher rank. And if either Arnold or Krystal needed more proof, the woman gave it herself when she spoke, "I am Captain Mary Shepard of the Federation cruiser Donnen, where is your captain?" She asked curtly yet gave no room for debate.

There was tense silence that hung over the corridor, so much so, that none noticed the fourth figure that popped their head out of the maintenance corridor the Federation officers had come out of, which was sideways to the deck of the Archangel. The person was in a Federation pilot suit, but didn't have the helmet, so that the young man's tan hair and green eyes were visible. "Say Captain Shepard, has anyone ever told you that you come off as extremely strict and intimidating? It can be very hard to respond to and make you hard to approach," Tyler commented.

Mary Shepard glanced back at Tyler McGregor who was smiling slightly and gave him a deadpan expression, "There has been mention of something along those lines McGregor, do you have a point you're trying to make saying such?" She inquired.

Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "Not really, I was just curious if you've been told that you present yourself that way," Tyler paused, before smiling a bit though in a more nervous manner. "I think it would be best for me to uh… occupy myself with something else… so, I'm going to go for a walk then… trying to keep myself out of trouble while doing so. Chief Montoya wasn't appreciating me hovering and waiting for him and his mechanics to finish up the work I asked them to do."

Captain Shepard huffed a bit and turned back to Arnold and Krystal, "Lead the way to where your captain is, there is much to discuss." She said.

Arnold swallowed and nodded, showing the way towards the captain's cabin on the Archangel. Tyler however, didn't follow them, but began to float around the ship, looking for his friends.

In the Archangel's captain's cabin, introductions were exchanged between the Alliance officers and the Federation personnel. They were short and polite, yet still to the point, which painted the picture of the current relationship that there was between the Human Federation and the Earth Alliance clearly. The feel in the room was tense to put it mildly however, Murrue Ramius broke the tension, "So then, Captain Shepard, the Archangel's ultimate destination is the Earth Alliance's Lunar HQ at the Ptolemaeus base, or Earth's JOSH-A base would work as well. However, we're short on supplies and that's making the journey difficult," Murrue said laying out their current situation.

Mary Shepard crossed her arms over her torso, "I'm aware of the general situation that your vessel is working with and I sympathize. Yet, you are aware that while right now you're in Alliance territory, should you continue much farther, you will be entering Federation controlled territory. According to standing treaties with the Alliance and ZAFT, neither Alliance vessels or ships from ZAFT are allowed to enter unless they have been given permission. If they do, then they tend to be shot at until they leave," returned Shepard.

Natarle Badgiruel clenched her fists, "Then you say that we should turn and face ZAFT instead of going forward?" She snapped at the Federation captain.

Shepard glanced at Natarle, giving her a deadpanned stare, "It's not my issue what you do, I'm stating the agreed upon rules set by the treaties that have been made between all sides to maintain a semblance of peace," she replied.

"Then please," Murrue spoke up, gaining everyone's attention. "Allow the Archangel to pass through Federation territory! It's the quickest route and the sooner that we get to our destination the better," Murrue begged. "I'm aware that the Archangel is an Earth Alliance vessel and isn't registered yet with the rest of the Alliance, but we need to reach one of the two Earth Alliance headquarters."

Captain Shepard, seemed to think for a moment, "As long as you don't cause trouble or an incident as you go, I don't see it as much of a problem," was the strict woman's answer. "Plus, we can give you some immediate supplies to tie you over for now."

With the agreement made and understood, the Federation officers left and those left began to look at what route to take forward. Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal returned to the bridge and the rest of the crew was informed of the Federation's permission that they now had. But, the question of what route to take lie ahead, "Now with permission to travel through Federation territory, hopefully that will make encounters with ZAFT forces less likely. I believe we should try to use earth to slingshot ourselves to the moon," said Murrue thoughtfully.

"Is that our best option?" asked Natarle, looking over their current course to the moon. With the reminder of the strict watch of the Federation which the Archangel would be under, Natarle was irked with the current circumstances. She had nothing personally against the Federation Military, though Natarle did agree in part with those that saw the Federation's insistence of neutrality being ridiculous. But, in all honesty, the pressing issue was that they didn't have the supplies to really make it on the suggested route, at least, that's how it was with the refugees on board. Even were they to ration the supplies there were, it wouldn't last for long before people started to snap. "Can't we look for a better route somewhere?" Natarle asked to the room at large.

"Afraid not Ma'am," said Arnold, "If we chart a course either to the Earth Sphere itself or close to it, we'll have to cross the Debris Belt, despite that route taking us less time to reach than getting to lunar orbit via a direct path from current position."

"Suppose we navigate through it?" asked Murrue suddenly.

"Are you suggesting going through the Debris Belt?!" exclaimed Arnold. "Are you crazy?! There's no way that's possible! If we attempt to pass through it at this speed, we'll end up becoming _part_ of the collection of debris! I'm a decent pilot, but I'm not that much an expert!"

"The junk heap that humanity made ever since they began exploring space," muttered Mu. "It's true, we don't want to be a part of that," he paused suddenly, a thoughtful look on his face. "Wait a minute…" he said slowly, "yes, the Debris Belt!"

The others were still discussing what was the best route to Lunar HQ, ignoring Mu's muttered comment. That's, until Krystal spoke up, "Mu, I've seen you with that expression before, and I don't know if I should be worried or wonder where you get your ideas. What kind of scheme are you cooking up in your head?"

"Hm? What are you two going on about?" questioned, catching both Mu's and Krystal's attention.

"Am I a person who can make the impossible… possible?" said Mu with a thin smirk.

"Mu, whenever you say that, I get worried that whatever idea you having is crazy," sighed Krystal.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I was wondering down a corridor, kind of hoping to run into Kira and Lacus as I'd some catching up to do with them. Had a lot of news that I wanted to tell them both plus, I'd missed those two along with the friends I had made at Heliopolis. Was coming up upon the mess hall when a group of refugees came out of the room. In their lead, was the little girl that had been scared by the Artemis soldiers, clearly in a much better mood.

The little girl wasn't watching where she was going and she crashed into me, pushing me back a tad with her weight. I quickly fixed my bearing and at the same time, did the same for the girl. A woman, I believe the young girl's mother, came forward and was bowing to me in apology. When the girl looked at my face, her eyes widened and she smiled, "You're the nice guy that punished that bad men that were scaring us," she said.

You have got to love the simple logic of a child, they've better sense than many adults do. I 'knelt' or rather brought my head down to her eye level and smiled back, "You're right, I did punish those men, they were doing bad thing that they shouldn't have. It's good to see that you and everyone else is okay," I said kindly.

The little girl sprung forward and hugged me, "Thank you for saving us!" She cried.

My smile grew at hearing that, it's times like this, that the jobs I do in the Federation Military are worth the effort and hassle they have involved. The simple thank you, brought warmth to my heart and made me proud that I was able to protect these people, not just out of duty since they're citizens of the Human Federation, but because I could do so. "Your thanks are much appreciated little lady, don't always get that. It is the duty, honor and especially a pleasure to protect and serve those like yourself," I returned.

The child's actions acted as a trigger for the others in the group of Heliopolis refugees to come up to me and thank me for my intervention. It may be rare for me or others in the Federation soldiers, let alone Special Forces members to be thanked for the jobs we do, but dang… it feels wonderful when people do show gratitude, even if it's just a thank you!

It took ten minutes for the group of people to move on and I allowed to continue on my search for friends. I came into the mess hall and found that it was empty, except a red-haired girl that I've crossed paths with. Still don't know Flay's last name, but then, I'm not the best at remembering names, quite horrible at it actually. Although, since she was supposed to be close with Sai, maybe she might know where Kira, Lacus and the others are. It doesn't hurt to ask, I say! I cleared my throat, "Hello Flay," I greeted politely.

Flay turned and upon seeing me she drew back for some reason, don't ask me why she would. My only guess at this point, is that she has an issue with Coordinators. That's the only point that makes sense, since I'm always polite to her when she was around the others. Yet, I noticed her staring at me for a bit longer, "Wait! You're one of Sai's friends from Heliopolis, aren't you?" She asked hesitantly.

I nodded, "Yes, my name is Tyler McGregor." I introduced myself as I sat down next to the girl.

It was just after my introduction, when Flay appeared to notice my Federation pilot suit, "That's the same suit that the person who saved me was wearing, was that you?" She asked.

Shook my head a bit, "Nope, that wasn't me, but he's a colleague and a friend of mine," I replied.

"Oh," she muttered, before she focused back on me, "Well, the next time you see him, could you thank him for me?" Flay asked me.

"Certainly, don't doubt he'll appreciate being thanked, it happens rarely now-a-days for those of us in the Federation Military for what we do," I remarked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw two figures come into the mess hall and when I turned to see whom it was, I felt surprised and happy to see Kira and Lacus. They both quickly spotted me and came over where Flay and I were sitting. Flay took this as a cue for her to leave and she did exit to the mess hall, leaving Kira, Lacus and myself in the room. Lacus threw herself at me and crashed into me in the form of a hug, which I did return to her as she is a long standing and good friend to me. Kira put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed, I smiled, "Good to know that I'm not a stranger around you two yet with the time I've been absent," I remarked.

Kira smiled, "I don't think you could ever be a stranger around us Tye," said Kira with Lacus nodding in agreement.

"So Tye, what's been going on with you?" Asked Lacus.

I took a moment to think about how to order my thoughts on how to present the chain of events that I had been in. After a minute I gave my answer, "Oh… A great deal of things in the last few days, if you two would like to listen, get comfortable, it'll be long."

I began my story at the point where the three of us had been separated from one another, which was during the collapse of Heliopolis. The point I started at was when the ZAFT pilot had been doing as I'd suggested, before the Archangel had fired in our direction. I'm still a tad miffed about the crew of this ship doing that. But, upon taking the time to review the situation, they'd been scared and stressed, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they hadn't been aiming for us intentionally. Of course, the colony shaft had come apart and the structure of the resource colony had followed, the atmosphere had been drawn out of the space of the colony and that force had separated us. Having found myself alone with only the ZAFT pilot for company, I'd had good luck as the Federation cruiser had been in the area. Since with the interference that came from the colony's breakdown and the battle that had been going on, couldn't contact anyone that wasn't in the immediate area.

I gave some detail of my meeting Miguel Aiman, nice guy and did well under the stress he had to have been under at the time. Anyway, the rest of my team had come along and had helped me to get to the Donnen. Kira and Lacus had asked a few questions about me being in the Federation Military, and I did answer them as best as I could. Neither seemed to have a problem with me being with the Federation military, so I took that as a good thing.

Resumed my tale at the point that I went on board the Donnen, and meeting the captain of the Federation vessel. Miguel had been curious, but who could've blame him, rare thing for those outside the Federation to be on a Federation ship after all. The reason for this, is Federation High Command doesn't give out information that they don't see the need for others to know, which is most things. Still, I kept going with saying how I had gone onto the ZAFT Nazca-class, had even seen Rau Le Creuset while I was there. I said how interesting it was to meet Nicol Amalfi, clear friend to Athrun. I even mentioned the, amusing reunion with Athrun, a mutual friend of all three of us. Getting to at least glimpse the Aegis and the Blitz had been unexpected, but it had, in the end given helpful information.

I moved on to the portion of going to the PLANTs and meeting with the Supreme Council. Although, I didn't say that I'd been wearing the more formal Federation uniform, since I don't like wearing it. Then I continued with meeting up with Captain Shepard and the two of us then met up with Siegel Clyne and Ezalia Joule, before we went into the council meeting itself. That session… had gone not as I'd envisioned or had hoped it would, thanks to Rau Le Creuset. The reaction of Patrick Zala hadn't comforted or helped in any way. The man had been the foremost members of the council to worry me of those how hadn't taken what had gone down at Heliopolis in the way I would have predicted.

The talk that had taken place between Athrun, Siegel Clyne and myself had been better than the council meeting. It had been nice to speak to Athrun in a far less tense or professional setting, as I hadn't been able to do so until that point. At least, I got to confirm that Athrun is officially engaged to Lacus, not that it means a lot at this time. Been fun to tease him, that I won't deny that, since I don't get to do that to Athrun often, much more to Kira. It wasn't nice to be reminded of Junius Seven and what had been lost there, but it is one of the connections I have with Athrun. I'm hoping that I did get across the point of what dangers that his father posed with his views to Athrun, but I can't be sure.

Then when Siegel Clyne had joined us and it had gotten a little better and a little less nice at the same time. When I told Athrun about me being a pilot of one of the prototype mobile suit along with Kira doing the same. Athrun had taken the information not so well, though he had accepted what I'd told him. I hadn't mentioned that Lacus was piloting the Strike, for he had taken learning that two of his friends were being hunted by the commander he was under the command of. As I finished this portion of the tale, I recalled a request from Siegel Clyne, "Now that I think about it, your father did want me to give you a message Lacus." I said.

Lacus had a curious expression on her face upon hearing that her father had asked me to tell her something. "What did he want you to tell me?" she asked.

"Well, he said that he's worried about you of course, but told me to tell you to be careful and stay safe, but hold to your views and beliefs." I answered.

Lacus nodded to what I said and I continued where I had left off. That brought me to the point that I'd crossed paths with Lacus's sister Sakura. Honestly, was tempted to just skip ahead and say nothing about what had happened with Sakura. As a compromise, I made mention of… 'seeing' Sakura, Lacus gave me an apologetic look, while Kira just looked confused. Moved on to heading towards Artemis and the chain of events that happened there was a completely different can of worms. Nevertheless, things had turned out okay in the end, with help from myself and my comrades, but still.

 **-Line Break-**

The Donnen

I returned back to the Donnen after the visit I'd with my friends on the Archangel. I know that I didn't have a room on the Alliance ship, and I did have the motivation to change that standing now. Got a decent night sleep in the quarters on the Donnen, woke up refreshed which hasn't happened for over a week. The task of the day would be to hopefully move over to the Archangel and get things arranged that I could start getting the crew's cooperation in my mission I was assigned. The best to go to for arrange that would be Captain Shepard, hence why I was on my way to her cabin to present my case. Knocked on the door and waited for a response, "Enter," said the voice of captain Shepard.

Went into the captain's cabin and floated to be in front of Shepard's desk, she looked up at me and gained a look of slight surprise. "Commander McGregor, to what do I owe this visitation?" She asked me.

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Oh, well ma'am… I'm here to make a bit of a different request, it may seem a little outlandish, but nevertheless," I trailed off.

"State your point commander," said Shepard curtly.

I cleared my throat, "Yes, sorry captain. I would like to request, for me to go over and travel aboard the Archangel going forward ma'am." I said politely, but internally I was holding my breath, waiting for the woman's answer.

Shepard blinked and appeared taken aback at my request, "And why might I ask, would you request such a thing commander. By what I've read in your profile, you very much dislike the Earth Alliance, have an amount of bad experience with them or something to that effect. So, for you to want to go over to one of their vessel and have to abide by their rules… It confuses me," returned Shepard.

What Mary Shepard had said was true, on both points. I'm not the fondest of those from the Earth Alliance, have had bad experiences with those I've crossed. Then, if I go over to the Archangel, I would have to follow Alliance rules and regulations, to an extent at least. But it wasn't like I was going to join the Alliance or anything, "You stating that I would have to follow Alliance rules and regulations is true ma'am however, if I'm on the Archangel, then I'll be able to accomplish the mission my team and I have better."

The female captain mulled over my reasoning for a few minutes, "Very well, commander, I'll defer to your judgement in this." She said.

After exiting the captain's cabin, once the conversation about my intended relocation was finished. I stopped by the room that I had on the Donnen, quickly packed my things into a suitcase and was on my way to the hanger as fast as I could. The sooner I was on the Archangel, the better, my mission would be much easier if I were on the Earth Forces vessel. Plus, I miss my friends more after talking to some of them and want to be on hand if they are put into danger. However, I caught sight of Lisa on my way to the hanger and came to a halt. Hadn't expected to see my friend before I headed out, "Hey Lisa, come to give me a farewell for the time being before I head over to the Archangel." I asked.

Lisa shook her head, "No, I'm here to confirm that you understand what the mission that we're currently assigned. Following the Archangel is only part of this assignment, the main part of this is to prevent the Alliance from obtaining a mobile suit and use it to mass produce them for use on the battlefield. I'm asking if you understand what that means you might have to do to accomplish the mission," she stated to me.

I hesitated at the implication that Lisa was putting to me. My friend might not have said it outright, but I knew what she was saying. The job that was to be done, just might have me appear to betray those I call my friends, though I would like to avoid that if at all possible. Yet, I have already give thought to the possibility of me having to do things such as sabotage or similar actions. I want to help and protect my friends and those refugees on the Archangel, but I also comprehend what could very well happen if the Earth Alliance were to become able to mass produce mobile suits. It was what made this current assignment so dang difficult! "I do understand what needs to be done Lisa, even if I don't want to do such things. I'm worried about how things will play out, I think I would question myself if I wasn't worried. However, I believe I'm up for this."

"Oh, and what if your friends that you made at Heliopolis accuse you of betrayal?" Lisa asked me seriously.

That cut to my heart, so I didn't answer immediately, it was one of the few fears I had with me going over and staying on the Alliance vessel. I highly doubted that Kira would see anything I would do as an act of a traitor. We've known each other long enough to know that there's a bond of trust between us and so there would be a reason to what either of us do. Sai, Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey, I'm not as sure with if I were to do things that can be seen in a bad way. A fondness for them has developed in me over the last year, it made me stress over the possibility that they could come to hate me if I look to betray them along with the Archangel. I took in a breath, "If that should happen, then it will hurt, and I can't help that. But… in the end, I would like think they would come to understand the reasons why I do what I do." I replied, yet my voice wavered ever so slightly.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and seeing it was Lisa's I looked back at her face, "Tyler, you know that Alan, Luke and I will help you the best we can. You're not alone in this, don't forget that fact," said Lisa in order to comfort me.

I nodded to her and thanked my female friend and continued towards the Donnen's hanger, stopping by the pilot locker room to put on my pilot suit. Entering the hanger, I found that chief Montoya and his team had finished the modifications that I'd requested with the Shadow. So, the machine that I'd acquired at Heliopolis was ready for use and I planned to take the mobile suit with me when I went to the Archangel. I humbly thanked the man and his team for the work they did on the machine that I was coming to call mine. After doing so, I entered the Shadow's cockpit, before launching from the Donnen, heading to the Archangel.

After I landed onboard the Archangel and moved my suit into the dock it was assigned to before. Once in the dock, I exited my mobile suit and thanked the mechanics around the dock. As I floated towards the door out of the hanger, I greeted Chief Murdock and then was told by him, that Captain Ramius wished to talk to me. I expected I would be required a "inquiry" and I wasn't worried about the conversation or its subject matter… Mostly. It was better that I was meeting with Murrue Ramius rather than Natarle Badgiruel, the second in command of the Archangel didn't exactly get along with me and I feel that won't change in the near future in any way, except by getting worse. If the crew hadn't told the commanding officers about me coming on the Archangel in a Federation pilot suit by this point, then I'll be shocked.

I made my way to the captain's quarters and entered when given permission to do so. The second I was in the room, I could tell this was going to be a long talk and NOT a nice one for me. Sitting at the desk in the room was Murrue Ramius, her face was like the times before that I've been in her presence, not bad, nor good. On her left was Natarle Badgiruel with a serious expression on her face, which made my levels of apprehension grow. To the right of the desk was Mu La Flaga and Krystal McAlester behind the Lieutenant, neither of those two worried me as I got along with them just fine so far. I refocusing on the task at hand for me, I breathed in deeply and exhaled, "I heard you wanted to see me, that right Miss Ramius?" I asked.

"Yes, that's correct," answered Murrue, gesturing towards a seat in front of the desk she sat at.

I moved over to the seat across from the captain's desk yet, before I lowered myself into it, I bowed to the four Alliance officers, "Before this discussion starts, I would like to thank you all for taking the Heliopolis refugees on board that you did and protecting them. It's greatly appreciated, thank you," I stated politely.

After giving my gratitude, I sat down in the chair, facing the officers of this ship and their judgement. It didn't take long for that judgement to fall and I steeled myself against whatever would come my way. The first blow came from Natarle as I'd expected it would, "So then Mr. McGregor, are you or are you not, a member of the Federation military?" She demanded.

It's one of the question I figured would come and I didn't see any reason at this time to deny the facts as they are. However, since I'm wearing a Federation pilot suit, you would think that the answer is a given and so the question needn't be asked. "The answer is yes, though I would think my current clothing would be enough to give you that answer," I replied simply.

"Care to give further detail?" was the inquiry from Murrue Ramius.

I sighed slowly, "Honestly, not really, but since you're asking fine. I'm a soldier in the Federation military, which you can logically assume by this point. And I'm well aware that I look too young to be, but that's how things are. So then, does it make you happier now that you know whom I work for?" I retorted flatly.

Natarle slammed a clenched hand on the desk, "The hell it does! Why didn't you mention this fact earlier?!" she demanded in an angry tone.

Yeah, I figured this would be this woman's reaction when she found out I was in the Federation military. Natarle Badgiruel came off as someone that expects to be told all about someone else and is not happy when that's not the case. I glancing over at the other three in this room as saw that their reactions were not as bad by gave a similar message. The feeling that I was needlessly being put trial for some kind of offense that I didn't commit washed over me.

My gaze came back to settle on the acting vice-captain of this vessel with a cold expression, "You want to know the reasons why I didn't mention anything about being a member in the Federation military? Alrighty then, I'll be more than happy to give you some. The first reason would be your reaction of taking offense and anger that's directed at me for no viable reason. Especially you Natarle Badgiruel, by the way, have you ever consider doing anger management? For, from my observations, you would stand to benefit quite a bit from doing so Miss Badgiruel."

I paused for a moment, to let Natarle Badgiruel to calm down as she didn't take my comment directed at her well at all. But, I kept going, "And correct me should I be wrong, yet the way you're 'asking' me for details about myself and what I do, is being stated more as an accusation of a crime. The last time I checked, being a part of the Federation military isn't a crime in any way, shape or form, even if there are some who scream their declaration that it is, and pointlessly justify their claims. And then second, none of you ever asked, so there was no reason to tell you I was a Federation soldier," I stated.

The response I got was silence from the four across from me at my stated answer, but Natarle found her voice within a few moments. "That's not an answer, that's an excuse!" she barked back at me.

I couldn't help but snort before replying, "Yeah, none of you are in any real position to be saying that, not with what you lot pulled," I said shrugging my shoulders.

Both female officers stared at me with confusion and surprise, for apparently, they hadn't a clue what I was talking about. "The look on your faces says that neither of you know what I'm talking about. That's fine, I can tell you and I'll start by setting the scene," I continued. Took a moment to organize my thoughts on this subject, then I began, "Okay, think back to a little over a year ago, for that's where this starts to get problematic."

I began with how the rumor that there was a group within the Earth Alliance was doing weapon development in neutral territory. Made mentioned that I was with the Federation investigation team that was sent to Heliopolis to see if the rumor was true. Natarle took umbrage to my accusation to them developing the Archangel and the 'G-Weapons' at Heliopolis, "There's nothing wrong with what we've done, how dare you put the blame of what happened to Heliopolis on the Earth Alliance!" she just about shouted.

This woman just has a knack of digging a hole for herself, she's providing a prime example. My deadpan expression that I had gained as I'd been iterating the chain of events, didn't change as Natarle shouted at me. "Perhaps when you started your precious 'G-project', you were doing nothing wrong. I can't say I know who the deal was made with between the Orb Union and the Atlantic Federation, but within the last year, what you've been doing has become wrong. You've been in direct violation of two major treaties that the Earth Alliance has with the Human Federation. Certainly, by the time I got there, you were doing actions that were and are illegal," I stated calmly.

"What do you mean, Heliopolis was owned by the Orb Union, what does the Federation have to do with anything?" Asked Mu.

I turned to face the man I nodded slightly, "An excellent question Lieutenant La Flaga, as it happens, the Orb Union is a member nation of the Human Federation and became so about a year ago. So, as they are a part of the Federation, the rules and treaties that the Federation has with ZAFT and the Earth Alliance apply with them and their colonies too."

After that, I resumed where I left off in my iteration of the chain of events, about how the other members of the investigation team and myself had taken the time to study the Alliance weapon development. And I finished with the attack from ZAFT forces on and in the resource colony, which they used to steal four out of the five machines. Admittedly, the way I was laying out the timeline of events, might be seen as pinning blame and rubbing in the fact that they had been beaten by ZAFT. At least, Natarle Badgiruel had been getting more ticked as my explanation had been given by me. In fact, the woman was so mad at what I had said, that words seemed to fail her. It was Mu La Flaga that spoke out of the group in front on me, "You put the chain of events in a harsh way, don't you Tyler?" he posed to me.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Maybe it sounds harsh, yet I would ask you a question or two if you would take a moment and step back and look at what happened at Heliopolis in a different perspective. The first perspective to see, is with the Earth Forces so desperate to get mobiles suits usable for themselves, is it really a surprise that ZAFT figured out where they were being developed? After all, neither the Eurasia Federation nor the Atlantic Federation have the resources to spare or the scientists that are willing to help them. Most of all the Alliance doesn't have a place that ZAFT and/or the Federation don't know about and watch close enough that the activity wouldn't be noticed." I locked my gaze on Murrue Ramius, "That leaves going to those who aren't a part of the Earth Alliance the most viable explanation. ZAFT wouldn't help you in any way as it would only hurt them. There's no way that the Human Federation would allow anyone from the Alliance access to or use any R&D facilities such as Teswa."

The mention of Teswa, had sharpened the attention of my audience, for it was the name of the foremost R&D facility the Federation has. I continued, "That pretty much leaves the Orb Union with their Morgenroete Inc. left that even gives you a slim chance to develop mobile suits. I can't see the current leader of Orb letting such development occur within their homeland, due to what happened to Heliopolis being the likely possibility of what would occur. Whomever made the deal probably knew that he couldn't do that in Orb and so that pretty much leaves Heliopolis. It's the last choice to work with, which would attract the least amount of notice," I stated the line of logic. I took a breath and said one last thing, "If I can deduce that, should it be much of a shock that some in ZAFT were able to do so as well?"

"Yet, ZAFT attacked Heliopolis and caused it to collapse," remarked Krystal.

My response was to nod slowly, "True, though I never said that you and your colleagues were completely to blame for what happened thus far. Rest assured, there are those on the PLANTs Supreme Council that won't let this go, Le Creuset will have to face consequences. What those are, haven't the faintest idea, but he won't get away with what he did. Yet, you from the Alliance did play a part in the events that led to the colony's collapse, and that's a fact," I returned.

"And what gives you the right to judge, Tyler McGregor?!" growled Natarle Badgiruel.

I returned the glare that I was getting from the woman, then I exhaled, "Always with the harsh assumptions and conclusions with you. Seriously, you should think about getting some anger management, it can only help you," I answered. "Did I ever say I'm judging you, I don't think so? I'm just telling you how things are, but to answer your question, allow me to reply by reintroducing myself." I stood up and inclined my head, "I'm Commander Tyler McGregor, member of the Federation's military's special forces," I stated evenly.

Well, the 'talk' with the top brass of the Archangel ending on that note, not the best I admit, but I would take what I could get right now. I was shown from the captain's quarters and taken to an empty officer's room that was clear the quarters were for an officer of fairly high rank with the size and single bed. Took the time to unpack, went back to the pilot locker room, put away my pilot suit and head back to the quarters I was assigned here. As I was beat from the stuff that had happened today, I went to the bed and quickly dropped off to sleep.

The next morning early, and yes, even if looking out the window it doesn't appear to be so as there is much less change when you're on a ship in space, I was awake. The reason that I was up not doing something on the ship rather than catching up on sleep like I should, was there'd been a meeting and I'd been asked to attend. It was to take place in less than an hour on the bridge, called by the captain herself, though there wasn't any mention as to what the meeting was going to be about.

Major McAlester had the one to come by and wake me up… it took an amount of restraint to keep myself from lashing out as I was tired. I think I was justified with being grumpy, the reception I had received yesterday… wasn't the nicest. Anyways, Major McAlester explained there was a reason for the meeting and it had to do with supplies. So, after waking up more, I could think of little else that I'd in mind to do today, so I got up and got dressed for the day.

Since this meeting would be about supplies, I was left to wonder, the Donnen had given the Archangel some water. But, it wasn't enough to get them through to their destination, just enough to tie them over until the Archangel resupplies more fully. I dressed in my casual Human Federation uniform, even though I had been supplied with a white Alliance officer uniform and not the blue Alliance uniform. I think it had been a gesture of 'good faith' or something like that, yet I didn't see it that way. I won't anytime in the near future, wear an Alliance uniform, wouldn't be caught dead in it without an extremely lifesaving reason! Murrue Ramius, I doubt the acting captain would do that to me, though I can't be sure with Natarle Badgiruel.

Honestly, I considered throwing the uniform out of an airlock and just say that it got lost, but I doubt the excuse would be accepted. I'm in enough hot water with the officers of this ship, I don't need or want to get myself deeper right now. So, after readying myself for the day, I made my way to the navigation bridge of the Archangel. I found out that I was one of the early ones to this meeting other than those already on the bridge doing their shift. I could've been in my bed for a while longer dang it!

Once everyone had arrived for the meeting, I found it a tad amusing that my friends from Heliopolis the civilian volunteers, made up a full third of the current crew now. One I didn't expect here for this, was Flay whose last name I found out from Kira, was Allster and she was in an Earth Forces female uniform too. I'm hoping that Flay having the same last name as the Vice Prime Mister of the Atlantic Federation is just a coincidence. Never met the guy personally, but from what I've heard from those who have dealt with him… he's not well disposed towards Coordinators. Even my mother has said that he was pretty unpleasant to be around when the subject of Coordinators come up at the time she'd met with him a few years ago.

Anyway, Miss Ramius opened the 'meeting' by thanking all of us for coming and told us this meeting was being held to discuss a plan to obtain much needed supplies. After the acting captain started with that, she then turned over the charge of the meeting to Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, who began to lay out a plan he had come up with. "So, this mission will be to get supplies, specifically water," explained Mu La Flaga.

"Supplies?" questioned Tolle.

"We can get some?" asked Sai. "From where?"

"Get supplies, that's correct," said Mu, his amusement was obvious to us all, but then the amusement disappeared as he continued. "Or to be more precise, we intend to take them."

I felt uneasy about what could come next and made my voice heard, "When you say take them, do you say that as in stealing them or something else Lieutenant?" I inquired.

Any stealing that I could think of with the territory we're currently in, would be from a Federation vessel and that would be a no no. I wouldn't stand for that and would put the idea down five ways from Sunday so fast their heads would spin.

"No, it won't be stealing… Exactly. We're presently on a course that will put us in the vicinity of the Debris Belt," said Murrue, continuing for the lieutenant.

My thought process came to a screeching halt at hearing that. The Debris Belt… These Alliance officers better not be implying taking water from the place that comes to mind that has lots of water, floating within the Debris Belt!

"The Debris Belt? What could be there that holds water?" asked Tolle, clearly not understanding what Mu meant.

"Now hold on!" said Sai. "Wait just a minute! You're not saying…"

Apparently, Sai did see what was implied, "Extra credit to the bright student," said Mu.

"The Debris Belt consists of a wide assortment of junked items, drifting around the outer most orbital track," said Murrue. "Of course, this also means it has a fair number of abandoned vessels that have been destroyed in battle."

"You're not suggesting that we get our supplies from there?" questioned Tolle.

Okay, they're likely not suggesting going around the remains of Junius Seven and taking things from there, since they didn't mention it specifically. I don't think I could help do that if I were asked… and I couldn't tell them why I would have such a problem with doing so. That being said, I would then likely be cohered into helping in the idea anyways. I haven't been around the ruins of Junius Seven in years and it brings me lots pain. I mean, who would want to go to the place that your father and little sister died at because there was a group of people who were and still are so dead set on killing Coordinators, that they'll kill other Naturals to do it and see nothing wrong with the act.

"There's not much choice," said Mu. "If we don't do it, we're not going to last for very long, even with the supply that we received from the Federation."

"When the Archangel arrives, we would like for you people to use the Mistral pods and help with gathering the supplies outside the ship," explained Murrue.

All the volunteers including Flay frowned, showing that they liked the idea almost as I did, which was not at all. However, I kept my mouth shut as I'd done throughout this whole meeting with the singular exception of my one question, as I didn't trust the words that could come out of my mouth right now.

"We're not too happy about this either," said Natarle wincing a bit, "but it's the only choice we have right now, our very survival depends on it."

"We will not scavenge around for things that belonged to others," reassured Murrue. "We're not taking random things, only what we're in immediate need of right now. Just the basic necessities, that's all." She looked down, a sad expression on her face. "In order to survive…"

It was within the next few hours, the Archangel came into range of the Debris Belt and entered it without slowing down much at all. I gained a bit of respect for the driver of the ship with the way they were moving the large Alliance ship in the field of debris. As for me, I had a chilling feeling settling over me as the Archangel went deeper into the debris field, for I don't like this place. The job for us who were pilots, would be to go out with the pods and provide support as needed and keep watch. And I was not asked if I would go, it was just expected of me and I didn't have it in me to say no at the moment. Once a fair distance inside the field, Kira, Lacus and I launched from the Archangel in our mobile suits and along with us, our friends, including Flay, in the Mistral worker pods for working in space.

Both Mu and Krystal would stay behind and defend the ship with their mobile armors… Why they believe that was needed when the Archangel was Federation territory, I don't know. ZAFT takes care not to enter Federation space without a very good reason to justify the action, because they know they'll be used for target practice and don't want that. But then, I doubt that will deter Le Creuset, so… I guess their worry is somewhat justified. Our group was accompanied by Natarle and some of the mechanics, launched as well in one of the Mistral pods stored aboard the ship.

As we moved forward, large chunks of metal floated past us, they were unrecognizable from what they had been before ending up here in the debris. Then, there was a particularly large piece of debris in front of us caught our attention. The chill that crept up my spine told me in an instant what we were approaching, and my blood went cold and my throat tightened. Although I had agreed to help, I'd hoped strongly that we weren't going to be around this hulk that was in front of us. The chatter that had been going between those in the pods faded and silence was our companion.

" _No, this is,_ " whispered Tolle. " _A continent… How did it end up here?!_ "

And then I spoke for the first time since the only question I asked this morning, "No Tolle, that's no continent, that was a colony," I trailed off, unable to say what the debris had once been as the pain in my heart swelled along with memories of past days gone by.

" _That's the remains of Junius Seven,_ " said Kira in a tone of horror.

It had been almost four years since I'd been here to see what the results of the hatred of a few Naturals of Coordinators brought about by terrorist. There'd been countless lives lost because of this one act of terrorism by Blue Cosmos. Actually, now that I think about it… It's around the one time in the year that ZAFT forces, normally one or two ships are permitted to enter Federation territory as it is nearly the Anniversary of the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. They always inspect the site beforehand, even though the remains are in Federation territory and the Earth Alliance isn't allowed around it. I hope that they aren't around here yet and that we don't run into them… That could turn ugly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

A short while later, everyone returned to the Archangel to discuss how the foraging for needed supplies would go. After everyone had gone out to briefly look through the viewing ports and confirm beyond a shadow of a doubt… not that there was one that the ruins were indeed Junius Seven, everyone had gathered on the bridge.

"That water over there? Are you serious?!" demanded Kira angrily.

"There are close to a hundred million tons of ice frozen over on it," reasoned Natarle.

"You're kidding," said Kira. "You saw it for yourself, Miss Badgiruel. That PLANT is where hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. And yet you…"

Kira stopped and looked over at Tyler who was in a corner of the bridge floating silently. He didn't make any sign that he was paying attention at all, just had his head down and didn't respond. Kira knew why Tyler was in such an unresponsive mood than he was before, it was much like how Kira and Athrun had found him on the day that Junius Seven had become like it was now. For Tyler, having to see what's left of the place that you lost half your family… It can't be easy for him to have gone out and seen what he had.

"That's the biggest supply of water we've been able to locate," said Murrue in a tired response.

"Hey, nobody's jumping for joy over this," said Mu, "I don't hear folks shouting 'hurray water'."

"Lieutenant La Flaga," grumbled Kira quietly.

"Nobody wants to step onto that place if it can be helped," said Mu. "Listen, we're alive, everyone. And if we have too, we'll do what it takes so we continue to live!"

"I agree with the Lieutenant in this," said Lacus. All on the bridge other than Tyler looked to Lacus, Kira and Sai's eyes had widened in shock. "The people of that PLANT were peaceful," she said softly. "Junius Seven was an agricultural colony and so, I'm sure they wouldn't want us to die simply because the only water we could get was from what's left of the PLANT where they died."

"Lacus," said Kira, softly but with strain audible.

"She's right, the water is going to waste if we leave it like it is," said Tyler from the back of the room dryly.

Everyone shifted their attention to Tyler, some had jerked having forgotten that Tyler was even there as he had been so quiet, when the teen wasn't normally this quiet. Yet, as they all looked towards Tyler, they had enough time to see him entering the elevator and the doors closing. Kira squared his shoulders, before speaking again "Alright… then let's get this over and done with."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I could stay on the Archangel's bridge any long, so I said my piece on voting to get the supplies we needed and then left. The feeling of growing, nagging pain in my heart was getting worse, since seeing the ruins of Junius Seven. I'd given no signs that others would notice, other than Kira maybe, but he knows why this place holds significance with me.

I avoided the crew in the time before we were to head out to collect supplies. The crew had informed the refugees of where the water that was going to be obtained for the ship was coming from. That was nice of the officers to do that for those who lost their lives here. It certainly gained a small amount of respect from me, that they feel sorrow and some guilt at what the Bloody Valentine Incident had wrought. Lacus… bless her heart, had suggested that some make paper flowers as a type of "memorial ceremony". It was entirely volunteer work, and even Natarle had supported the idea. All the refugee wished to help with the project, which only made it more meaningful.

No one was particularly happy with where they'd be getting water, other than perhaps the children who were too young to understand what was really going on, yet there were few of those who fell into that category. However, the refugees and many of the crew when they weren't on duty, would volunteer to help out in making the flowers. I believe it was the way many saw that they could do to offer up a form of respect for the dead. Flay had practically taken the lead in making the flowers, even though she had clearly held a deep-seated dislike for Coordinators, when she had seen the results of the Bloody Valentine incident, it had affected her. She was as horrified as everyone else at seeing the ruins of Junius Seven and it had shown. When they were finished, Miriallia cast them into space over the ruins.

A short while after the respects were paid to the victims of the destroyed colony, the crew went about the needed work. Kira, Lacus and I, were set to go with the pods, one of us per group of two, and would stand watch while the workers would go gathering supplies. The other job us mobile suit pilots had, was to also keep an eye out for anything else that could be potentially salvaged, not that I expect to find anything that qualifies. With the water frozen in several chunks throughout the colony ruins, we would have to separate into parties to collect the necessary liquid. Kira in the Asuka, set off with the two pods that he was assigned to look after, and they went off to the left. Lacus in the Strike, went to the right with her two Mistrals pods. That left me in the Shadow with the last two worker pods; Sai was among those in the two Mistrals pods along with some of the mechanics that have been on board the Alliance ship.

My group headed into the center section of the colony debris, and as the worker pods began to gather the large masses of frozen water, I was scanning the area. I was making sure I could truthfully claim that I'd done my due diligence in looking around for usable junk. I didn't see a real reason to look for trash around here, I wanted to leave this area as soon as possible. Memories were coming to my mind, adding to the pain I felt and given enough time, I would have difficulty keeping that to myself.

Nevertheless, as I looked around, it took me less than a minute, to register enough landmarks to recognized where we were approximately in the former colony. I was around where the university that had been on Junius Seven, there was no mistaking it! It had been the place that my dad had worked and done his research, so I knew it well. My father Lance Blass, had been a professor of Advance Agricultural development. In fact, my dad had been the foremost scientist in Agriculture development research. The dream drove him to do the research that he would, was to find the solution to world and colony hunger. It sounds ridiculous and impossible, and my dad was sometimes considered a quack because of his dream. But, his work was very good and could have done what he said it would have, I'll never doubt it.

I glanced back to where the Mistrals pods were working and saw that they were completely involved in doing their tasks set to them. With that being the case, I figured that they wouldn't miss me for a short period. Of Junius Seven's population, only a third at most had been positively been identified or found, both of my family hadn't been in that percentile. Even knowing that it would bring more pain should I find their bodies, I still wanted to see if dad and my sister Lana were floating here… to be sure.

I maneuvered my mobile suit to a large section that held the majority of the university buildings and landed in what had been the front quad square. Once the Shadow was firmly on the "ground", I popped out of the cockpit, and had my pilot suit's thrusters whipped out and propelled me forward. I headed to the building that my dad's office was in and entered through the front doors that I had gone through many times before now. Yet, this time felt so much different and not just because it was now in the ruins of the colony. Not only did the bodies floating at random make the scene horrid and wrong, but the silence was just as wrong to me.

The times before, there were always students running from class to class, or to see their professors. Now there was nothing but the bodies and the cold silence of space and it encroached in… it didn't feel right at all!

Ignoring the bodies, not even looking at them, because I didn't wish to see anyone I might recognize. Instead, I made my way down the east wing hallway, knowing the route to the office that my dad had, I'd traveled it many times when I was younger. Within around five minutes, I came to be outside the door I sought, the door to the office of Lance Blass, as the name plate was still attached to the door itself. I took a moment to take a couple of deep breaths before I twisted the handle gently and pushed the door inward.

Once inside the office space, I gazed around and had real difficulty even being able to recognize the room from all the damage that had been done to it from the rapid depressurization the colony went through when it was struck. The three bookshelves that my dad had behind his desk had fallen forward and collapse over the desk. There were objects floating all over the office, the room was so different from the place I remember coming to visit my dad many times before. It was then, I noticed a hand poking out of the debris and the ring on the ring finger was enough to tell me to whom that hand was connected to. The hand was that of my dad, Lance Blass… and I forced myself to look away from the sight.

I was looking at the rest of the room, really searching for my little sister, until an object collided with my back lightly. Instantly my breathing and pulse shot up, took a minute to calm my breathing, then I turned myself around to ascertain what had floated into me. The object was rather big compared to the debris surrounding me and it took me a moment to comprehend what the thing actually was. When I had been able to understand, just what had hit me, I froze in sheer horror and sadness. The long light brown locks of hair, fanned out with no gravity pulling them down, were unmistakable to me. I knew the small… human form floating in front of me… was the body of Lana… my younger sister. My body felt numb at processing the sight of my younger sister floating lifeless before me. The vacuum of space had preserved her perfectly, it was like the near five years hadn't gone by and she was just sleeping.

After a minute, I couldn't hold back the tears and I felt them flow from the corners of my eyes. In my mind, I knew full well that the girl in front of me was dead and had been for close to five years. Nonetheless, I haven't seen Lana for longer than that and I'd always loved my little sister dearly! She'd always been amazed by what things I would do that Naturals aren't usually able to. Lana would encourage me, with her own ways… usually cheered me up after a hard day and make me smile in a heartbeat. I missed my dad and Lana more than I tend to admit to anyone else, other than my mom when I do make the time to visit her. Moving forward slightly, I embraced the body of Lana and felt the tears keep flowing from my eyes and my shoulders begin to shake and convulse.

It took me a little while to come back to myself and realize that I had been here for a period of time and my absence might start to be notice. I headed to the doorway, but before leaving I turned back, looking to the desk buried under debris and over to the floating body of my sister. I silently said my farewells and headed back to my mobile suit, with a horrible pain coursing through my heart.

It was a couple of hours for the collecting of water in the form of ice, once complete all of us headed back to the Archangel. The time the job took was a form of torture to me as it gave time for the pain in me to fester. Still, I was silent the whole way, perhaps just in a state of shock from what I'd seen while out in the ruins of Junius Seven. We all met up with each other just before getting to the ship and I was the last one in to the hanger.

Once in the hanger and had the Shadow in its dock, I popped out of the cockpit and started towards the door out of the hanger. I barely noticed those that had been flying the pods getting their cargo off and stored. I'm just really not in the mood to care at all about the activity and so, simply kept floated towards the exit of the hanger. I needed to get away from being around other people right now, there's too much pain running through me. It was difficult to keep it together and not break down where I was.

"Tye? Are you feeling okay? There still are supplies to unload," asked the voice of Miriallia.

I turned my head to her, not that she could see my face as I'd activated the visor blocker in my helmet out of habit. But, I was thankful it was in place, I didn't want my face to be visible at all to anyone. I may have run out of tears some time ago, but don't doubt that those reservoirs that my tears come from will have refilled by this point. And as if in response, I felt dampness at the corners of my eyes however, I managed to keep my voice even, "Yeah, I'm good Miriallia, just tired from this outing. So, sorry for not helping unload, but I'm going to turn in early today," I said, not stopping my momentum that was moving me forward, nor giving anyone the chance to say otherwise.

Upon exiting the hanger, I didn't go to the pilot locker room, instead I went straight to my quarters and locked the door when I was inside. I took off my helmet, a sizable amount of liquid in the form of drops moved out away from my face. Tears were coming from my eyes again, I couldn't stop them from flowing out, the control of my emotions was pretty much gone by this point from what I could tell, so I did nothing about it anymore. I pushed off from the floor and without thinking, curled into the fetal position and hid my face in my knees. I ended out in a corner of the room as I felt myself softly bumping into the wall and ceiling, and I began to silently sob as images flashed through my mind of my dad and sister that I'd seen in the ruins of the colony. My heart ached and hurt much more than it had in years… ever since I found out both dad and Lana were gone and would never come back.

I kept lamenting without ceasing for a period that I lost track of, but it was the sound of the door to my quarters opening came to my ears that regained my attention somewhat. I didn't look to see who it was that managed to get through the lock I put in place, even if it wasn't my best locking program. There was really only one, maybe two that could get through the lock I made, that being Kira or perhaps Sai. And honestly, I was feeling too much pain to care who it was. I just wanted to be left alone in the misery and sorrow that I was feeling, so I didn't respond hoping whoever it was in my room would leave.

"Tye, what's wrong?" The voice told me that it was Kira that was now in the room. I didn't answer the question, only managed to sniffle and kept my face buried in my knees. Now, I'm not one who normally cries for almost any reason, but remember the family I've lost because of this war is one of the few exceptions. "Tye, something obviously hurt you. I haven't seen you like this for years, tell me… it'll help," Kira continued as he was getting close as his voice was making clear.

I felt a hand on my convulsing shoulders and Kira then took the next few minutes to coax me out of the fetal position that I'd curled into. Tears were still coming from my eyes as Kira's gaze met mine. I could barely see my friend as my tears were making it very difficult to see anything. I could tell that Kira was floating next to me, but not much more than that as little was clear to my sight. Kira didn't say anything to me, just waited for me to speak. It took a bit, but I managed to collect myself to even a small degree along with some shuttering breaths, "I knew it was possible, if I were around this place," I whispered.

The door opened again and others came in, "What the?! Where did all these water droplets come from?" came the voice of Tolle.

Next thing I heard, there was a slap of skin hitting skin and Tolle grunted in pain. "OW! What was that for Miriallia?" snapped Tolle.

"You idiot, be a detective and figure out where these droplets came from, it's not that hard," replied Miriallia a tad angrily.

At any other time, I would have been laughing at what was happening to Tolle, but the pain running through me was making it very difficult to find anything humorous. "Tye… what happened out there in the ruins of Junius Seven that would have you like this? I've never seen you in this state," asked Lacus gently.

Of course, she hasn't seen me like this, only my mother, Kira and Athrun have ever seen me in such a state. Both Kira and Athrun had been there just after I'd learned of what had occurred to Junius Seven. Athrun himself, understood what I'm going through, he'd lost his mother with the destruction of the colony after all. Kira, the naïve idiot that he can be most of the time, had somehow managed to console Athrun and me with the pain the losses had dropped on us. Then my mother, one of the strongest women I know… how she dealt with the loss of dad and Lana, I still haven't figured it out.

I could see her pink hair in front of me, but couldn't distinguish her facial features with my eyes blurred by my tears. I wouldn't doubt that my face was a mess from the crying I've been doing over the last few hours off and on. I just couldn't get the pictures of my dad's hand or Lana's dead body, perfectly preserved out of my head. From the other voices I've heard thus far, I would assume that Sai, Miriallia, Tolle and Kuzzey are also here in my room. All I could do was whisper the same line I had to Kira, "I knew it was a possible, if I were around this place. But, even so… I couldn't," my head fell back to being buried in my knees.

There was silence to my whisper, the pain in my heart was tearing at me from the inside out. My head came up and my voice kept going, "I know I shouldn't have gone off while everyone else was collecting water… but… seeing where we were… I couldn't help myself… with so many never found… there was always the chance they… and they were," I got out, my voice breaking slightly towards the end.

Silence remained absolute from all around me for a bit, then Kira spoke up, "You found your dad and sister," he breathed out in pity.

Kira was the only one in this room who knew that my dad and Lana were on Junius Seven when the nuke struck the colony. Oh, I'm not saying that my friends weren't aware of what happened during the Bloody Valentine Incident or the results. But it isn't the same thing when you had someone you knew there when it all happened, when the colony came apart, especially when those you knew were family. Fresh tears started as my shoulder shook as the pain of seeing part of my dad and the body of my little sister hurt me badly. My voice wouldn't respond to my commands and so I couldn't say anything. However, Kira had said what I could not and he filled in the others about what he meant at stating his realization, "Tyler's… well, his dad was a teacher at the college on Junius Seven and his sister was visiting his dad at the time when… Bloody Valentine happened," Kira trailed off.

"So then," whispered Sai.

"You lost your father and sister when Junius Seven collapsed?" questioned Lacus, the tone of sadness evident.

I was able to nod a little to confirm what was said to be true, it was all that I could do right now. The next thing I registered, I was being hugged by all my friends as they were telling me that they were there for me. I appreciate their efforts to comfort me, seeing me in the pain that I am after seeing both my dad and sister's remains. My doubts that I had on Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey are now silenced and they have earned my trust.

Two days went by after acquiring the stuff in the debris belt. Water wasn't the only things we found there as Lacus had stumbled upon the remains of a ZAFT vessel which had parts that were usable. With those parts that were found, Chief Murdock and his people were able to build a fairly good simulator. Then when Kira and I did a little work on it, the machine became a fully functional training station for mobile armors and mobile suits. However, the mobile suit program was still a little too advance for everyone but Kira, Lacus and myself, though both Mu La Flaga and Krystal McAlester did give the idea a go. They didn't get very far, yet I'll give them high marks for having the guts to try when they went into it, knowing that they were going to fail.

So then at present, Kira, Lacus and I were in the hanger, wearing pilot suits… and yes, even I had an Earth Alliance suit on at the moment, don't ask why, I don't want to talk about it. Lieutenant La Flaga was floating in front of the three of us and behind him was the two Moebius type zero mobile armors. Watching us from the platform by the doorway to the hanger was our four friends from Heliopolis, Flay along with Lieutenant McAlester. Mu was smiling as he stared us, "Well you three, are you ready to try this idea out?" he asked.

I, not having much of a clue as to what the man was talking about, glanced over at my two companions and saw they were just as confused. So, I decided that I would ask the obvious question, "Okay, what are you going on about Mu La Flaga? What do you want us to do here that requires the three of us to be in… these pilot suits?" I inquired flatly.

"Well Tyler, we're going to have Kira and you pilot the two mobile armors, while Lacus taking out the Strike. Then have you three have a bit of a mock battle, to have you three get some practice in," was the Lieutenant's answer.

He wants a what?! I'm not to say I can't pilot a mobile armor and can do just fine and then some. As it happens, I picked up a number of tricks from a colleague of mine that use to be an Earth Alliance mobile armor pilot himself and one of the best as far as I know. But come on, the officers on the Archangel should know that as a Federation pilot, I'm not a stranger to piloting craft. A Delta Fighter after all, is kind of similar enough to a mobile armor in most respects with the exception of mobility and what give the Delta Fighter that advantage. So, what real point could this planned exercise have, other than being entertainment for those on board the ship? And if that's what this is for, then I refuse. I see no reason to perform for others like this, it's a waste of time in my opinion and I avoid that kind of thing!

Yet, since I didn't answer or reply to Mu's statement, Kira and Lacus spoke up and agreed to this mock battle. That in turn put the pressure on me to say yes and participate which I don't want to honestly. Mu was looking at me, waiting for an answer about to my participation, "And what is the interest in this mock battle of yours, might I ask?" I questioned.

"Don't you want to try to pilot a mobile armor?" posed Mu kindly.

Technically speaking, I've flown a mobile armor and have done so against a former Earth Forces mobile armor pilot that's an ace. So, why would I want to 'try' to pilot a mobile armor? I shook my head slowly, "Nope, can't say that I'm very interested in driving an Alliance mobile armor, even if it's a rarer model to see or be around. So, thanks for the offer, but my answer is," I started replying.

However, I wasn't allowed to finish as Miriallia interrupted me, "Oh come on Tye, do it!"

I flinched a bit, before I turned around and looked towards the entry platform and saw Miriallia waving her arms in excitement. Tolle was doing similar motions, just not as much as Miriallia was, "Yeah Tye, let's see what you can do out there!" he said.

Both Sai and Kuzzey appeared to be just as interested in watching me go out in one of the Moebius Zero armors. …This is one of those times that I'm too nice and gentlemanly for my own good and peace of mind. Oh well, I suppose that I could do this, my shoulders slumped slightly, "Oh alright fine, I'll participate in this mock battle. I still don't really see the point to this," I answered.

Once I had agreed to do this, Kira and I got into the mobile armors, Kira took the red zero that was Lieutenant La Flaga's. That left me with Major McAlester's blue zero to work with, which I would make due with. I was going over the systems of the mobile armor, when I heard Kira's voice over the communication channel, " _Are you sure about this lieutenant?_ "

" _Of course I'm sure kid, the three of you will do fine. The mobile armors and the Strike are set into practice mode, so no live shots will fly._ " said Mu. " _Don't you all trust me?_ "

I heard chuckling over the radio, " _Not really,_ " muttered Kira.

"I'll second that, don't exactly trust you, nothing personally against you Lieutenant, just don't," I added.

Lacus was quiet and didn't say anything, but there was chuckling that grew into full-blown laughter as the red Zero was loaded to the right the catapult. I was moving to the left catapult, while the Strike would launch after us.

While the loading of the mobile armors was taking place, Kira, Lacus, Mu and Krystal picked up the conversation they had been having in the pilot lounge. During that conversation, Kira had mentioned that he had a weird feeling just before and during his fight with Rau Le Creuset on the trip to Artemis. That had caught my attention… well, the mention of Le Creuset had gotten me to listen harder to what was being said. Mu La Flaga had been surprised at hearing that not only Kira had the odd feeling with Creuset, but Lacus had the same type of sensation, just with Kira. At hearing that, Krystal had suggested that an exercise be done to see how strong the feeling was, that being done with the mobile armors and one of the mobile suits.

Upon that mindset, I got roped into this idea, still, I hadn't exactly said no either, so my fault to a degree. Mu, backed by Krystal, had said it would be best for the three of us to take turns using the two Moebius Zeros. Saying that he'd heard something about other Zero pilots getting similar vibes, and said that his theory was that it's connected with the high degree of spatial awareness needed to properly control the gunbarrels. I've heard a similar explanation from the one who gave me pointers on flying a mobile armor, still didn't know if I believe it.

That brings us to the current time, Kira and I were waiting to launch out of the Archangel. We would be followed by Lacus in the Strike, equipped with the Aile Strike pack. The particular equipment that had a high-powered thrusters backpack meant to increase mobility and maneuverability. With us going into the Debris belt, we would have an open field to practice flying these machines with less to worry about. It was better than a simulation, as this would be real and practical experience in piloting.

It would be just the three of us out there by ourselves with the Archangel observing from the sideline. Mu and Krystal said they would come out with us later on to 'assist' us on taking on multiple targets at the same time in different ways. If I had my way, then they won't do that with me. Maybe, if I show off some of the piloting skills I do have, then the two might stop underestimating me and leave me alone for a while. Although, apparently since we weren't really in a combat situation right now, our friends were on the bridge along with Flay. She had been allowed on the bridge when she'd asked to watch. I believe her concern and gratitude for Kira and Lacus that had been showing since Artemis, completely overcoming her dislike of Coordinators.

" _Kira Yamato, Moebius Zero, taking off,_ " called Kira, no doubt rocketing from the ship.

That meant it was my turn, and as I'm not a stranger of mobile armor controls, just been a period of time since I flew one. I decided to set the controls to manual without telling anyone as I prefer them that way, even if it takes more to use the machine when set that way, sealed my helmet by having my visor come down, "Tyler McGregor, Moebius Zero, heading out," I called before shoving the throttle forward and I zoomed out of the catapult.

Kira and I didn't have to wait long as Lacus came out a few minutes later, " _Lacus Don, Strike, I'm taking off._ "

Kira and Lacus flew a few loops around the _Archangel_ , giving Kira a chance to get used to the Zero's controls. I took the time to perform a few maneuvers to check response to the controls and the feel on their sensitivity. Even if the systems were set to practice mode, meaning that the weapons wouldn't fire live shots, for us in the cockpits, it would show the fight as if we were using real weapons.

" _Strike, Zero 1, Zero 2, you have the go ahead to begin the exercise._ " said Miriallia, gaining our attention.

" _Got it._ " said Kira as he rocketed at the Strike.

"That sounds good to me, let's get this going," I replied, turning the mobile armor I was in towards the mobile suit and shot forward at a decent pace.

As Kira and I closed the distance between us and Lacus with Kira slightly ahead of me, Lacus started drifting to the left. Kira fired off a shot from the Zero's linear Gun, in response, Lacus zoomed to the right, aiming her rifle and opening fire on both Kira and myself. I threw the control stick hard to the right and put the blue Zero into a barrel roll, allowing me to evade the shots that Lacus was sending off. I caught sight of Kira rolling to the left to dodge, at the same time deploying one of the gunbarrels as he resumed his approach towards the Strike. The gunbarrel brought out its two autocannons and they began spitting shots at the mobile suit. Kira was also using his armor's linear gun to take on the Strike.

Recall that Mu had suggested starting out with using only one gunbarrel at first, and then adding the others when we became more comfortable with the system they used. However, for all of Kira's actions, Lacus evaded the shot with some rather fanciful maneuvering… you know, I'm starting to wonder just how much Sakura has taught Lacus. Yes, the pink-haired girl had mentioned that her older sister had given her a few lessons. With Sakura being one of ZAFT's best of their Champions or ace pilots and is one heck of a pilot in her own right, makes you wonder. If she had given her basics, nothing to worry about, if however, she had gone further, then there would be more to take into account with Lacus. The point that Lacus hadn't said to what extent Sakura had educated her in piloting a mobile suit, left the question of how skilled she was.

Lacus shot off a couple more harmless "blast" from her beam rifle, which Kira only narrowly dodged. Lacus finally went on the offensive by charging forward, focusing on Kira and firing repeatedly at him. Kira evaded by activating the wire that connects the gunbarrel, pulling it back in at the same time cutting off the other thrusters on the Zero. He activated the engine on the retracting gunbarrel an instant after the wire started drawing it back. The jerking of the wire gave the red Zero the inertia that allowed him to dodge the incoming shots from the Strike.

While Kira was do an admittedly five star job piloting the Zero armor, I made my way to be behind the Strike. When I was where I wanted to be, I aimed the barrel of the linear gun at the Strike and fired. Lacus managed to spin around in time and block the shot with her shield at the last second. That shifted her attention on to me and I was forced to do some barrel rolls to avoid getting hit by the beams coming my direction.

The Strike got hit by autocannon blasts and after taking a moment to look, saw that Kira had deployed three out of the four gunbarrels, ignoring flying the mobile armor itself, instead concentrating on using the three gunbarrels to surround the mobile suit and letting loose from three different directions. Several shots from the autocannons were marked as hits, but as autocannons aren't strong enough to do heavy damage or even disable a regular GINN, much less a more advance mobile suit with Phase Shift armor. Although, by what I've seen during the duration of this exercise, mobile suits with PS armor weren't factored in to the damage calculations of this mock battle setup. The Strike was being seen as a GINN rather than an Alliance prototype with better equipment.

Lacus countered Kira's attacks by doing some impressive acrobatics to dodge the gunbarrels shooting her and fired back at the red Zero. Kira then duplicated the maneuver he did earlier, and pull the red Zero out of the line of fire as the bolts from the Strike's beam rifle zoomed by the armor and the gunbarrels. The mobile armor was pulled entirely around via the gunbarrel wire, the upper and bottom barrels docked back on the mobile armor. While the red Zero was rotating as it sailed out of the paths of the beams, Kira shot off the linear gun. My friend then charged at Lacus and moved forward a little before deploying the top and bottom gunbarrels again. And so, this dance of the two mobile armors verses the mobile suit around one another continues.

However, a moment later, it was over, as Lacus managed to hit the red Zero with a single rifle shot, marking it as destroyed for the practice run. That just left me and Lacus in this skirmish, and that's fine by me. But, as I'm a gentleman, I'll offer my lady friend a chance to opt out. "Nicely done Lacus, the one who taught you how to pilot did a really good job. So, as a way to show respect, I'll give you the opportunity to back out and we can consider this fighting tango a draw. What do you say?" I offered calmly.

" _Nice as your offer is Tye, think it would be more interesting if I beat you,_ " replied Lacus.

…I was hoping she wouldn't take my offer, I'd been getting bored during this mock battle, perhaps now this could become fun. I observed the Strike charge towards me, and in response, I deployed all four gunbarrels and once they were at the end of their wires, had them ignite their thrusters. Lacus got within range of me and drew her beam saber, yet I wasn't worried. There came a hard jerk and I was pulled to the left, out of the way of the saber that was being swung at me. While my left gunbarrel with the assistance of my upper and lower pods were pulling me out of the position of being cut by a beam, I activated the right gunbarrel's autocannons. And so, as that pod soared past the Strike, I fired off a quick barrage to throw my opponent off guard.

The Strike backed off a bit after taking fire from the autocannons, while I still sailed sideways, being pulled along by three of the gunbarrels. I kept an eye on the tension readouts on the wires the gunbarrels were attached to and controlled by. I would like to not have them snap under the stress I was putting them through. Thankfully, as far as I could tell, this Moebius Zero is built like the others I've seen and so were sturdy as hell. I had all the gunbarrels rocket forward, tugging the main body of the armor along, much like the historical dog sleds used dogs to pull them forward.

The Strike fired off its beam rifle in my direction, though the bolts weren't aimed very well. I'd the wires to the pods, start retracting, but instead of the gunbarrels coming back to the main body of the mobile armor and docking to it like you would expect them to, I had them pull me towards them. The gunbarrels still pushing forward with their thrusters, the wires towed me ahead and brought me to the gunbarrels. I felt the machine shake as the four pods docked on the back spars or rather banged against the spar an amount harder than they would under usual circumstances. I then used the controls to get the right gunbarrel to point outward and the left pod to shift inward and have their thrusters burn hard. That pitched the blue Zero to the right, bringing the white mobile suit into my targeting crosshairs of the linear gun barrel.

Lacus was turning to face me, putting the Strike's cockpit smack dab in front of the linear gun's firing line. Not one to refuse such an opportunity, I squeezed the trigger and sent two shots from the armor's main weapon at the mobile suit's cockpit. The shots nailed where I had intended, the message of the target being destroyed came up on my front display. I gained a satisfied smile and snickered quietly, "Whoop there it is … eat your heart out Cormag. You would be laughing your head off seeing this," I whispered to myself and chuckled a bit.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

Mu sat in his seat on the Archangel's bridge, getting over gaping in astonishment at the performance of the three teens. He'd known that these three were Coordinators and that they had shown talent in piloting in varying degrees. But, this mock battle that had just gone down, there's far more to these three than any had suspected. Sure, the Zero Type mobile armor is considered comparable to a GINN or perhaps even a CGUE with a good pilot, yet that didn't explain what had just happened. Mu knew that Kira Yamato and even Tyler McGregor had experience in piloting, though it was with mobile suits, not mobile armors. Nonetheless, those two had just used mobile armors that are equipped with gunbarrels, which most pilots have lots of difficulties in working with, and they had made it look easy.

Granted, Kira had lost, yet he'd still gotten a fairly good grasp on the gunbarrels during his first run. Kira may not have used them as skillfully or precisely as Mu himself or Krystal did however, the kid had done far better than Mu had during the first year of training. It'd taken eighteen months for Mu to get around Kira's level of use skill. Then, Mu had never even thought of Kira's somewhat insane strategy of using the wires, they had felt often more of a hindrance than a help. Yet the young Coordinator had got them to produce inertia and help maneuver the mobile armor out of enemy fire.

What Tyler had done… that kid hadn't just won against the Strike, he hadn't gotten hit once and used the gunbarrels in even more crazy ways than his younger friend! Hell, he could probably be able to give almost any given veteran armor pilot a serious run for their money! If what he had just done it anything to go by, Tyler was downright good!

"Well, I gotta say… I'm impressed," said Mu, putting up a front by smiling and keeping his voice even. "Keep up the good work all of you, but don't forget to let the pink princess have a turn in the rotation."

" _Yes lieutenant,_ " came the panting voices of Kira and Lacus over the radio.

" _Sure thing, La Flaga,"_ replied Tyler in his normal voice.

Once the radio was shut off, Mu's smile faltered a bit as he turned back to the captain. "Okay, Kira and the pink princess are scary with what they are capable of," he said with the corners of his mouth turned down a little, before the frown deepened. "But, Tyler's skills and capabilities… They terrify the hell out of me!" Mu then sighed, scratching his head, "Damn it all, those three kids make me look bad with how easy they make what they did look. Now what am I supposed to do? They're rendering me completely obsolete!"

Krystal patted Mu on the shoulder, "You're not the only one they're doing that to Mu, I'm in the same boat as you, don't forget." Krystal paused for a moment staring at the front viewing port, "Although, I think that Tyler has had previous experience with mobile armors, specifically a Zero type, it's the only way I can think of, that could have him be as familiar with how to use gunbarrels."

The blonde-haired man turned to his fellow mobile armor pilot, "You think that Tyler has done this before?" He asked.

Krystal nodded, "Yes, and likely shown how by a skilled pilot if I were to guess."

Both Mu and Krystal were left to ponder, that if it was true that Tyler did have previous experience with mobile armors. Then just how much experience did he have? And if he'd been taught by someone else, who could have possible taught him well enough to do what Tyler had? There weren't many armor pilots that were skilled enough… or crazy enough to attempt what the oldest Coordinator on the Archangel had done in the mock battle. In fact, Mu and Krystal were considered more towards the crazier end of the risk scale among Alliance pilots, so there weren't any armor pilots that either could come up with.

 **Phase End!**

 **A/n**

 **That's all for this phase, not that much change, but still some here and there. Please take the time to write a review and give your input and thoughts, that's what helps with improving my writing. See you all next time!**


	7. Phase 7: Meeting and Rescue

**A/n**

 **The Revision continues, hopefully to everyone's liking. Now once again, I don't own nothing from the Gundam Universe or the ideas I use from other Universes. I do own my characters and inspiration and take pride in them! Okay, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 7: Meetings and Rescue

February 7th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

On the bridge of the Archangel, those there watched as the sparring match between the two Moebius Zero armors going against the two mobile suits. It'd become pretty much a daily ritual, over the last week, not too long after the Archangel came out of the Debris Belt. These matches served two purposes, they helped the pilots keep their skills sharp and it broke the monotony of their journey towards Earth. However, it hadn't taken long to witness a clear difference in skill levels between all five pilots.

Where Kira and Lacus might not be the best out of the pilots, they were quickly improving with the practice that came from these matches. Krystal was good with her mobile armor, though not as good as Mu himself, but like Kira and Lacus, she was improving. Her experience had shown, but with the constant rotation of pilots, she was being forced to adapt by trying new ways of flying her armor. Mu, was though to be the most experienced pilot among the five initially, proved that his experience in the war was not just for show. Yet, he was well aware that he still had room for improvement. The recent fights with ZAFT mobile suits had shown him that.

Nonetheless, it was Tyler that'd surprised the crew the most out of all the pilots. Sure, word of him being a Federation pilot had spread around the ship and the stories of what Federation pilots had done and were capable of weren't uncommon as many onboard had heard some. But, even with the stories, that didn't explain or prepare any on the Archangel as they watched the mock battles that Tyler participated in. The skills that Tyler had and the performance level he'd shown was astounding and had quickly put him at the top of the skill pile. And it didn't seem to matter whether he was in a mobile suit or mobile armor, the performance was still amazing!

In fact, throughout all the mock battles that had played out, Tyler hadn't lost once. It had looked close once or twice, but he had always ended out the victor against the others. The record certainly hadn't gone unnoticed by the other four pilots, they had taken it more as an unofficial challenge to beat Tyler in some way just once. None of them had succeeded yet, but that didn't stop them from trying their hardest to do just that. It more served as a motivation for all the pilots to keep improving their own skills. It also frustrated some, when Tyler was asked just how much experience he had, and the answer that came was nothing.

Today's match, had Mu and Krystal in their mobile armors versing Lacus in the Strike and Tyler in the Shadow. Mu was going against the Strike, while Krystal was doing her best against the Shadow. Mu was holding his own against the Strike, though Lacus wasn't making it easy by any means. Krystal was attempting moves with her mobile armor that she had never done even in a simulator, putting her armor close to its limits. Her movements, were forcing Tyler to do some truly amazing maneuvers that had him pulling some heavy Gs. Yet, Tyler didn't sound winded at all when he spoke over the radio, even with the stress his body was being put under.

It was the communication officer Pal that shifted everyone's attention on the bridge off the match, "Captain, we're receiving a coded pulse… It's Earth Alliance," he said.

"What, are you certain?" asked Murrue, looking over Pal's shoulder as he manned the com-station, since Miriallia was on her break and they weren't in a combat situation right now.

Pal took a moment to double check what he was seeing, "There's no mistaking it," said Pal. "This is a coded pulse of the Earth Forces 8th Orbital Fleet."

"Can you retrieve it?" asked Natarle, coming up from the CIC.

"I'm doing that right now," said Pal. Static filled the speakers from the station, as well as the screen itself. "Deciphering it…" muttered Pal.

A voice filtered through the speakers, " _This is the_ _Montgomery_ _,_ " said the voice, " _of the Earth Alliance Forces 8th Fleet advance troop._ _Archangel_ _, respond._ "

Murrue smiled in a combination of joy and relief. "The 8th Orbital Fleet… that means they're under Admiral Halberton's command!" she said.

The Earth Alliance's 8th Orbital Fleet, one of the large space fleets that the Earth Forces had as a presence in space. Yet, the 8th had a reputation that the other space fleets didn't, for in the majority of the battles against ZAFT which it had participated in, the fleet had made a difference, even if the battle hadn't ended in victory for the Alliance. The one in command of the 8th fleet, Duane Halberton, was also as well-known and recognized as the fleet. He was one of the best tactician that the Earth Forces had, and was good at getting results.

"So then, they're looking for us?" asked Arnold, momentarily leaving his station to join the other three bridge crewmen gathered around the communications station.

"It looks that way, they're still a significant distance from us by what I can tell," said Pal.

"But if we link up with them, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief," said Arnold.

Murrue nodded in agreement, "Indeed, things are finally starting to look up for us," she said.

Rear Admiral Halberton was Murrue's mentor and she respected him a great deal. He'd supported the G-Project and said it would help bring about an end to this war. Although, Halberton had been vocally against the war with ZAFT during the beginning of it, saying that it was a mistake. Murrue had herself asked what the Admiral had meant by the war being a mistake, yet had received a confusing answer. With current events, it would be nice to see the man again and show him at least one of the fruits of the project that he supported.

 **-Line Break-**

The Vesalius

The Vesalius met up with the Gamow shortly after the events that occurred at Artemis. Once the two ships met up, they left the other two Nazca-class ships and continued forward in pursuit of the Alliance vessel. However, it was only a couple hours before the two ZAFT vessels were approaching the border between Earth Alliance and Human Federation territory.

"What's the matter Ades?" asked Le Creuset, coming up behind Ades as the Vesalius moved through space in search of the legged ship.

"Two things commander, we're on the border between the Alliance and the Federation's territory and then, we've also detected a small group of Earth Forces ship on long range sensors ahead of us as well as the legged ship," said the captain. "Although, can't say what they're doing out here."

"Hmm, indeed, a strange occurrence," murmured Le Creuset, moving backwards to the tactical board, Ades following him. After a moment of studying the information and display, Le Creuset spoke, "If the legged ship were journeying from Artemis to the moon's Earth Forces Headquarters," he posed, "What would they need to do to get there with a chance of success?"

Ades thought about the question for a moment, then replied, "Well, they would need resupply at some point… So then, those ships are naval vessels to either give them supplies or to get them to those supplies."

"That would be my assumption, but for them to enter Federation territory… I wonder what or whom decided to do that," said Le Creuset. "The Federation have proven they don't allow others in their territory without permission, so either those vessels are confident that the Federation won't notice them. That's highly unlikely, or they believe that the Federation forces won't shoo them away, and I don't know why they would believe that."

Creuset paused for a bit, the musing that he had done out loud, sinking into the rest of the bridge crew. Ades had to admit that the commander had a point, the Federation weren't friendly to those that went into their territory without permission. It didn't matter if it was Alliance or ZAFT ships, the Federation had a tendency to use them for target practice and they had no need for the practice. Le Creuset spoke again, "They haven't detected our presence yet, have they?" Ades shook his head, "Then don't lose sight of them, follow them carefully, while not being noticed, we need to run silent and hope that the Federation misses our presence," ordered Le Creuset.

"Very well sir," said Ades.

"And contact the Gamow," added Creuset. "Send them this information and tell them to plot an intercept course. I want them to throw all the power they can spare into their engines… weapons, maintenance, everything not necessary to keep the crew capable. Even with the addition of three GINNs, our forces alone won't be sufficient to defeat the legged ship."

"Right away sir," said Ades turning to go back to his seat, hoping that it would be as easy as the commander made it sound.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

Once the skirmish of the day was done and we came back to the ship the whispers were already going around. I didn't listen at first, just was thinking about getting a meal and then have time with the bed in my quarters. My undefeated record still stood unbroken, though I applaud the effort, for the fight had morphed into at the end a three on one battle, a single guess as to who the "one" was, yep, it was me. Still, I have to admit, the skirmishes were fairly fun, at least more fun than doing the boring things I had been doing other times.

It was as I made my way into the mess hall, that the feeling of relief hit me enough for me to pause and observe what was going on more carefully. News of a rendezvous with an advance force was the message I was getting and upon listening further, I learned that the force was from the Alliance's 8th orbital fleet. That caught my attention for a couple of reasons, since they shouldn't really be in the area to begin with. I didn't really care that Alliance ships were heading in our direction. It did make cause me to wonder just how valuable the Archangel is seen as, we're still in Federation controlled territory, not Earth Alliance after all.

The reason that makes such a difference, is the Federation military doesn't see any difference between ZAFT or Alliance vessels being in Federation territory without permission given before entering. If they come into our area when they shouldn't, they get shot at and that has been the consistent response. Both sides are well-aware of that consequences of entering Federation territory, so they've taken care not to toe the line usually.

That being said, the ships heading our way are either ignorant, which I doubt, or their crazy. The chances that they have permission or even asked for it from Federation High Command or anyone representing the Human Federation are low. So, as to why this ship hadn't been given the customary single warning shot, followed by the aimed shot, I can't say for sure. It depends on a couple of factors, such as who's having the Alliance vessels coming with indifference and disregard to treaty and territorial ownership and who's onboard. The 8th orbital fleet's head, Duane Halberton, knows better than to just send ships into Federation territory like this. The man is smarter and wiser than to do something so clearly stupid and asking for trouble.

So then, who is it that's having these ships head this way and risk a serious military fiasco… Or perhaps this is political? It's possible, many politicians I've been around from the Alliance don't understand the consequences of unthoughtout military moves at all. They all usually claim freaking diplomatic immunity, which just means they get escorted out of the territory instead of chased out.

I personally wasn't excited or exactly happy like most others were at the news of the word that an advanced force was coming our way. Kira and Lacus were reacting with apprehension, not that I blame them. With what happened at Artemis, by their own accounts, the treatment they'd received had been more horrible than what is expected. And then, my previous experience with soldiers from the Earth Forces, wasn't the nicest from a sizable portion of them either. Oh but wait, there's still yet more to the current situation that most don't see or acknowledge, the ZAFT end of this situation.

I'm sure that Le Creuset is still hunting the Archangel, he has far too strong a reputation of being one that gets his quarry. I would bet that being in Federation territory won't slow him down, nor deter him really, so I can't see us meeting up with allied ships doing any better at getting the man to leave us alone. With that in mind, while others on the ship were relaxing and letting out sighs of relief, thinking we were safe, foolish as it is to do so with things as they are. I was working my butt and the rest of my body to the bone. Kira and Lacus quickly followed my example of keeping busy from the moment that we woke up, to when we returned to our quarters to sleep.

Kira and Lacus practically more than doubled their time they were spending in the simulator, and even I took time in the machine when I could to get some practice. We weren't the only ones who had the working mentality, Mu and Krystal were encouraging us to keep going. They both took turns in the simulator to keep up their skills, Hell, I gave them a pointer or two, along with writing a scenario for the simulator, that were far harder, but accurate of a battlefield. I could do okay with the scenario, but the others had great difficulty with it. Krystal had been the first to ask me where the heck I could've come up with such a simulation. I simply replied that it was a more realistic practice form, not saying that it was based on advance pilot training the Federation uses.

The zeal that we pilots were showing after hearing that we would be meeting up with the 8th orbital fleet's advance force, shortly began worrying quite a few people. I heard poorly hidden whispers from some that the five of us getting paranoid. The other thing that was a common subject was talk from some of the crew of how our job of protecting the ship was going to come to an end soon.

Not a single one of us let such mutterings phase any of us, we just kept to the grindstone. I know for myself, in this kind of situation, preparation is key and it has a tendency to pay off in spades if done right. So, I stuck to my view of preparing for the worst possible scenario and with Le Creuset, the worst case wasn't pleasant to contemplate. There were a few on board the Archangel that didn't see a problem with our actions, were the mechanics. It was nice to have at least some support us in what we do.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Approximately forty-seven hours after the initial contact, putting the time at around 0837 hours, the Archangel got close enough to make contact with allies. The Archangel establish direct video contact with the Montgomery, the lead ship of the advance force. On the bridge of the Archangel, the screen flashed and showed Mark Copman, the captain of the Montgomery.

" _Greetings captain, the arrival time at the rendezvous point with our fleet will be as scheduled,_ " said Mark Copman. " _Once we link up, the Archangel will come under the command of the Montgomery and we'll proceed together to the main fleet, which is waiting a distance ahead. You've almost made it captain, you've done well to get this far, going above and beyond the call of duty. So, all of us on the Montgomery, Bernard and Law wish you safe passage the rest of the way._ "

Murrue nodded gratefully, before she noticed that alongside captain Copman, there was a slightly older than middle aged man in a light brown suit. The man in the suit had dark brown hair and a healthy complexion and was sitting next to him in the flag chair. He moved forward a bit, " _Greetings I am Vice Minister George Allster, of the Atlantic Federation,_ " he introduced. " _I'd like to thank you for your initiative in managing the civilian rescue operations. It's people like those on board the Archangel that bring honor to the Earth Forces and Alliance. Oh, and one other thing. I was scanning the list of recently acquired passengers and, of course, you can imagine my surprise and delight at seeing the name of my daughter, Flay._ "

Murrue gasped slightly, for she'd known the name Allster had been familiar, but had been too busy and distracted to connect Flay to this man. It seemed that, besides saving a number of lives, the rescue of that lifeboat may have scored them points with Allster himself, which would be helpful to them. Particularly if they ran into trouble over the presence of three Coordinator volunteers amongst the crew. And that had been weighing on Murrue heavily as she hadn't been able to think of a way to justify the action had been done.

" _I'd be more than grateful if I could get even a glimpse of her,_ " continued Allster.

" _Vice Minister, you'll have plenty of time to see her when they join us,_ " remarked Copman.

"That's Flay's father," said Sai, smiling slightly to himself. "There's no doubt about it…"

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Kira, Lacus and I, were spending time down in the hanger, doing work on the mobile suits. Rumors of the Archangel making contact with the lead ship of the Alliance advance force, a Nelson-class by the name of Montgomery, had been quickly trickling down. There had also been something said to the effect that the Vice Foreign Minister of the Atlantic Federation was traveling on board that ship too. It could serve as an explanation as to why the Earth Alliance ships entering Federation territory without permission, politics think they are above the rules set to keep peace for some reason.

What had surprised me in the news, was when Kira had mentioned that Flay was the daughter of the Minister. Yes, I'd known that having the name of Allster, meant that Flay could be related to the man, but it didn't mean she absolutely was. I was kind of hoping she wasn't, since I haven't heard good things about the man. My mother had deal with the man and said he could be difficult to be around at times, especially with Coordinators.

Anyway, Kira and I were doing the fine tuning on the machines, and even though Lacus was there, she was more keeping us company. The pink-haired girl wasn't as tech savvy as Kira or I am, but her moral support is appreciated. However, that's not to say that Lacus didn't know how the OSs of the mobile suits worked, for she had proven to be a quick learner. She may be an idol singer, yet by what she said, a few years back she'd decided to attempt to tackle a number of additional subjects.

I can respect the wish to improve oneself, it's not the most common value to be held by people these days. The subject she'd chosen was computer programming, for the purpose of pursuing such as a possible career after singing passed. It shows that Lacus has foresight as she didn't she see herself singing for her entire life, even though she loved sing. Although, that wasn't why she'd originally started to expand her knowledge base in order to pursue the career path. It was more that Lacus herself wasn't going to let others make choices for her and she wasn't going to let one decisions dictate the rest of her life.

I can respect that, for I can understand the position. My mother had wished for me to go into politics like she was in. I hadn't been interested in the field she's in, though I respect her for how good she is in it. I'd ended the ongoing conversation, by enlisting in the Federation military and my mother had from then on, let me make my own choices.

Back to the present, Chief Murdoch floated to the catwalk that was across the Asuka, checking on how Kira was doing. I had been gaining a growing respect for the chief mechanic of the Archangel, was really a good guy. I kept working on the Shadow's system, but kept my ear open to listen, just in case there was something interesting said.

"Oh, I'm just making a few minor adjustments to match the off-set values," said Kira.

Murdoch laughed, gaining Kira's attention, "You just do what's needed," said Murdoch. "It's still your job till we've made it safely to the rendezvous point at the very least."

I'd a nagging feeling that things won't as simple or easy as just making it to the rendezvous point. Especially if, or rather when Rau Le Creuset decides to interfere and cause trouble and issues. The masked man wants another chance at taking down the Archangel, no question in that. I popped out of the Shadow's cockpit, "Thanks for not say that we're wasting time Chief, the sediment has been getting a tad annoying if you ask me." I commented.

"Sure McGregor, I can understand the reasons you probably have, we're still not with the fleet yet and until we are, ZAFT could still attack us. Plus," continued Murdoch, "We're not really sure what'll happen to the Asuka or the Shadow when we meet up with the Orbital Fleet. It's supposedly an Orb machine after all… I suppose you could always end up as its permanent pilot when you get back to Orb. No idea what will happen to the Shadow," remarked Murdoch laughing slightly at his joke as he pushed off.

"Birdee! Birdee!" chirped Tori.

I glanced over to see the green robotic bird and a small distance behind it, spotted a pink ball, "Lacus! Lacus! We have a problem!" called Haro as it seemed to be Tori's constant boon companion.

Haro was bouncing off what it could to reach its partner, which was unexpected by most of us. Kira tends to keep Tori with him, but having kept Tori in his or Lacus's quarters seemed to be the best way to keep Haro there and under control. Yet now, it would seem that putting those two robots together had backfired, though it more appeared that they were both restless with what was happening. Wonder if Athrun did something to make them like this?

Tori flew into the Asuka cockpit, looking towards Lacus, seeing her smile as Haro sailed and landed in her hands. Lacus paused for a moment, then opened her mouth:

 _Remember, on the day we decided to escape this despair,  
What lay before us was nothing but the passing wind?_

Lacus's singing voice echoed through the whole hangar, causing almost everyone to pause, listening. I pushed myself back into the Shadow's cockpit and was going to resume working on the OS, but had a smile on my face. It had been a while since I'd heard Lacus sing and the girl is really something when she sings!

 _The more feelings I have to convey, the more my words fumble.  
Unable to tell you anything, the truth is I live in uncertainty._

As Lacus sang, I couldn't help but pause and close my eyes and simply listen to the sweet sounds of my friend's voice. I stopped working and just leaned back into the pilot seat and listened to Lacus. Wouldn't doubt that Kira was doing something similar to what I was, he gets to hear Lacus singing more than I do. They've been friends with one another longer than I've been friends with the two of them.

 _If humans could somehow see tomorrow,  
Then we probably wouldn't have to live on our dreams._

Lacus trailed off for a moment, perhaps because it had been a bit of time since she had sung, I don't know. She resumed singing, and once she had, felt more at ease and relaxed than I had in weeks! There was just something about Lacus singing that could bring calm unlike most other means can.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Vesalius

"This is the projected course of the enemy ships," said Ades, the tactical board marking the course with a red line. "As you can see, given enough time, they will meet up with the legged ship."

"It's unfortunate that the Laconi and Porto teams are joining us later than scheduled," commented Le Creuset. "Thus far, the Federation seems to not be giving us any attention or notice, which works out for us right now. Those vessels may be there to resupply the legged ship and I'm betting they are. With that in mind, we certainly can't ignore them," the masked man smirked slightly, glancing at Athrun and the other pilots currently onboard. "Fortunately, the Gamow should be able to provide support, though they may be a little late to arrive before the battle starts."

"Yzak will probably be irritable over not being able to get back into the Duel," commented Athrun.

"Well, I think the humbling experience might do Yzak some good, wouldn't you agree Athrun?" said commander Le Creuset lightly. "Besides, the repairs on the Duel aren't complete just yet, are they?"

"The mechanics estimated another day, if not two to finish repairs on it," said Ades, "Adapting the parts is not easy. Regardless, the Duel cannot be fielded, and shouldn't be considered in any of our battle plans. Mr. Joule can and will live with it, or he can have some time in the brig to cool off instead."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

With all the 'joy' that was being felt at the contact with an advance part of the 8th Orbital Fleet, I decided to slip away and try getting some well-earned sleep. The keyword being 'trying', see there's a difficult for me to get good quality sleep with the things I've seen over the last few weeks. At least, I haven't gotten what a medical professional would consider proper sleep since the Archangel had scavenged around the ruins of Junius Seven. … Seeing the body of my younger sister and part of my dad… The images still haunt me.

Arrived back at the quarters I was using, I changed my clothes and just went over to the bed, closing my eyes. Even with the calm that Lacus's singing had brought to my mind, hours went by with me in a fitful sleep, that nightmares populated. Those nightmares involved images of Lana, and those would shift into my friends here on the Archangel, which made the nightmares worse. The 'sleep' or more the lack thereof was taking a toll on me, there were bags developing under my eyes and my face was starting to appear hollower than it should be. I'd been contemplating going to the doctor on the ship and asking for something that would help me get actual sleep, it was getting to that point.

A soft beeping brought me out of my fitful sleep, and upon turning towards the sound, which was coming from the desk in the room. More specifically, the source of the beeping was the Federation com-unit sitting on the said desk. Got myself out of the bed and went over to the desk and picked up the unit and held it up to my ear, "Yeah, it's me, what's going on?" I asked tiredly.

There was a pause before I heard the reply, " _You sound tired Tyler, there a reason?"_ Came the voice of Lisa.

"I don't want to talk about it, but yes, there's a reason. There one for you to call Lisa, I was trying to get some sleep since I was able to slip away and get some time to myself. I'm not doing so good at the sleeping, but still," I replied.

" _Well, I assume you know about the small group of Alliance ships coming towards the Archangel,_ " posed Lisa.

I was becoming increasingly irritable as I was tired and being prevented from sleeping right now, "Yeah, I do, many on board the ship are freaking excited about that to the point that their getting lax about things and they think that those of us busting our butts are nuts. What's your point Lisa? Is there some new development? Or did you wake me up for the fun of it… perhaps Luke put you up to this? He has shown that he enjoys pranking… just say that he told you to do this and I'll make him regret doing so." I answered flatly.

" _No, Luke didn't put me up to this. Yes, there's a new development and that's the point of me calling. It looks like two ZAFT vessels have entered Federation Space, a Laurasia-class and a Nazca-class. And they're heading in the direction of that small Earth Forces group."_ My friend remarked.

A ZAFT Laurasia and Nazca… That combination is unfortunately familiar, don't tell me that means that cunning trouble making man is making his move already. He had managed to shift blame off himself when evidence would convict and condemn him, so I expect him to make problems, just not yet! "Are you saying that Le Creuset has ignored bounds of territory and insists on continuing the hunt he started? Granted, I assume he would, but this is earlier than I thought he'd get on it," I uttered with frustration.

" _It's more than likely, taking into account that the man is known for bending the rules if not just ignoring them entirely. Can't be sure at this time, but thought you should know,"_ returned Lisa.

I exhaled heavily, "Thanks for the info Lisa, see you out on the field soon then." I said before severing the connection and putting the com-unit down on the desk.

I shook off the tiredness I felt and didn't hesitate after that, just got dressed as quickly as I could. Then I raced out of my quarters, heading in the direction of the pilot locker room then would go to the hanger.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Vesalius

" _Once again,_ _the commander shows that he has a real knack for sensing these things… Reaching the advance ships before the legged ship does, that's something,_ " commented one GINN pilot as his suit launched with a Logus 500mm bazooka.

" _Yeah, the commander does have that uncanny knack._ _Athrun, show us how that machine performs now that it's fully working,_ " said Miguel as he also launched, armed with a Barberus ion beam cannon.

"Yeah, sure thing Chris, Miguel," muttered Athrun in reply as he watched Miguel's GINN move into the catapult path equipped with the armaments. The GINN quickly shot out of the catapult, and Athrun followed a moment later in the Aegis.

Seeing the others ahead of him, Athrun shifted the Aegis into its mobile armor mode and quickly gained ground, intent on catching up. If the legged ship did enter the battle, then they'd need his Aegis there to even out the field since the Alliance vessel had multiple mobile suits. Athrun just hoped more than anything that his friend Tyler hadn't reached the Alliance vessel already. He really didn't want or wish to have to fight Tyler… or Kira for that matter if he was still on that Alliance ship like his friend had said he might be. The worry just wouldn't leave Athrun's mind as he made his way towards the target.

 **-Line Break-**

Earth Alliance Nelson-class Cruiser Montgomery

Klaxons blared as the enemy alert sounded throughout the entirety of the Montgomery.

"Hurry and deploy our mobile armors," ordered Copman calmly. "Load all missile and anti-beam depth charge tubes."

As he ordered this, the mobile armors detached and deployed away from the ships they were attached to. The Moebius armor, which was once considered a high-performance machine, especially during the early parts of the war. However, thanks to the invention and increased deployment of ZAFT's mobile suits, their enemy outmatched them a growing margin. On average, it took five Moebius armors to bring down just one GINN. Fortunately, although the Drake-class to which the Bernard and the Law belonged weren't normally built for carrying mobile armors, four had been strapped to the hull of each one and had now been deployed.

The Montgomery itself lacked linear catapults, but did carry five mobile armors of its own close to airlocks so the pilots could board their machines. Still, they were now effectively counting on the enemy being an average squadron with only two or three GINNs, maybe four if they managed to stretch things.

"Heat sources detected sir!" announced the Montgomery sensor officer. "Nazca-class has launched three mobile suits!" the officer paused as he took the time to identify the signals better, "Two of them are GINNs… The other… Is the X303-Aegis!"

Copman had heard and read the reports that ZAFT had stolen most of the prototype mobile suits, but there had been no information on which ones had and which one hadn't been taken. This would be the first encounter with one of the G-weapons as a foe. Copman was a veteran captain, so even he could see how grim things were for their Earth Forces group. Things didn't improve when Minister Allster came onto the bridge, looking all annoyed, "Now what's this all about?" he questioned. "How could you not have noticed the enemy ship until this moment? And the enemy is using one of our own prototypes against us?!"

Copman ignored him, political figures didn't usually understand how things went on the battlefield and likely never would. "Lower bow, pitch angle thirty degrees!" he ordered. "Turn to port, elevation angle negative fifteen degrees. Activate ship cannons and defensive systems and prepare for combat." As the Montgomeryinitiated the maneuver, Copman turned to look at his com-officer. "Send a message to the Archangel, tell them to withdraw at once!"

"Are you serious?" asked Allster, before he lost all the air of confidence and arrogance, "But then I…"

"There is't another choice in this situation," stated Copman.

The vice foreign minister seemed to be having a hard time processing what he was being told, "But if we don't meet up with them, then I came all the way here for nothing!" said Allster.

"If that ship ends up being destroyed," returned Copman, "then it'll have been for less than nothing."

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

"Increased heat distribution ahead," announced Kuzzey. "It looks like it's around where the advanced force is supposed to be, it looks like a battle is starting!"

"They're entering into a battle?" questioned Sai, glancing at Kuzzey's console.

"Dispatch from the Montgomery," Miriallia said as she was handling the communications station. She gasped at what she saw on her console. "The message reads: 'Canceling rendezvous. Archangel is ordered to leave the area at once and continue forward to the 8th fleet'!"

It took a few seconds for that to sink in for everyone, "Well captain, what are your orders?" asked Natarle.

"What's the enemy's battle strength?" asked Murrue, contemplating what options they had in this.

"A Nazca-class," said Kuzzey. "Yellow… two fifty-seven, mark… four zero two. That's all that can be detected for the moment," Kuzzey answered.

"It's more than likely that it's the Nazca-class we've been having to deal with," she said softly.

"Well then captain?" repeated Natarle. The battle, they knew, would unlikely go well for the advance fleet.

"But… remember who's on that ship," murmured Tolle, looking back from his seat at the copilot station. Everyone was silent, waiting for Murrue's answer.

"There's really no guarantee of us escaping," said Murrue at last, "even if we did withdraw and make a run for the rest of the fleet." She sat up straight, glancing around at her crew. "The last time," she continued, "we sought to avoid the enemy because we weren't ready. But I believe that this time will be different and so, I'm counting on all of you. Don't let me down."

Everyone gave her grim nods. Murrue returned the nod slightly, "All hands, level one battle stations!" she ordered, voice loud and clear. "The Archangel will provide backup for the advance fleet!"

"All hands, level one battle stations!" ordered Miriallia over the PA, in a tone that was unusually professional. "I repeat, all hands, level one battle stations!"

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

With the speed I was going down the corridors, you would think I was some sort of pinball in an old fashion pinball game machine. It took only a few minutes for me to reach the pilot locker room, since I took a less used route, so there was less people to slow me down. Wasted the least time possible in slipping into my pilot suit, yet as I was finishing adjusting it, the announcement to confirm the information that I already knew sounded. " _All hands, level one battle stations! Repeat, all hands level one battle stations!"_ came Miriallia's voice over the intercom system.

I finished up by clipping the neck clasp of my suit shut and then sped out of the locker room, going to the hanger. My hand sailed into the switch for the door, but didn't stop the momentum I had going forward and moved through the doorway. It'd been a little less than a minute since the announcement had come, and so, I got wide eyed stares from some of the mechanics. Chief Murdock was the first to find his voice, "What the… Have to say kid, you're sure quick! I mean, the call to battle stations came around a minute ago!"

I looked towards the man, but still kept going towards the Shadow, "No time for chit chat Chief Murdock! We've got company, get ready to send my suit out!" I commanded.

Coming to a stop in front of my mobile suit, I opened the access panel and input the sequence to open the cockpit. I pulled myself into the cockpit once it had opened, taking the time to adjust myself into the seat and buckling in. I flicked the switch to close the hatch and started the OS booting up, getting myself into the zone for serious fighting. Then, I felt the jerk of the Shadow being moved to one of the catapults and I got to thinking. I may dislike the methods that the leaders of the Earth Alliance employ more often than not, but that doesn't mean that members of the Earth Forces are all like that and deserve to die.

The Shadow's systems fully booted up and were ready to go by the time I came to launching position, even with the modifications that had been done. Most of the changes were done, would be considered minor by a number of people, but they were meant to streamline the suit's operation and that's what counted. The two major or at least noticeable changes for the Shadow, were with the shield and the mirage colloid feature.

The mirage colloid in itself, while it was quite a system on its own, isn't what I would consider to be finished or made to be the best it could be. Originally, it'd sucked down power at a heavy rate, limiting the length of time it could be used. The other side of that was a bad flaw of giving away its general location through heat from the thrusters of the propulsion. Now, the draw on the battery the Shadow had, was a great deal less, fixed through changing the energy distribution to the emitter network for the colloid. The flaw of giving away location, had been corrected by modifying the heat disbursal from the propulsion, so now the Shadow can truly be undetected with the implementation of mirage colloid. I was certainly looking forward to testing how good the mirage colloid could work now.

Meanwhile, the shield the Shadow is equipped with, is still the same basic shape and weight. However, the shield's top layer of metal had been replaced with a material that the Federation uses and produces called Zencium. The metal Zencium is an artificial material that's strong and is very hard to penetrate, it really takes a concentrated and high-energy beam to have much of a chance to get through this metal. Positron energy, I suppose in theory could get through, I would rather not find out how that would work myself. However, Zencium does have an amount more resistance than ZAFT mobile suits and Earth Forces mobile armors do against projectiles and other weapons in general. Add the top layer of the shield is coded with anti-beam coding to increase the defense against beam weapons, it's a wonderful package! The shield modification had taken the longest as it'd been stripped down, but now with the improvements done, the time spent will be well worth it, I feel it!

The Shadow came to a halt and then dropped into the linear track connectors in preparation for launch. There came a series of bangs that came from the air tight shutter closing from my right, suggesting that I was in the left catapult. I heard the sound of air being quickly drawn out of where I was, signaling the airlock was being depressurized in preparation to use the catapult. Shortly after the process finished, the outer door on the left 'leg' of the Archangel rose, revealing the stars. The electron acceleration rails came into place and extended out, then hummed into life. The launch signal appeared and I shot down the catapult and out of the Archangel. I flew towards the battlefield that was lighting up in the distance, activating my suit's mirage colloid shortly after coming out of the Archangel.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

When they heard the order, Kira and Lacus had practically flown out of their quarters and started up a mad dash for the hangar. "Kira, Lacus!" called a voice suddenly, giving them reason to pause.

They looked back to see Flay running up to them, "What's all this about going to battle stations?" she asked. "What happening to the advance fleet?"

"We, uh, have no idea," said Kira. "We don't know what's going on," he turned to leave, but Flay reached forward and grabbed the sleeve of Kira's uniform.

"It's… going to be okay, right?" asked Flay. "The vessel that my dad's on won't be destroyed, will it? Will it?" she repeated in a small tone.

"Everything will be alright, Flay," reassured Kira. "Lacus, Tyler and I… We'll all be there helping, okay?" With that, he ran off, Lacus on his tail.

They quickly put on their pilot suits and then went to the hangar. Mu was already boarding his Zero armor at the same time Krystal was getting into hers. Kira and Lacus upon entering the hanger, spotted both mobile armors moving to the catapults. The very next thing they both noticed was that Tyler's mobile suit, the Shadow, was missing from its dock.

"There you two are!" said Murdoch, standing next to the Strike cockpit. "You're late!"

"We're sorry, Mr. Murdoch!" said Lacus.

"Mr. Murdoch, has the Shadow already launched?" Asked Kira as both he and Lacus moved towards the Strike and the Asuka.

"The Shadow? Yeah it has, McGregor was in here around a minute after the order to battle stations came in his pilot suit. It was like he already knew what was going on… I can't say much with how that kid seems to know about things. But enough of that you two, get into your mobile suits and prepare to go out!" Replied the chief mechanic.

Both Lacus and Kira got into their respective machines, " _The enemies you're up against are the Nazca-class, two GINNs and the Aegis. Be on alert, as we have yet to spot the_ _Laurasia_ _-class,_ " said Miriallia. " _So_ , _be careful._ "

'Athrun _,'_ thought Lacus as the Strike was moved onto the starboard catapult. She had still not gotten around to telling Kira who the pilot of the Aegis likely was. Lacus hadn't figured out a good way to brake the subject to Kira.

" _Kira, Lacus, Flay's father is there with the advance fleet,_ " said Sai. " _Don't forget._ "

"Not to worry, we won't," said Kira, closing his helmet visor as the Asuka was moved to the catapult. "Le Creuset hasn't deployed yet. If we move fast, we can probably take out the GINNs before he launches."

" _Any additional weapons?_ " asked Miriallia as the Aile Striker was mounted on Lacus's machine in the starboard catapult.

"No," said Kira, "if Le Creuset intervenes, there would be too much chance of losing the equipment, and we can't afford that."

" _Understood Kira, Lacus, you are go for launch._ " Miriallia said to them.

"Kira Yamato, Asuka, let's do it!" he said, flying the Asuka out from the Archangel.

"Lacus Don, Strike, launching!" Lacus announced, leaving the ship.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Shortly after leaving the Archangel, I met up with my three teammates, who took up formation behind me so that I was in the lead. Luke was on the right side and Alan fell in on the left, while Lisa brought up the rear in the formation. " _Things aren't looking too good ahead mate, the Earth Forces are on the loosing end by what I see,"_ commented Luke.

" _There is a second Federation cruiser on its way and should be in range to assist in the next few minutes. Yet, I don't know how much will be left to help by that point,"_ spoke up Lisa.

"Then that's all the more reason to haul our rears over there and see what can be done." I said with an air of authority.

We sped up and quickly reached the battlefield and the view that we got didn't help improve the scene. The Alliance forces were sending thirteen mobile armors forward, which I applaud the effort and dedication they're showing. But honestly, they're going to be whipped and whipped good with the odds they have!

As if I needed more to enforce how things would play out, I looked over to see what ZAFT had coming to fight for them. On the point of mobile suits, there were two GINNs… And the Aegis just behind them. Luke's voice came over the com-line, bringing our attention to the Laurasia-class coming up from behind the Nazca, which was likely the Vesalius. From the Laurasia came the Blitz, the Buster and a third GINN, all heading towards the Alliance forces.

Without further hesitation, the four of us dove into the fray and began doing what we could to stop this battle from resulting with many deaths. Luke and Alan went for the three GINNs and began to do what they could to distract them from the Alliance ships. Lisa veered off to head at the Blitz and the Buster, which had to have taken some guts, but then Lisa is experienced at piloting. Plus, I think that she was letting me have the Aegis to myself and I needed to have a serious chat with Athrun about this crapshoot! I made a b-line for the Aegis, cause damn it, what's being done and going to be done on this field, is just wrong, whether Athrun is just following orders from Rau Le Creuset or he chose and agreed to this!

I switched from using mirage colloid to phase shift armor being up just as I came into striking range of the red mobile suit, with my shield in front of me. I slammed into the Aegis and pushed, making both of us tumble a bit before we righted ourselves. My actions brought the red machine's progress forward towards the Alliance forces to a halt. As the mobile suit faced me, I connected to a com-channel, "So then friend, you care to tell me how what is happening right here, right now can be justify? This interference that Rau Le Creuset is ordering is just as bad and ridiculous as those he did for Heliopolis. Doubt I need to tell you just how many treaties and agreements that he's either ignoring or blatantly disregarding starting this fight," I posed to one I called friend.

" _Tye,"_ uttered Athrun.

It wasn't that I was mad at Athrun, for I wasn't angry at him at all. I was more irritated and frustrated at his commander Rau Le Creuset for what he's doing and believing that there'll be no consequences for it. I can say that I'm gaining an understanding of why Federation High Command disliked Le Creuset as much as they do. The masked man is a frustrating pain in the rear with his disregard to the rules and treaties that stand and then worming his way out of punishment. "You haven't answered my question Athrun, how in the hell can you reason that this fight is okay?" I repeated to the blue haired ZAFT pilot.

Athrun was silent for a moment, before replying to me, " _I could ask you the same question Tyler McGregor!_ " He said, and at the same time rushing forward, the Aegis bringing its right arm downward at me with its beam saber ignited.

In response, I raised the Shadow's shield and blocked the saber, I growled a little from the downward force. "Really Athrun? Please tell me, what did Creuset say to wave off that this is taking place in Federation territory where ZAFT has no business coming into or permission to be? I'm really curious what kind of excuse he's got for this crap, or didn't he mention that point to you or your fellow pilots before hand?" I retorted. "But then, this is the same man that attacked a colony that belongs to a member nation of the Federation, just to get a shot at the Alliance. Thinking nothing of what danger that puts the citizens of the colony in, nor what effects his actions bring."

Shoving back and moving forward to force the Aegis to float back from me, I shot with my Igelstellungs. The fight grew more intense around the two of us as we fought, but neither of us took much notice. Athrun quickly got frustrated with me blocking him from getting around me and going after the Alliance forces. " _Get out of the way Tyler!_ " Athrun shot at me.

There was a flash of an explosion behind me, and as I blocked Athrun once again I caught a view of one of the Drake-class vessels fragment into debris. The number of mobile armors had been reduced by more than half within the couple of minutes that had gone by since my team and I had entered this battle. Then out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the Blitz was heading towards where Athrun and I were duking out our difference in views. Our mobile suits separated once more and the Blitz closed the rest of the distance, bringing its beam saber down on my shield. Athrun appeared to be having an internal conundrum, probably whether to help me or help his fellow pilot.

Suddenly something zoomed past us and a respectable distance and nicked one of the three GINNs. Another shot flew past us and this time nailed the GINN causing it to explode into a fireball. I shoved the Blitz back and gained some distance, turned slightly to see that the Archangel had arrived on the battlefield.

The Blitz changed direction and flew towards the second Drake-class vessel, which was in trouble as the Buster was firing at it at its leisure. I was about to pursue the black twin of my mobile suit, when the Aegis got in front of me, stopping me from chasing the Blitz. I tried to get around Athrun, much like he had been doing before with me. Our fight against each other resumed, neither of us gaining ground against the other. A white machine passed our skirmish behind Athrun, a CGUE type… Meaning that Rau Le Creuset was now on the battlefield. That seriously complicated things in this battle, which was already messy enough as it is.

However, I doubt Athrun was just going to let me past, even if I ask him nicely. Yet, it was my friend's voice that regain my attention, " _Why are you siding with the Alliance?! How can you do that after what they've done?!_ " Athrun shouted at me.

I was a tad taken aback at the accusation that was being put to me, "Wait what?! I'm stopping a senseless slaughter, that's not siding with the Earth Alliance!" I shot back.

" _You're protecting the Earth Forces!_ " stated Athrun.

I let out an irritated sigh, "No, I'm bringing a stop to an unnecessary fight as is the duty of a Federation pilot, it's what I do Athrun," I answered sharply.

Athrun is losing sight of what this is about, this battle is part of the vendetta of Rau Le Creuset and it has to stop! Nevertheless, Athrun didn't stop at my attempt to reason with him, " _With the Human Federation's famous neutrality, you should stay out of this! The Earth Alliance needs to pay for what they've done,_ " He got out.

…My friend has been spending too much time around his father and others of the same mind lately, that much is for sure. Is starting to sound much like them and that's horrible! The Athrun I know is so much better than that, to blame the Earth Alliance or more specifically Naturals for what's happening and has occurred. It worried me to hear Athrun, talking like he is right now, "Athrun, you pinning the blame on one large group and saying they're all evil is wrong! Hell, you're sounding like your father Athrun, and he's talking like those that belong to Blue Cosmos! Is that what you want? To be compared to scum like them?" I snapped back.

My snapped reply, silenced Athrun for a moment, " _That's not…_ "

That's all I heard from Athrun, before the Aegis transformed into it mobile armor mode and flew off towards the Nazca-class ZAFT vessel. The guilt of knowing that what I had just said to Athrun had hurt him washed over me. It had to be done, my friend had been blinding himself by the influences around him.

I glanced around to gage how the battle was going thus far, saw that the Alliance forces weren't doing well. However, the arrival of the Archangel with the Strike, Asuka and the two Moebius Zero armors had helped. Currently, Lieutenant La Flaga in his zero had engaged one of the two remaining GINNs and was doing decently. The blue zero, with assumedly Major McAlester piloting, was occupying the other GINN.

Mu deployed his gunbarrels to surrounded the GINN he was taking on and managed to damage one leg of the suit. Yet, the GINN brought the beam cannon it had to bear on the mobile armor and let lose a bolt from the weapon. Mu attempted to evade the shot, but the shot grazed the Zero, scoring a hit on the underside, missing the cockpit however, damaging the main thruster.

" _Damn it!_ " cursed Mu over the com-channel. " _I can't do much of anything, not like this._ " With the main thruster of his mobile armor out, Mu was forced to bring the gunbarrels back in and use them to limp back to the Archangel. Kira moved to cover the man's retreat.

After observing the scene that Mu La Flaga had experienced, I'd seen enough to know that this battle needed to end. And the best way that I can think of to do that is to focus on something specific. Tactically speaking, 'when you want your opponent's attention, then go for something they can't afford to ignore'! Mobile suits are effective and everything, but if their transport is out of the picture, there's no resupply, no repair, no switching out, end of story. Yet, that would be difficult for me to accomplish disabling the ZAFT vessels alone… it would really go a lot smoother if I've some help in this. "Hey Lisa, you hear me?" I asked over the channel the Federation uses.

" _Yes, what is it?"_ she replied.

"Well, I've an idea that I could use your help on," I began.

I gave a short explanation of what I had in mind. It was relatively simple, to get the ZAFT forces to leave, target their ships and disable them enough for them to either have to retreat or call back their mobile suits. Even Le Creuset can't afford to ignore his ships being at risk for very long without things going really bad for him. As I've said, there are a number in the Federation military that would like Le Creuset to disappear, I'm among that number as of a few weeks ago. With what the masked man had done to Heliopolis and the risk to its citizens he caused, then getting out of facing the consequences… I dislike those like him! So, I'm more than happy to make his day horrid and miserable, it will be a pleasure!

Once I had explained the plan I had, Lisa agree to help me. She headed in my direction, while I shut off the Shadow's Phase Shift in preparation to turn on the mirage colloid system. When Lisa met up with me and we set off towards the two ZAFT ships. The first target of the two ships, the destroyer that Creuset has been riding on.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Kira had finished covering Mu's retreat after his mobile armor had gotten damage, he was about to go and assist Lacus, who was fighting the Blitz. However, Kira got a particular feeling that was familiar and not in a good way. Reacting on instinct, he pulled the Asuka off his current course, managing to dodge the incoming fire from the silver CGUE of Rau Le Creuset. Kira quickly assessed the situation and knew he was in trouble. True, Kira had survived the previous encounters with the masked ZAFT Commander, but the man had more experience and skill that Kia himself did. Lacus was busy with the Blitz and Krystal was going against one of the remaining GINNs, meaning Kira was on his own.

Meanwhile, the Archangel was firing on both ZAFT vessels, but not too much affect, due to the interference and range. That's not to say the Archangel wasn't scoring a hit every now and then, yet it wasn't having the desired effect on ending the battle quickly. However, one good thing that was coming from the effort, was the Montgomery was now doing much better for itself. The cruiser didn't have any of their mobile armors left, but with allied forces assisting, the crew of the Alliance ship was beginning to hope that they would make it out of this battle alive.

That by no means meant Copman wouldn't scold Murrue for disobeying his orders to leave later, but he supposed that would be the extent of it. Yet, the hope and looking forward changed when one of the two GINNs managed to land a shot on a decidedly "inconvenient" location.

"Main turret's been hit!" announced the fire control officer.

"This is just intolerable!" exclaimed Allster. "What do your people think they're doing? Why can't they shoot down that single GINN?"

"Vice Minister," said Copman, turning to look at Allster, "Proceed to the lifepod."

"What?" asked Allster incredulously.

"You are on my ship and so, subject to my authority," said Copman authoritatively. "Proceed to the lifepod immediately. The Archangel will survive, so if the Montgomery is lost, they can at least retrieve you."

Allster stared at him in shock—despite his opinions, his own job and his criticisms of the Montgomery crew's inability to take down the lone GINN. Leaving the ship and leaving the crew here to die… didn't sit right with him.

"Vice Minister, that is an order!" commanded Copman. "This is just a precaution, you are more valuable than anyone else on this ship, so we mustbe ready if the worst should happen."

Slowly, Allster nodded, to Copman's relief. Truthfully, there was another reason for sending Allster to the lifepod. That was getting him out of Copman's hair so that he could focus on the battle. In this situation, the crew needed to focus, and the opinions of a civilian who'd never seen combat were a potentially fatal hindrance that could get people killed.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

While on route towards the opposing ships, I managed to catch a glimpse of the Asuka engaging a white CGUE type suit, likely with Le Creuset piloting. By what Kira has told me, it sounds like Rau Le Creuset has developed a worrisome interest in Kira. The other thing I saw was that the last remaining Alliance ship, the cruiser was having problems due to one of the two GINNs having a go at the ship.

If there were ever a time to turn the tide, it would be now! Thankfully, Lisa and I reached the area that the ZAFT destroyer was, despite the Archangel firing at the ship… not knowing that Lisa and I were going in that direction. But, now that Lisa and I are with in the distance one customarily takes potshots, I say why the hell not start shooting!

Lisa got on the right side of the ship and I moved to the left, once in those position, we commenced the before mentioned potshoting. I used my rifle to nail the beam cannon that was on the left side of the front section of the destroyer, disabling the cannon from being used. At the same time, I deactivated the Shadow's mirage colloid and switched the phase shift armor back on. Lisa meanwhile, damaged the ship's railgun on the right side as well as getting smoke to stream out of the ship around the railgun. We kept targeting the destroyer's weapons, one at a time, including the missile tubes.

The turning of the tide gained further momentum when the second Federation cruiser arrived and their fighters took the field. That team managed to get the GINN along with the Blitz and the Buster backing off. That didn't mean ZAFT forces left the field, but they were now forced on to the defensive. As I kept taking potshots at the destroyer, listened to the Federation com-channel and got to hear about how the crew of the Alliance ship was evacuated. That was good, as the Alliance vessel, with the beating it had sustained, ended out exploding.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Le Creuset grunted slightly as he was pressed into his seat by the sudden G-forces that came from him performing a quick dodge of the Asuka's vulcan gun. He soared back in, swinging his sword down on the Asuka. However, Kira managed to raise his shield to block the attack and counter with his beam saber. Creuset ducked under the slash and lashed out with a kick to the Asuka's mid-section, aiming specifically for the cockpit. That sent Kira tumbling back, before he recovered and retaliated with fire from the Igelstellungs in the Asuka's head.

"What an amazing mobile suit," muttered Le Creuset calmly as he pulled away, avoiding the shots and countering with his shield-vulcan.

The Asuka's phase shift armor blocked a few rounds, before Kira pulled out of the attack using the superior thrust of his mobile suit's flight system. The CGUE caught a few rounds on its shield, but was very quick to get out from under the barrage. Frustrated, Kira stored his beam saber and grabbed his rifle once more, activating his targeting computer. He quickly attempted to bring the cross hares over the CGUE, yet the machine was dancing about too quickly for him to get a solid lock for long enough to get a good shot. So, giving up on landing a hit with his skill level, Kira just pulled the trigger whenever he got close enough. As Tyler would often repeat to Kira, get your opponent to go away, then you don't have to kill them.

What Kira didn't realize, though, was that the G-forces Le Creuset was experiencing were beginning to build, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up, especially with how fragile his body was. Unfortunately for him, the building pressure caused him to mess up his maneuvers, and for just a second, Kira's targeting computer managed to line up a shot.

In an instant, a dart of white energy flashed across space and hit the CGUE right in the left shoulder joint, blasting the entire arm off and hitting the wing behind it. A few secondary explosions followed on the CGUE's torso in the area of the left shoulder. Le Creuset grunted, "You've improved quickly," he said. "I wonder how long you can keep it up for… Nemesis."

" _Commander! We're under attack by Federation forces! The Vesalius is taking heavy fire!_ " said Ades, his voice strained.

"Their response time is impeccable, I'll give them that. I understand Ades, I'm withdrawing and returning to the ship!"

Creuset shot back at the winged suit and then retreated back towards the Vesalius. Even from a distance, the damage done was apparent and it wasn't nice. However, along the way, Creuset came across, of all things, the odd black mobile suit that he had faced at Heliopolis. The machines pointed its beam rifle at Creuset's CGUE, " _How funny the whims of fate are, that our paths should cross again so soon Le Creuset,_ " said a young male voice over an open com-channel.

Rau Le Creuset recognized the voice, even if he hadn't though he would have heard it so soon again, "Mr. McGregor, fancy meeting you on this battlefield, the whims of fate are indeed interesting. One would question what a Federation pilot like yourself would be doing helping out the Earth Alliance," responded Creuset.

" _You seem to have forgotten a rather important fact in this situation Rau Le Creuset,_ " Tyler shot back flatly, " _You're in Federation space currently, and bending the rules for one's own reasons or vendettas isn't acceptable with the Federation as it sometimes can be with ZAFT._ "

The Shadow shifted its beam rifle to point directly at the cockpit of the CGUE, which Creuset didn't miss. " _So, move along Le Creuset, or else you better start asking yourself just how far your luck will be able to get you. I wouldn't doubt you of all ZAFT commanders, know what the standard response if for intruders that enter Federation territory without permission are Le Creuset, do keep that in mind._ " Tyler said emotionlessly.

Le Creuset knew that as things stood, the risks were high were he to engage Tyler McGregor and this black mobile suit. So, he flew past the Shadow towards his ship and said nothing more.

The Shadow along with the Delta Fighter with him, traveled back to the battlefield as there were still two GINNs and the Buster and Blitz to deal with. Upon arriving near the Archangel, they saw that the Strike was going against the Blitz, while the Asuka was dancing with the Buster and the two GINNs were dealing with the Federation fighters, with Alan and Luke in front. Lisa flew her fighter went off to join up with Alan and Luke. Tyler activated the Shadow's mirage colloid to disappeared from sight and moved unseen to be behind the Blitz.

The Blitz was concentrating on the Strike, so when something grabbed the mobile suit from behind, Nicol jumped. When he looked back to see what was going on, he felt real shock at seeing the black mobile suit there that looked close to the same as his own mobile suit, the one from the reports from Heliopolis. The machine had come out of nowhere, no warning, nothing on any sensors, not even the Blitz's mirage colloid could do that task so completely! Nicol was forced to struggle out of the hold and retreat from the two enemy mobile suits, still left worried by the sudden appearance of the black mobile suit and what that could potentially mean.

As ZAFT fell back from the battle, the Shadow looked over at the Asuka, " _Hey Kira, you okay in there?_ " Tyler asked kindly. He had already hurt Athrun today, and Tyler didn't want to do such to both of his best friends in one day.

Kira didn't respond to Tyler for a little while, but he did reply, " _We failed…"_ Kira uttered.

Tyler felt baffled, " _Um, excuse me?_ " He muttered, not knowing what else to say as he didn't understand what Kira was talking about.

" _Kira, it wasn't your fault,"_ reassured Lacus.

Tyler noted the signs that something was off, " _Either of you mind cluing me in on what you're talking about that has both of you in such a state as you are in,_ " he requested.

" _The Montgomery… was destroyed,"_ said Lacus.

Tyler considered what Lacus said for a moment, "You mean the Alliance Nelson-class cruiser?" He inquired.

" _Yes, that one… we promised someone that we wouldn't let that happen, yet we failed,"_ Lacus finished.

It was from that, that Tyler began comprehending what the issue might be in this. Tyler of couse knew that the crew of the Nelson-class had been evacuated before the ship was destroyed. However, the Federation had done that without being seen, so there would be few outside of the Federation that would know. Tyler was about to inform both of his friends of the fact, but then a signal was picked up by the Shadow's sensors. It took him a couple of seconds to identify the signal and found to my surprise that it was the beacon from a lifepod. Tyler glanced back to see that Lacus was getting Kira to head back to the Archangel. That made Tyler realize that neither of them had noticed or picked up the signal from the lifepod. So Tyler, being who he was, flew off in the direction of the lifepod and after a minute of traveling, he located the small pod. The Shadow gently grabbed the pod and then began the journey back towards the Archangel, Tyler just hoped that he wasn't bringing a problem back with him.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

Both the Strike and the Asuka were moved into the hanger, just after the blue zero armor was taken in. After being put into the mobile suit docks, Kira and Lacus exited their cockpits, before heading towards the locker room in a very somber mood. However, Lacus stopped halfway across the hanger, looking around the large room, "Kira, where's Tye?" she asked.

Kira came to a halt and also scanned around the hanger, pausing on the empty dock where the Shadow would normally be. Then shifted between both sets of airtight shutters that led to the catapults, which were closed for the moment. Seeing this, mystified Kira, for Tyler had been behind both Lacus and himself, "I thought he was right behind us," muttered Kira, before he shook his head. "He's probably coming in as we speak Lacus."

The two teens continued to the pilot locker room while, on the Archangel's bridge, clean up from the battle was being seen to. "The Strike and Asuka have returned," reported Miriallia.

Murrue acknowledged the report, reviewing over how things had come out, for the battle had ended badly by pretty much all accounts. Even with the Archangel had come back to help, in hopes of saving lives, they had failed to stop the destruction of the advance force. Murrue was lost in thought, when Miriallia spoke up again, "Um ma'am, the Shadow is approaching the right catapult, but it seems to be carrying something," she said hesitantly.

Murrue glanced down to the CIC at hearing the Shadow was 'carrying something'. "Carrying something?" asked Murrue.

Natarle felt a growingly familiar irritation, Tyler McGregor had been blatantly ignoring orders and mission guidelines and it had irked Natarle. She got on the com-channel that was connected the mobile suit in question herself, ready to reprimand the pilot! "X209 Shadow, what the hell are you thinking?! Let go of whatever you're carrying and return immediately," she commanded.

There was an interval of static and crackling, before Tyler's voice came and all on the bridge heard him. " _Let go of… so, you're telling me that I should just chuck this Alliance lifepod back out to space and pretend that I didn't find it at all?! To not take into account that there is likely someone in it and what they have gone through? Is that what I'm hearing from you, Acting Vice Captain!?"_ replied Tyler with an incredulous tone. _"Goodness Gracious, I've been around a some mean, tight uniformed officers before, but just how heartless can you be woman?!"_ Tyler paused for a moment, _"I recommend that whomever is at the controls to operate the catapults makes sure to keep the right one open for me to come in, and then, have someone around that can open this pod. It's coming into the Archangel with me regardless whatever anyone else says, shut up and accept that. Any of the commanding officers that wish to argue or reprimand me, can feel free to do so later, should any of you need of something to do and feel inclined to waste the time. For I guarantee that I won't be listening, but if that's how some of you get your kicks, more power to you I guess."_

By the time Tyler had finished, Natarle was fully ready reprimand the teenager for the insubordination he was showing and get as close as she could to court marshaling him! The young man had not only called Natarle heartless, but he was completely ignoring the order he had been given once again! However, Murrue cut in before Natarle could give Tyler a piece of her mind, "Ensign Badgiruel, it's clear he doesn't intend to leave the pod, and if it really is an Alliance lifepod as Tyler says it is, then we may have a survivor of one of the ships' destruction."

Natarle exhaled at having to accept it, she still planned to tell Mr. McGregor how unwise his blatant disregard for orders was later. "Understood Captain, you're right," she returned.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

When I came into the catapult, I waited for the outer door to close and the airtight shutters to open once the pressure cycling is complete. Although, I must say, it had been quite something listening to Natarle Badgiruel, it's one of the more sorrier displays I've seen from her. I mean, telling me to 'let go of whatever I was carrying'… it's like she thinks I'll pick up random junk or something! If the woman that was second in command of this ship didn't already understand, I follow the orders that I see reason to, not every single little ridiculous command I get told! She's certain among the some of the meaner tight uniformed officers I've been around, can't say where she would exactly rank on the list though.

I switched off the phase shift armor to conserve power and just because I didn't need the system running anyways. The shutters into the main hanger area slid open after around thirty seconds and I moved my mobile suit in. Yet, what caught the attention of most in the hanger, was the pod I brought in with me, just hope they have someone that can open it. I set the pod down on the hanger floor, before I moved towards the dock the Shadow usually occupied. Once in the dock itself, one of the mechanics toggled the controls to lock my machine into the cage, I unbuckled the restraints that held me in.

I opened the hatch and pushed my body forward, sailing out of the cockpit and into the hanger itself. As I floated along, I removed my helmet, before glancing around to take in what was going on in the hanger. Now that the battle was over, I couldn't help the wave of relief that washed over me for no matter the results, it was over. "Whoo, thank God that mess is over and done with, was not nice out there really at all," I said out loud, mostly to myself.

"Hey Tyler!" came the voice of Chief Murdoch.

I turned my body to face the source of the voice and saw Chief Murdoch. I was about to ask him what I could do for him, then realized that I'd dropped the pod smack dab in the middle of the hanger, in the way of most all else. I gave the man an apologetic expression, "Oh, sorry for putting that pod in the middle of the hanger, I didn't exactly know where to set it down. I hope you have the means to pop it open chief," I returned, opening the collar of my pilot suit.

There were already a couple of mechanics that were bringing over equipment, which I assume was to open the pod. I stopped my forward momentum, and watched as the mechanics worked on the pod. Shortly after the stuff was connected, there was a hiss from the pod and a hatch snapped open, followed by a man coming out of the pod itself. "That was close," he muttered. "But… I can't believe we lost Copman… with all of this."

I made my way over to the man, "So then, there was someone in this pod. Good thing I picked it up then," I remarked coming to a stop in front of him.

The man turned to me, "You brought the lifepod in?" he asked.

I smiled and nodded, "Yes sir, I did indeed. I do hope you didn't get bumped around too much in there along the ride, if so, my apologies. My name is Tyler McGregor, and whom did I help out, if I might ask?"

The man smiled a bit, "No, thank you for carrying the pod Mr. McGregor, my name is George Allster," he answered.

"Well then, since you're on board now, let's get you to the captain and go on from there, shall we?" I suggested, putting the diplomacy skills that my mother drilled into me when I was young to use.

Minister Allster agreed with me and so I guided him out of the hanger. However, I never did make it to the bridge, as we bumped into a group on our way. Said group consisted of Kira, Lacus, Sai and Flay, Sai looking to be trying to comfort Flay. I was about to speak up and greet them when the Vice Minister recognized his daughter, "Flay!"

The group turned in our direction and Flay instantly locked her gaze on her father, "Daddy!" cried Flay, tears of joy leaving a trail behind her as she pushed herself down towards her father.

"Flay!" exclaimed Allster, wrapping his arms around Flay as she crashed into him.

I couldn't help the small smile that formed on my face, at seeing the reuniting of father and daughter. But that made me wonder a bit, my mother had said that George Allster could be difficult to be around and get along with. I haven't seen anything that would lend credence to such a description and I know my mother is an accurate judge of people.

Kira and Lacus came over to me, looking to be in a far better mood than when I'd talked to them a little while ago. I acknowledged them as I kept watching the scene in front of me, "You're okay…" sobbed Flay, clinging to her father's suit. "Just like he promised," she smiled and turned slightly to look at where Kira, Lacus and I were watching from.

"Thank you Kira!" called Flay, to which Kira smiled slightly. "You too Lacus and you Tyler. My father is still alive because of all of you!"

Kira nodded in modestly in acceptance of the gratitude, while I smiled, "You're quite welcome Flay, glad to be able to help your father," I said.

"Don't worry about it," replied Lacus, which I can understand, she would likely be just as happy if her father was save from a similar situation.

Minister Allster gained a confused look, "Flay, who are they?" he asked, pointing to Kira and Lacus. He already knew who I was as I'd introduced myself to him when he came out of the pod.

Flay smiled at him, I believe not seeing the slightly suspicious expression that was among the confusion, "Kira Yamato, Tyler McGregor and Lacus Don," she said. "They're volunteers from Heliopolis and they were piloting the mobile suits out there."

Shock replaced the confusion upon Allster's face, "What? A couple of kids did that?" he murmured. "How though, they're only civilians and yet, they did that? Even trained soldiers should've had difficulty… even I know that."

The lines that Vice Minister Allster just muttered worry me, for they were going towards what my mother described to me. The man had seemed like a reasonable man when I'd talked with him before we had come upon the group. It also matched what I'd heard about the man, from information within the profile the Federation had on him. However, the fact that my mom had mentioned, was that Allster didn't like Coordinators and said as much. Then I can be mistaken for being a year or a little older than I really am by some.

"They learn quick," replied Flay.

"But, to put children in mobile suits," started Allster.

"They were the only ones," said Flay softly, looking down. "Only Coordinators could operate those machines…"

And so, now we'll see just how much he is against Coordinators… "What?! Coordinators?!" said Allster, shocked. He glanced up at us, eyes focusing briefly on Lacus's distinctive hair, then over at Kira and I, before going down to Flay, shaking his head. Odd, he didn't appear to have any problem with me when we had introduced ourselves before, but he hadn't known I was a Coordinator.

"Come on, Flay, I think we should talk," he said "I can meet with the captain later…"

Flay nodded, looking confused but she followed her father as he went, leaving those of us here just standing where we were. Mu and Krystal came up from behind us and looked at the scene, Kira was the first to break the silence, "But… shouldn't he be meeting the captain first?"

"Yes, that's normally what happens with one in politics coming on board a ship, heck that's where we were heading before we bumped into all of you," I said warily.

"Yeah, Tyler is right, Vice Minister Allster should see the captain first," said Mu, frowning. "I don't like this…"

"You're not the only one that has a bad feeling about his Mu," remarked Krystal.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Gamow

About thirty minutes had passed since the battle with the Alliance, in which ZAFT had been forced in the end to retreat. The Gamow had caught up with the Vesalius and those on the Gamow had been more than surprised to find the Nazca-class damaged like it was. Yzak himself, was more than a little irritated at the sight, "So, let me get this straight," he said, staring at the Gamow's display screen, containing his fury and consternation. "Not only did you fail to do anything to the legged ship, but the mobile suit that was in the report about back at Heliopolis that is similar to the Blitz, reappeared and disarmed the Vesalius?"

" _That's partly true, we didn't manage to do damage to the legged ship and it was the Blitz look-a-like did disable the weapons of the Vesalius however, there was also a Federation fighter assisting in that damage,_ " said Athrun calmly, ignoring Yzak's temper which was showing.

The damage to the Le Creuset Team's flagship was extensive, as most of its weapon systems had become unusable. Clearly, that they wouldn't be able participate in the next battle, so Le Creuset scheduled a rendezvous with the Gamow a distance away from where the battle with the Alliance had taken place. Once the meeting had occurred, the Aegis was transferred to the Gamow, while the one GINN left, which was Miguel Aiman's stayed on the Vesalius. Engineers began the repairs to both ships, though the main focus was on the destroyer as it had the most damage.

" _Yzak, the enemy warship possessed far greater combat capability than we had anticipated,_ " said Le Creuset simply. " _The two mobile suits, are showing themselves to be very skilled. Add to that, the two mobile armor pilots who are known to be good and capable of taking on mobile suits by themselves. Then their pilots are improving a great deal between each battle, no doubt the work of the Hawk of Endymion and the Lunar Peregrine. None of them are repeating any amateur mistakes from the first few encounters we've had with them. Then, the reappearance of the second unknown mobile suit from Heliopolis changed a number of things. Finally, with the untimely appearance of Federation forces, the outcome was predicable in the end._ "

Yzak was silent with his commander's assessment, for even Yzak had to admit that Le Creuset had a point. That black suit that was like the Blitz appearing had been unexpected, and though Yzak hadn't faced it himself so he couldn't say much about it. But, by what he'd seen, the pilot was either very lucky, very frequently, or they weren't a novice at using the machine really at all. Then Federation military forces popping up… well, they always made things more difficult for ZAFT, the Earth Alliance or both. Then in respect of the enemy pilots, whether they were just good at getting lucky or it was their skill, was uncertain, Yzak leaned towards the former. What irked him, was Creuset saying that the winged suit's and the Strike's pilots were improving a sizable margin.

Le Creuset turned his attention away from those communicating from the Gamow, probably listening to a damage report before looking back to the camera. " _When you catch up to the legged ship, you are to do what you can to slow them down, preferably destroy them. The Gamow should be able to put up a sufficient barrage to keep the enemy warship preoccupied, so that the mobile suits can finish it in theory. The key to success will be how well you can keep the three enemy mobile suits and mobile armors. How you do this, will be up to all of you, methods and means don't matter to me in this as long as the results are obtained. The one piece of advice to all of you is not to underestimated that ship or the mobile weapons it carries, nor those who use them,_ " finished Le Creuset.

" _Sound reasoning commander, with how much damage the Vesalius took in the battle, it won't be able to actively participate in future battles without reaching dry-dock or have a full repair crew. However, if the Gamow doesn't go on alone, there's too great a chance that the legged ship will rendezvous with a large number of reinforcements. Then we'll have to wait for reinforcements of our own before even attempting to do something about them,_ " remarked Nicol.

" _Nicol is quite right, and it's good to see that at least one of you is looking ahead to see what could happen,_ " said Commander Le Creuset. " _Very well then, I'll leave the mission of hunting the legged ship in the four of your capable hands. And Yzak Joule… do try to avoid another incident like the last battle you used the Duel in. I'm well aware of your over eagerness, and though I appreciate your determination in completing a mission, show restraint. The lack of restraint nearly cost you your life last time, even if you got out of it with only a damaged mobile suit to show for it. Such insubordination cannot be allowed to continue, even if it is from the son of Ezalia Joule. Do I make myself clear?_ "

"Yes sir, crystal clear," said Yzak through grit teeth, swallowing his pride. Le Creuset nodded at the response, " _Dearka, the same applies for you as well, do not be recklessly gung-ho. Nicol and Athrun, I'll be counting on you both to make sure that your hotheaded companions exercise restraint and keep their attitudes and pride in line,_ " Le Creuset stated before severing the transmission before any could say anything else.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **That's where I'll end the chapter, no change in that. Please take the time to write a review or PM me and tell me what you think of this story. Peace out, until next time!**


	8. Phase 8: Approach to the Earth Sphere

**A/n**

 **Here's Phase 8, hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Phase 8: Approach to the Earth Sphere

February 9th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

The tension that had been left once George Allster exited the room, quickly lessened, "You three really outdid yourselves out there, you know that, right?" said Sai, smiling as he and the other volunteers crowded around Tyler, Kira and Lacus in the mess hall.

"N-no, not really," said Kira. "We still lost the advance fleet…"

"And all Kira and I did was to keep the ZAFT forces occupied," added Lacus. "If anyone outdid themselves back there, then it was you guys… the Archangel and her crew were the real heroes this time."

I snorted, "I do believe we all need to give ourselves a pat on the back for a job well-done. Kira and Lacus, you need to quit being extremely modest, good a quality though it is, there's a time and a place and this isn't it. So, give yourselves some credit in what you did out there," I said, putting in my two cents.

"Says the one who was the first out on the battlefield and struck the enemy ship directly," put in Krystal.

I shrugged, scratching my head, "I did just say that all of us should be patting ourselves on the back, did I not? As for me, I was just doing what is needed to save lives, that's my story and I'm sticking to it," I answered.

While I'd been giving my reply, Tolle and Miriallia entered the mess hall, "Hey everyone, glad the battle is over, all of us did awesome!" he said.

Turned to Tolle, "Well said Tolle, true indeed. We all did extremely good with the circumstances," I remarked.

"Well, how could we really do any less after Captain Ramius said that she believed in us and was counting on us?" asked Tolle, trying to further lighten the mood. "I mean, how could you live with yourself if you failed to live up to expectations given like _that_?"

The other bridge volunteers chuckled, which made me wonder just what Murrue Ramius had said to motivate them. "And you shouldn't be so hard on yourselves," said Sai. He'd turned to face Kira, Lacus and I, "We all saw what the ZAFT forces were doing when we arrived. Kira, you managed to beat Le Creuset, and Tye… you were taking on the Aegis and for a bit were fending off the Blitz at the same time. Still, through it all, you managed to save Flay's father. We may have lost the rest of the advance fleet, but you gave them a far greater chance than they would've had otherwise. If we'd gotten there sooner… well, maybe you could've done more. But you did the best that you could under the circumstances, right?"

Kira smiled, "Thanks, Sai."

"But," said Tolle, "I wonder what it is that Mr. Allster wanted to talk to Flay about? It sounded like he was awfully intent on talking to her before meeting with the captain. Even if she is his daughter, I'd expect a vice minister to place work a bit beyond that in this situation."

"Probably just because Flay was already here," said Miriallia, trailing off.

"I think most, if not all of us know that's not the reason the Vice Foreign Minister is having a private talk with his daughter," I commented. Yet, I stopped when Flay entered the mess hall, her eyes downcast, expression unreadable, her head hung uncertainly.

Every one of us could see that the girl was in a gloomy mood, was kind of hard not to see it, "Uh, Flay? What's wrong?" asked Sai.

"Huh?" said Flay, looking up and glancing around, as though only just realizing where she was.

Then she caught sight of Kira and Lacus, and looked away, "My… my dad, he," she tried saying uncertainly, but was having the trouble finding the words I think. "He… isn't happy. He's actually pretty angry, about," Flay bit her lip nervously. "He hates Coordinators," she finally breathed, her words causing all of us to stiffen slightly.

Lacus had never really gotten along with Flay at first, mostly stemming from Flay's obvious dislike/discomfort around the rosette. But ever since what went down at Artemis, the two had become somewhat tentative friends by what I'd seen.

"It's so… ugh… it's so stupid!" said Flay, startling everyone. "I mean, you saved his life, you've protected the people on this ship, and he's gone off to the captain to complain about you, and is telling me to stay away from you and… it's so frustrating!"

This was a reaction that none of us had expected, even me. Flay had shown herself as someone that has at least a slight problem with Coordinators in general. Her father had displayed much stronger signs of being against Coordinators and I had assumed that it had been passed on to Flay herself, but apparently, that's not entirely true. This also showed that like she tends to be, my mother is an amazingly accurate at seeing how people are. I know by now, that doubting her doesn't do much anymore.

"Um," said Lacus, drawing Flay's attention, "You don't… you don't have to argue with him, or anything." Lacus cast her gaze down as everyone looked at her, "Not over us… you shouldn't…"

"Look at me," said Flay sharply, walking over and slamming her open hand on the table in front of Lacus, startling the rosette, who did as she was told.

"The two of you are my friends!" said Flay. "It doesn't matter if you're Coordinators, or Naturals, or Hybrid! So what if I might think it's wrong to have your genes modified, that doesn't change the fact that you two are my friends. That's something that has nothing to do with genetic modifications and without those changes, you wouldn't be able to protect us. All of us would be dead by now, and if my father can't appreciate that fact and blows up at me over who I choose as my friends, then I can be as angry with him as I want!"

I like everyone else, sat frozen, as we all stared in astonishment at Flay and how she was acting. The girl had completely transformed from the spoiled girl I'd been told about and had come to know. She was becoming an honest teenage girl who would stick up for those she considered friends, even against her own father. Put simply, Flay was growing up and it was showing very promising possibilities. My hands came up and came together in the action of clapping and that broke the silence and had everyone looking at me, "Now this is a healthy change, hope you keep it up Flay. It takes courage to stand up and say that the views that you're taught are wrong," I said.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Murrue wasn't sorry in the slightest to see Minister Allster leave as he was escorted out of her quarters. The man had been extremely different that Murrue or anyone else had thought he would be. The things that Allster had said, had been beyond rude and mean and had been about people that he didn't know. Not only had he shown he had a heavy dislike of Coordinators, but also had made his dislike vocal in such a way to leave no doubt what he thought.

The sound of both Mu and Natarle sighing in relief with the absence of Minister Allster, resinated with her. The man's obvious bigotry had begun to wear even Natarle's strong military discipline and patience thin. And with Natarle's upbringing, it gave her astounding patience and discipline she had shown.

Natarle fully acknowledged that the Coordinator pilots were the major reason if not the only reason, the Archangel had made it this far. While she'd had some reservations about them at first, since they were civilians who shouldn't be in this situation, Natarle herself had nothing against Coordinators personally as she didn't see what difference genes made. She'd come to trust Kira and Lacus with the safety of the entire ship. And even she had been coming to trust Tyler with that, regardless of the teen having a way of getting under her skin, unlike any other member of the crew.

Mu was the first to speak his mind out of the three in the room, "Well, at least that guy's out of our hair for now," he said. "Man, can you say stupid and stubborn? I mean, come on, if it weren't for those 'untrustworthy, filthy, monstrous Coordinators' who fought against ZAFT out there, he'd be lucky to be more than space dust. Heck, the Vice Foreign Minister would be still floating in that lifepod out in space, if Tyler hadn't picked up the beacon's signal and retrieved the pod… I'm starting to kind of wish he hadn't after having to listen to the guy during his rant."

"Agreed, but there's nothing we can do to change his opinion," said Murrue. "Fortunately, he's only a civilian, an influential one true, but he can't stop us from sending any of them out to protect the ship if ZAFT hits us again." She let out a sigh, "And here I was hoping that rescuing his daughter would have him give us his support if anyone wanted to make something out of our three pilots being Coordinators. But apparently, it will be the opposite, we'll just have to deal with it."

 **-Line Break-**

The Vesalius

Two days went by and the repairs were coming along for the Vesalius, there were still more to go, but it was progress. However, then there was a message received that changed things, "Commander Le Creuset, we've received a dispatch from the Homeland addressed specifically to you," said the com-officer.

Le Creuset looked up from the tactical board, where he'd been reviewing footage of the battle, and nodded slightly. "Very well, who is it from and what does it say?" he asked.

Creuset was kind of curious as to whom it would be wanting to talk to him at this point. "It's from Admiral Treize sir," answered the com-officer.

Commander Le Creuset and captain Ades froze at hearing the sender of the message. Le Creuset had previous run-ins with the man and knew this couldn't be ignored. Lanus Treize, the man who was the overall leader of the ZAFT military when it came to movement and deployment of forces as ZAFT's best tactician. He may technically be asked to report to the National Defense Committee, but unofficially, he did whatever he saw fit to and the committee could only suggest actions. In person, he came off as very well-mannered and respectable and was hard to not like. People that were in his presence, would either like him or be wary of him. Treize had no official rank, but he was treated as an "Admiral" within ZAFT, the respect he got from others, made it appear that he had more authority than he his rank gave.

"It says, until further notice, we will be under the command of the Black Zephyr. She has been dispatched from the Homeland to take command of the pursuit of the Earth Forces new warship," the com-officer read.

Le Creuset bit back a curse, ' _Damn you Treize! Of all the ones you could send, do you have to pick her?!'_ "The Black Zephyr? Honestly, I'd been hoping to avoid working with her again. She isn't nice or easy to work with, and she's worse with me specifically," said Le Creuset to himself quietly. The masked commander then returned his attention to those in the room, "Very well, send a return message that we acknowledge, and will place ourselves at the Black Zephyr's disposal when she arrives."

"Yes sir," replied the officer.

The feel on the bridge and shortly the whole ship, gained a fearful tone to it, at knowing that the ZAFT Champion, the Black Zephyr. All of them had heard about her before now, and the fear of her was common between them.

 **-Line Break-**

The Gamow

Three and a half days went by since the pursuit of the legged ship had started and though they had made progress at closing the distance, there was still a distance to go. Now the pilots on board the ZAFT vessel, were gathered around the tactical table display, deciding what tactics to use to obtain the goal assigned them. "Granted, it's possible to catch up to our target before they join the Alliance's 8th Orbital Fleet," admitted Nicol in a reserved tone, studying the data displayed, "But even were we to use that opportunity, we'd only have ten minutes at best, before we are within firing range of the fleet. And as for me, I'd rather not see or experience what it's like trying to dodge the firepower a full Alliance orbital fleet has to work with in only a mobile suit. Especially, not the one that is said to be one of the strongest and have a tactician that can out do a number within ZAFT."

The four stolen machine pilots of the Le Creuset Team, had been using the last three days and almost another to come up with a plan. In fact, they started upon separating from the Vesalius and going after the legged ship. With the Vesalius unable to continue for the time being, the Gamow had gone ahead however, with its inferior speed meant that it had taken very close to three days to come into even a somewhat close range of the Earth Forces' warship.

"You mean we'd have a full ten minutes," said Dearka smugly.

"I would suggest the cowards keep their traps shut," said Yzak condescendingly, "before you say something embarrassing

Nicol stood his ground and his eyes narrowed, "There are five dangerous faults which may affect a solider of any rank," said Nicol calmly, but he was staring rather pointedly at Yzak. "Here are the three that affect you Yzak: recklessness, which leads to self-destruction, a hasty temper, which can be provoked by insults, and lastly, a sense of honor and pride that are sensitive to shame." Nicol turned his attention back to the tactical board while everyone else stared at him in shock. "It's no wonder you scored so poorly in command abilities." Nicol finished.

' _If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him.'_ Nicol thought to himself as he observed his comrade's reaction.

As Nicol expected, Yzak nearly flew off the handle at that, but Dearka held him back to keep him from completely losing it. Nicol had a bit of a point and most on the bridge knew it, even if they didn't want to admit it. Between the pilots there were from the start of this campaign, out of the ZAFT reds that had been on this mission from the outset, including Rusty, Yzak had scored the worst in command capabilities tests. Athrun had scored the highest, only very narrowly beating out Nicol for best in their academic class. However, it seemed at times like Nicol had taken the lessons from the Black Zephyr more to heart than any of them, which has served him well with the tactical mindset that he had. Regardless, Athrun decided to try and diffuse the situation by turning back to their attack plan.

"Moving on to the matter at hand, timing isn't the only issue that we face in this, whether we wish to say it or not. We've fought against the forces of the legged ship on several different occasions now," Athrun said, drawing everyone's attention. "The ship itself is easily the strongest ever created by the Earth Alliance, as is clearly seen with how it dealt with both Nicol and Dearka well enough in our first fight with it out of Heliopolis. The two mobile armors are piloted by two who can arguably be considered some of the best the Earth Forces have. One is piloted by the Hawk of Endymion, a man who single-handedly brought down five GINNs at Endymion, including one of the Champions of the ZAFT, the Roc and his forces. He even went head-to-head with Commander Rickteth as well as Commander Le Creuset, holding his own against both." Iterated Athrun.

He paused, still thinking how to go over the relevant information and help the others understand, and yet not say the fact that he Athrun himself knew the three mobile suit pilots. "The other mobile armor pilot has a similar record of going against GINNs and good ZAFT pilots and coming off the better. Then moving on to the three mobile suits," Athrun said, inputting commands into the display and bring up the known specs of the last Alliance machine. "The white and blue mobile suit, the GAT- X105 Strike. It has been able to match us in previous battles, and by what we've seen, it has different equipment sets that it can use. The winged suit, there's still little information on it, but what we do have is enough to say that it isn't one to underestimate. It has mobility better than GINNs that are built for the idea, an arsenal that makes it dangerous. Finally, we can't dismiss the black suit, first encountered back at Heliopolis and reappeared again in the recent skirmish…"

Nicol nodded in agreement, "Indeed, it may look very similar to the Blitz, but it has shown that it has capabilities that my suit doesn't. I'll say that ignoring that mobile suit will only bring negative consequences. That being said, we can't underestimate any of these forces," he added.

Yzak grit his teeth, feeling like Nicol and Athrun had stolen the spotlight from him, "That doesn't matter," said Yzak irritably. "If we have a window of opportunity, we need to take it."

"I couldn't agree more," said Dearka. "The success of a surprise attack isn't determined by the actual time spent."

"We weren't saying we shouldn't make the attack," reasoned Nicol. "we're just saying that the window of opportunity is small and with what we know of our opponents, we need to be cautious, right Athrun?"

"Yeah," murmured Athrun.

"It'll be fine," said Dearka confidently. "Yeah, sure, it won't be easy, but so long as we can hold off their mobile suits and armors, the Gamow stays safe, and one of our machines can get up close, we can take them out."

"You make it sound easy, but keep in mind that it'll be three mobile suits and two mobile armors verses our four mobile suits. So then how do we do that?" said Athrun. "The way those pilots are improving, we may not be able to match them all at once. And other than the reports of the battle of Nova, I've only ever heard of the Hawk being taken down by lucky shots."

"Looking at it from a practical point of view," continued Nicol picking up where Athrun left off, a hand ging to his chin. "The Duel and Aegis would be the best to lure away the Strike and the winged machine. …That still leaves the two mobile armors and the third suit. And out of the five machines, the black mobile suit worries me the most by far, it and its pilot are a different matter altogether which the others don't present."

Everyone were looking at Nicol, then Yzak scoffed, "You make it sound like this black suit is the most powerful."

"That black machine will be the wild card in this, I've no doubt about that. The mobile suit and the one piloting it, they have shown to be the most efficient out of the five machines that we will face. I would bet they'll be harder to lure away than any of the others, if we can do that at all. I can't say how to plan for that one… Meanwhile, the Buster would be the best to use against the mobile armors. Dearka, think you can handle it?" Nicol asked.

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Dearka. "The Hawk's a better pilot than me for sure, but he's in that outdated mobile armor. His weapons won't even scratch me, and his mobility has its limits."

"Good, still watch yourself out there. All it takes is a well-aimed shot from the armor's main gun and your mobile suit's armor to go down and they win." said Athrun, before turning to the captain. "Captain Zelman, we'll need the Gamow to provide long-range fire support at the beginning of the battle, but you should pull back if it seems like the legged ship is going to seriously target you. If we lose the Gamow, then we'll be stuck as well."

"It should work in theory," said Zelman. "We'll definitely be cutting it close with the 8th Fleet approaching, but this plan is the best we can come up with."

"In the meantime, the Blitz should be able to close in on the legged ship with relative ease," said Nicol. "If I can get in close, the battle should be over at that point."

"Fine, we'll go with this," said Yzak. "But I want the white winged machine, got it?"

There was silence for a moment, "Yzak, are you sure that's wise?" asked Dearka nervously. "Given what the data and what we've observed, I would say that the Aegis is better suited to fighting that machine out of ours."

"No, that one is mine," said Yzak hotly. "That damn Natural… he's responsible for everything that's gone wrong since Heliopolis!"

Athrun sighed and conceded, there would be no getting Yzak to change his mind about this. Yet, Athrun said nothing about what he knew about the pilots, at least the two out of the three. If he had, then Athrun knew that he would have to answer where he learned the information and he real wanted to answer that question.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The Archangel had been sailing along without further interference from others, and the mood on board the ship had begun getting better. Once the sensors had detected the first few ships that were with the 8th orbital fleet, a sigh of relief was released by many. "We'll reach the rendezvous point in about thirty minutes," said Murrue, smiling. "Well everyone, we somehow managed to make it this far and are home free."

While a nice sentiment, Natarle would only relax the slightest degree when the Archangel linked up with the fleet itself. "Don't slack off on your monitoring," said Natarle sternly to Pal and Tyler. "Fleets are conspicuous and they'll draw the attention of the enemy. We may be in Federation territory right now, but that certainly didn't stop ZAFT before, and it unlikely would now. We don't want to get shot down just because we relaxed a moment before we were somewhat safe."

It'd come as a surprise when Tyler had asked if he could do some shifts on the bridge, for none had expected him to do so at all. Not only that, Tyler had already known basic operation for half of the stations, not specific on all the control or operations, but he had learned quickly. Murrue hadn't a problem with the request, the Archangel was short on bridge crew, let alone one that had some experience to begin with. Natarle had been against it at first, yet after Mu and Krystal had vouched for him, she had agreed and relented.

"Yes ma'am," said Pal.

"Will do," replied Tyler after Pal.

Murrue shook her head slightly as she gave Natarle a reproachful look, even if Natarle didn't see it. They'd been on high alert for a while now, and while what Natarle said was true, if they didn't relax some, they'd all snap. "Natarle… You should calm down. We've made it, don't be so uptight," remarked Murrue.

The Archangel would soon link up with the 8th fleet, once with the fleet, all of them would proceed to either Lunar HQ or down to JOSH-A. Honestly, who at this point would be stupid enough to attack this close to the 8th fleet?

Natarle just shook her head and kept doing what she was. But the standoff didn't stop there as the voice of Tyler was heard, "Did you honestly just say 'We've made it' captain? Or were my ears deceiving me?" he asked.

Murrue glanced in the direction of the sensor console where Tyler was stationed currently, "Yes, what of it Tyler?" she asked, not understanding what the teen was getting at.

"Those are some of the most famous last words that have been said, before people get killed," Tyler finished.

 **-Line Break-**

All four Heliopolis volunteers had gathered in the mess hall, since for one of the rare times, none of the four of them had a shift right now. They'd agreed to meet together to talk about recent events as what had been happening was not what any had thought at the beginning of the year. "We've gone through a lot," said Kuzzey to Sai in the mess hall, "but we're almost there."

"Yeah," muttered Sai, poking at his food.

"It's hard to believe all that's happened since Heliopolis isn't?" uttered Miriallia.

The three boys gave sounds of agreement to the question. The chain of events that had led to where they were now was unbelievable. They were college students who had been worried about what most students, namely schoolwork, classes and their social lives.

"So, you don't suppose they'll let us off anywhere but on Earth, do you?" asked Kuzzey. Sai looked at Kuzzey, confused. "It's just that… remember what Lieutenant Ramius told us?"

Sai thought back a bit, and realized immediately what Kuzzey was talking about. Just after first introducing themselves to one another, Murrue had warned them that they weren't likely to be allowed to just go anyway, after having seen the Earth Force's prototype mobile suits. They'd have to wait for a decision from the appropriate authorities though, before being certain about anything.

"Hmm, yeah," muttered Sai. "So, under the circumstances, wouldn't the leaders of the Alliance fleet be considered the appropriate authorities?"

"Guess you're right," said Kuzzey. "However…"

"However what Kuzzey? What are you trying to get at?" asked Tolle, looking at Kuzzey.

"What do you think will happen to Kira, Lacus and Tyler? Will they be allowed to leave too?" asked Kuzzey. "They did get involved in a whole bunch of stuff."

With their three Coordinator friends having been the pilots of Alliance mobile suits that were supposed to be made for Naturals. Plus, some of those from the Earth Alliance had treated the three differently, not bad necessarily, yet not good either. So, now that the Archangel was with the 8th fleet, there was the chance that their friends might not be 'released' from the job they've been doing. Sai looked down, frowning in thought, but then looked up in surprise as two of the pilots in question entered the mess hall. They only shared a brief look before the two went to get food and water.

"Flay!" exclaimed Sai, softly, as the redhead entered the mess hall soon after Kira and Lacus. The rest of them had seen very little of Flay over the last few days, with the girl spending most of her time talking with her father. That's what everyone believed, since Allster himself had hardly been seen around the ship at all.

"Huh? Flay? What's up?" asked Kira as everyone looked over at her. Flay glanced at them before looking away.

"More problems, with my dad," said Flay. "He's… refusing to leave his quarters. He doesn't want to wander around where Coordinators have been or me to do so either. He's just so… oh, he's just so stupid!"

"Should you really be fighting that hard with your father?" asked Lacus, tilting her head a little. "I understand that you don't agree with him. I happen to agree with you about how our genes don't affect who we are. But still, he's your father; you should try to get along."

"No!" said Flay, shaking her head. "You're right, I still want to be family with him, but I'm not going to share his beliefs about Coordinators, beliefs I now know are wrong!"

Kira and Sai both blinked at hearing that. Flay seemed to be becoming increasingly vehement about her disagreement with her father over the treatment of Coordinators, and neither knew how long it would be before things got ugly… or worse.

Meanwhile,back on the bridge of the Archangel, all was quiet, but things began to change, which came in the form of sensor readings. "Hmm?" murmured Pal on the bridge as he saw a new signal on the radar detection screen. "Is that what I think it is?"

Tyler inspected the sensor feeds in front of him closely, "Yeah, it is. Did I not say, 'We've made it' are famous last words you shouldn't say?!" he commented.

"Electronic interference detected," announced Pal. "N-jammer levels are rising."

Murrue and Natarle both looked in Pal's and Tyler's direction, tensing up, before rushing to their seats. "All hands, level one battle stations!" ordered Murrue as she took her seat. "Tolle, fire up the engines to maximum speed!"

"Yes ma'am," said Tolle, who was currently handling the piloting since Arnold was off-duty.

"Tyler, get to the hanger, Pal can handle sensor detection and fire control himself until the others get here," ordered Murrue.

Tyler got out of his seat and flew over to the elevator without further hesitation, "Laurasia-class identified at Red Charlie one zero three, orange alpha seven two," said Pal as he temporarily ran an enemy search through the detection systems through the main sensor station since Tyler was making his way to the hanger right now.

Kuzzey would take over when he got to the bridge. Pal was looking over the data that was being displayed from the detection systems, "The signals coming in, are mobile suit thermal patterns, comparing to database to see if their matches," Pal paused and gulped, before turning back to look at Murrue. "Thermal patterns all have matches, they're the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis."

"Damn it, all four of them are coming at us," muttered Natarle, "And of course, this happens just moments before our rendezvous."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

" _All hands, level one battle stations!_ " came Miriallia's voice over the PA. " _I repeat, all hands, level one battle stations!_ "

I sped up my pace to the hanger at the announcement, spotted Sai and Kuzzey coming out of the Mess hall straightening their uniforms as they went. I sailed past them as I continued on, noticing Kira and Lacus shortly falling in behind me. It didn't take long for the three of us to arrive at the pilot locker room, we quickly changed into our suits. After we changed, the three of us headed the rest of the distance to the hanger. When we came into the large room, the three of us caught glimpses of both Mu and Krystal getting into their Zero armors. Wasting no more time, we boarded our respective mobile suits. The mobile armors moved to launch position in the catapults as I went through the system boot up. It was when Miriallia's voice came over the radio that I looked up, " _Kira, Lacus and Tye,_ " she said. " _The ZAFT force is made up of a Laurasia-class, the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis._ "

My thoughts ground to a halt at being told what we would be going against, for it wasn't what I had expected. So, the Nazca-class that Le Creuset is on isn't coming? That doesn't sound right, that man is too persistent to give up on this hunt, given any choice. He has earned his reputation of being a dogmatic and obsessive as far as I was concern and seen. So then, why only send the slower class ship on the chase?

" _So, all four of them at the same time now?_ " asked Kira.

I made my voice heard then, "Only the one Laurasia-class is detected? Are you sure the Nazca-class isn't just behind the Laurasia?" I asked in a suspicious tone.

" _The Nazca-class isn't in range, so it's unlikely that they'll be in this battle. They must've stayed behind with the damage they took and then just transferred the Aegis over to the Laurasia,_ " answered Miriallia.

So, either Le Creuset is unable to pursue or there's something that's we don't know about at this time. "Well, that means we're on our own on this one, meaning this battle will be five verses four," I commented.

The Asuka moved to the left catapult while the Strike went to the right. Lacus had chosen to have the Strike to have the sword Striker equipment. The set included the 15.78m "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword, "Midas Messer" beam boomerang and "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchor, good for close quarters.

My machine began moving to the left catapult, which I assume Kira had already launched from, yet once in the catapult my suit stopped. I'd asked Chief Murdoch to equip different equipment than normal, since I would like to test some the new optional sets that had become available. The Shadow would still have the shield with rail cannon and beam saber, but I was going to switch out my medium-range beam rifle. This time, I was going to have a longer and beefier beam rifle that could be stored on a rail that was attached to the back-right side of the Shadow's frame, named the "Hallon" beam rifle.

The difference between the long rifle and the normal rifle was the long one was one and a half times the length of the normal one. It would work well with the hidden scope the Shadow had, since both were meant for an extended range. The long rifle would drain the battery of the Shadow more than the midrange beam rifle, but that just meant I needed to make my shots count and I do that anyways. It was one of the pieces of equipment that had been transferred over from the Donnen. After the "Hallon" was attached, I zoomed out to the field and joined my comrades.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Arnold rushed into the bridge, Sai and Kuzzey right behind him, all three throwing themselves toward their stations. They quickly got down to doing the operations of the station they were in, "The 8th Fleet will be meeting up with us soon enough," said Murrue as they focused on their tasks and duties, "We just need to hang in there."

"Activate CIWS Igelstellungs," ordered Natarle. "Load anti-beam depth charges, ready stern missile launchers with sledgehammer missiles."

The Archangel's "Gottfried" beam turrets rose up out of their storage position in the top of the legs of the ship and the barrels extended out, ready to be used. The "Valiant" linear cannons came out on either side on the back of the ship and then flipped around to point forward. And the defensive "Igelstellung" 75mm CIWS turrets deployed, ready to do their job of interception of incoming enemy fire. Ahead of the Archangel, the nine mobile weapons were constantly decreasing the distance between each other. The seven mobile suits activated their phase shift armor, taking on their colors that made them more identifiable. The four ZAFT machines moved to clustered together, back-to-back, barrel rolling when they had positioned together. Behind them, the Laurasia-class blasted off a shot from its main cannon, and the ZAFT pilots broke away from one another. The shot flying between them to crash into the Archangel, rocking the vessel. But, the beams damage was minimized by the energy being converted into heat by the laminated armor the ship had.

" _Using their mobile suits to conceal the firing position,_ " muttered Mu, his grip on the Zero's controls tightening, " _that's very cute!_ "

As Mu sited the stolen G-machine that was the closest to him, which was the Blitz, he let lose a round from his Zero's linear gun. Mu then deployed the gunbarrels of his zero and let loose with the entire arsenal of his armor. Krystal joined in with Mu in shooting at the stolen Alliance suits, deploying her own gunbarrels. There was a bit of satisfaction as the four opposing units broke apart to avoid the incoming fire. Although, none of them would've suffered any real damage, every hit would've drained just a bit more precious battery life to powering the phase shift armor.

With the formation of the four ZAFT suits broken, they picked their targets and headed towards their chosen opponents. The Duel went straight for the Asuka, engaging it without wasting anymore time, forcing Kira onto the defensive. The Aegis faced off against the Strike, while the Shadow began clashing with the Buster. The mobile armors attempted to occupy the Blitz and stopping its progress forward.

" _Nicol, go ahead and get the ship immediately,_ " said Yzak over the radio as he shot at the mobile armors, forcing them to dodge and let up on Nicol. " _We'll keep these damn Naturals off your back._ "

Since the three Alliance mobile suits and the two mobile armors were occupied, Nicol was free to go after the real target. Surprisingly, even the black suit was being kept busy, Nicol was surprised that even that one cooperated with the plan. He'd thought the black suit would not fall for the distraction the same as the others had. The mobile armors did attempt to intercept the Blitz however, Nicol dodged them without much effort and continued to his goal. Even Kira and Lacus tried to go after the black suit, but were stopped by the Aegis and the Duel.

The Archangel fired the 'valiants' at the Blitz, but Nicol evaded… and then the Blitz vanished from sight. "Captain, I've lost the Blitz," said Kuzzey.

"Its mirage colloid must've been activated," said Murrue. "Fire another spread of anti-beam depth charges and reload all missile tubes with anti-suit shrapnel missiles."

"Fire anti-beam depth charges," ordered Natarle, echoing Murrue. "Stern missile tubes, switch over to anti-suit shrapnel missiles."

Nicol got into range and fired the Trikeros beam rifle at the Archangel, but the beams never reached the warship, they were dispersed instead by the anti-beam curtain surrounding the warship. So, Nicol moved closer to get around the effects of the anti-beam depth charges.

"Calculate the Blitz's position from the shot's angle," said Natarle. "When you have its position, link the data to the fire control station. Officer Pal, when you have the data, fire with shrapnel missiles!"

"Yes ma'am," said Kuzzey and Pal. Kuzzey ran through several console commands as he narrowed down the stealth mobile suit's location, then linked it to Pal's station as ordered.

"Firing anti-suit shrapnel warheads!" announced Pal as he let them loose.

The missiles blasted off from the Archangel's stern missile tubes, and upon reaching their designated range, the outer shell of the missiles broke apart to reveal small, shrapnel-sized explosive-tipped darts that blasted away from the missile casing. Seeing this, Nicol immediately activated his phase shift armor, which required the mirage colloid to shut off. Nicol brought his shield up covering the cockpit, managing to block the shrapnel darts from putting him directly in danger.

"That's right, this machine once belonged to you," muttered Nicol, as much a remark to the enemy ship as a reminder to himself, "of course you know its weaknesses." With that, Nicol reactivated the stealth system as the shrapnel fire died down, immediately moving to a new position to avoid further fire.

Continuing his approach to the Archangel so as to get passed the anti-beam particle curtain the warship had released, Nicol's eyes widened as the CIWS turrets all began firing wildly on randomized vectors… a barrage of bullets numerous enough to tear any mobile suit to pieces. Nicol reactivated the phase shift armor, his only hope to avoid being turned into Swiss cheese, and began maneuvering away.

Meanwhile, back with the Buster and the Shadow, both were still fighting one another, " _You're getting on my nerves black guy,_ " said Dearka firing at the black suit.

The Shadow evaded and made it look easy, which just served to infuriate Dearka more. "Black guy? That's the best name he can come up with for me?" Tyler mutter to himself. It was then Tyler caught sight of the Blitz reappearing a lot closer to the Archangel than was comfortable. His response, was to bring out the long beam rifle and before the Buster had a chance to combine its two rifles, Tyler brought his own rifle to bear. The weapon let loose a high-powered beam, which the Buster just managed to dodge. While the Buster's pilot allowed his concentration wander, Tyler used the time to activate the Shadow's mirage colloid, vanishing from view and then, switched on a second system. The system was called the "Echo Trace Transmitter" and it was definitely proprietary technology of the Federation Military. The system is designed to make the machine equipped, to disappear from sensors and not show up at all. So, combined with Mirage Colloid, "nobody see, nobody knows" where I be, and that's just the way I like it!

By the time Dearka righted himself, he looked around and saw that his opponent wasn't where they had been before. "What the… Where did that black guy just go?! Uh oh, um, guys we got a problem," said Dearka.

" _What?_ " Asked Athrun, effort in his voice as he was still fighting the Strike. Unbeknownst to Athrun, Lacus was using the lessons that Sakura had given her to push Athrun back.

Dearka gulped hard before answering, "Well, that black suit… It's gone, vanished, haven't a clue where it is anymore… Sorry for losing sight of it."

Athrun, realizing the implication of this change, shouted over the com-channel a warning to their comrade, " _Nicol, watch your back! The other black suit just vanished and is probably coming your way!_ "

Nicol heard the warning that Athrun gave and he took it seriously. He was nervous, the data that there was on the twin of the Blitz was worryingly slim and what there was, had scared Nicol honestly. Still, he kept closing the distance between him and the Archangel steadily.

Meanwhile, on the Archangel's bridge, there was growing panic as the Blitz got closer and closer. "Blitz is still approaching!" said Kuzzey with tones of fear as the black mobile suit weaved through the defensive fire being spat at it. The Laurasia-class was launching a long-range bombardment, and while only a few shots got close, much less hit, they were enough of a distraction for the Blitz to catch them off-guard.

"What are our three mobile suits doing?! Their mission objective is to defend the ship at all costs," demanded Natarle.

"Both the Asuka and Strike are too busy battling the Duel and the Aegis. And I've also lost the Shadow's signal," reported Sai.

At hearing that the Shadow wasn't showing up, the thought of it perhaps being shot down did go through everyone's mind. "The Shadow couldn't have been shot down," Miriallia muttered.

"No, it just vanished from sensors completely," replied Sai.

"But, that shouldn't be possible! Even if it activates its mirage colloid, its signal should still show up to our sensors," uttered Natarle.

Inside the Blitz, Nicol smiled slightly, in slight satisfaction and relief, as the Blitz landed next to the Archangel's bridge tower, out of reach of the ship's defenses. However, there still was a nagging worry in his mind, more so since Athrun had warned him that of the disappearance of the other black machine. Its disappearance had put it back to the top of the list of the most dangerous machine on the battlefield and it had the top by a sizable amount in Nicol's view. That one mobile suit had been nigh impossible to predict in the battles that it had been in previously, it was the point that Nicol had seen that the others besides Athrun had noticed. The only thing that made it somewhat worse, was the pilot that flew it, which had proved to add to the unpredictability and was clearly skilled.

An opponent that's dangerous is one thing, yet when you don't know where they are or where they can strike from… that type of opponent can and usually are lethal! Then, there was the point that had come up in the last battle, its mirage colloid it was slightly different from what the Blitz had. The black suit might have started with the same system of mirage colloid that the Blitz had been built with, but now the systems weren't the same. The other machine had a version of mirage colloid that was improved in a major way. One of the system's critical flaws the heat output from thrusters which could give away the mobile suit's position wasn't happening at all any more.

And if, the enemy machine had corrected the other flaw of power consumption, then there was no telling how effective the application of Mirage Colloid could be. It would truly be undetectable and could strike before an opponent could have any warning of any kind. Even assuming that, Nicol continued firing at the Archangel's bridge tower. He did keep an eye on his sensor screen, hoping for there to be some kind of warning of incoming threats.

The bridge shook as the Blitz kept shooting, "We can't get him with the cannon or the Igelstellungs," muttered Natarle. She was getting frustrated with how the X207 Blitz was in a position that the Archangel could do little to nothing about it. "Where are our mobile suits?!"

"Kira, Lacus, Tye!" called Miriallia desperately. "The enemy is beside the bridge! Get back here now!"

Kira glance back at the Archangel and his eyes widened as he saw that what was going on. The side monitor first zoomed in and then showed the Blitz firing on the side of the bridge tower. "No!" shouted Kira.

" _The Archangel!_ " cried Lacus at the same time.

If they lost that ship, then all they'd done would've been for nothing… the refugees would be lost… and without Murrue and their friends to back them up. _'And Flay…'_ thought both Kira and Lacus, thoughts straying onto the friend they'd nearly failed once before. Both tried to go back to the Archangel, but were blocked by the stolen suits, all they could do was watch as the Blitz kept shooting. Yet suddenly, the Blitz appeared to be hit by something, as the black mobile suit went flying off a small distance. Then, the Shadow appeared out of nowhere, putting itself between the Archangel and the Blitz, then went for the other mobile suit.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Once I had managed to get the Buster off my back and to stop bothering me, I'd changed my course and chased the Blitz as it went towards the Archangel. Admittedly, it was so much easier to move around, now that none could detect me and the freedom was wonderful! In front of me, I caught a glimpse of my mobile suit's 'fraternal twin' before it disappeared for the second time. However, the glimpse was enough for me to be able to predict where the machine now was. It wouldn't be perfect for locating the machine, but it's close enough for me to work with. The Blitz fired off some shots from its beam rifle in its shield, which the anti-beam charges were disbursing.

My attention was shifted when missiles were fired from the Archangel's rear missile tubes. When they got close to where the Shadow and the Blitz were in close proximity, the missile's outer shell blasted off and… Lots of sharp shrapnel darts were shot off in our direction. That forced me to have to hit the brakes and then reverse out of the shower of metal shards that I'd little defense against currently with the Shadow's phase shift off. I managed to avoid the darts, but it was closer than I liked, and my feeling of disgruntled annoyance grew. I couldn't help the groan and grumble at being made to dodge friendly fire. Honestly, my current allies are only a little less dangerous than my opponents are to me! But, it's not their fault, they don't know that I'm in the direction of weapons' fire, so I'll let it slide in this.

I quickly recovered and kept moving forward, spotting the Blitz reappear next to the bridge tower and point its rifle at the bridge itself. Well, that's not going to happen… I'll be dead before I let that happened bub! I soared forward, gaining momentum and speed, aiming at the Shadow's look alike, with my shield out in front of me. Now, do I really need to say what came next in this? Maybe not, but I will anyways, I took the Blitz by complete surprise when I rammed into the suit hard with my shield. My action sent the mobile suit tumbling backwards from the bridge tower. The Blitz took a moment to orient itself and then began scanning around… Looking for me I don't doubt, even if he hasn't figured out where the Shadow is.

Well, why prolong this game of hide-n-seek, I say? I switched from using mirage colloid to the phase shift armor and so naturally, my mobile suit became visible once again. As I did that, I rushed forward at the Blitz, taking out the second beam saber the Shadow had in its arsenal, however, this one wasn't built into the shield like the other one. This second saber was stored in a compartment that sits over the right hip joint of my mobile suit. The Blitz had just enough time to raise its shield to catch my machine's right arm swinging downward at him.

I pointed my shield's railgun at the Blitz's shield and began firing off rounds from it at my opponent's weapon system. At point blank range, I wasn't missing and though the Blitz's shield was taking the pounding, seemingly just fine, I very much doubt it was. I know for a fact that the shields that the Alliance prototype mobile suits had, didn't have phase shift, so can be affected by projectiles.

After five or six shots from my railgun, the Blitz pushed me back, but I didn't let my opponent gain room to work with, I kept up my assault. Within a minute, I'd to admit that the pilot Nicol Amalfi, had talent and skill as well as potential. However, he wasn't at the same level as I was at this time. It was clear that this young man had the mind of a tactician, but on the battle field, you also need to be able to react and adapt well when things throw off your plans. That's an area that I excel in… and very well when it comes to it!

In a short period, I'd made the Blitz fallback a distance from the Archangel, even though the Blitz had been doing its best to gain ground against me. It was failing, but still, I'll give good marks for the effort being made. Yet, I could tell as time ran on, it became clear that the fighting of our opponents were getting more desperate. This led me to the conclusion that they wanted this skirmish to be done quickly. Then, I realized what it was that they wanted to avoid, the Alliance fleet, for it would come into firing range soon enough. The four don't want to have to deal with a full fleet's firepower, don't blame them though, I wouldn't want to either.

The Blitz pointed it's shield at me, and I moved to defend and deflect, but nothing happened. It appears, that the pounding I gave to the shield and the weapons it carried did have an effect, most if not all of the weapons weren't working. I had move back and saw an explosive shot flying past me. Upon glancing in the direction that the shot had come from, I saw the Buster with its combine launcher rifle configuration aimed at me. ' _Well, two can play at that game!'_ I thought to myself.

I turned to face the Buster, grabbing the long beam rifle to use. This was an opportunity to use a piece of equipment that I've wanted to try out, but haven't had a reason to. It was one of the differences between the Shadow and the Blitz, the Shadow has an extended range targeting scope to work with. It's hidden in the right side of the Shadow's head that can pop out when it's activated. Without further hesitation, I brought out my long rifle to point at the Buster along with the ERT scope popping out of the middle of the right-side head plate. In the cockpit, a smaller screen came out from behind the seat and move to be in front of my right eye. I aimed my rifle and fired at the Buster before they could shoot me again. The Buster was forced to move out of the way and ended out sacrificing the beam rifle that it had. That left the Buster with only its gun launcher and that weapon isn't meant for long range.

I sensed danger from behind me, and promptly moved out of the way, only to see a beam saber slice past where I had been. The beam saber belonged to the Blitz and apparently, Nicol was using the time I was shooting at his comrade. Plus, it would seem that the beam saber the Blitz had still worked, but little else with the shield did. In response, I reacted by spinning the Shadow around, storing the long beam rifle on its rail and having it swing back to its storage position. By the time I was facing my opponent, the Shadow's right fist was surging forward and made solid contact with just below the center of the Blitz's torso. Now, I'll be the first to say that Phase Shift armor is an impressive defense, but its weakness is high-powered beams… And sheer heavy impact. After all, if the pilot is shaken around the cockpit and is unable to effectively pilot the machine, the mobile suit is useless… I'm just saying.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Nicol aimed the Trikeros shield at his opponent and pulled the trigger for the beam rifle, but nothing happened. There then came a beeping from the main display by his knees and when Nicol looked down to see what was being said, he started to wonder if he would make it out of this battle alive. The Trikeros was not responding as it should, and Nicol saw why now from the readouts. Earlier, when his enemy had been up close, it had used its railgun, which Nicol hadn't known about and shot the Trikeros with multiple rounds, Nicol had thought that it hadn't been too bad as there hadn't been visible damage. But he could see now, that wasn't how things were at all. The 50mm high-energy beam rifle was misfiring and the circuitry was damaged, so was unusable essentially. The Lancer Darts were now stuck or rather jammed where they were and couldn't be fired. The beam saber was the only weapon system that worked at all in the Trikeros shield and Nicol couldn't tell how well it would perform.

Nicol had planned to rush forward and try using his beam saber, yet the Buster fired off its combined rifles in their snipe configuration at the black machine. The black mobile suit had turned to face the Buster after Dearka had fired at them and Nicol would've taken the opportunity to attack, but didn't. the reason Nicol didn't, was he froze as he saw the rifle that his enemy had been carrying taken out and aim it at the Buster. It wasn't the obvious long-range rifle that made Nicol stop, it was the section of the mobile suit's head on the right side coming out, revealing a camera that was similar to what a Reconnaissance GINN had with its sniper rifle that caused Nicol to pause. The black suit fired a beam at the Buster, thankfully Dearka moved out of the way in time, but the beam rifle the Buster had was destroyed in the process.

Nicol shook himself out of the stooper that he'd been in and sped forward, igniting the Blitz's beam saber. His slash just missed as the other suit weaved out of the way, but it didn't stop there. The mobile suit spun around, storing its rifle and when it faced the Blitz again, its right fist was coming at the Blitz's cockpit. Nicol's eyes widened, then he braced himself for the blow coming. Nicol was thrown forward against the mobile suit controls as the impact came and it was hard! Phase Shift armor might block projectiles, but Nicol had believed that there were ways around that, and now being shown how right he was.

After a few seconds, Nicol regained control and stabilized the Blitz, to find he ended out a short distance from his opponent. With only one option left for ranged attacks left, Nicol raised the Blitz's left arm, aiming the Gleipnir at the Blitz's "odd twin". He pulled the trigger and released the rocket claw to zoom at the other mobile suit. Yet somehow, the black machine managed to evade the Gleipnir at the last second, and Nicol couldn't understand how the pilot had done it. Ice cold dread filled Nicol at seeing that action and it increased quickly. It happened when Nicol was about to recall the Gleipnir back to its mount, but then his opponent got ahold of the cable that connected the Gleipnir to its mount. Nicol swallowed hard, really afraid to find out what would come next, for his enemy had complete control of the current situation. This opponent had out done him better than any he'd faced in his life… even with the one "spar" Nicol had gotten from the Black Zephyr and she'd whipped him horribly, it had been the scariest fight of his life, until now, this trumped the previous experience.

Nicol had gone beyond being afraid of potentially dying in this battle, to believing that he was facing his last moments. The Blitz was jerked and then pulled forward towards its twin, then put into a violent spin that Nicol had no control over. The Shadow used the cable of the Gleipnir to spin the Blitz around and around. The stress that was put on the cable had approached the breaking point, so much so that Nicol had to admit to himself that the Alliance had built an impressive cable for the Blitz's Gleipnir, for it didn't break. Nicol tried to keep calm while being pressed back into his seat by the G-force that the centripetal force from the spin his mobile suit was in.

Then, the Blitz was released and went flying and tumbling in a direction that Nicol couldn't determine. Nicol was definitely sweating a great deal as he worked to stabilize the Blitz. That shot up dramatically when the Blitz shook hard as the Shadow shot its railgun at the Blitz. That shot been aimed well enough to have the round strike the Blitz in such a way to increase its forward momentum. Minutes later, Nicol had regained control of his mobile suit's flight again after the insanity. The green-haired pilot forced himself to take a moment to both fully process what had just occurred and to regain his wits and calm down. It had been unreal what had just happened, Nicol knew that, but that didn't explain it nor help him stop shaking.

Yes, Nicol was physically shaking, he brought his hands up and saw clearly that they were trembling. He'd just been whipped so badly, that it was as the phrase goes, "placed on a silver platter" and so cleanly, that Nicol had seriously thought he would be killed! If the pilot he'd been fighting had used their beam rifle instead of their railgun, then Nicol would be dead, and he knew it! None of what had happened in this battle had even come into the ridiculous thoughts that had crossed Nicol's mind, certainly nothing that the Blitz's odd twin had done. Although, it proved beyond a shadow of a doubt to Nicol, the pilot of the black suit was the most dangerous out of the three enemy pilots and by a terrifying margin! Nicol had clearly underestimated them, for Nicol didn't doubt that his opponent could have killed him multiple time throughout their fight and could have destroyed the Buster.

Once Nicol had gotten back his bearings, he took in what was going on around the rest of the field. He saw that the Duel had taken serious damage the Buster was having trouble only using its gun launcher. Nicol flew the Blitz forward, grabbing hold of the Duel and began to drag it back to the ship, away from the winged suit. "Yzak?! Yzak are you okay in there?!" cried Nicol in an even voice.

Yes, Nicol had said that Yzak had issues, but that didn't mean that he wanted his comrade hurt.

" _It burns!_ " came Yzak's pained voice over the radio. " _It burns, it BURNS!_ "

Nicol came to realize that this battle had done a full one-eighty from the outset and now he and the others were losing badly. It had occurred without any of them knowing it and much faster than any of them could've imagined possible. The Aegis was already heading back to the Gamow with both legs cut off. The Blitz had taken significant damage to its shield and Gleipnir while the Duel had taken an unknown amount of punishment, but enough to have Yzak crying in pain. The Buster was being swarmed by the two mobile armors with the gun launcher being the only weapon to fend them off. A tactical retreat was the best option and Nicol knew it, "Dearka!" he called, continuing to pull back the Duel away from the battle.

The winged suit pressed forward, so Nicol grabbed the Duel's shield and used it to defend them from the shots that were coming their way. "We have to retreat! Yzak has been injured and Athrun is falling back. Neither you or I have a lot of options to work with and the enemy fleet is almost here anyways. We've taken way too much damage between the four of us, it's time to cut our losses and leave!"

" _Ugh, damn it!_ " said Dearka as he realized that Nicol was right. So, shortly the Buster retreated back following the others back towards the Gamow.

 **-Line Break-**

On the Archangel's bridge, Murrue sighed in relief as the ZAFT forces retreated and she wasn't the only one doing so. The Strike and Asuka came back to the ship and landed together on the upper deck of the ship above the hangar. While those two machines do so, the Shadow flew close to the Archangel appearing to look over the vessel. By the sound of the heavy breathing coming from the Asuka and the Strike, both Kira and Lacus were tired from the skirmish. However, there was nothing like that coming from Tyler, but what he said himself, he was a Federation pilot, so perhaps he was somewhat used to this. That certainly didn't explain the skill he'd shown on the battlefield, for it was well above what had been seen in the mock fights.

" _Wow…_ " muttered Mu over the com-channel, " _You three are unbelievable._ "

" _What happened out there?_ " asked Kira.

" _You two piloted amazingly… no, it was more than that,_ " remarked Krystal in awe.

There was a sigh heard over the radio, " _Kira, Lacus, no matter what anyone else says, you two did exactly what we launched out to do. Well done to us all,_ " said Tyler.

Smiling slightly at what Tyler just said, for it did sum up the feeling all five pilots felt right at the current moment, Kira and Lacus closed their eyes. Tyler brought the Shadow to set down in the middle of the upper deck, " _Well, the fight is over for now and we're still alive, that's what counts,_ " Tyler remarked.

" _No joke kid, I've never seen piloting like those two just did! That's before saying anything about your performance Tyler,_ " said Mu.

" _At least it's over, we made it through the fight._ " comment Krystal, as the blue Zero slowly came alongside the Archangel. " _And we finished just before the 8_ _th_ _Orbital came into range._ "

"The 8th fleet is here!" called Kuzzey to the bridge and over the radio, drawing the eyes of all the pilots and those on board, up to the massive collection of blinking lights… The Earth Alliance Force's 8th Orbital Fleet. At long last… Things were finally going well for the white warship and its crew and passengers. The sight of the vessels of the Earth Forces 8th Orbital Fleet glided forward a distance ahead of the Archangel, waiting for the Archangel to join their ranks was a comforting one for most. The Alliance fleet was made up of fifty-one vessels; five Agamemnon-classes, twenty-five Drake-classes and twenty-one Nelson-class vessels.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

It was an hour after the battle that I was finally able to make it back to my quarters and boy, did I need time to rest and recuperate. That's after I made sure that Kira and Lacus got back to their rooms and to their beds. Those two weren't just tired, it was beyond that for them, the battle had drained them, so they needed the sleep. Not to say that the skirmish hadn't taken it out of me, but I've developed the stamina to handle times like this for a period of time. And with them doing what they did… well, bet it was the first time for both of them.

I wasn't an idiot, it was clear to me that they not only had the Super Evolutionary Element Destined factor, or SEED factor like I did. The signs are fairly easy to spot when you know what to look for. The first time someone with SEED factor enters the SEED mode, they come into a state of enhanced awareness and peak physical ability, and when it ends, you are dead tired. It's happened to me a few times, so I know how it works to an extent. If you are unlucky enough fight someone that is in SEED mode, it sucks! It will be like your opponent has eyes in the back of their head at the very least and their reaction time will be faster than yours, those are the common traits, that's before the individual traits and those can be scary!

Anyways, I was taking the time to relax and wind down, so that I could get sleep while I could. I feel that more problems will come before things get better. That's when the call came…

I had settled down on the bed and was just lying there, when a quiet beeping came to my ears. Upon homing in on its source, I realized that things were going to be tense for me. Why might you ask? The signal was coming from not the Federation com-unit I tend to use, but from a second and more versatile communication unit I had. It had a built-in image projector that could put out the image of the person on the other end and scans the one talking to do the same for the one on the other end. This device however, is usually used for serious or emergency calls… which begs the question, am I in some sort of trouble or is this serious business of some sort? Neither idea was appealing to me or something I look forward to when it has happened, especially if the one calling is the one I technically report to. I'm not so fond of my "boss", nope, I'm actually kind of scared of them if I were honest.

Well, the only one way to find out, I just hope that it isn't my boss, I'm not in the best mood right now. I got off the bed and set the communicator on the desk and switched it on. When the device came on, the image of the Human Federation Flag came up, then changed over to a different one that isn't the normal one that the general public known. No, it was the insignia that represents Federation Military High Command. I instantly straitened once I'd seen the symbol, for it meant that I was likely about to talk to a member of the Federation's Admiralty, and I had respect for their job, it's not one I would ever want to have or be in!

Over the next ten seconds, an image was built and it was about halfway through that I figured out who I was about to talk to. As the image of the man sharpened to being recognizable, his height was 6'3". His hair was short and silvery-grey and the fine groomed mustache was the same color. The man's eye color was blue and gave a feel of trust and experience. He was in his mid-seventies, around seventy-five if I would to narrow the age down. His name was Ben Moses and he is one of the Admirals, specifically one of the two that lead the rest of the Federation Admiralty which led the Federation military. He's a Coordinator that's from the Euros Coalition and is a man that has earned my respect time and time again.

I saluted the man, "Admiral Moses sir, to what do I owe the honor of talking to you like this sir?" I asked politely.

" _Commander McGregor, it's good to see you are doing okay. The reason for this call is two-fold, the first is to give you another chance to opt out of the assignment you have, none would blame you or think any less of you, I can assure you. The Second reason is a warning,_ " replied Moses.

I smiled slightly, "Kind of you to offer that to me and it's appreciated sir, but my answer hasn't changed, still is no. I'm the best person to do the job, and other than a mask man's interference providing a growing pain in my butt, it's going swimmingly," I answered.

Admiral Moses sighed, " _By masked man, would you be referring to Rau Le Creuset I take it?_ " he asked.

I nodded, "You know him?" I inquired.

" _Yes, unfortunately, have had the displeasure of meeting the man, a long story as to how and why and is not the time to get into it. But back to the matter at hand, if the Archangel has linked up with the Alliance's 8_ _th_ _orbital fleet by this point, then the warning I have is valid. A ZAFT force is on an intercept course, probable intent is to target the Archangel. The force is made up of four Nazca-class and two Laurasia-class and they are under the command of the ZAFT champion, the Black Zephyr, Sakura Clyne. A Federation force is on route to assist as Duane Halberton has done the Federation some favors. However, the time of their arrival is uncertain,_ " returned Moses.

I stiffened at hearing that Sakura would be coming for the Archangel I mean, a ZAFT force coming at us isn't pleasant but not unexpected, especially with Le Creuset likely within those forces. Yet, to make matters worse, Sakura herself has to be the one in charge of the said force! The coming battle is one that I can't guess how it will go. With one of ZAFT's best tacticians, who's pretty much second only to the one who leads the ZAFT military, going against the Earth Forces' best tactical commanding officer, Duane Halberton. All I can say, is this will be a hell of a mess! I brought up a hand to rub my temple, "Would you have any timeframe of when contact with the ZAFT force sir?" I asked tiredly.

" _Current estimations put ETA of contact at around twenty-four hours from now,_ " replied Admiral Moses.

I was about to say that I understood the information, when a knock on the door to my quarters, "Tye, Miss Ramius and Miss Badgiruel said they wanted to talk to all of us pilots," said my friend Kira Yamato.

I did some very quick thinking, for I don't want this to be discovered just yet. I held up a hand to ask Admiral Moses to wait a moment, "Uh Kira, I'm busy with something right this second. Go ahead of me and I'll be along shortly when I'm finished," I replied.

"Okay" returned Kira, before the sound of his footsteps told me my friend had left.

I turned back to Admiral Moses, "Thank you for the information sir, I'll keep it in mind," I said.

" _Of course commander, but remember, your mission is of the utmost importance. For the future safety of our citizens and the Human Federation itself, the Earth Alliance and Earth Forces must not obtain usable mobile suit data. Moses out_ ," he finished, before the communication line was severed.

Well, my assignment certainly is much easier said than done, but I knew that would be the case from just reading the orders. And now things have suddenly become more complicated for me as well as others, that's for sure. I stored the com-device and then headed towards the Archangel's navigation bridge to see what the two leading officers wanted.

Once I reached the bridge, I was redirected to the Captain's cabin, which I went to, getting all the more curious about what the officers wanted. In the cabin, I saw that Murrue Ramius had already been speaking to the four in the room when I slipped in. It was Natarle Badgiruel that noticed my appearance, "Good to see you were able to join us Mr. McGregor," she said flatly.

Everyone turned and faced me, putting me on the spot, "Oh um, yeah, sorry for not being here earlier, something came up that needed my attention," I returned with a slight smile.

"Well, as was being said, once we join up with the 8th orbital fleet, the plan is for the refugees along with the volunteers to be transferred over to the Menelaos. From there, they will be sent down to Earth and this journey for them will be over and done. That of course would include Kira, Lacus and yourself Tyler," said Murrue.

I gained a deadpanned expression, "I believe I've stated the fact before now, I'm a member of the Federation Military, giving some of my services to this ship, not a volunteer. That said, I'm free to do whatever the hell I freaking see fit to, whether my actions go against your orders or not, there's a difference, do remember that," I replied.

"Still, your performance and services have been appreciated, thank you," spoke up Natarle.

I glanced over at the Ensign, my eyebrows raised, "I think that's the first time I've heard you vocally say thank you in my presence Ensign Badgiruel," I remarked.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The 8th orbital fleet was now all around the Archangel, the white vessel having received its orders as to where it was to position itself among the fleet moved forward. "Turn about one-hundred and eighty degrees," ordered Murrue. "Reduce speed another twenty percent, and prepare to match velocity with the 8th Fleet." Murrue ordered.

The Archangel turned a hundred and eighty degrees, now facing the same direction as the 8th Fleet. The engines fired, countering the powerful warship's previous momentum, began to move it forward at the same speed as the other ships around her. The Archangel It didn't take long for the Archangel to sidled up alongside the fleet and the flagship, the Agamemnon-class carrier Menelaos moved to be beside the Archangel.

"Is this really a good idea?" asked Arnold, turning the pilot's chair slightly to look back at Murrue. "For us to cruise alongside the Menelaos?"

"It's what Admiral Halberton ordered, he most likely wants to get a better look at the ship," said Murrue with a slight smile. "He has informed us that, later on, he will be paying us a personal visit. As you may know, he was one of the biggest supporter of the development project that produced this ship and the G-weapons."

While that was happening, in the mess hall and in the midship corridors, the civilians were watching the displays which were showing the 8th orbital fleet. And when the Menelaos came on, many gain expressions of relief, for the Agamemnon-class and its commanding officer was well-known. Duane Halberton had a reputation that preceded him, and he was known for wishing to protect innocent people, no matter the side they were on.

Not too long after the Archangel linked up with the 8th fleet, the news of the plan to move the civilians over to the Menelaos spread. All the volunteers from Heliopolis were off duty once the Archangel started moving alongside the Menelaos. And so, they were going towards the mess hall, discussing what would happen next, "Civilians are really going to be transferred to the Menelaos," Miriallia informed her friends. "There'll be two shuttles doing that, one is on its way here now, then they're supposed to transport us all to Orb." Since she'd manned communications, it was only Natural that she knew that information.

"You said 'them'," commented Kuzzey. "What about us?"

"We'll be disembarking too, of course," said Miriallia, looking down at herself briefly.

"Yeah," said Tolle, "We may be wearing these uniforms, but we're still civilians, after all."

Sai then spoke up, "Yes, but if Kira, Lacus and Tye leave, then what happens to the Asuka. It doesn't belong to the Earth Alliance, yet I don't see them just giving it back to Orb. Problem is there has been no talk about it, like the subject is being avoided. And I'm worried that there will be some that won't be as willing to let them leave, none onboard the Archangel, but others in the fleet."

Flay listened to the conversation between Miriallia, Sai, Tolle and Kuzzey, and felt conflicted. While it was true that those who had been helping out were volunteers, and so, not officially assigned to this ship, that didn't mean that they didn't feel like any less than any other member of the crew. With all the fighting and other things that had occurred to the Archangel and those on her, Flay didn't want to think about what could've happened if Kira and Lacus hadn't been here along with Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey. So then, if they leave… Then what will happen to the Archangel when trouble come its way? The questions didn't sit well with Flay at all.

Back on the bridge, Murrue was satisfied at seeing that the Archangel was now where it was supposed to be positioned within the 8th Fleet. There was still one thing left to do in her mind, and that was to thank those who had been protecting the Archangel personally. So, Murrue told the crew on the bridge to keep an eye on things, before she headed towards the lift to the rest of the ship. However, Natarle came up from the CIC and followed the captain into the lift as there was a topic she wanted to discuss. "Captain, tell me, what do you plan to do about the mobile suits onboard?" Asked Natarle.

Murrue was taken aback at the question, "Plan to do what the mobile suits? What are you talking about Natarle?" She questioned.

Natarle fixed Murrue Ramius with her gaze, "Captain, everyone aboard this ship knows that we wouldn't have made it this far without at least one of those mobile suits or their pilots. Having three admittedly was in our favor and helped us make it through even better, but the point still stands, those machines and their abilities have proven crucial. And if we honest with one another, the machines' pilots are the reason the mobile suits are as powerful as they are." She reasoned.

Murrue was not disagreeing with her second in command, she had a fair point in this subject. But, what it was that Natarle was trying to say, eluded Murrue, "What are you getting at Natarle?" Murrue asked.

"Are you just going to let the three of them go?" Posed Natarle.

Murrue was shocked at what Natarle was suggesting, for it could be seen as extortion and exploitation. Kira and Lacus had been put and forced into that position at the beginning due to the nature of the situation at that time. But, Natarle was suggesting to make them enlist in the Earth Forces and then fight others like themselves. Murrue couldn't think of a way to answer the question right away, instead when the lift doors slid open, Murrue sailed out of the elevator.

"Captain?!" Natarle exclaimed, before she followed Murrue.

Natarle caught up with Murrue quickly and Murrue looked towards her, "I see what you're trying to say Natarle. But, Kira and Lacus aren't members of the military, and Tyler… well, I would imagine you of all people know that he won't do something he doesn't want to. After all, the two of you clash often enough for that to be made clear," Murrue stated.

Natarle held back her thoughts from being said out loud, for she knew to what Murrue was referring to. Tyler McGregor had been a frequent irritation to Natarle so they didn't get along. Natarle had seriously considered dragging the teen to one of the brig cells on the Archangel and throw him in it for a while. She knew that physically doing that might be an issue, since Tyler could probably out do Natarle herself in a fight. However, Natarle knew were to acquire cords to tie the male teenager up and it had been a temptation multiple time to go and fetch some. In the end, Natarle sighed, "I'm say, that after seeing their performance, with their help there could be real hope for the Alliance in this war. There has been very little of that, less the longer the war has been going and you know that as well as I do," Natarle said. She paused, then continued, "Should we really let such hope slip away?"

Murrue gazed at Natarle, "That is not a decision that either of us get to make Natarle, that's up to Kira, Lacus and Tyler themselves."

 **-Line Break-**

The Gamow

Athrun was examining the footage from their last battle with the legged ship again for the fourth time the whole way through. He had taken records from every source available; the Gamow, the Duel, the Buster, the Blitz and the Aegis. Athrun had then spent the last day reexamined all the data from every angle he could. He'd even froze the images and further examined specific ones, studying them for hours on end to try and help. Yet, Athrun couldn't figure out or explain how the chain events happened the way they had, even knowing who two of the three pilots didn't help him understand. And Athrun once again, growled one word that voiced his frustration, "How?!"

The battle had started out as planned, the Aegis, Duel and Buster, had kept the enemy mobile suits and armors busy. While the enemy force was kept occupied, the Blitz had gone for the ship itself, a simple plan working as it should. And even the mobile suit that Tyler said he was piloting, which was considered the 'wild card' by Nicol and himself, had been occupied by the Buster. No matter how you looked at the battle up to that point, things had been going in their favor. Sure, there was some trouble, but that was part of preparation for a battle, calculating for the unexpected to come up. So, when Nicol reached the legged ship and began his attack, it should've been over right then and there!

However, then the skirmish morphed and twisted in two different ways, which changed the battle so completely, it was crazy! Those changes were the machine that Tyler flew vanished from not just sight, but also, seemingly all forms of detection. The ability was far better than the Blitz had been capable of with its stealth capabilities, and they were supposed to have the same system. Then and perhaps the more horrifying change, the winged mobile suit and the other Alliance machine… Kira and whoever the other pilot was as Tyler never had said the Strike's pilot was, they had suddenly begun to move differently that they had ever before.

That sudden shift in the two enemy mobile suits had been beyond scary, it had been outright frightening! Both pilots moved like they had eyes in the backs of their heads, their reaction time sped up to a ridiculous level and they sped about as if G-forces had no effect on them! Even for a Coordinator, those maneuvers… they shouldn't have been feasible by any but the most experienced pilots and even they don't tend to do such things due to the stress induced. An example, happened when the white one had dodged the Duel's shots then somehow closed the distance between them in no time flat. Then, the Duel had gained gashes from the winged machines beam sabers and then… well Yzak had in the end lost. And how the X-105 Strike had gotten below and behind the Aegis, to cut off its legs and damaging the visual cameras, all before Athrun had been able to comprehend what had happened… it boggled his mind.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they'd been dancing almost literal circles around the four elite ZAFT Reds! Not only that, each ZAFT pilot was completely trounced by one of the three enemy suits, inflicting heavy damage along the way by the end. Then there was the Shadow as Tyler had called the black enemy machine. The visual records had made Athrun seriously wonder just how good Tyler could possibly be. Tyler had taken the Blitz by surprise true… but, for Tyler to proceeded to whip Nicol as if he was a green pilot fresh out of training, that was nuts! If what happened to Nicol was anything to go by, Tyler was in another league above all of them. From what Athrun had observed, the only reason that Nicol and Dearka were even alive right now, was Tyler didn't want to kill them. Tyler could have, there was no question in that to Athrun, had he employed beam weapons, he would be helping plan the funerals of both of his comrades.

The results of the battle had been harsh to all… as well as humbling to some, they had underestimated their opponents and had paid the price of that. Yzak was still recovering in the infirmary from the explosion in the Duel's cockpit and the shrapnel that had accompanied it. The shrapnel the he had taken in his face had shattered Yzak's visor, it had been only an extra security block designed to slam shut when the cockpit was threatened with exposure that had saved Yzak from the vacuum of space and the death it brings.

Technically, that was the only pilot injury that had been sustained, yet the pride of the ZAFT pilots was hit hard and that couldn't be denied. Nonetheless, the damage to the mobile suits was much worse than the pilots' pride as and served as a proof of the failure. Between the four mobile suits, the Aegis's losing its legs and head cameras being disabled were pretty light compared to what the others received.

The Buster had lost its high-energy beam rifle, even if its gun launcher was relatively undamaged. The rifle could be replace if not for its combining ability with the gun launcher, it had been a difficulty up to this point. Of course, that meant Dearka would be unable to use the sniper rifle or shotgun configurations until the rifle could be replicated. Granted, it was better that than Dearka get killed, but the sacrifice of one of the Buster's guns to defend the cockpit would take time to undo.

Then the Blitz… could be considered even more severely damaged. Its shield had been its main weapon since its beam rifle and saber were built into it, now that shield would need major repair and parts of it likely would need replacing. The beam saber was the only weapon that worked now, the beam rifle had a series of problems and the rocket darts' launching system would need replacing. The problem was that they hadn't gotten everything together to reproduce it or fix some of the Alliance machines' parts. So, for the time being, the suit would have to go into combat armed with conventional rifles and sabers. The other issue for the Blitz, the 'Gleipnir' the grapple claw itself was fine, but its cable had been stressed hard. The cable that allowed retraction had become dangerous to use after the pulling the Shadow had done to the Blitz.

The Duel, well… Yzak had been fairly reckless, yet amazingly, the external damage wasn't as bad as first expected. However, the same couldn't be said of the internal damage that had been done. The length of time that it would take to undo the problems there were, the engineers weren't even giving estimations on that. If anything, the engineers and the mechanics were 'pretty miffed' at the pilots for the condition they brought their machines back in to put it mildly. When they had seen the Duel… Athrun swore he had heard a quite a few muttered curses and complains about Yzak and the work he provided them and he probably did. However, at seeing the other three machines' condition… those in the hanger became visibly angry. So, Athrun, Nicol and Dearka were avoiding them for the time being, in the hope of getting back into their good graces.

Granted, ZAFT had been working on mobile suit-scale beam weaponry for some time, so they'd been pretty quick in reverse-engineering the basics. Although, there were some issues with mass production and deployment. So, to replace weapons such as rifles or blade is fairly simple, but more customize weapons and equipment isn't as easy. What this meant for the Le Creuset Team, was that they could easily replace beam rifles and beam sabers… but the weaponry for the Blitz and the Buster were different.

"Hey Athrun, what's up with you?" asked Dearka as he walked into the lounge and spotted Athrun working on his laptop.

Dearka had brought Athrun out of his thoughts and he looked up at his comrade, "I'm still examining footage from the last battle," said Athrun distractedly, "What happened out there makes no sense to me. I'll admit that the black mobile suit has proven to be the best performer in the two battles it has participated in, but that's not all. We figured and prepared for that opponent, but that doesn't explain what happened out there.

Athrun paused, ordering his thoughts, "The other two suits have been improving unusually quickly, which I can't come up with what can have cause such. When all this started out, things were going according to plan. We were better than them by a small margin overall, even with the black one, we should be able to beat it with teamwork. Yet now, those two other pilots seem to be at least our equals, then halfway through the fight, something really provoked them, and then… I can't even describe what happened. However, we all saw and witnessed with our own eyes what occurred. Those pilots… they just snapped, after that, it was like we were fresh green pilots or novices getting taught by a seasoned instructor. Four machines, piloted by ZAFT Reds, completely trounced by only three others and these machines are supposed to be of comparable power."

Athrun was breathing a little hard after getting out what had been really bugging him, Dearka said nothing, yet he understood Athrun's feelings, his were similar. The door to the room slid open and Nicol entered the room, "Yeah, I know what you mean," he said. "I've been looking over the records as well and I've been unable to explain what happened out there and how either. I can't recall ever seeing anything like what occurred to us or what we witnessed. That precise movement of mobile suits, the agility and battlefield awareness, that isn't something normal pilots are capable, it usually takes years to learn. Whether they are Naturals or Coordinators, that was unlike anything I've even seen, read or heard about before."

Both Dearka and Athrun stared at Nicol, Dearka spoke first, "Wait Nicol, you think that the pilots of those machines could be Coordinators like us?"

Nicol shrugged, "It is a possibility, and honestly, with the luck we've had lately, I'm open to even crazy sounding ideas in order to understand things."

"What do you mean luck Nicol," asked Athrun curiously.

Nicol pinned both Athrun and Dearka with his gaze, "We're lucky to be alive right now, with what those three mobile suit pilots did out there, I believe if we're all truthful, we know all of us could have had far worse injuries and damaged machines than we do," Nicol said. He paused, before he kept going, "However, I still say the pilot of the black machine is the most dangerous of the three."

Dearka swallowed hard and then asked what was on his mind, "Okay Nicol, I'll say that with what happened out there, things could have ended worse than they are. But why do you think the black suit's pilot is the most dangerous? Sure, I'll admit they good and skilled, probably a lucky pilot too but come on, how much more dangerous can that one pilot be?" asked Dearka, curious as to the reason that his comrade had.

Nicol gazed hard at Dearka, which made his comrade stiffen a little, "The reason Dearka, is that machine has shown abilities that are different than the others. If it were just that, then we wouldn't need to worry as much. But, the pilot did things that I've only read of the most elite pilots doing." Nicol shivered, before he kept going, "The Buster lost it beam rifle, but think what would have happened if you hadn't moved when you did."

Dearka thought back for a moment to the point of the battle that Nicol was talking about. It hadn't been nice to lose the rifle, but as Dearka thought on how the Buster had been positioned. His thoughts came to a dead halt, as he realized that instead of the Buster losing the beam rifle, that shot would have hit the torso… and then gone through the cockpit.

Nicol saw that Dearka was understanding just how close things had been for him, then Nicol continued. "I'll admit, I was terrified and was shaking by the end of the fight I had with the black suit."

Both Athrun and Dearka stared at Nicol, for he wasn't one to let emotion show during a battle. For him to show fear and terror, that said a lot about how bad the fight had been going for Nicol. And yet, Nicol still had more to say, "Call it a hunch if you wish nevertheless, I don't think we've seen that pilot's full abilities and capabilities as of yet, and that's what scares me the most." Nicol's gaze flicked between his comrades, "Imagine if that pilot was able to hold their own against one of the ZAFT champions, and as far as I can tell thus far, it's possible," said Nicol.

Both Athrun and Dearka froze at what Nicol was suggesting. For them to have been going against a pilot that had the potential to fight ZAFT champions and hold their own in that fight. It was a very frightening idea to imagine, more so for Athrun as he knew who the pilot was. "You got to be kidding," uttered Dearka in a slightly shaky tone, "You seriously think that black machine's pilot is that much better than us?"

Athrun, bit his tongue at Dearka's question. Yes, Tyler was likely a skilled pilot, Athrun couldn't say how skilled, but Nicol had more a point that even he had thought. Even back during the time that Tyler, Kira and Athrun himself were at the Lunar pep academy, Tyler was notorious for not showing more than he saw as necessary to outdo those going against him. On the few times that Athrun had seen Tyler show what he could do… it had been ridiculous in its own way! "Dearka, I believe Nicol may be right in this," remarked Athrun, gaining the attention of the two other pilots. "Think back, at Heliopolis, that machine forced myself back along with two GINNs on their own. Yes, with the assistance of the white winged suit true, but still. Then, in this most recent battle, it was more dancing around us, rather than fighting us and you should know what I'm talking about. I would not doubt if that pilot had put their mind to it… Nicol and you would likely not be standing here right now."

"As much as it pains me to admit it, I would agree with you Athrun. That black suit's pilot could have killed me multiple times, but they didn't. I don't know why they didn't do so, but I think the Black Zephyr and Admiral Treize will be interested in what we saw in this battle," commented Nicol.

Dearka snorted, "Oh yeah, Treize is gonna be real interested if he hears about this," said Dearka. "He'll probably fly out here personally to check it out… Along with giving a lecture on learning from this failure."

"Well, you know how he is," said Nicol. He shook his head. "If we're to be candid with ourselves, if they'd pursued, we would've been done for. As it was, we probably could've been beaten by Moebius Zero armors."

"And that, is a scary thought," said Dearka.

"Yes, but it's true nonetheless," said Athrun. "The Buster's missile supply was all used up and one of its rifles was gone, the Aegis had lost both legs and the main camera, the Blitz for the time being has lost the use of its shield and the Gleipnir, and the Duel was as good as pilotless right now." Athrun snorted slightly, shaking his head. "The machines are impressive," he continued. "They definitely retained the most powerful of them. But looking at the records, it's the pilots that I'm really interested in. Those pilots are anything but ordinary, no normal pilot could possibly do what they did. Not even an average Coordinator."

"Yeah, I agree," said Dearka. "That's what really worries me. Wonder what Commander Le Creuset will think of all this…"

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

Now that the Archangel had linked up with the 8th orbital fleet, there was much less to do. I'm one that dislikes being idol, especially during the time you're waiting for an event to happen that you're not looking forward to, so I headed to the hanger to find something to do. And with the approaching event involving Sakura being the very thing I wanted to take my mind off of… I needed a job that would need most of my attention.

After entering the hanger, I saw that it was busy with activity as it usually was. Spotted Kira's head going into the cockpit of the red Zero, likely with Mu asking him to work on it and with Kira's inability to refuse… bless his heart, even though he should learn to say no, was doing as Mu had asked. While I was floating over towards the mobile suits, I overheard Kira and Mu talking. "We've already hooked up with the fleet," grumbled Kira, popping out of the Zero and startling Mu. "So, would you tell me why we're in a rush?"

"I don't feel secure while it's still damaged," said Mu, shrugging slightly.

Really? Honestly, I don't blame the man, more so since I know what's coming and haven't told anyone, mostly because I doubt they would believe me. If they did, then they would demand to know where and how I got the info and I wouldn't give them an answer they would like. "The pilots joining us from the 8th Fleet most of them are all wet behind the ears," added Murdoch. "If anything happens to them, we'll need both La Flaga and McAlester to sortie."

I came to a stop as I really don't like the sound of that at all, "Wet behind the ears you say Chief?" I spoke up and all in the hanger turn to face me as I floated closer. "I'm almost afraid to ask just how inexperienced you're implying the pilots in the 8th orbital are Chief Murdoch."

The 8th fleet is about to go against one of the best, probably second only to ZAFT's Admiral Treize. To have inexperience pilots… you might as well be having them sign their death certificates before they go out to the field. It will pretty much be what they're going out to, they'll be used as target practice for the ZAFT pilots. Things are already going to be hard, if what Chief Murdoch says is true, then things will be harder still. I'm not saying that the 8th fleet is completely doomed. The 8th Fleet is large, and it was led by one of the most brilliant tacticians and strategists in the entire Atlantic Federation if not the Earth Forces themselves. Yet, novice mobile armor pilots, that's more than simply fatal against ZAFT's mobile suits, it's suicidal!

"Why do you ask about the 8th fleet pilots Tyler?" asked Krystal coming closer to where I was.

Oh dear, what do I say to that?! I smiled a bit and waved a hand in dismissal, "Oh, just wondering what Chief Murdoch was implying, that's all," I said.

"Okay, but what will happen with the Strike, the Asuka and the Shadow?" asked Kira. "Is it really okay if we leave them as they are?"

That drew everyone's attention, the reactions were that all in the hanger looked over at the mobile suits that Kira and Lacus had piloted since fleeing Heliopolis, then at the Shadow. They had all but forgotten that it was pretty much impossible for any Natural to pilot any of the three mobile suits. The OS of the Strike had been so heavily tailored to Lacus's specifications at this point that even many Coordinators would have difficulty with the machine. The Asuka was similar but for Kira instead of Lacus, even if it was an Orb Union mobile suit. However, the Earth Alliance might discreetly deliver it to Orb in an attempt to soothe relations with the nation whose colony they'd helped destroy. The Shadow… well, with the 'changes' I had made, I dare any to try to pilot it. Sure, it's based on the Federation OS that Naturals can use, but it isn't the same!

"Hmm, that's a good question," said Mu, "I guess none of us really thought of that. But I'm not so sure we should return it to its original state, since that would reduce its performance by a noticeable margin."

"Well then, let's hope we can get someone who can pilot them as is," came Murrue's voice suddenly.

All of us looked to the entrance of the hanger as the acting captain Murrue Ramius, floating towards us with a smile on her face. "Uh, captain?" asked Kira.

"What's this? To what do we owe the honor?" asked Mu.

"Indeed," I added.

"Sorry to interrupt," said Murrue, landing on the Zero next to Kira. "I just wanted to have a chat with Tyler and Kira."

"Huh?" murmured Kira, while I just stared at the woman a little suspiciously.

Murrue chuckled slightly, "Oh don't give me that suspicious look of yours," she said, "although, I can't really say that I blame you."

The acting captain motioned for us to follow her, which Kira and I did. We went over to a corner of the hanger and to my surprise, Lacus was there as well. Once we gathered and face Murrue Ramius, she smiled before speaking, "I've hardly had a free moment," she said, "So, I could never find the time to really talk to the three of you and, well… I just wanted to thank you all properly this time." Kira looked at her curiously as did Lacus and myself. She continued, "I'm well aware that I've put you two through a great deal of hardship," continued Murrue, referring to Kira and Lacus, "And I'm truly grateful for what you've done for us." She then turned to me, "The same goes for you Tyler, and I would like to personally apologize to you for the distrust that you've experienced while on the Archangel. You shouldn't have to face that just because you're a pilot in the Federation military."

I was taken aback by the apology as it was unexpected, then Murrue bowed in thanks to all of us. "I put a lot on all of your shoulders, and made you give us your all. I can't thank you enough."

"Uh, it's alright," said Kira quickly, uncomfortable with this show of gratitude. "Really, captain."

"Just don't lose this respect and gratitude captain, it's rare in the Earth Alliance and it shouldn't be," I commented.

"The others may not actually say it to your face," she said, "but each of us are deeply grateful."

"The way things are going right now," she continued, suddenly changing the subject, "I imagine it will be hectic even on Earth. So, I wish you three the best of luck." Murrue held out a hand to Kira, who pretty much spoke for Lacus and himself. The two had always supported one another, and Lacus was possibly a better pilot, though with the one that taught her… not that surprising though. Yet, Kira tended to stand out more, especially with the way he would always be the first to speak up if he disagreed with them. It's a good and not so good quality that Kira has. For a moment, Kira just stared at Murrue's offered hand before reaching out and shaking it.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Gamow

It had been over twelve hours since their trouncing by the legged ship, and they'd rendezvoused not only with the Vesalius, the Ziegler and the Galvani, but also with the destroyers the Black Jade and the Fairchild. The pilots on the Gamow stared out of viewing ports on the bridge, "I still can't believe it," muttered Athrun as he looked on at the ZAFT ships coming into formation. "I know Captain Ades said that Admiral Treize had said that she would be coming, but I didn't actually believe she would come."

"Agreed Athrun, to think they deployed her," said Nicol. "They actually deployed her for this."

"I would guess Trays asked her directly," added Dearka. "It would be just like him. Probably can't get away himself, so he sends the Black Zephyr out to do the job instead, the legged ship must be seen as more of a problem than we thought it was."

"The Black Jade is ordering full six-way communication sir," said the com-officer, Zelman nodded.

"Put them on screen," he said.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as the faces of the four ZAFT Commanders appeared, along with the face of the Fairchild's captain, Neil Harlous and a woman. She was the woman that every soldier in ZAFT had heard of from the first day of basic training, the ZAFT champion that was known as the Black Zephyr. She was a woman feared by most and could easily be seen as the most feared ZAFT commander.

" _Zephyr, how good to see you again,_ " said Le Creuset

" _The feeling isn't mutual_ _Creuset_ _,_ " replied the Black Zephyr, her tone almost completely devoid of any emotion. " _I've_ _always_ _said_ _you enjoyed being needlessly destructive and I'll take the fate of Heliopolis as proof_ _of that._ _I don't believe your claims about what happened for a second_ _, you instigated it and your claims are more justification of your interests for even a second. However, Lanus_ _asked me to take over this job and to my misfortune you appear to be permanently attached to this mission thanks to the National Defense Committee._ "

" _You wound me Zephyr and after all the times we worked together…_ "

Le Creuset was cut off, " _You're a hell of a pilot Le Creuset,_ _and you can get results,_ _but that doesn't mean I agree or_ _like the way you tend to go about it. This situation is as it is, that doesn't mean I_ _have to be pleased with_ _it_ _,_ " the Zephyr said bluntly, a bit of emotion in her tone this time. " _But, personal matters aside, we have a mission to attend to. As of this moment, I will be taking full command of the pursuit of the Earth Forces prototype warship and the mobile weapons aboard her. I'll be expecting you all to be giving it your utmost; Commander Le Creuset, Commander Porto, Commander Laconi, you will all follow my orders. Is that understood?_ "

" _Ma'am!_ " said all three commanders, saluting the General even though she was formally one rank above them, then for her to be at least a couple of years younger than any of them on top of that, yet her authority was highly respected within the ZAFT military, yet she was a champion after all.

Athrun shifted uncomfortably though, he'd wanted to talk to her back at the PLANTs, but that was during circumstances where he'd felt secure in his ability to bolt if things soured. He'd known her for years, but since the war began, the rosette ZAFT commander had begun to even scare him more than a little. After all, Sakura Clyne, the Black Zephyr and Blood Princess of ZAFT as her other nicknames that she had earned, had never really cared much for her baby sister's fiancée.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **End chapter 8 revised! Hope you're all liking the changes thus far, has taken a sizable amount of time to do them. Please take the time to write a review to say what you think, point out errors you see that I haven't… yes, I admit that I make mistakes like everyone else. I take people telling me that, it helps me to make less of them going forward. Until the next chapter (Whenever that will come) peace out all!**


	9. Phase 9: Feelings of Unease

**A/n**

 **I'm starting to feel like I'm repeating myself as this is a revision rather than a written chapter. Again, I ask you don't hold me to an exact timeline, as I'm estimating the best I can along with the changes I've made in the original timeline. So, the usual disclaimer of me not owning anything to do with the Gundam universe or any other universe I borrow things from. I do take credit for my own characters that I've created along with the custom machines that I describe in this story. Okay then, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 9: Feelings of Unease

February 11th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

I'd finished dinner and was about to head to my quarters to get some much-needed shut eye now there was some time. I had even come to the point that I'd swallowed my pride, which had happened earlier today, for me to be able to look forward to getting an amount of decent sleep. That had required me going to the ship's doctor and asked him for medication to help me sleep. After I'd explained that I was having nightmares and they were keeping me from getting good sleep, he was willing to give me stuff to help. Although, I didn't go into much detail as to the subject matter of those nightmares, didn't see a reason to. Plus, I didn't have any crew duty shifts scheduled for the next twelve hours and there was around twenty hours to go before Sakura reaches the 8th fleet. As many of us on the Archangel would need decent sleep before the battle occurs, especially the pilots who protect the ship, like myself.

So, I was looking forward to getting some peace and quiet, think I've earned some with all I've been doing lately. However, I didn't get to by bed as I was forced to do something else. I'd barely gotten to be in front of the door of my quarters, Mu appeared out of nowhere. The man grabbed me and the two of us headed off down the corridors, in the direction of the hanger. To say that I was in a grouchy mood, wouldn't exactly say it for me, but as I should be nice, I didn't snap at the man… yet. So, as I was being pulled along, I glanced at the blonde man that was my fellow pilot, "Mu, where are we going, and why are you dragging me there? If you didn't know, I was heading towards my bed thank you very much. I haven't done anything to warrant a reprimand… at least, nothing comes to mind and I don't have a shift for a while. So, care to fill me in on what the hell is going on that demands that I forgo the sleep that I was starting to look forward to?" I asked in a flat tone.

"No time for sleeping Tyler, have people to see," Mu replied curtly.

Really? People to see he says… think I would rather go with the sleeping option, which requires me and my bed having some serious 'getting to know each other time' involved. I would rather be doing that than meeting whomever these people Mu mentions are. Yet, I wasn't given an option or a chance to voice my opinion as Mu continued to drag me to the hanger.

Once we got to the largest open space within the Archangel, I noted that all the crew of the ship was present. The senior officers, with their uniforms unusually neat were at the front of the groups that was waiting. My friends were behind the officers but, they were wearing expressions of confusion of this situation. The Vice Foreign Minister Allster and Flay were a short distance from the crew other than the mechanics, who were working to get a ship-to-ship shuttle that was floating towards the floor of the hangar. I get the hunch that whomever is on that shuttle is who the officers are waiting for and who is responsible for me not going to my quarters and getting sleep.

Mu let me go and moved forward and joined the other ship officers leaving me enough of a distance from the door, that slipping away would be easily noticed. So, unhappily accepted that I was stuck here for the time being and moved over to be behind my friends, out of the view of everyone. I hope this didn't last long, I would still like to get sleep, so that I'm as ready as I can be for when Sakura gets here. That woman will be trouble with a capitol T, and it won't end nicely for the Alliance. The craft clunked to the floor and settled as Murdoch and his mechanics secured it to the floor itself.

When the shuttle hatch opened, the first out of the craft was a well-built blond man with a mustache stepped out, wearing the white uniform of the Earth Forces. The uniform rank insignia was of a rear admiral on the collar and shoulder pad in the form of a gold bar for Alliance ranking. His hair was short and his eyes were brown. The man's appearance was neat and professional, yet the air he gave off was that of serious, but one you can depend on. My mood changed an amount after seeing the man, for I knew him, his name is Duane Halberton. He's been the commander of the 8th Fleet for years now. I've met the man a couple of times before now, and I thought he was a decent guy and a good commanding officer… and those are so very rare in the Earth Forces. All of the actual soldiers immediately snapped to attention and saluted… minus myself of course, I just stayed where I was and did nothing, though I don't know if Halberton noticed me.

My friends just watched, clearly not understanding what was going on by the looks on their faces, not that I couldn't understand. Doubt they knew who Halberton was, and the insignia on his uniform would mean little if anything to them. I know that those coming on board were the leaders of the 8th Orbital fleet, which are one of the stronger fleets in the Earth Alliance. Although, it didn't make a difference to me, I'm not under the command of the Alliance, I'm lending my skills and service to protect my friends… that just happens to coincide with helping the Archangel. That's my story and I'm firmly sticking to it no matter what others will say about me.

"You know," said Halberton as he floated down to the desk, "When I first heard of the collapse of Heliopolis, I was convinced that was the end of this hope." Halberton grabbed Murrue's arms gently to stop his forward momentum and push them down slightly, indicating to Murrue that she should stand at ease. "What a joy it is to see you people here and okay."

"You do us a tremendous honor," said Murrue. She saluted again. "It's a pleasure to see you again sir."

So then, Murrue Ramius has met Halberton before now, interesting… By the expression on the man's face, he still didn't like formalities unless they were really needed, something I can totally understand. He resigned himself and returned the salute, and then he and Murrue stood at ease. "I was a bit worried when informed that you were engaged against ZAFT in battle right before the rendezvous with the fleet," he said, looking around. "But given the reports, I'm quite delighted to hear that everyone is alright."

"Yes," said Murrue. "Although our crew is inexperienced, they have managed to pull us through a great deal."

At least the acting captain is humble enough to admit that the rest of the crew had been doing a crazy amazing job with running this ship. "So, it would seem," said Halberton, looking at the others.

Natarle stepped forward, "Ensign Natarle Badgiruel sir," she introduced.

"I'm Lieutenant Mu La Flaga, of the 7th Orbital Fleet," said Mu, introducing himself and saluting.

"Major Krystal McAlester, also of the 7th Orbital Fleet" Krystal introduce herself and snapping to.

"Ah," said Halberton, moving over to stand before Mu and Krystal as the two ship officers both stood at ease again. "We were fortunate indeed to have you two with us." Halberton held out his hand and Mu shook it, Halberton did the same for Krystal.

"Well, we wish we could've been of more service," Mu said, glancing briefly at the volunteers. "Those kids did a lot more than I did, that's for sure, and I don't just mean the ones who were piloting mobile suits."

"Hmm… yes, as I said, I read the reports," said Halberton before looking over at the volunteers. "So, who do we have over here?"

I wouldn't doubt he knows perfectly well who Sai, Tolle, Miriallia and Kuzzey were, nevertheless, I maintained a certain air of formality for the time being. The amusing thing, Halberton still didn't seem to notice my presence. I was trying not to nod off, I was still getting tired and wanted to sleep!

"Sir, these are the students from Heliopolis," said Murrue. "They've been helping with the operation of the ship."

The instant Murrue finished, Halberton began moving forward, right past Natarle, Mu and Krystal, heading over to our group. He landed in front of them and smiled as he looked them over. "We've done some checking on the families of each one of you," he said, "and everyone seems to be safe."

As I've seen before, Duane Halberton is a decent man and thinks about the welfare of others. He turned his eyes to Lacus, there seemed to be a brief moment of recognition yet, he merely frowned. It's possible that while doing the checking for the families that the name 'Don' didn't come up, since Lacus wasn't supposed to be there… and her real name isn't 'Don'. Halberton could have met Sakura and made a connection, Lacus and Sakura do look alike. Who knows what the reason is?

"We'd like to extend our gratitude for your assistance during this crisis," continued Halberton, smiling as the volunteers shared murmurs and looks of relief, "and I'd like to add my thanks as well."

It was then, that Halberton looked in my direction and saw me, of course he recognized me, I'm rather hard to forget. "Well, this is indeed a surprise, it has been awhile Tyler McGregor." He said, offering a hand to me.

I shook off the tiredness and moved forward and shook Halberton's hand, "Yes, it has been some time since our paths last intersected Admiral Halberton." I returned. Yet, I did feel the stares of the rest of the crew of the Archangel on me, probably due to the familiarity I spoke to Halberton with.

A second man came out of the shuttle, the man had a bit more girth than Halberton, was bald on top, but had dark grey hair on the sides. He was clearly an officer and a high ranking one at that, by the insignia, a captain. "Uh, sir?" said the man, "We don't have much time."

"Right, I know Hoffman," said Halberton, turning his eyes back to the students. "I'd be delighted if later we have an opportunity to sit down together and have a talk," he said to them. He then turned away and left the hangar with Hoffman, Murrue, Natarle, Mu, and Allster. Flay wandered over to her friends, staring at her father's back uncertainly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Black Jade

On board the ZAFT destroyer, the woman known as the Black Zephyr and the ZAFT's second best tactician, Sakura Clyne was waiting for the last commander to arrive. Her mood was growing fouler and darker the more than time that past waiting for Rau Le Creuset to arrive. Sakura's pink hair was floating around the bottom of her cheeks in the zero- G environment. Her green eyes were sweeping the bridge, and gave off an air of seriousness. Sakura was wearing the customary white ZAFT commander uniform, along with the FAITH crest on the left side of her collar. There was an ornamental sword on her left hip, connected to her uniform's belt. Lastly, the feeling that Sakura was putting off was one of coldness and lack of emotion, which is a sharp contrast to her father and sister, who are both considerably warmer people in terms of personality and presence. All on the bridge were feeling the air she was putting off, and it kept deepening the longer that Creuset was absent.

A few minutes later, Le Creuset finally came in, followed by both Athrun and Nicol, "You're late Creuset," Sakura coldly greeted the final participants.

"My apologies Zephyr," replied Creuset, before taking his place.

Sakura focused her attention on the digital field displayed, "Now that everyone is present, let's get into the briefing of this upcoming operation," she said to all the ZAFT commanders and the pilots of the stolen Earth Alliance machines with the exception of Yzak Joule due to his injuries.

The facts were laid out on the table, the first of which was the prototype Alliance warship had met up with the rest of the Alliance's 8th Orbital fleet. That of course, meant that in terms of numbers, ZAFT was at a disadvantage. Sakura knew it was likely, even probable that Duane Halberton was involved in the construction of the Earth Forces prototype mobile suits. He was a man who would support such a thing as he would see the potential of them far more than others. "The leader of the Alliance's 8th orbital fleet, Duane Halberton, is an excellent strategist and leader. I've personal experience going against the man and can tell all of you that underestimating him just because he's a Natural, is a mistake. A mistake that you might not live to regret, so don't be lax or not take this seriously. He doesn't have the favor of those morons in the Earth Force leadership with the actions he tends to take. However, under his leadership, the 8th Fleet is still quite formidable, making an attack on them difficult if done hastily," remarked Sakura.

She paused for a moment, all those there waited nervously, knowing that if one of them interrupted the woman, there would be very unpleasant consequences. So, all on the bridge stayed silent and waited, "From what information has been acquired, the 'Legged ship' as Creuset calls it, with the fleet will go to its intended destination. But, with things as they are currently, I disagree with most in that I don't believe that its destination is the Earth Alliance's Ptolemaeus Lunar base as it likely was originally," concluded Sakura.

"Are you sure Zephyr? Where else would the legged ship head to?" inquired Le Creuset.

Sakura glared at Le Creuset, "Their position strongly suggests that ship will descend down to Earth, most likely to the Earth Alliance's JOSH-A base in Alaska as that's their Earth Sphere Headquarters." She returned, and then continued, "Were that ship, even with the 8th Fleet, to set a course to the Moon, our forces would do a great deal to stop them."

"They fear Admiral Treize," remarked Laconi, looking up at her. "They know he won't be nearly as effective on Earth, but if they remain in space, then they'll be dealing with all the remaining Champions of ZAFT, with the Admiral leading them."

The reminder of the loss of some of the best warriors and pilots that ZAFT had, didn't feel nice for any there. Out of the eight original champions, led by Lanus Treize, four were gone. The champion the "Jachin Due Lion", had been killed during the second assault on Victoria, though his sacrifice had laid the path to victory. Two of the remaining three fallen, vanished at the battle of Endemion, those being the "Grey Roc" and the "Mocking Jay". The loss of those three champions had struck hard, but not as much as the last of the four 'fallen champions'.

The sudden disappearance of 'the comet' had dealt a serious blow to ZAFT and the PLANTs. For ZAFT, to lose their best ace pilot had shaken many, while the PLANTs felt fear and saddened at the loss of their 'defender of the people'. There had been some that had been happy that the comet had vanished, of course, but they didn't say anything out loud. Sakura had kept a watch on those individuals as a way to honor her friend the "comet".

Sakura nodded, "That being said, what's the total mobile suit complement between the vessels on site?" she asked.

Replies from the captains came and the grand total of force with mobile suits came out to be, seventeen GINNs, five CGUEs and three out of the four stolen Alliance suits. Whereas on the opposing side, the 8th fleet was made up of five Agamemnon-classes, twenty-five Drake-classes and twenty-one Nelson-class vessels. From those ships, there would be likely thirty-five to forty-five mobile armors to have to deal with. "We are outnumbered, but as it tends to take on average five mobile armors to take down one GINN, then we outmatch them. However, don't underestimate the enemy just because they're in mobile armors and not mobile suits. A well-placed shot can still kill any pilot, keep that in mind. Being overconfident is likely to get one killed out on the battlefield, I've seen that enough to know the truth of the statement," said Sakura.

Then the pink-haired woman gazed directly at Le Creuset and the Alliance suit pilots, "A recent example of the danger of overconfidence, is what resulted from Le Creuset and his pilots' attempts to sink the prototype Earth Forces ship," stated Sakura.

Rau Le Creuset kept silent, knowing that commenting at this point wouldn't help him and the three pilots being called out simply looked down and didn't meet the woman's gaze. It would be best for him to steel himself and let the woman chastise as she would. And so, Sakura began to elaborate on the subject as Creuset knew she would, "Take the last battle against the Earth Forces for instance, the odds were in your favor, but the results speak clearly."

Sakura pinned Athrun with her stare, "Athrun Zala, as the 'leader' of the team and with the promise you've shown, I've come expect a better performance from you. And yet, you not only allow the enemy take you by complete surprise, but you didn't make one effective counter and through your underestimation incurred serious damage to the suit you were piloting. The machines you and your fellow pilots were using suits that are comparable to the enemy's suits."

Athrun didn't meet her gaze nor said anything in his defense, Commander Clyne was right in her observations and he knew it. However, he wouldn't be the only one that would be reprimanded and that would be a fact. And though proof wasn't needed, it came in the form of Sakura turning to face Nicol. "Nicol Amalfi, like Zala, I would have and have come to expect better of you. You're one of a few I see with a talent and gift for tactics, and it served you well before now. Yet, you in the last battle, made a mistake that I would accept seeing from green pilots. And view it only once from them, before assuming the important lesson of the dangers of underestimating sunk in."

The pink-haired commander, then brought up an image of the black suit that was the current subject of her chastisement. "This black suit might have undefined specs as of yet, but from even the two encounters that you could've viewed and studied. You should have known this machine would be a difficult to go against and planned ahead better. However, to not land a hard hit at all… clearly there's a need for you to make improvements."

Nicol frowned and bowed his head in humility and shame, the woman he had come to respect was right and Nicol couldn't deny it. The defeat that they had suffered had been so complete, it had hurt far more than the damage to their mobile suits. Going over the records after the skirmish, had hammered the point home, even if Nicol couldn't explain how it had happened.

Dearka knew he was up next for this lecture, but this wasn't right in his view. Those three mobile suits and their pilots, had done things that were crazy! The more Dearka had thought about what Nicol had said, the more he had agreed with him. Those pilots had improved much more than any could have predicted and those facts had to be taken into account. "Now hold on just a minute ma'am," said Dearka, but Sakura shot him a glare that immediately snapped his jaw shut and gulp, wishing he hadn't said anything.

"All three of you along with your fellow pilot who is still recovering, became far too focused on the wrong target. With one of you going after the enemy ship while the rest keep the enemy defense forces busy, that shows an issue with target priority." Stated Sakura, glancing Creuset's way, "A bad habit, you no doubt learned from your commander. Since Le Creuset can see where the danger lies, but then goes for something close to it and not what he should." Sakura turned back to the three Alliance suit pilots, "The four of you should've focused on the enemy mobile suits first, before thinking about taking down the enemy warship. With teamwork, I'm confident that even the four of you should've been able to take down one or more of the enemy mobile suits. Pilot Joule is the prime and repetitive example of what happens when one let's personal glory and pride be their motivation. I can say the same for what happened at Artemis, a total blunder in the end."

The pink-haired woman turned back to face the rest in the room, "If it weren't for Commander Le Creuset, you'd all be flailing around like children lost in the dark. But, seeing as Defense Committee Chairman Zala has left the stolen prototypes in the hands of Le Creuset and you're his only pilots, I am forced to allow this to continue," she said.

Nicol kept quiet about the fact that the strategy of the previous battle was his idea as that would only make things worse for him. Sakura swept her ice-cold eyes over the entire gathering, causing everyone to shiver slightly, "In this next battle, the three of you," said Sakura, pointing at Athrun, Nicol and Dearka. "Will each be paired with a wingman of my choosing, no debate or argument."

They nodded quickly to that statement, "None fly solo, everyone is to understand that point, if anyone that does so, then they are on their own to get out of whatever they get into, you'll have no assistance," ended Sakura coldly.

A moment after Sakura thrown down this rule to all there, the door from the bridge to the rest of the vessel opened and four people entered. The one in their lead was the only one of the four that was in a green ZAFT pilot suit. The young man appeared to be in his early twenties and his height was five and a half feet with an average build overall. His hair was black, was straight and fell to the top of his neck. The man's face showed little to no expression, so was as good as blank as he came to a stop before the table and saluted Sakura, his name was Juno Mars.

The other male of the group was younger than Juno, being a teenager in his late teens and standing at 5'5". He had short blonde hair that framed his blue eyes. The young man's name was Ryan Peters, and unlike Juno, he had a slight smile on his face, which would make you think that he hadn't a care in the world. Ryan was in a ZAFT red pilot suit and was behind Juno and a bit to the left.

The other two of the group were females, with one being a teenager like Ryan and the other being mid-twenties. The teenager had a height of 5'4", straight posture and gave off a feel of seriousness that only Juno could out do. Her hair was raven black and went down to her hips. She had orchid colored eyes that were cold looking. The female teen's name was Lori Vance and she was in a ZAFT red pilot suit.

The last of the group of four as well as the oldest of them, was a woman that was 5'7" in height. She had red hair that was almost a crimson shade, which fell to the level of the woman's waist. Her eyes were a light brown and fit well in her face which most would call beautiful. However, her personality was not of a nice person, even if she acts like she is around people. Her name was Mindy Fairchild and she was in a red ZAFT pilot suit and was the second most mature of the group of four, just behind Juno who was the most mature.

Sakura introduced each one of the four pilots to which the nodded in response and little else as Sakura gave out their names. After the introductions, Sakura got down to business of laying out the battle plan she had and that would be used. The first point she brought back up was that the G-Weapon pilots would have wingmen of her choosing. Nicol was to be paired with Mindy Fairchild, Athrun was put with Juno Mars and Dearka was to work with Ryan Peters. For the G-Weapon pilots, they agreed with the orders from Sakura, knowing that there was little point to disagree.

With that settled, Sakura laid out the outline of her plan to go against Duane Halberton and the Earth Alliance's 8th fleet. She stated that the overall target of this operation, was the Alliance prototype warship, to disable or sink the ship itself. The goal of this operation presented three separated problems for obtaining the goal in the end. First of those problems were the 8th fleet's firepower compared to what ZAFT forces on site. The second was the difference in the number of forces on either side of this upcoming battle. The third issue and perhaps the most worrisome of the problems, the three enemy mobile suits from the legged ship if they appear on the battlefield.

The first problem was one that was solved by tactics, for as long as that said firepower of the 8th orbital fleet wasn't focused, then it wasn't as effective. The second issue was much like the first and would be solved by fighting smarter, not harder. That would require pilots to not be foolhardy and make dumb mistakes and for most of the pilots that would be on the field, it wouldn't be anything to worry about. Yet, there were the young pilots that used the stolen Alliance machines, and they'd proven to be problematic along with a varying degree of recklessness for each of them.

Then there was the third issue that was a real problem that there needed to be a contingency for. Sakura had reprimanded the pilots on Le Creuset's team for the recent streak of losses, but she'd not been so foolish to think that the four were completely at fault. Sakura had seen the signs that there was more to those three machines than others saw. There was the winged mobile suit that clearly was based on the newer Orb Union's Astray mobile suit unit design. Sakura didn't know very much about the former neutral nation, that was now confirmed to be a member of the Human Federation, so she couldn't say that much about the machine itself. The pilot in the beginning had been inexperienced, yet with each passing battle had made large improvements that were in leaps and bounds.

The remaining Alliance mobile suit, the X105-Strike, had shown many of the same basic features as the stolen units, yet it was more versatile than the others. The pilot of that unit had bothered Sakura, the style was familiar and as far as she knew, the girl had been visiting Heliopolis at the time the operation that Creuset had pulled occurred. Sakura would've killed Rau Le Creuset if she had found out her little sister Lacus got hurt or killed during that incident, to hell what the Supreme council said. If the pilot of the Strike was her little sister, there would definitely be a reason for Sakura to be out on the battlefield.

Then there was the last mobile suit of the three enemy machines, the one had mystified Sakura the most. It'd been involved in only two of the attempts of ZAFT forces to sink the ship, but those two instances were very informative and yet, left many questions. The mobile suit appeared to be similar to the machine that Nicol Amalfi piloted, the X207 Blitz, yet it could do things none of the other Alliance suits had shown. Then, there was the matter of the pilot, which there was still precious little information about. Other than in the two instances they had been in, they had displayed immense skill that wasn't seen in most pilots, regardless of the amount of experienced one possessed.

Still, the battle plan was simple, yet effective, by dividing the enemy fleet, casting it into disarray, then there would be a clear shot at the true target. Laconi and Porto would sneak around until they were behind the Alliance fleet and would flank them. While they made their way to that point, the stolen Alliance machines would keep the mobile armors busy as their armor system would make the enemies weaponry would become useless. Once all the mobile armors were in the front occupied by the rest of the mobile suits would begin clearing the remaining mobile armors. Laconi and Porto were not to engage Archangel for any reason, they were to focus on attacking the Alliance fleet itself.

Once the Alliance fleet was in chaos and disarray, the stolen machines would then move forward to attack the prototype warship as they were the best equipped to take it on. They would be paired with their wingmen that would cover them on their approach. Almost none had any issues with the plan, yet Le Creuset did make a comment, "Zephyr, do you think this plan will work against Halberton?" he asked.

Sakura gazed at Creuset, "In the end, no it won't however, it will work for long enough for the goal to be within reach." She said, "All of you are dismissed to make the needed preparation for this operation," Sakura said to the room at large.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The meeting with the senior officers of the Archangel and the 8th fleet's leaders, along with Vice Foreign Minister Allster present, was held in the captain's room. Halberton was sitting at the desk, while Hoffman was drilling the ship officers, "How could you resort to such extreme measures as destroying Heliopolis and Artemis?" demanded Hoffman bitterly to the officers of the Archangel. "All for the sake of this lone ship and a single G-machine…"

"But sir," interjected Natarle.

However, Hoffman cut her off, "No buts Ensign! Do you have any idea the flak and accusations the Earth Alliance and OMNI enforcers have been getting since the collapse of Heliopolis?! From the Federation's military alone, demands of calling to tasking those responsible for what happened have kept coming. Along with that, they also want full disclosure of the G-project as they say that Heliopolis belongs to one of their member nations, saying 'we had no right'. Those are the major point they are not letting go at all. So, what do you all have to say for yourselves? The usual consequences of your actions are harsh, but you're lucky to not have been court marshaled already and stripped of your rank!"

Both Murrue and Natarle lowered their heads as the accusation was stated, though neither of them could have imagined that the action at Heliopolis could've ended out as they did. It didn't mean that the two women didn't regret what had come about because of how they protect the Archangel and the Strike.

"Now Hoffman, calm down. Both Miss Ramius and Badgiruel did the best they could under the circumstances that were beyond their control. None of us knew until this instance that Orb had become a member of the Human Federation. It's good luck that the other two mobile suits appeared… what were they called again?" asked Halberton.

"The X209 Shadow and the SA01 Asuka sir," answered Murrue.

"Although, the Shadow bears many similarities to the other mobile suits in the GAT series. Yet, it also has features that the G-weapons don't at all. Even with the time we've had, the full capabilities of that particular machine are still unknown." Natarle paused, not happy about a particular fact about the mobile suit. She suspected that Tyler had done something to prevent a full inspection of the mobile suit, but she couldn't prove it.

Hoffman huffed, "You telling us that, not only have you botched things by the damage caused, but you have been wasting time as well? Both those mobile suits are unknowns and studying them could be of help in the war effort," he posed.

Murrue shook her head, "No sir, the Shadow got separated from the ship for a time and only recently came back onboard the Archangel. With the time there's been between resupplying and the fights against ZAFT, there hasn't been a great deal of time. The inspections our mechanics have made of the X209 Shadow, little has been gleamed thus far. However, there's enough evidence to conclude that neither of the two mobile suits were accounted for at Morgenroete, and are believed to be not made by the Earth Alliance directly, though data from the G-weapons seems to be the basis for them both."

"Whomever is responsible for the suits' design, is unknown. But, I believe that the Asuka and the Shadow were designed by different groups," added Natarle.

Hoffman seemed to be at a loss for words, which Halberton smiled a bit at as he spoke, "And if not for those two machines, the Archangel and the Strike would have been much more pressed to get this far. With ZAFT in possession of the other four G-weapons… at least one was kept from them, that's a victory in itself in this war."

"Alaska's response, says that military command doesn't share that view," replied Hoffman calmly, finding use of his voice again.

Hoffman's words came as a surprise to Mu, Krystal and Natarle. Why wouldn't Military HQ have an issue with the chain of events that the Archangel went through? Perhaps there was more to what was going on, that none of them knew?

"Bah," scoffed Halberton. "What do they know about the realities of space combat? Lieutenant Ramius has understood all along what I've been trying to achieve." Murrue looked up, shocked at the praise, "Nothing in this matter warrants any concern."

"Yes admiral," said Murrue.

Hoffman shook his head slightly, then pulled out two pieces of paper, along with a stack of fifteen pages, looking them over. "Moving on to the topic of the young Coordinators, who have been piloting those mobile suits," he said, "are we going to forget all about them?"

He put the papers on the desk, revealing the two single pages to be the reports on Kira and Lacus. But what surprised the Archangel's officers, was that the fifteen-page stack was the report on Tyler himself. Mu spotted the words on the top page of the stack at the top of the page, 'Incomplete' and 'invalid information'. That was odd, and it also inferred that there was far more to Tyler than any thought. Allster shifted, his eyes narrowing at all three of the reports of those he considered to be mistakes walking and breathing.

"Kira Yamato, Lacus Don and Tyler McGregor only wanted to protect their friends," said Murrue, wishing to get across that these teens had done nothing wrong. "That's the only reason they boarded those mobile suits for us."

"Hmm," murmured Halberton, thoughts straying once again to the mystery presented by Lacus Don and her relationship with the other two Coordinators. He had his suspicions about the girl, her name didn't seem to fit and the resemblance she bore to the woman that came to his mind was extremely uncanny.

"In all likelihood," continued Murrue, "we would not have made it this far if it weren't for the abilities of those kids. However, their decision was dictated by events beyond their control. They've suffer greatly from having to fight against other Coordinators. They are kind, sincere individuals, and I believe we should repay them for their selfless efforts with our complete trust."

Hoffman stared at Murrue, "Kind and sincere individuals you say lieutenant? Maybe that's true of the younger two Coordinators. There's not enough information to say the truth, but what do you really know of Tyler McGregor? Because he is known to the Earth Alliance and is suspected to be involved in previous incidences and none of them are good ones," he asked.

Mu was irritated by this attack on the young pilot, Tyler hadn't done anything wrong and he shouldn't be accused of such. Whatever the Alliance knew about him, it could easily be incorrect as the 'file' on him stated at the top! He stepped forward, "That kid has protected the ship, put his life on the line for all of us! A person doesn't do that for just random people unless they're extremely dedicated to a cause or is just plain crazy. Tyler hasn't shown himself to be inclined to go towards either ideas on a regular basis. He's earned the trust and respect of all on this ship!" he said a tad irritably.

"You apparently don't know your fellow pilot very well, Lieutenant La Flaga," Hoffman commented, he then picked up the stack of pages and started reading, "Tyler McGregor, a first-generation Coordinator, meaning that his parents are Naturals. Agents have been unable to confirm the identities of either of his parents. Evidence suggests that either he or some in the Federation military have hidden the identities of his parents, reasons unknown. He's a member of and pilot for the Federation Military," the man began.

The Archangel officers and both pilots didn't get where this was going. Tyler himself had said he was part of the Federation military and this was being made out… as Tyler has said to the four of them, 'a crime to be part of the Federation military'. If this was the treatment that Tyler and others like him receive from the Earth Alliance, then his harsh views of the Earth Alliance made more sense. Mu and Krystal couldn't blame Tyler for making sure in some way that the identity of his parents were unknown. Tyler was minimizing possible blame, punishment and retaliation that might come his way.

However, Hoffman kept going, "Holds the rank of Commander, which is unusual for one as young as him, and not only that, an odder fact still, he is also a member of the Federation's SOLAS. The majority of the information on him is unconfirmed or is classified, a suspicious young man to be sure. Certainly, one that trust is risky to extend to, more so with him thought to be involved in sabotage prior to now."

Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal, were shocked to hear the fact of Tyler being a part of the Federation's SOLAS. That group was the best of the best that the Human Federation had and not just anyone becomes a part of it. Still, Murrue glared back at the man for the implications that he was throwing out. Yes, Tyler had said nothing at first, but this was sounding like Tyler was being accused of doing wrong, it's wrong! He did nothing to deserve this suspicion of him or his motives, and for him to be thought to have done sabotage, it was ridiculous! "You're right, Tyler is a pilot of the Federation however, he had proved that he has been working towards the best interests of those aboard this ship." said Murrue.

"You really think one of those space monsters can be trusted, a mistake waiting to happen," muttered Allster loud enough for everyone in the room. It was difficult, fighting against his disgust with the space monsters, but he knew he'd accomplish nothing as things stood. Mu wanted to tell him, if not for the 'monster' that he was referring to, then the Minister wouldn't be here.

"That's not what this is about," snapped Halberton to get the attention back.

"Yet admiral, but if we allow them to go now," said Hoffman uncertainly.

"Then what Hoffman? They'll carry the secrets of the Strike to Orb and the Federation?" said Halberton, snorting slightly. "ZAFT already has four of the G-weapons, in case you've forgotten. Orb already has the technology themselves, and through them the Federation no doubt has now. The Asuka and I would bet the Shadow was produced by them are proof of the fact. Besides, ever since I read the report on it, I've been looking into some things. The Asuka is going to be remaining with Kira Yamato until he says otherwise. The same can be said about Tyler McGregor and the Shadow." Everyone else shared a confused look at this, "So, as you can see, the G-weapons are hardly a secret anymore, there's no reason to hold or keep them here."

"Lieutenant Ramius," said Halberton, ignoring Allster and Hoffman entirely. "The Archangel will be descending with the Strike to deliver the machine to Alaska. We lost those who were going to be added to your crew with the advance fleet and don't have many to spare ourselves. However, you'll have to go with your current crew compliment and the two or three we can give you."

"Understood sir," said Murrue, her thoughts grim. She hoped the new arrivals would be able to handle bridge duties, because without those kids, the Archangel was back to having less than a skeleton crew like when they started from Heliopolis.

"I'll contact you later with the details for what personnel and supplies will be transferred over, as well as the matter of the civilian volunteers," said Hoffman.

With that the meeting ended, the evening came on and Admiral Halberton had returned to the Menelaos to arrange things. Murrue suspected he would return tomorrow, since he had said he wanted to talk to the volunteers and that hadn't happened.

Murrue was in her quarters and looking over the list of supplies currently being loaded from 8th fleet supply ships into the Archangel's cargo hold. The supplies included missiles and ammo, fuel, water and food of course, though the was some things that couldn't be obtained. Things such as a lack of some parts for the mobile suits, so Chief Murdoch wouldn't need to improvise like he had for a time now. They were also being given a pair of FX-550 Skygrasper, support fighter craft for the Strike, though Mu and Krystal would be their only pilots. Yet those two craft took up the last bit of space in the hanger, putting the Archangel at full capacity. There was also a variety of new potential equipment for the Strike to use, such as bazookas, unpowered physical swords sharper than the GINN and CGUE blades that are standard with them.

There were also the personnel files for the three new crew members that would be coming aboard the Archangel, which would be coming from the 8th fleet could actually spare. One was a new doctor, Mark Graham, he had a record of experience that spanned a decade and had good recommendation attached to the file. The next was a mechanic, which Chief Murdoch would appreciate. The man was Petty Officer 2nd Class Arthur Nicks, his skilled in general system repair, which was sorely needed. No doubt chief Murdoch would appreciate a skilled mechanic since there was only the small number that had survived in the ship. The last of the additional officers was an engineer, Lieutenant Sophia Falco, an old friend of Murrue's from her days in the Earth Forces Academy. It would be good to see her friend again, though Sophia would be put on the bridge crew as she was the only new crew member they were getting qualified for bridge duty. Murrue just hoped that she wouldn't mind that position as there was no other to fill it.

Then there was the document that was captain Hoffman's idea for the best way to address the matter of their volunteer crew. The major issue with them was there being treaties in place that forbade civilian combatants and violating said treaties had harsh consequences attached to them for any of three factions. The teens would simply be retroactively commissioned as crewmen of the Archangel. Hoffman would be bringing discharge papers when he and Halberton returned tomorrow so that there wouldn't be legal problems.

Then there were the three Coordinator pilots, which had its own difficulties that the other teens didn't. Murrue herself had no problem with Kira, Lacus or Tyler, however, those above her didn't share the view. Hoffman seemed to imply keeping them with the Archangel would be the best choice. Although he didn't say it outright, Murrue believed in her position, he would force them to do so if he could. That didn't sit well with Murrue, not after what those three had gone through and done for all of those on the Archangel. Plus, she doubted any here on the ship, would force them to stay, she certainly wouldn't do so. Yet, she kind of wanted to see Hoffman force Tyler McGregor to stay, just to see how the man reacted to Tyler's "manners". Tyler had proven to both Natarle and Murrue herself, that he won't follow orders given him if he didn't want to. The older teen had clashed with Natarle more often than Murrue, but enough to see that Tyler didn't like being told what to do.

Finally, the exact fate of the Asuka and the Shadow… Murrue now understood what Halberton had been saying about the machine sticking with Kira until he said otherwise and the same for Tyler with the Shadow. Due to certain technicalities… namely, that neither machine officially existed and was thus unowned by any nation. The nature of salvage laws currently in effect, Kira had become the owner of the Asuka and Tyler of the Shadow. Both could do whatever they wanted with their mobile suits; keep it for personal reasons, take it apart, even sell it and live the rest of his life in luxury. Either one of those machines were probably worth at least a couple hundred, more likely a few thousand times what Murrue herself could ever hope to make in her entire lifetime alone. Murrue just hoped she could be there to see the look on the face of Kira and Tyler when the two found out.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After the 'greeting' I'd been forced to attend, I slipped away, putting my well-developed stealth skills used to not be noticed. Kira and Lacus caught me before I had gotten back to my quarters and had made it known to me that they were worried for me as I was showing myself to be very grouchy. I told them I'd been having trouble sleeping and when pressed for a reason, I admitted that I'd been having nightmares. They're both really great friends and I'm glad to have such friends like them, for they understood.

Anyways, once in my quarters, didn't take me long to get together with my bed after taking the medication the doctor had given me. It was wonderful to not have nightmares plaguing me for a sleeping period. I woke up the next morning, and since I wouldn't be on duty on the bridge, I spent the time to take things slow and easy. The time that things would be peaceful, would quickly coming to a close. I got dressed and headed to the mess to get breakfast and start the day that would be a long one. Once I entered the room, I noticed that my friends from Heliopolis were there and each one was looking at a set of papers.

"Discharge papers?" questioned Tolle, looking at the papers he and the others had been given from one of the ship officers I suspect.

"So… we were soldiers all along?" asked Miriallia, somewhat incredulous.

"By what this says, we were assigned to the Archangel of the 8th Fleet," read Kuzzey.

I closed the distance after hearing that, "It's probably that way to avoid the hassle of the official stuff of you helping, but not being enlisted to begin with." I said glancing over Sai's shoulder and scanning the page on the top to confirm that the pages were indeed discharge forms.

"Tye, when did you come in?" Asked Sai turning to look at me.

I was about to answer, when a pair came into the mess hall, the one on the left and slightly in the lead, Natarle Badgiruel and the other was that 'captain' that had been with Halberton. Natarle frowned at me, which I've gotten used to and even now take it as sort of a compliment from the woman that I don't get along with on this ship. Both came over to us, "Where are Kira Yamato and Lacus Don?" asked Natarle.

The others looked up at her, then at each other. Wasn't it clear that neither Kira, nor Lacus are here in the mess hall, though after Natarle glanced around she shook her head. "Never mind, just give these to them later." Natarle handed two additional sets of discharge papers to Sai.

"It may have been an emergency situation that forced it," said Hoffman, deciding to explain things, "but the fact is, it's illegal for civilians to take part in combat. We want to avoid any potential problems, for yourselves and for us as well, so this is our solution. You will all be recognized as volunteer soldiers who entered the military when you came aboard; don't lose those discharge papers, or it could lead to a lot of trouble for you in the future. Furthermore, any information you learned while on board should be treated as confidential, even after you return to Orb."

It's true that according to an agreement that was made after the reconstruction war, civilians were not to take part in combat. Yet, there was never anything stated about putting innocent people in danger and possibly killed. This is more a covering for the Alliance so that they didn't get in trouble with others. I decided to speak up, for not just me, but for my friends' defense as well, "Maybe you should use this experience as a lesson 'sir'" I said, emphasizing 'sir' in a disrespectful manner, vocally showing what I thought of people like this guy was.

Hoffman turned to face me, giving me a dirty look. I took said expression directed at me as an even better compliment than a frown from Miss Badgiruel gave me moments ago! "I would recommend you watch your tone Tyler McGregor," he said in an even tone, but clearly put off by how I addressed him.

I returned that comment with a deadpanned look, "That's commander to you Captain Hoffman, I would remind you that I'm a soldier within the Federation military, not Earth Alliance personnel that you can have at your beck and call, to tell what to do. If you want other examples of how I act around those who believe they can order me around, have a chat with Ensign Badgiruel next to you. She's had plenty of experience of trying to order me around and me giving her, what she considers 'insubordination' when I don't listen to her. I would say sometimes, it more me not giving a damn about what others think about me, take it as you like. So, let me make this clear to you, in a way you'll understand." I paused, took a deep breath and then 'dropped the hammer', "I've been giving my services to the Archangel of my own free will, it's not in any way, me being under the command or control of any Earth Forces officer or member of the Earth Alliance. And if you think your opinion makes a lick of freaking difference to me, then feel free to kiss my a**. So, pucker up or hush up Hoffman," I said flatly before I turned towards the exit.

I had said my piece and left no doubt what I thought, so I walked out right then and there, not wanting to listen to the Alliance officer any further. After leaving the mess hall, without breakfast I might add, I decided to head to the hanger as it's one of the places on the Archangel other than my quarters that I can find peace and quiet. Plus, even with the work I've done on the Shadow, there was still adjustments to be made, whoever had been doing the programming… I had some choice words for them. Then, with the optional equipment for my mobile suit, that takes some fine tuning. I would love to get it done back in the Republic of East Asia, specifically at the Teswa R&D complex, but that's not available right now. That just mean's that I need to make due with what I got to work with and get things done.

Once I reached the hanger, I found that Kira and Lacus were there on the catwalks, simply looking at the Strike and the Asuka. I was about to approach them, when I heard a voice, "Suddenly getting nostalgic, now that you're going to be disembarking?" inquired Halberton, drawing the attention of my two friends.

The man was made his way down the catwalk towards them, one hand on the rail to keep from accidentally pushing off. He came to a stop next to them as they straightened up, "Kira and Lacus, right? I've read a great deal about your actions in the reports." He asked.

"Uh, yes," said Kira.

"Hmm… considering the circumstances, you both proved yourselves quite remarkable and same for your friend Tyler McGregor," said Halberton softly. He swept his eyes over the entire hangar, focusing briefly on the Asuka and the Shadow before looking back to them. "Although you have fought for the Earth Alliance, I imagine your sister will be quite proud of your accomplishments, Miss Clyne," the two stiffened slightly, and Halberton chuckled.

So, Halberton did make the connection with Lacus and Sakura, "Oh, don't you worry," Halberton said in a calm manner, "I understand your circumstances Miss Clyne, to an extent at least. I might not have realized myself, if it were not that I've met the Black Zephyr a few times on the battlefield. She isn't someone you can dismiss or forget easily with the impression she leaves, with the warpaths she carves."

"Please don't say that about her," said Lacus softly. "Sis… she hates war… it's taken away almost everything she cared about… it has changed her from how she used to be."

I could stay silent no more in this, "But, that doesn't mean she does beyond a notable job at commanding forces, none can't deny that Lacus. Because gosh dang it, Sakura is downright amazing at what she does," I commented.

Everyone turned and looked at me as I floated towards them, smiling a bit as I approached, "Sorry for not announcing myself before, thought it would be best for me to just listen for a little," I remarked.

"I see, I apologize Miss Clyne," said Halberton, turning to look at the Asuka. "Still, it's a surprise that you would be here. Even more surprising is what the three of you have done with these machines." Halberton looked to me, "You included Tyler, though I would guess you are no stranger to the battlefield." The man looked back to the mobile suits, "These machines were only meant to be an adequate counter to ZAFT's mobile suits, but with you three inside piloting them, they suddenly become near super-weapons. I can't help but find myself once again amazed at the abilities of Coordinators."

I knew that Halberton didn't mean any insult, when he talked about the abilities of Coordinators, there are those who would be. "That's not true!" Lacus denied, before Kira or I could speak up. "Us being Coordinators… yes, that has some effect on how quickly we learn and adapt, but… but it's not everything."

"Hmm, could you explain what you mean?" asked Halberton. "And I, in no way mean to offend. I am merely fascinated by your abilities and how some Coordinators use and develop them. No Natural can pilot a mobile suit that I know of."

I snickered, "Oh, you would be wrong about that Halberton," I said. "It would probably surprise you to know that out of the top ten pilots in the Federation Military, four of them are Naturals and can work with mobile suits if needed." I paused for a moment and the feeling of mirth disappeared, "Plus, I would have to quote a man that I respect the most, 'it doesn't matter how you were born, it's what you do with what you have along with the effort you put forth matters the most.' And I agree with that wholeheartedly."

Lacus nodded to my statement, "Indeed, one can if they try," she said. Kira and Halberton's eyes widened in shock at what both Lacus and I said. "I only know this because he was a family friend, but… ZAFT's Ace of Aces… the number one of the Champions… he was actually a Natural."

I smiled, "You're referring to the one known as the 'Comet' are you not Lacus?" I asked.

My pink haired friend nodded. Had met the man that Lacus was referring to, and I would love to tell her the truth of him being alive, since he's thought dead. However, it has been asked by the man to be left to live his life in peace and that wish is being honored. "But how can that be?" questioned Halberton, incredulous.

"He was Naturally talented and took himself to the limits constantly," said Lacus. "He only disappeared because of the risk of his superiors finding out he wasn't a Coordinator."

And then he came to the Human Federation, asked for asylum and he was given that. Technically, he lives in the Republic of East Asia, which is the reason I've met him and I visit him if I get the chance whenever I get around home. He's a good guy and is different than most would think he is, especially with the reputation he gained while in the ZAFT military.

"I see," said Halberton. He smiled, shaking his head. "Well, then perhaps we do stand a chance in this war, but it's our war, not yours." He looked up at the Asuka. "And it is not the war of this machine either. It will be remaining with you, Kira Yamato." Then Halberton turned to me, "Nor of the Shadow, as it is yours Tyler McGregor. Yet, I am curious, who it is that you quoted, I know that earning respect from you is no small feat."

I was somber as I answered the question put to me, "The man… would be my dad, his ideals were some of the most noble I've ever known and still be completely truthful."

Then the implication of what Halberton had just said about the mobile suits began to sink in to my mind. The X209-Shadow is legally mine now? Not that I would have a problem with the idea, but for me to personally own a mobile suit… never expected to have that happen! Yes, I've grown fairly fond of the black mobile suit, so it was kind of nice to know that I would be keeping the machine that had saved my butt along with others since Heliopolis.

"Huh? Seriously?" questioned Kira, which was kind of my thoughts as well at the moment.

"Yes, due to a… technicality… these fascinating and valuable pieces of military hardware belongs to you both," said Halberton. All of us stared at him in shock at the confirmation, and Halberton nearly laughed. "Officially, neither of the two exist, so both these mobile suits can't belong to a nation and thus, they're only objects that you both salvaged. You can do what you wish with it, use it for some kind of work, join a military with it, just hold it for nostalgic reasons… you might even sell it as a sort of fundraiser for the Heliopolis refugees. It's worth quite a bit of money, so I advise you not to callously discard it." The man then turned to me, "Then for you Tyler, you could take your machine to the Human Federation for R&D or do what you want with it."

I shrugged, "Maybe, don't know yet." I said.

"Ah… yes sir, like Tyler, I don't know what I would do with the mobile suit," said Kira uncertainly.

"Well… this has been an interesting discussion," said Halberton. "I won't pry into any personal matters for you three. Still, I would like to thank you, regardless of the situation, for the assistance you have rendered to this ship. It is my hope that, with this, we may be able to bring a quick end to this war."

I interrupted Halberton with a question I had asked him once before now, "Excuse me Halberton," I said, Halberton turned to me. "You remember the last time our paths crossed, I asked you a serious question?"

Halberton nodded to me, "Indeed, as I recall you asked me if I thought this war has a point to it."

I acknowledged that the man recalled correctly what I had asked, "Correct, and your answer back then was yes… do you still believe that there's a point to this war? Or do you admit that I have a point in saying that this war is nothing more than a few using the many to fulfill their views and desires." I posed.

Halberton hesitated at my question, "I do not deny that your view has merit, and often I wonder if the leadership of the Earth Alliance doesn't have a hidden agenda. But, I do not think that it makes much of a difference anymore." He answered, "Perhaps when it does end, we can all meet again. Until that time, I wish you the best of luck, and hope that being Coordinators will be able to improve your futures, few others seem to be so fortunate."

Halberton smiled at them, "And Kira? I don't want to sound critical of your parents, but I think you might want to ask them why it is they made you a Coordinator. If it was for some dream they had for your future, then I for one would want to try and make their dream come true. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes Admiral," said Kira with a small smile.

I decide to give this man that I respected, the information that I had to what was coming, "Halberton, one more thing before you depart," I spoke up, and the man gave me his attention. "There's a ZAFT force heading this way, from what I understand, there are more than five ships but no other specifics on the force's size. However, what I can tell you, is that the one leading them… is Sakura Clyne, the Black Zephyr."

Halberton's eyes widened at my statements, "Are you sure about this?" he asked.

I nodded, "The information came from Federation High Command directly and they obtained it from the information network. And you are aware how accurate that intelligence network is," I returned.

The conversation would have likely continued, but an officer came into the hanger, "Sir!" called the Menelaos officer who'd come aboard with Halberton earlier.

The officer saluted, "The Menelaos would like you back on board at once. There are suspicions of ZAFT activity in the area."

Well, if there was a need for conformation of what I'd just said, then that worked wonderfully.

"I see, I guess it was too much to hope they'd leave the Archangel alone once it linked up with the fleet," said Halberton with a resigned sigh. He looked back to the three of us still in the hanger. "Well, at least we were fortunate enough to have a decent chat! May the three of you live to see the dawn of a better era. Thank you Tyler for the information, I hope that it can make a difference." Halberton gave us a quick salute as a show of thanks and began to walk away.

"Uh, sir!" called Kira, surprising Lacus, Halberton and me.

"Hmm?" mumbled Halberton, turning back to face Kira.

"Uh, so what happens now to the Archangel?" asked Kira. "And to Lieutenant Ramius and the others?"

"The Archangel will be heading to Earth, just the way it is," said Halberton. "From there, they'll be returning to the battlefield."

Kira looked down uncertainly, which I could understand. I believe my best friend had become rather attached to the ship and its crew, like I myself have. Had been thinking of staying and admittedly, have basically decided to do so, yet I don't think that Kira and Lacus will. So, there was a parting of the ways coming soon, and I'm not looking forward to when that comes. "Well, I thought I…" started Kira before falling silent.

I know that Kira feels responsible for Lacus's wellbeing, but is that all that the reason he has in this? "I know exactly what you're concerned about," said Halberton, turning more fully to face the three of us, Lacus still staring at Kira with a measure of surprise by what I was seeing out of the corner of my eye. "Yet, you possess certain abilities that are very attractive to the military. It's not as if we're assured of victory if we have all of you. War's not that simple, so don't flatter yourself."

"But…" said Kira before trailing off once again; he continued after a moment's pause, somewhat more confidently. "If I have the power to make a difference, I should put it to good use, right?"

"Sir, please," started the Menelaos officer, but Halberton held up a hand for silence.

"Only if you have the will to do it!" said Halberton. He turned to leave, but continued to look at the two of them. "Anyone who lacks the will never does see it through to the end."

With that, Halberton left, and I turned to my two friends, "Kira," said Lacus softly.

"I know…" he said, "I know that we need to get you home… and that sooner or later, she'll be coming after us if we stay… but at the same time…"

I sighed, "As I do believe I said, Sakura is coming already, I don't kid around when it comes to fighting her seriously. The battle that is to come is as close to serious as it will get," I said.

Lacus smiled a bit, "I don't doubt what you say Tye. I was thinking… my sister would lose respect for you Kira, if you left just because of that," she said. "But… since when has Sakura's approval really mattered to you?"

"I guess… her approval means a lot to me… it means I don't have to worry about her coming after me for being close to you," started Kira.

Lacus giggled. "She's not that overprotective, she just doesn't like Athrun because the engagement was forced. Really, I think she's pretty stupid to dislike him for that, Athrun did nothing to deserve it. She really should be angry at daddy and Athrun's father, instead of Athrun himself."

Overprotective Lacus says… that's one way of putting what Sakura does, I call it her eliminating those who might do something to her little sister. "It would be nice if she left me alone, but that's me." I mumbled.

Kira couldn't help but smile slightly at what both of us had said.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

To say that most, if not all in the mess hall were shocked at Tyler's words and actions, would be an understatement. The volunteers were surprised, since Tyler was normally polite and didn't talk back to someone without reason. None of them had thought their friend had such a standing problem with those from the Earth Alliance. Oh recently, Tyler had made mention of having a bit of a dislike for some in the Alliance, but that was all.

Natarle was flabbergasted as well as more surprised at the things Tyler had said than usual. She had suspected that Tyler McGregor had an 'issue' with the Earth Alliance and those allied with them. That was confirmed by the descriptions of the events of Heliopolis, but this put the issue beyond her estimation. Tyler had been helping out and so, been even earning Natarle's own acknowledgement and minor trust by this point with his actions to protect the Archangel. Oh yes, what Tyler had said about not taking orders from her was true from time to time and it'd annoyed her. But, when it counted, he worked towards the best interest of the Archangel, even if he used different methods that she would.

Hoffman's reaction was to huff, "As I believe I said earlier Ensign Badgiruel, Mr. McGregor is not to be trusted. He's a loose cannon that's out of control! He should be disciplined, but that's not my place to decide," he said.

None noticed that Flay had come into the room, that's until she spoke up, "Um… Excuse me, I would like to volunteer to join the crew of the Archangel," she said.

There was silence in the room as everyone faced Flay. Sai was the first to find use of his voice, "Flay, what did you just say?" he asked.

Flay gained a serious expression on her face, "I said I want to join the crew of the Archangel," she answered.

"You realize what you're saying?" asked Natarle, as thoroughly shocked by Flay's words as Hoffman and the volunteers were.

"Look, I'm not saying this just for the fun of it or for a silly reason like that," said Flay. "I've thought about it ever since my father came aboard, when Kira, Lacus and Tyler saved him from ZAFT."

"That means you must be the daughter of Vice Minister Allster," said Hoffman in surprise, unaware of the tension between the two.

"Yes," said Flay. "My name is Flay Allster. I… well, ever since I first talked to him when he came aboard, I've been thinking about everything that's been happening. Everyone can make a difference… right? The ship is understaffed, and everyone is certain that it can make a difference in this war. I want to help with that, in whatever way I can, even if it's only cleaning the corridors or something to make things easier for the rest of the crew. After everything that's happened… I can't just walk away." Flay left unspoken her hopes that somehow, if the Archangel made the difference it was supposed to, maybe, just maybe, both sides would be more willing to negotiate a ceasefire and peace treaty.

She was becoming increasingly sympathetic to the PLANTs because of her Coordinator friends and even, why the Human Federation being so strict in being neutral and protecting its citizens. But, she also realized that after the Bloody Valentine Incident, there would be those that would never accept a ceasefire unless the Earth Forces could manage to equal them. Even she knew that ZAFT was slowly, but surely, winning the war against the Earth Alliance. The Human Federation had tried to stop the bloodshed, but very little had resulted from the attempts.

"Throughout all of this, everyone on the Archangel has been doing their best for this ship and most on board has been involved… except people like me," continued Flay. "So… please, allow me to join the crew."

Hoffman and Natarle nodded slightly, "Very well then," said Hoffman. "Come with us. We should probably discuss this with your father."

"I'd, uh, rather do that privately," said Flay.

She wasn't certain what Hoffman and Natarle would think of her present conflict with her father, though she figured Natarle might already know. Vice Minister Allster's mood had been fairly bad lately, mostly because of Flay's refusal to listen to his view.

Hoffman nodded. "Very well," he said. "Come with us. I believe he's preparing for departure with the Orb refugees even now."

With that, the two officers left, Flay in tow, Sai turned back to the others. They all looked at each other, "Like she said, the ship is still understaffed," he said, "and a war's still being fought, on Earth and in space." Everyone looked at their discharge papers.

Suddenly, Sai gained a determined look and tore his discharge papers in two, "Sai!" exclaimed Tolle. Miriallia gasped in shock as she stood up with Tolle and Kuzzey.

"What Flay expressed is pretty much exactly my sentiments as well," explained Sai. Then, he gave a slight smile. "Besides, it wouldn't be right for me to leave her alone, now would it?"

"Hmm," murmured Tolle nodding, before he ripped his own papers in two.

"Tolle!" uttered Miriallia in shock.

"Like Sai said, the Archangel is still short-handed," said Tolle. "I'd feel partly responsible if sometime down the road, it got shot down."

Miriallia didn't hesitate after that, and tore her papers in two as well, "You too Miriallia?" asked Tolle.

"If you're planning to stay Tolle, then so am I," she said.

They then turned as they heard the sound of more paper ripping, and saw Kuzzey holding his torn discharge papers. "You're all staying, can't expect me to leave, I won't leave my friends at a time like this," he said.

"You're a fool," said Tolle. "But then, we're in good company." After that, things between the three boys effectively degenerated into some playful name-calling.

"Huh… ah," muttered Tolle, looking back at the bed where the remaining discharge papers sat. "But they'll be leaving, won't they? Suppose so…"

While that was happening, Murrue was welcoming the three new crew members to the Archangel. She hadn't been able to do so when they had come over with Admiral Halberton earlier. "Welcome to the Archangel," she said. "I apologize for not being able to greet you properly earlier."

The highest ranked of the group, a woman about Murrue's age with black hair and emerald eyes, shifted forward slightly. She was the same height and bodily figure as Natarle, and her uniform had the gold half bar with 2 blue squares under the bar, one above the other, showing the rank of Lieutenant. The woman was named Sophia Falco, "It was no trouble. You've been busy," she said. Sophia smiled slightly. "It's been awhile, Murrue."

"It has Sophia," said Murrue, returning the smile. The other two new arrivals shifted uncomfortably. "How has your brother been?"

"You mean Ken? I don't know, I haven't heard from him in years," said Sophia. Murrue glanced at the other two.

"You all should get to your stations," she said. "I've been told that there are suspicions of a ZAFT presence in the area."

"Yes ma'am," said Petty Officer Nicks and Doctor Graham, giving her quick salutes. They were more than happy to escape the situation.

"Sophia, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to man one of our electronic warfare stations," said Murrue. "You'll be running the job solo. Ensign Badgiruel will be handling communications, mobile weapon control and enemy search & detection."

"That's a tall order," said Sophia. "Were those civilian volunteers really contributing that much?"

"Yes," said Murrue with a small sigh. "Without them, things are going to get a lot tougher."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I knocked on the door of the captain's quarters and waited to be told to come in. Once hearing Miss Ramius say to come in, I stepped into the room I'd had to face more than a few rather unpleasant lectures before now. During my time on the Archangel, I've been called here or dragged here a couple of times for some ridiculous and/or stupid things I swear. I was greeted by acting Captain Ramius, "Mr. McGregor, I hadn't expected to see you at this point. I would have thought you would be packing to leave the Archangel," she said to me in greeting.

At that greeting I stared at the woman for half a minute, since she'd addressed me so formally… it felt weird as it doesn't happen often for me. "Okay, first thing, don't call me Mr. again, I don't like being addressed like that, it feels odd, more so from those on this ship. There's no need to address me so formally, just McGregor or Tyler will do fine. As for packing Murrue Ramius," I replied, pausing for a bit of effect. "I'm here to inform you, that you'll have the fortune, whether you consider it good or bad, of dealing with my company, views and difficulties that come with me for a period of time longer, for I'll be staying on the Archangel for the time being. So, prepare accordingly in what ways you see fit."

Murrue gaped at me, "You're staying on the Archangel?!" she asked in shock.

Nodding to her and I gave my reply, "Indeed, that's my plan for now, hope that's not a problem for me and the X209-Shadow staying on the Archangel for a while longer, at least through the descent down to Earth. After that point, I can't say how long I would stay. Heck, even if you do have an issue, you'll find getting rid of me is difficult, and I can make sure you understand why, it that's needed."

Murrue shook her head vigorously and looked to release some stress from her. Perhaps now that the Archangel has at least one mobile suit pilot, she's worrying slightly less. So, with that done, I left her quarters and made my way to the hanger to find something to keep myself occupied. When I got there, I found Chief Murdoch and asked him what I could do to help… after telling him that I would be staying on the ship for now. The man was clearly relieved that at least one of us mobile suit pilots along with mobile suit would be staying on the Archangel. The job I was set to was to inventory supplies, which was simple busy work, and right now, I've no problem with that.

As I checked over the supplies there were compared to what the ship is supposed to have, I had to admit that things were not much better from how this ship had started out. I also watched out of the corner of my eyes, the refugees boarding the first of two shuttles that would take them to the Menelaos. However, none in the hanger seemed to notice me observing the active of loading the shuttle as I worked.

I did happen to catch Vice Foreign Minister Allster get on the shuttle, only have gotten that first thank you before he knew I was a Coordinator. I mean, I understand that there are people who have hatred of Coordinators and think we're mistakes and everythin, which doesn't make sense really. But, you would think that they would be a little grateful to the one that saved them, even if they are a Coordinator. But no, not a thanks to any of the crew before the man got on the shuttle either, very ungrateful guy. I'm glad to be rid of his company, though I won't say that out loud while he's around, good manners at work.

I turned my attention back to comparing inventory, yet wasn't focused long as two particular people entered the hanger, drawing my attention. Those two people of course, were Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne, two friends and the only other two Coordinators on the Archangel. I suspected that they would leave the ship, Kira feels responsible for Lacus's safety and wellbeing. … I don't exactly blame my best friend, especially knowing the one that he… and I would have to answer to if something bad does happen to Lacus. It would be Sakura and it's a scary idea to think about, having to face the woman that's our friend's older sister… though for likely different reasons. For me… well, past experience has taught me that Sakura is a clingy school girl with me and I don't want to be around that type of thing if I don't have to.

Yet, back to the matter at hand, I would really like to help my friends, even if it's something small and seemingly insignificant. Perhaps making sure the Asuka gets to Kira safely? I just don't know what to do for them after recent events. Observed the two looking around, probably for our friends from Heliopolis and myself, maybe they expect us to leave the Archangel as well. I don't plan to leave just yet, don't know about the others as I haven't seen them since I stalked out of the mess after putting Hoffman in his place.

"Oh," said a high girlish voice.

I homed in on the source of the voice and saw the very same little brown-haired girl that had been the first to thank me when I came back onto the Archangel. She pushed away from her mother towards Kira and Lacus, a smile; the girl's mother attempted to stop her child, but the girl was already out of her reach. "C-come back, El!" called the mother.

The young girl laughed slightly as her forward momentum was stopped by Kira catching her and bringing her to land on the deck. She reached into her bag that was slung around her left shoulder, then pulled out a pair of paper flowers. "Thank you for protecting the rest of us till now," she said, clearly surprising the both Kira and Lacus. "That nice lady with red hair told me all about how you and others were protecting everyone."

That surprised me a bit, for by the description, it had been Flay that had told the girl about those of us that have been protecting the ship. As I've said before, it's nice to be thanked for what you do for others. The girl gave Kira and Lacus one paper flower each and I couldn't hide the smile that crept onto my face as I kept watching. Both my friends leaned down, the two were smiling at the girl, named El by the shout from her mother and they took the flowers.

"Thank you for this," said Kira.

The girl smiled and turned around, pushing off back towards her mother with her intent fulfilled. As soon as she was grounded next to the woman once more, she looked back at the two Coordinators and waved to them, before she got onto the shuttle. After seeing this, I quickly finished the inventory, and slipped out of the hanger so that none noticed me doing so.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Gamow

" _Mobile suits to launch in three minutes,_ " announced the mobile suit controller over the PA. " _All units, complete your check systems._ "

As the Gamow's hangar went through the final preparations for launch only the Buster an a GINN, since the Duel had no one to pilot it. The Aegis and Blitz having been transferred over to the Vesalius, so they would be launching from there. The Buster had been supplied with a high-energy beam rifle to substitute the destroyed rifle the Buster lost in the last battle.

Yzak rushed out of the infirmary, ignoring the protests of the doctors, one hand clenched on his bandaged face. He'd been humiliated in the last battle! Those three enemy mobile suits had taken on all four of their machines and nearly destroyed all of them. Yzak's reputation as an ace was shattered, having lost to some unknown pilots. The fact that two of them had clearly overmatched them, even if they were weak Naturals, wouldn't stand with him. He'd change that in this skirmish. With the extra armor, thrusters, missile pod and railgun of the Duel's newly added Assault Shroud, he'd tear one or more of those machines to pieces. He was sure of it and would do so no matter the cost!

Yes, he had been told that the Black Zephyr was now in charge of this operation, and under most circumstance, that would deter him enough to go against orders. However, with his current mood, any fear of the most infamous female ZAFT commander was overridden by his thirst for vengeance. Yet, Yzak's actions didn't go unnoticed by Zelman, who immediately informed Creuset. In turn, the masked man did tell Sakura about Yzak's intentions of going out, and Creuset knew that Yzak wouldn't be deterred by word alone anymore.

"So, you're saying that Joule, as injured as he still is, intends to launch out to the battlefield?" questioned Sakura neutrally, staring at Le Creuset on the display screen on the bridge.

" _Yes,_ " said Le Creuset, " _I believe it best that we allow him to launch."_

Sakura's glare stayed on the image of Creuset, "And what reason would there be for me to agree to let him launch? He's proven that he needs to review his actions and priorities before he's permitted on a battlefield again. He's far more likely to get himself killed and I would rather not have to deal with paperwork or having to explain to Councilwoman Joule how her son's pride and accompanying stupidity led him to his death."

Le Creuset nodded in acknowledgement, " _I agree with you and I would normally make sure that he would not go out, but I fear that it will not be so easy to dissuade Yzak. I'd rather not forcefully detain him by throwing him in the brig, which is what I believe it would take to stop him. And, were he launch with your approval, then he'll more likely to keep his temper under control. His mood is affected by the defeat of the last battle he was in and I believe he wants to settle the score. You should be well-aware of how motivating that can be for a pilot as well as how blinding._ "

Sakura sighed at the validity of what the masked man was saying, "Very well, I leave this choice to you, Le Creuset. But, be forewarned, don't expect me to defend this decision if he dies should Councilwoman Joule asks what happened, I'll direct her to you." She glanced over her shoulder at her own pilots, who gave her slight nods. Sakura then looked forward again. "We'll adjust our assignments accordingly and tell your Alliance suit pilots of the changes. Now, Lori will fly on Nicol's wing instead of Mindy. Mindy will instead fly on Joule's wing. Mindy WILL have authority over him and she'll drag him back to the Black Jade to await a court-marshal that will be done by me should he get out of line."

" _That is very_ _agreeable,_ " said Le Creuset. " _Will you be launching yourself Zephyr?_ "

"Yes indeed," replied Sakura. "Then I'll see you out on the field Le Creuset?"

" _Yes, indeed Zephyr_ _,_ " said Le Creuset sinisterly. " _It will be just like old times earlier in this conflict._ "

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

The time had arrived for Sakura to get around here and so, I made my way to the pilot locker room. It was empty when I got there, but then I would've been very surprised if there had been anyone. As far as I know, the second shuttle that would transfer the rest of the people over to the Menelaos would be departing soon. Kira and Lacus would likely be on or boarding the shuttle shortly, then would leave the ship.

The battle coming up, was one that I wouldn't stay out of, even if the Archangel is at the back of the fleet for the purpose of keeping her out and safe. I might not make a great deal of difference in this battle by myself, but it will still be a difference and I won't be by myself anyways. I slipped into my Federation suit, as it's the best for most situations, due to the medical support system built into the suit itself. The system could intervene should I get seriously injured or if things go south.

Plus, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing an Earth Alliance pilot suit unless there's absolutely nothing else to work with and even then, I might think about going with nothing. But who knows? I very well may find myself in the position that I'll have to do atmospheric reentry on my own with the Shadow. I kind of doubt it and I hope I don't get put in that position, since none of the Alliance prototypes had been tested for the idea, even if they're supposed to be able to do it. I dislike using systems that are tested and proven to work, especially not a process like atmospheric reentry, which is risky in itself with working equipment and system. But, it could happen and then the medical support system would be a lifesaver if my situation gets dicey.

Once in my suit, I grabbed my helmet and set out for the hanger to get this fight going in the right direction. When I reached the hanger, saw that the shuttle was still there, but looked to be close to done loading. I shook my head, then I put on my helmet and locked it to my suit as I floated towards my mobile suit. To have learned about the loophole in the salvage laws, which made the X209-Shadow officially mine, was amusing and interesting. It meant that the officers onboard could use the excuse, 'the Shadow wasn't mine' to attempt to stop me from doing things my way. Such reasoning hasn't stopped me before now anyways and wouldn't have any more effect now, but one less complaint I have to hear.

None appeared to notice my presence as I sailed across the hanger. I grabbed the edge of the cockpit hatch to adjust my momentum and direction so that I moved into the cockpit itself. Settled myself into the seat and strapped in and tightened the restraint belts, for I feel this would be an extremely wild ride. However, before I could flick the switch to shut the cockpit, Chief Murdoch came into view and he was glaring at me. I gave the man a small smile, "There something I can do for you Chief? If so, then please make it quick," I said as I activated the Shadow's OS.

"What do you think you're doing at a time like this McGregor?!" demanded Murdoch.

I kept smiling, though my smile wasn't meant to be nice, more one of toleration, "Well Chief, ZAFT forces are about to engage the Alliance 8th Fleet, the Archangel is at the rear of the said fleet. I see that being unacceptable and I'll not stand around and do nothing. The Archangel may be under orders to stay at the back of the fleet, but that doesn't mean I have to sit on my butt like the rest aboard. And then, I'm not one who watches decent people die because they're being stupid in their decision making even if, they deserve it sometimes. It's one of the perks of being on this ship, yet not being under the direct command of its officers. That's the most wonderful and biggest advantages of having a pilot license like I do, it royally rocks I can tell you." I answered calmly as I was scanning over the system check running on the suit's OS.

Murdoch gaped at me after my answer, "Wha… are you crazy kid?! Yeah, you're one hell of a pilot McGregor, there's no denying that. But for you, even you having a license, if you real do, you'd be going against a ZAFT force that's rumored to be led by," began Murdoch in an argumentative tone.

However, I cut off the man before he could tell me reasons why I shouldn't go out, "The Black Zephyr herself? The force that will soon attack the 8th fleet is indeed be led by her, I can assure you. I would know, as I'm the one who told Admiral Halberton about that fact. Now Chief Murdoch, I would highly recommend that you to pull back, since I'm going to close the cockpit. Then move the Shadow to the catapult, in preparation to launch. Should you not do so, then I'll do it myself and I doubt you will like how much of a mess that I would make if I move to the catapult without anyone assisting me, I'm just saying."

Murdoch grimaced, yet pulled back a bit and I toggled the hatch to close. The two halves of the forward display, slid forward and into position connecting as they did and the panoramic display of the outside came up. I had decided beforehand to equip a secondary battery on the Shadow in this instance, because I've the feeling that power supply will be the biggest issue in this battle. That battery would come in the form of a flight system that would also give me a boost in the area of mobility and I definitely won't say no to that in the upcoming fight!

There came a jerk with buzzing alarms going off, then I felt the motion of the Shadow moving towards the catapult. I spotted Murdoch going over to one of the com stations… so, going to contact the bridge, is he? It's not going to make any real difference in my actions… but hey, more power to the Chief Mechanic I say!

The Shadow came to a halt in the catapult and the air-tight shutters closed, I then asked one of the mechanics to equip the flight system for the Shadow. My machine was set into the catapult, awaiting connection of optional equipment. The optional piece of equipment I would use, had a central part that the rest of the equipment is built on or around. That central 'hub', was kind of a teardrop shape, which sits and is attached to the upper back of my mobile suit and settled between the two topmost thrusters the Shadow has. On the bottom of the hub, parts that were positioned to go over the four back central thrusters, allowing their performance to be improved. So, this equipment was for more power supply and better maneuverability. This set is similar to the Strike's Aile pack, and gives the same idea as the thruster backpack system.

Once the pack had finished being put on to the machine, the Shadow was being locked into the catapult rail. But, before I the outer door to the catapult opened so that I could launch out, one of my com screens lit up and the face of Natarle Badgiruel appeared for me to see. Her expression wasn't nice in fact, she looked really ticked right now, one of the expressions I've become familiar with particularly with Natarle Badgiruel. Still, this time it was more defined than it had been before now, " _Tyler McGregor! What in the hell do you think you're doing?! Power down your mobile suit and cease your actions this instant!_ " She shouted at me.

…Can anyone say RUDE! But, like times before, I was unperturbed by the yelling from the second in command of the Archangel. It's certainly not the first time she's yelled at me for what I do, and I give a near guarantee that it won't be the last. "My reply to you Ensign, is a big, fat, no, I will not stop. I will be going out to do my best to stop ZAFT forces from tearing the Earth Alliance's 8th Orbital fleet apart. Rest assured that if things go unchanged, the 8th fleet will be defeated, the Black Zephyr will make sure of that as long as the Archangel is here. There's nothing that you or anyone else can say or do, that will deter or stop me from this. Now," I said pausing for a moment, to make sure I'd the woman's attention, "Open the catapult so that I can launch. If you don't, then I'll open the catapult by a different means and then you can deal with the hole in one of the legs of the Archangel afterwards. It's your choice Ensign Badgiruel, take your pick," I said in a serious and flat tone.

The woman grumbled, before she disappeared from the screen and the outer door of the catapult rose. The voltage of the linear launcher increased, and I then launched out of the Archangel to the fight that was just beginning, with the flashes and explosions ahead. I engaged the Shadow's mirage colloid along with the echo trace transmitter and vanished from prying eyes and sensors.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

On the bridge of the Archangel, Natarle pounded a hand on the arm of her chair, which drew the attention of the rest on the bridge, "Natarle, what's going on?" Asked Murrue, slightly worried that her second in command was under too much stress and the woman was starting to crack a bit under it.

Natarle took a moment to rein in the anger she felt at the actions of the teen that got under her skin, "Mr. McGregor, is insistent that he launches out with his mobile suit… something about a ZAFT force going to attack the 8th fleet… the rest is utter rubbish," answered Natarle, saying Tyler's name in such a way that showed that she was very displeased with the said teen.

All on the bridge, especially the new member of the bridge crew, were surprised that Tyler already knew of the ZAFT force approaching. Mu was the first to find his voice and answered the question on everyone's minds, "I'm guessing that he somehow got intelligence from the Federation Military, what rubbish did he say Natarle? If he knew about the ZAFT force, before we found out about it, there's a good chance what else he said is true as well," he said.

Natarle bit her lip, before she replied, "That ZAFT's champion, the Black Zephyr would be in this battle and leading the ZAFT force," returned Natarle hesitantly.

The temperature of the bridge fell, it literally felt as if it dropped ten degrees or more at Natarle mentioning the infamous ZAFT Champion, known as the dreaded 'Black Zephyr' to the Earth Forces. All of them had heard stories of the enemy commanding officer minus the Heliopolis volunteers, and how could any of them not have?! The Black Zephyr was responsible for some of the greatest losses the Earth Alliance had suffered, two of them in the earth sphere itself, the Earth Alliance's 'home turf'.

"That's not possible, why would ZAFT think of sending the Black Zephyr for this?" whispered Murrue in horror.

"If that woman is here, it explains why Tyler was adamant about launching out, with an opponent like the Black Zephyr, the losses will be beyond bad," muttered Krystal.

"If ZAFT sent the Black Zephyr here, they must really want this ship sunk," uttered Sophia. "The two battles that the Black Zephyr took part in on Earth, she led ZAFT to tear our forces apart and that's putting it nicely. When she joined in on the assault on the Victoria Base last year, she managed to turn the fight completely around to end in victory for ZAFT and the Alliance losing the Habilis Mass Driver. And that was after the Jachin Due Lion fell, which gave our allies hope for a bit."

"Cease loading and seal off the bay at once," ordered Murrue. She turned to Pal. "Is the Menelaos launch gone?"

"Not yet, captain," said Pal.

"Tell them to hurry and launch to get back to the Menelaos," said Murrue. "All hands, level one battle stations!"

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **Looking at this again, the spot I ended the chapter isn't as odd as I had thought it was at first. So anyway, as always, please take the time to write a review or PM me to say what you think.**


	10. Phase 10: Battle in Orbit

**A/n**

 **Here is chapter 10 revised. There are extra additions in this chapter, had thought about them for a time and decided to add them in. Hope that you like them, on with the show!**

* * *

Phase 10: Battle in Orbit  
February 19th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

Kira and Lacus had packed their things and headed down to the hanger where the shuttle which would transfer the refugees to the Menelaos was loading. They both had reservations about leaving the Archangel, the ship had become comfortable and almost homely. But the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance wasn't theirs to fight. Kira knew that he had to get Lacus home to the PLANTs and get her out of dangerous situations.

When they got to the hanger itself, both of them looked around and were confused when neither of them saw any of their friends from Heliopolis. They had expected to meet up with them here and then all of them would go to the Menelaos, before descending to Earth. The shuttle operator, once he saw them, called out that the shuttle would be leaving very soon and if they were coming, to get on. Yet, they didn't board the shuttle when told to, both were even more conflicted whether to leave the Archangel now. The decision became more difficult when their friends from Heliopolis did finally appear and they were still in the Earth Alliance uniforms. The meaning of the uniforms was clear, even if it wasn't said, the four were going to stay on the Archangel.

"You're staying?" asked Kira, confused as to why his friends would stay. "Why would you all do that?"

"Well, you see, Flay decided to volunteer… then, if we were to leave, the Archangel would be shorthanded again," began Tolle in answer.

"Huh?!" exclaimed Kira slightly, shocked at the news and Lacus was just as shocked even if she didn't vocalize it.

Sai continued where Tolle left off, "So, with all of that in mind, we thought we'd stay and keep helping in what ways we can."

Miriallia and Kuzzey were nodded in agreement to Tolle's and Sai's combined explanation. As Kira and Lacus were taking this in, Tolle glanced around, "By the way, does anyone know where Tye is, or has anyone seen him lately?" he asked.

Tolle's question acted as a trigger for the others and they all realized that none of them had seen their older friend for a period of time. The six looked between each other, "You know, now that you mention it," said Miriallia, "the last time I recall seeing him was this morning in the mess."

Sai nodded, "That's the last time I remember seeing him too. We were looking over our discharge papers, then that other officer came in with Miss Badgiruel. Tye told off that officer, before leaving… didn't think that Tye would cuss out another just after meeting them though," he reasoned.

"Yeah, that's the last time I remember seeing him too," commented Kuzzey.

"Yes, but since there's been no sight of Tye, maybe that means that he won't be leaving the Archangel, the same as us," spoke up Tolle.

Kira was about to ask what they were all talking about, as Tyler rarely used profanity and Kira didn't think his friend would stay on the Archangel. The conversation would have likely continued a bit longer, but suddenly, an alert sounded, " _All hands, level one battle stations!_ " announced Natarle over the internal ship speaker system. " _I repeat, all hands, level one battle stations!_ "

"You over there, we're leaving! Are you coming or not?!" called one of the Menelaos shuttle operators.

"Uh, please wait one more moment, they're coming!" called Tolle, surprising the former pilots before he turned back to them. "Think of this as destiny," he continued, putting his hands on Kira's shoulders. "So, hope to see you two later, help us by making sure you get to Earth safely," with that, Tolle pushed off from Kira, Miriallia and Kuzzey following him immediately.

"Make sure you stay safe!" called Miriallia.

"Yeah, and don't go joining ZAFT either!" added Tolle jokingly, though for Lacus, the possibility was actually very real, especially with her sister a big figure in it, but Tolle didn't know that.

"Hey, good luck you two," said Sai, putting his hands on their shoulders, "Kira, make sure Lacus gets back home. Lacus, when all of this is over, I'd like it if I could hear you at a concert sometime," he smiled and pushed off. "Just remember, you two will always be heroes in my book and don't worry, we'll tell Tye you said farewell for him as well."

"Listen, if you're getting on, now's the time," said the shuttle operator as Kira and Lacus hesitated further.

The mechanics were scrambling to get things ready for combat, "Will Lieutenant La Flaga and Major McAlester will be launching in their Zeroes?" shouted one of the mechanics in the hangar in question.

"Who knows, but get them ready just in case," said another mechanic, "Thankfully, we've finished the repairs on them both. Nevertheless, how we're supposed to get the Asuka moved in this situation though is beyond me."

"Worry about it later! If need be, then put it in the Shadow's dock for the time being," said a different mechanic.

At hearing that, both Kira and Lacus glanced over to where Tyler's mobile suit, the Shadow would normally stand when it was stored. Yet, they both saw that they had missed that the dock was empty, the Shadow wasn't there as they would've thought it would be. Out of the three of them, Tyler was the only one that could fly that mobile suit effectively. Kira himself has looked at the OS and was hesitant of flying the suit. Sure, Kira could understand how the system worked, even if he wasn't familiar with the structure or design of the OS, but it was different enough that Kira would not wish to fly it without practice. So, Tyler piloted the machine pretty much exclusively and none of them seemed to have any problem with that.

After taking in that the Shadow was gone, likely with Tyler onboard in its cockpit, Kira looked between the discharge papers and the flower in his hand. Thoughts and memories of what had occurred since Heliopolis played in his mind. Lacus looked at him in concern as she almost absentmindedly held her set of discharge papers. Kira closed his eyes… then opened them, a familiar resolve in his expression. Lacus knew what he was going to do as he crushed the discharge papers and looked back at the shuttle operator, "Please, go without me," he said before pushing off towards the exit.

Lacus smiled softly at Kira, absolutely sure that they were making the right decision in this. Whatever should come their way going forward, they would meet it standing firm in their beliefs. She crushed her own discharge papers as Kira had, then following after him, but she turned back to the shocked shuttle operator. "We'll be staying with the Archangel," she said, "Go ahead and launch."

As the two exited the hangar, they shared a look and, with small smiles, nodded to each other and tore up their sets of papers, making their decision final. "I think Tye has the right idea, we can make a difference so let's do so," said Kira.

 **-Line Break-**

The Menelaos

The air aboard the dozens of Alliance warships orbiting above the Earth was tense, as everyone prepared for battle. When the ZAFT force had been detected, things had become a little tenser, but when the knowledge of who would be leading the opposing force came to light, that feel changed to serious dread. The Black Zephyr was one of the most feared of the ZAFT champions, probably second only to the true leader of the ZAFT military, Lanus Treize. The woman's combat history, was nothing short of astounding and even the leaders of the Earth Forces couldn't dispute that. Losses against ZAFT were never easy or helpful, but losses against the Black Zephyr were in the top worst by a sizable margin than other defeats the Alliance had suffered.

Even with one of the Alliance's top tacticians, hopes of a good outcome was low to put it simply. The sight of the ZAFT vessels opening their catapults, had heightened the apprehension felt, but no mobile suits were deployed at that point. However, Halberton suspected he knew why that was the case. If Tyler McGregor was correct in what he had said about the ZAFT fleet, and there was really no reason to doubt him, the Black Zephyr would be leading this force. Halberton and the Sakura had a history with one another, and there was an amount of respect between them.

"All vessels assume a tight formation and prepare to intercept!" ordered Halberton on the com-phone mounted on his seat's arm. "Archangel, do not move from your current position, remain at the rear of the fleet. All other ships, deploy all mobile armor for combat and ready yourselves."

"Valkyrie One and Valkyrie Two, launch now," ordered Hoffman. "Activate N-jammers. Prepare anti-beam depth charges."

As Hoffman gave out his orders, the Menelaos's Moebius mobile armors began to deploy, and more mobile armors launched from each of the other vessels of the 8th Fleet. The only exception of this, was the Archangel. The launch of the Shadow had gone unnoticed by the fleet, so none in the 8th fleet knew that the Shadow was already out on the field. Orders were given for the supply ships to withdraw, as the ship-to-ship shuttle launched from the Archangel docked with the Menelaos, carrying the last group of the Heliopolis refugees and Vice Minister George Allster.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

"Activate Igelstellungs," ordered Murrue. "Load missile launchers with korinthos, activate Gottfrieds and Valiants, prepare Lohengrins for use. We are to remain on standby."

Everyone was tense, even Natarle, they were being drawn into a battle with an insufficient crew to even be considered a "skeleton crew". It was the same situation they had faced back at Heliopolis all over again. The one mobile suit that had a pilot that was still with the Archangel, had already gone out, defying orders in the process. Granted, Tyler McGregor had shown that he didn't always follow orders as they were given, yet he protected the Archangel thus far once he returned. Still that left the Archangel and its crew with only the two mobile armors as defenders. Along with the perfectly clear awareness of the lack of normal necessary crew to properly run the ship.

"Lovely first day on the job," muttered Sophia dryly as she readied all of the electronic counter measure control station, also running the onboard systems monitor programs, which would normally be done by at least two officers.

None said anything in reply as they were somber or just thinking of the difficulty ahead. The usual bridge crew during a combat situation, had gone from the customary ten this ship was supposed to operate with, to six, not including the captain. Natarle and Sofia were in the CIC, on on either side trying to operate two stations at that same time each. Natarle was doing the catapult and mobile suit controller duties, while operating on the sensor detection systems console. Arnold was as he normally was, at the helm of the Archangel. Where Pal Romero, at the weapons controls station, Jackie Tonomura sitting at the copilot controls and Dalida Lolaha Chandra II at the communications station while he was also operating the radar system. Murrue Ramius was worried to say the least about their chances in this skirmish.

Nonetheless, a few seconds after Sofia had stated the obvious, the bridge door suddenly opened. Murrue glanced around and to her shock and astonishment, the four Heliopolis students came onto the bridge. "Sorry we're late," said Sai as he led the other civilian volunteers inside, then they all gave a salute. "It won't happen again."

"What are the four of you doing here?" demanded Murrue.

Her answer, was Tolle going to the copilot chair and waiting for Jackie to vacate the seat, before Tolle took it himself. Miriallia and Kuzzey floated down into the CIC, waiting to take back their old stations to relieve the strain that both Sofia and Natarle had been under.

Sai slipped into the open electronic warfare station after Dalida got out. All the crew were baffled by what they were witnessing, these teens should've been on the shuttle that left for the Menelaos. It was while Kuzzey stood next to a frozen Natarle, waiting for her to recover from her obvious shock so he could retake the sensor detection system station and free her up for the vice captain's chair, that a vocal explanation came. "We decided to stick around," said Tolle. "Couldn't exactly leave all of you behind in the current situation, could we?"

"You'll find that we have 'lost' our discharge papers," said Sai lightly. "So, I do believe we still have a job here."

Recovering from her shock slightly, Natarle blinked and vacated the radar station, letting Kuzzey take it back. While Miriallia took over the mobile suit and catapult console, Natarle pushed herself slightly into the main bridge to look at Murrue.

"Flay Allster enlisted after we gave them the discharge papers," Natarle said. "She requested permission to join as a member of the crew, Captain Hoffman accepted her, and I approved it personally. But I didn't realize these four would decide to stay as well…"

"Are you guys really sure about this?" questioned Arnold.

Miriallia shrugged, "We don't have the discharge papers anymore," she said, "so, we're kind of committed either way."

"Well, I'm sure we're all grateful for the assistance," said Pal, "but I hope for your sakes that this really was the right decision. We're in a bit of a bind and that's putting it nicely."

Most of the other crewmen let out a sigh of agreement at that. Sophia glanced around, rather confused by the surprisingly informal air, especially given what she knew of Natarle. Looked back over her shoulder at Miriallia and Kuzzey, "Well, this is an interesting turn," said Sophia. "Guess I'll have the chance to see what the hype about you kids is all about. The name's Sophia Falco, looks like we'll be working here in the CIC together."

"Uh, Miriallia Haw," Miriallia greeted, followed by Kuzzey introducing himself to the newest crew member.

All the stations were being manned, Natarle returned to the CIC and settled into the command seat. Things then continued as they had been before meeting up with the 8th orbital fleet.

At the same time aboard the Menelaos, tensions were building as the unavoidable battle drew ever nearer. "Admiral, the Black Jade is hailing us," announced the communications operator.

"Is that right?" muttered Halberton. For the Black Zephyr to say something before a battle could mean pretty much one of two things. The first possibility was to say some sort farewell, after all Halberton and Sakura had fought one another enough to have mutual respect of each other. The second possibility was for Sakura to wish to make an offer or deal and that had only happened once before "Very well, let's see what the Black Zephyr of ZAFT has to say to us."

"Yes sir," returned the com-officer, opening the channel to the enemy ship.

A few seconds later, Sakura Clyne appeared on the forward display screen, " _Duane Halberton… It's been a long time, hasn't it?_ " said Sakura tonelessly.

"It has Sakura Clyne," replied Halberton firmly. "I seem to recall you having a tad more emotion in your voice last time."

" _War changes those involved, I believe you are a person that can understand how that works,_ " replied Sakura. " _Still, I didn't call for pleasantries._ _So,_ _I shall be blunt_ _,_ _you can't win this_ _battle, we both know that as fact Halberton. However,_ _I'm not the heartless monster that the Alliance leadership claims I am. To show that I am not, you, your fleet and that new warship you have at the rear of your fleet, can all walk away_ _from this, if you accept my offer_ _._ "

"Is that so?" said Halberton, quirking an eyebrow. For this woman to offer something like this, was unexpected. It made Halberton wonder what it was she was after, for there had to be reason for her to be even considering offering her opponents anything. "And what might be the price of this 'generous' offer of yours?"

" _A meeting with_ _the three_ _extraordinary pilots_ _from that new Alliance ship_ _… and_ _then_ _you must hand over_ _all_ _those marvelous mobile suits to me,_ " replied Sakura.

"Well, how could I possibly refuse such a generous offer from the great Black Zephyr of ZAFT?" returned Halberton sarcastically.

" _I see you've learned how to lay the sarcasm on even thicker than you did previously. I'll take that as a no, but then, I knew you'd refuse. Still, it seemed the courteous thing to do for_ _one that can be considered_ _an old friend. You might not think so_ _Duane_ _, but I'm nowhere near the monster people make me out to be. Farewell… old friend._ "

The screen blinked out, "Registering mobile suit deployment from the ZAFT warships!" called the sensor operator.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After I left the Archangel, I made my way to the right side of the soon to be battlefield, where the two Federation cruisers were sitting. By the time I came into sensor range of the two cruisers, the two teams of Delta fighters had launched. My own teammates from the Donnen fell in behind me and the other team moved to be next to us. I switched over to the Federation com channel, "Okay everyone, listen up, the objective in this is to prevent ZAFT from breaking through the Earth Alliance's 8th orbital fleet. Their target is the prototype vessel, the Archangel, which is located at the rear of the fleet. There will be allied reinforcement some time later, I can't say when they'll be on the field for it is uncertain," I stated to the other pilots, "Now then, time to dive in and put a stop to this!"

Ahead of us, the sight of ZAFT mobile suits launching from their ships and Alliance mobile armors moving ahead of the Alliance fleet, wasn't nice in any way. Time wasn't wasted as the skirmish between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT as those of us intent on stopping it closed the distance. Within the time it took for the Delta fighters and myself to get into striking range of those fighting one another, the battle was already on the path of getting messy. It made me feel a tad sorry for the mobile armor pilots, the whipping that they're getting is harsh even if they outnumber their opponents. While on the ZAFT end, the sizable number of GINNs, led by some CGUEs, one of which was black overall with crimson accenting. I assume that custom CGUE is being flown by Sakura, so the one to watch out for more than the other mobile suits.

And last, but certainly not least, there was the stolen Alliance prototype mobile suits, the G-Weapons. What surprised me somewhat, was all four of them out on this field, which I didn't think would happen with the beating they took in the last battle that had gone down. I mean, I'd -personally done a respectable amount of damage to the Blitz, both to its shield and definitely to that launching claw it has. Taking into account the stress and crap I put that equipment through, I doubt much of it would be usable, if any of it. Although, upon looking at my suit's twin, the Blitz had a beam rifle in its right hand instead of its shield and there was a normal CGUE shield on its left arm and no piercing claw, so I did disable the offensive options of the Blitz.

I know I recall seeing the Aegis missing its legs midway below the hips when it had run away, and the machine now has legs again. Then, my gaze flicked over to the Buster had a high-energy beam rifle besides its gun launcher, since I nailed its beam rifle in the last fight. Lastly, there was the Duel, but with what Kira had done, I would think the pilot would have suffered some amount of injury as a result. Plus, the Duel had new equipment to work with… new toys for the pilot of that machine, that's kind of annoying.

After taking in the lay of the battlefield, all the Delta Fighters and myself dove into the battle.

Yes, it probably won't make enough of a difference to save a lot of lives, but doesn't mean that we shouldn't try! The seven fighters broke into pairs, Lisa stuck with me going forward, while Alan and Luke teamed up together.

As I kept going forward, the Shadow's mirage colloid remained activate and the echo trace transmitter on, to stay undetected. I homed in on the nearest GINN with Lisa on my right. With beam rifle in the Shadow's right hand, I took aim and shot off the right aim of the GINN, then moved to the left, watching Lisa shoot off the shield the GINN had over its left shoulder. After the shield was gone, I blasted off the left arm leaving it with no weapons and really no way of defending itself. Neither Lisa or I destroyed the mobile suit, there was no reason to kill the pilot in this, so we kept flying forward. Once done dealing with the first GINN, Lisa and I went for our target which was the next nearest mobile suit and began the same process.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The ZAFT mobile suits were in the fray with the Alliance mobile armors, the front led by two CGUEs. One the traditional silver, which was the personal machine of Rau Le Creuset. The other was a distinctive black with crimson accents, the mobile suit of the Black Zephyr, Sakura Clyne. Trailing just behind the two CGUEs, were the four captured G-weapons with their assigned wingmen or for one in particular, namely the Duel, the CGUE wingman as its chaperon.

Yzak had wanted to rush off ahead and go for the enemy ship and get a chance to fight the winged suit. The desire for vengeance against the one that had gave him the scar on his face burned within him. But, he had been forbidden by pretty much everyone and had been told in no uncertain terms the consequences he would face should he not obey orders. Should he disobey, Mindy would under the orders from the Black Zephyr herself, drag him back to one of the ships if he got out of line, which would put him out of the rest of this battle. Yazk may not like the orders, but he knew that if Commander Clyne said that she would personally court marital him if he didn't do what he was told, then she would do just that. And right now, it wasn't worth facing that event, in order to obtain his goal.

While Mindy's CGUE was outmatched by the Duel in matters of power, the woman's skills more than made up for that difference and Yzak knew that. Following only a little further back from the Duel, was the Aegis with Juno's Assault Type GINN next to Athrun. The Blitz with Lori's silver-gray GINN High-Maneuver Type following Nicol. Then finally, the Buster with Ryan's custom-colored blue GINN with wings for speed and mobility on the right.

"Alright Joule, your show of following orders thus far has brought its reward, now you can have a chance to get what you want," said Sakura as they approached engagement range. "All units but the four captured machines are to fall back momentarily. Amalfi, Zala, Elsman, Joule, the four of you will move forward and engage the enemy mobile armors for fifteen seconds. That should be sufficient to break up their formations. You'll then rejoin with your wingmen, understood?"

" _Yes ma'am!_ " came the reply from the four pilots.

Sakura gave a slight nod, before pulling back on the controls, firing reverse thrust along with all the other ZAFT-built machines. The mobile armors, which had been expected those six machines alongside the G-weapons, were caught flat-footed facing an enemy against whom their weapons were virtually worthless. True, they had expected to have to fight the stolen mobile suits, but that didn't make it any easier to actually do the idea.

Yzak, ever the aggressive one, opened fire first, launching a barrage of missiles from the pod of his new assault shroud, followed by several shots from his beam rifle and 'Shiva' railgun. Dearka was only seconds behind, letting loose with a barrage from both of his missile pods, weapons ideally suited to facing down the swarm tactics of the Earth Forces mobile armors. Then, he followed that up with shots from the Buster's gun launcher.

Athrun was a few seconds behind, firing off several quick shots with his beam rifle, and nailing all four mobile armors he targeted, a better accuracy rate than the other two. Nicol only fired off two shots from his new beam rifle before storing it on his machine's waist and drawing a beam saber instead, shooting forward and relying on his greater speed, mobility and armor to close with the mobile armors and slice them apart.

After only a few seconds, the mobile armors broke formation, and then the remaining ZAFT pilots dove in, Mindy, Lori, Ryan and Juno immediately moving back into their wingman positions as they had been instructed to. The opening shots were decidedly in ZAFT's favor, on average, it took five Moebiuses to bring down a single GINN, which could equal an escort ship on its own. But the pilots of the Clyne Team, besides three of them being in more powerful GINNs, were all elite pilots who would probably take seven or more Moebiuses to go down. On top of that, the G-weapons were powerful enough to make even GINNs look frail by comparison. Were this same force to go against Federation Military forces, then that would be different, but that was beside the point. With the work of the G-Weapons, ZAFT quickly broke the mobile armor formations and began the dirty work that this battle would be.

"Alright, the Alliance suits are to go after the fleet's ships now," stated Sakura. "The wingman will cover from mobile armors for you…"

" _Ma'am! Federation forces have appeared on the battlefield! They're shooting,_ " Interrupted one of the GINN pilots, being cutoff abruptly and the sight of an explosion acted as an explanation as to why.

Sakura clenched her jaw slightly at hearing that Federation military forces were now on the battlefield, for it changed things. There was always the chance that the Federation Military would show up in a clash between the Earth Forces and ZAFT. And with their stealth capabilities, there was rarely a warning before they interfered, it's what made action of the Federation like this annoying when it did occur.

The other half of the ongoing "issue", was that the Federation Military and those who were a part of the organization weren't to be underestimated as they were skilled and powerful. Sakura knew and had seen how skilled a number of the Federation's pilots were in their fighters. Most had thought that Federation Fighters would be as simple to deal with as Earth Forces mobile armors. Yet, those initial assumptions had been proven very wrong in enough instances that it wasn't a fluke. The Human Federation as a whole had made it clear that they weren't interested in this ongoing war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. The reason they interfered in battles like this, was they claimed that they wished to stop senseless killing.

Yet, why help out the Earth Alliance in this? The Federation had as many issues as ZAFT itself did with the Earth Alliance gaining the ability to produce and use mobile suits. In fact, they would have a few more than ZAFT with their member nations on Earth being put at risk. It was nearly guarantee, that should the Alliance gain the ability to mass produce mobile suits, the would be used at some point against the Federation's member nations. Regardless, the Federation was here now and that had to be taken into account. She looked down at her sensor read outs, and saw there were already GINNs being taken out of commission. "All pilots, watch yourselves out here, remember, Federation fighters are not mobile armors, their close to equal with mobile suits, treat them as such."

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

With the decision made for them, Kira and Lacus made their way to the pilot locker room. They entered without thinking, rushing to their respective lockers and snatching their pilot suits out of them. Both were thinking about Tyler, since the Shadow was gone, he was likely out in the fight and that put his life at risk for the Archangel and others. They were both worried about him and neither wanted him to die out there, so perhaps if they launched out, Tyler would be able to make it back.

"Huh? Y-you both stayed?" came a shaky voice suddenly.

Kira and Lacus turned to see Flay in the pink Earth Alliance female cadet uniform, standing at the door of the locker room. As unexpected Flay's presence was, it wasn't unwelcome to either of the two Coordinators. Kira smiled slightly, "Yeah, we stayed. We couldn't leave you all alone after all," he said.

Flay stared at them, wide-eyed, as Lacus worked at the straps of her dress before pausing, "Um, could you come inside or go outside, at least close the door please?" she asked somewhat sheepishly. "The ship's nearly deserted now, but I'd rather not give any passersby something to see like this…"

Blushing slightly, Flay stepped in and hitting the switch to close the door. When that was done, Kira and Lacus resumed stripping out of their civilian clothes, not really looking at each other in a show of good manners, putting on the underclothes they'd be wearing with the pilot suits. Flay quickly turned her back on them, both to avert her eyes and to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks.

"Kuzzey said you decided to volunteer," said Kira, "so, why did you do that?"

"I… I wanted to make a difference," said Flay, not turning to face them. "I want a peaceful world… one where, just maybe, people can forget the hatred that ends out causing this war. I still don't think someone should have their genes altered just because they can, but I also have come to understand that for Coordinators… most didn't choose to have their genes made the way they are. I'm… not proud of my behavior towards you in the past… or your friends, it was wrong and I see that now."

"It's fine," said Lacus. "What's important is how you behave now."

"Yes, but… it's not just that," said Flay. "In this world… with the war and everything, what about the people caught between the two different sides that aren't willing to back down from each other?"

That gave Kira and Lacus pause as they were starting to pull on their pilot suits, turning to face Flay. Neither Kira or Lacus had expected something like this from Flay, for she had never shown anything like this. It was a question that had come up of often enough during the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. And even up to this point, none had been able to give a good or satisfying answer of how to protect and/or defend those who were caught in the fighting. The Federation Military had tried to help, but even their efforts hadn't done enough to stop people not even involved in the war.

"When I was a little girl, I had a friend," Flay went on softly. "Her name was Maria, and she was… she was a Hybrid." The two pilots' eyes widened in shock as they stared at each other, "She ended out being killed just because of her heritage," continued Flay.

One that was classified as a Hybrid type of human, was a child born of a Natural and a Coordinator. The harsh thing was that most Hybrids were considered the black sheep of the human race, since they were caught between the two genetic types and weren't accepted by either. To some Coordinators, the Hybrids were the same as Naturals and so, weren't accepted. Then for Naturals, they were too much like Coordinators and so weren't trusted by those in power and had harsh rumors spread about them. Kira and Lacus knew only one Hybrid, as most would pass themselves off as Naturals or Coordinators in order to get by. Either that, or they sought asylum in the member nations of the Human Federation as they welcomed all who were willing to follow the rules of the nation. The wish to fit in and not to be judge upon how they were born, driving them.

"So… even though I dislike Coordinators… I guess, it was never something specifically against them as I thought it was before. You two helped me see and understand that one's genetics don't determine what someone is like. I'm starting to think… if this ship can really make a difference, then I want to help with that," said Flay. "Because as long as this war goes on… the hatred that exists between all of us can never be forgotten. So that's why…"

"I see," said Lacus softly. She smiled at Flay. "Well then… I guess we'll just have to make sure we succeed in making a difference."

Slowly, Flay turned to face the two, smiling slightly, "Yes… good luck you two," she said. "I'll do whatever I can to help."

"We know," said Kira. "Thank you Flay."

 **-Line Break-**

Upper Orbit

The appearance and assistance of Federation forces didn't go unnoticed by the forces of the 8th orbital fleet, most were grateful for the help. What reason the Federation had to interfere in this, was unknown, but at the moment it didn't matter. Onboard the Menelaos's bridge, Admiral Halberton was watching the change in the flow of the battle. He intended to personally thank Tyler for this, as Halberton had no doubt the teenager had a hand in getting the Federation Military involved somehow. "Well, it would seem having a Federation Military commander on the Archangel has helped in a way that was unforeseen. Wouldn't you agree Hoffman?" Asked Halberton as Federation fighters were helping make a difference in this fight against ZAFT mobile suits.

"For the time being Admiral, yes, the Federation's help is appreciated," returned Hoffman begrudgingly.

Yet, even with the assistance of the Federation military, this battle was still far from over, Halberton knew this and it worried him. Going against Sakura Clyne, was never a simple thing, and thus far, this battle had been simple tactics, not the woman's style. Halberton studied the field as it was being displayed and it bothered him the longer he looked at the image, "And yet, there's something wrong with this," he said. "This isn't like her…"

Hoffman turned to face Halberton, "I hear the Black Zephyr is supposed to be close friends with ZAFT's Admiral Treize, even if he doesn't take the field much anymore. And thank goodness that man doesn't, or this conflict would be far worse than it already is," said Hoffman. "If I recall, his 'lessons of war' include a statement favoring simple plans." He nodded to the battle at the front of the fleet. "With the X-numbers, a frontal assault is doing the job fine."

"I doubt that's all there is, not if her goal is the Archangel," said Halberton, turning to the sensor operator. "Scan the area for evidence of other ZAFT ships! Knowing the Black Zephyr, she's got an ambush or a flanking maneuver setup for us!"

"Yes sir!"

' _But…'_ thought Halberton, ' _If this is anything like back during the Grimaldi Conflict… she's probably stay at least one step ahead of me. If not for Tyler's warning, she would be more than one…'_

Unfortunately for Halberton, he was right about being one step behind Sakura, ordering the search for additional forces not even a minute before a pair of Laurasia-class frigates suddenly lit up their engines and "descended" on the fleet from the planar north, launching mobile suits as they did so.

Several of the mobile armor squadrons tangling with the mobile suits at the front, as well as the handful that had been held back for fleet defense, rushed to try and intercept. The Drake-class escort ships at the rear of the fleet began to orient themselves upwards as well in order to bring as many missile pods to bear on the new arrivals as possible.

Unfortunately, the Black Zephyr and her Knights weren't about to let that go by without punishment. As the four stolen prototypes rushed at different enemy ships with their wingman flying cover. Sakura, Creuset and the four pilots flying off the Fairchild, Christian Rosen, Rika Sheder, Luna Mosswell and Elliot Sutherland leveled their machine guns and opened up on the scattering mobile armors, shredding them from behind with a storm of bullets.

" _Bastards!_ " cursed a Moebius pilot over an open channel as he fired his missiles on Luna's GINN. She fell back, allowing her wingman to shoot forward and pump the Moebius full of bullets, leaving the missiles unguided and easily evaded.

Meanwhile, the Aegis shifted to mobile armor form as it flew at a Drake-class and latched its claw onto the escort ship's vulcan turret. Athrun pulled the trigger, firing it Multi-phase energy cannon named "Scylla". The Drake-class was completely obliterating it by the shot, the ruins of the turret flew away from what remained of the crippled warship. It was really a miracle that the ship hadn't exploded from the blast.

"Lori, I'm going under with mirage colloid," said Nicol as the two flew at a Drake-class next to a nelson-class vessel, "targeting the Nelson-class."

" _Roger that,_ " said Lori, as she watched the Blitz disappear as its mirage colloid activated. Nicol couldn't help but think that her voice sounded far too sweet for a soldier.

When the Blitz disappeared, Lori fired her thrusters in reverse and leveled her machine gun at the Drake-class in front of her, opening fire with full auto. But she wasn't really bothering to aim, instead focusing on her surroundings so that she wouldn't be caught unawares when an enemy attacked her. It was important in this battle, especially since Federation fighters were on the field, for as good as Lori was, a Federation fighter could match a GINN and win half the time. And that was bolstered with the Federation pilots being as skilled as ZAFT's own pilots, and some were better admittedly.

Then, the Blitz suddenly rematerialized in front of the bridge of the Nelson-class cruiser next to the Drake-class it had been charging at earlier, catching the enemy off-guard as he fired off the rifle the suit had at the bridge. Nicol blasted the bridge tower, until it exploded then he focused firing at the cruiser's weapons before quickly pulling back to rejoin Lori.

" _Take this!_ " shouted Dearka. He dodged shots from a Drake-class as he leveled the high-energy beam rifle the Buster was equipped with shot straight at the centerline of the ship several times in rapid succession until he blasted a hole through it. He then shot a barrage of missiles into the hole, causing the entire ship to explode like it had been stuff full of firecrackers.

Yzak, forcing himself to show patience, followed the orders he was given, knowing better than to fly completely off the handle and go for what he really wanted to take on right now. He went for the ship Mindy directed him towards under covering fire from her CGUE. Yzak knew the more that he followed orders, the more likely he would get a shot at the winged suit that he wanted to destroy and succeed. As much as he would wish he could move forward, the less trouble he ended out in while doing so, the better. So, Yzak was biding his time and unusual for him, was being the good soldier. Yet, Yzak used the Alliance forces to vent his frustrations on, which he had lots of. He broke away to get a better firing angle, sidling alongside the Nelson cruiser and began firing repeated shots from his rifle and railgun until the ship was completely and utterly pulverized as its internal munitions stores went off.

"Damn it! I don't like to wait," cursed Yzak angrily to himself as he pulled back, sticking near Mindy as per his orders. "This better be worth it, so that I get a shot at that winged machine."

As the battle continued, the reports of the losses being suffered by the 8th orbital began coming into the Menelaos. "Seleukos is hit, it's out of commission," said one of the bridge operators. "Cassandros, not responding."

"Antigonos and Ptolemaios are down!" said another operator.

"How can that be?" asked Hoffman, gasping in surprise. "Four vessels destroyed only three minutes into the battle?"

"The Seleukos and Cassandros are moving," said a third operator. "They've sustained heavy damage and are withdrawing from the battle."

"Understood," said Halberton, "try to send them a communication to keep an eye out for enemy ambushes as they retreat! I doubt the Black Zephyr would use such underhanded tactics… but I wouldn't put it past her to avoid hitting them either."

"Yes sir," was the reply

Le Creuset was flying around the battlefield, watching the fighting. He observed Athrun and Nicol doing damage, but doing their best to not kill their opponents. "Athrun and Nicol are too soft for my taste," said Creuset. "Show the enemy mercy, you only encourage them to come at you with a new weapon in hand. Are you sure we shouldn't finish those vessels off Zephyr?"

" _Le Creuset, would you shut up while you're ahead,_ " growled Sakura. " _In war, the best thing is not to shatter and destroy the enemy, but to take them whole and intact. When the enemy can no longer do battle, their deaths can only be murder. Is that_ _ **clear**_ _, Le Creuset?_ "

"Yes, of course, crystal clear," said Le Creuset, gunning down a Moebius. "I was merely wondering as to your thoughts."

" _Then my opinion is established with what I just said. Now, do yourself a favor and cover me,_ " she said.

A trio of mobile armors charged at the black CGUE, but Creuset quickly picked all of them off as the Sakura charged at a Nelson-class, dodging under its fire as she opened up on the hull. When she was close, she swung her sword though the area she'd hit, cutting a hole in the armor through which she proceeded to crash her CGUE. Creuset winced slightly in a brief flash of sympathy for the crew, he knew what them Black Zephyr was doing as she proceeded to fly her machine through deck after deck of the soft interior… and then suddenly blasted back out behind the bridge tower. Detonations chained along the length of the hull, and by the time Sakura and Creuset had regrouped, the cruiser exploded.

"That's a suicidal tactic, that the sort of move I would expect from the Roc, not from you Zephyr," said Le Creuset.

" _It will work better if I can get my hands on a beam saber and that phase shift armor,_ " she replied. " _As for the Roc, Kurt had a large, heavy scythe as his weapon of choice and would use it in that manner to cut open ships like tin cans. I would think you would recall that correctly,_ _now let's go!_ "

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

To say the crew was frustrated would've been an understatement, they were still under orders not to join the battle at large and it was easy to see that none were happy about the orders. That was despite the fact that their ship had more firepower than any other ship of the fleet and was at least five times as maneuverable as any of them. It wasn't until a sound came from Murrue's right, that her attention was shifted from the battle in anyway.

 _BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!_

"Huh?" muttered Murrue, looking to her right and seeing that the phone mounted on her right armrest, intended for various quick communications purposes for the Archangel's captain was ringing. She picked it up, curious as to whom it was calling to the bridge, "Yes?"

" _Hey, why the hell am I still on standby?_ " demanded Mu irritated. " _Those four stolen prototypes are at it again, and now they're backed by the Black Zephyr's pilots! The 8_ _th_ _fleet is in deep trouble and we're just sitting here! How can you not see the problem with this damn it?!_ "

"Lieutenant La Flaga," said Murrue.

" _Mu is absolutely right, the 8_ _th_ _fleet is taking that beating for us here on the Archangel! It's just wrong for us to sit here and do nothing but watch!_ " shot Krystal.

" _It's not as if my mobile armor or Krystal's alone will make much of a difference,_ " admitted Mu in frustration, " _but still!_ "

"Our ship hasn't been signaled to join in yet," said Murrue. "We are to remain on standby."

" _You've got to be kidding, that's bull-!"_ shouted Krystal.

" _I agree with Krystal wholeheartedly,_ _this is ridiculous for us not to get our a**es out there,_ " started Mu cutting over Krystal, but Murrue turned off the link.

She sighed lightly, feeling much the same as Mu and Krystal. Coming to a quick decision, Murrue looked over her shoulder at Miriallia, "Connect me to the Menelaos!" she ordered.

Miriallia quickly did as she had been ordered.

Meanwhile, on the Menelaos, reports of how bad things were kept coming, "Xerxes and Paris, moving out front," announced a Menelaos operator.

"X numbers approaching!" warned a second officer.

"Use the main guns! Shoot them down!" ordered Hoffman.

"Admiral, we're receiving a communication from the Archangel, connecting real time with them," informed a communications officer. Halberton, frustrated by the battle, opened the link, "What do you want?" he asked.

" _We wish to pull away from the fleet,_ " said Murrue. " _It's imperative that we begin our descent sequence now, Admiral. Please authorize it!_ "

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Halberton.

"Are you people trying to flee this battle to save yourselves?" asked Hoffman. On the screen, Murrue scowled.

" _This ship is the enemy's target!_ " she said. " _We must move away from you! If not, the whole fleet will be destroyed! Alaska is out of the question, but from here, we could still reach Earth Forces territory, even Human Federation territory would be okay right now! We can shake off the GINNs and ZAFT vessels in the Earth's atmospheric interface, Admiral!_ "

Halberton sighed, as he knew that his subordinate was quite right that the Archangel was the target and the reason that ZAFT was still pushing forward. He looked at one of the sensor boards as another escort ship had been destroyed, "Murrue Ramius, you haven't changed a bit," said Halberton with a slight smile, looking back at the display screen, "still as reckless as ever."

" _As you well know, a subordinate learns from their superior,_ " retorted Murrue.

"Very well," said Halberton. "Commence preparations for the Archangel's descent on the double. We'll provide cover for you up to the entry interface. We won't allow one single enemy to get past us."

" _Yes sir!_ " said Murrue as the communication cut.

Back on the Archangel, the com-channel closed and Murrue knew what had to be done now, "Everyone, prepare to descend and go through atmospheric interface immediately!" Murrue ordered.

"Atmospheric Interface" the term for the process of a ship which is large than a shuttle, would descend into Earth's atmosphere and go through it. Historical records state that early manned space craft had special equipment such as parachutes, air breaks and material that shielded them from the heat. Thrusters were the current way to 'slow down' a ship, but that only helped so much. And then, heat shielding was handled by various heat resistant gels that were produced now. Even with the improvements, the process of entering and then descending through Earth's atmosphere is still a risky action and so can be difficult and can have horrible consequences if done incorrectly.

Down in the hanger, Mu was fuming at just sitting around and doing nothing while the battle with ZAFT was going on outside. Krystal was doing much the same, but wasn't showing the feeling as much as Mu was.

" _All hands, prepare for atmospheric entry interface!_ " announced Miriallia over the internal speaker system.

"Descending?" questioned Mu loudly and incredulously in the hangar, looking over to Krystal.

She was looking just as dumbfounded, "With the situation we're in?" she asked.

"What good's it gonna do you to argue or question about it?" asked Murdoch. "But I guess it's better than sitting around not doing anything. Honestly, I don't blame that McGregor kid at all, launching out when he did, he's out there working to make a difference, while we just get to standby."

"Even if we lose the ZAFT ships and GINNs, there are still those four machines," came another voice suddenly, and everyone in the hangar turned in shock to see Kira and Lacus in pilot suits floating towards the Asuka and Strike.

"What the, you two kids are still here?!" called Murdoch in surprise.

"We'll stand by in our machines," said Lacus, smiling.

"We're still at level one battle stations, right?" asked Kira.

With that, the two teens turned their attention fully to their respective machines. Murdoch stopped by the red zero armor, "I thought they got off this ship," he said, frowning with Mu and Krystal.

"They're still at such a young age," commented Mu, "and already, they've been exposed to their share of war and battlefields. It's going to make their lives tougher."

"You have to give them credit for their commitment," commented Krystal.

 **-Line Break-**

The Menelaos

As the Archangel began pulling away, Halberton turned to the Menelaos chief communications officer, and nodded. The com-officer immediately opened a fleet-wide communications channel, "This is Halberton, this message is to all ships!" Called Halberton, "From here on, the focus of our energies will be to protect the Archangel until it reaches the atmosphere's entry interface's final phase! We expect this to be a harsh battle, but if we are to win the conflicts that lie ahead, we cannot afford to lose that ship! Reassemble the formation! With the will and determination of the 8th Fleet, we'll make certain that not one single enemy gets through! We'll show them what the Earth Forces are made of!"

As Halberton's speech/orders were heard, the soldiers of the 8th Fleet, with renewed determination, regrouped their formation around the Menelaos, determined to make their commanding officer proud.

Meanwhile, ZAFT forces were struggling to keep up the pressure that they had been putting on the Alliance forces, mostly due to the work of the Federation fighters that were picking off the GINNs one by one at a fair pace. The number of fighters was unknown, but the results were something none could deny. Yet, the Earth Forces had also rallied and regrouped, fighting harder than before and making it harder for ZAFT pilots to gain ground. Sakura felt some respect for the renewed effort the opposing forces were making against them. It wouldn't change any things with the outcome of this battle, Sakura would see to that, but still.

In the fight with the Alliance's mobile armor squadrons and ZAFT mobile suits, a Moebius shot down a GINN, only to be taken out by the shoulder-mounted gatling guns of a GINN Assault Type from the Clyne Team. Three more mobile armors fired off all their missiles at the Blitz, and although Nicol managed to shoot two down, he was forced to simply take on the role of a tank and take the rest with his Phase Shift armor. As he did so, Lori took advantage of their distraction to gun down all three Moebiuses with precision burst-fire from her 76mm heavy assault machine gun that was loaded with armor-piercing rounds.

Four Moebiuses clustered up in a rotating formation, firing their linear guns in rapid succession on Christian and Rika of the Clyne Team. The two dodged and returned fire with their machine guns, only for the Moebiuses to break apart. One fired off its missiles, vulcans and linear gun at Rika all at once while the other three each let loose with a different weapon on Christian. Both ZAFT pilots were about to counter the Alliance armors, when out of nowhere, Christian's high energy cannon was hit and exploded, clearly not from weapons that the mobile armors had.

The two GINNs, CGUE and the Blitz were scanning around for the source of the shot. Nicol became on edge after seeing the shot, the GINN's cannon had been hit by a shot from a beam rifle. Mobile Armors didn't carry beam rifles yet, so that left a mobile suit as the culprit. Out of the enemy forces, there are only three mobile suits to work with. Of those three, this style of hitting and seeing nothing of the source, fit one of the three machines perfectly and really none other. That was the 'twin' of the Blitz itself and that meant nothing but trouble in Nicol's mind.

The Federation had the capabilities to be invisible while striking their target and that fact was proof of the stealth abilities they had. However, it was the third enemy mobile suit that fit this more in Nicol's mind. That black suit with its pilot was still in Nicol's opinion, even if it wasn't shared by others, the most dangerous of the three enemy mobile suit and pilot combinations. In fact, that machine and pilot scared Nicol in a couple of ways and more with the possibility they could do than any had before.

The two pilots from the Clyne team were getting frustrated at not finding whomever it was that had attacked. Yet, while that was going on, Nicol opened a com-line to his 'wingman', "Lori, I think we're going against the black enemy mobile suit. In the previous encounter, it was clear to me, that its mirage colloid had been improved compared to what the Blitz has equipped. The pilot somehow overcame the flaw in the mirage colloid system and that allows it to move around undetected," remarked Nicol.

The tension was mounting quickly as nothing occurred, that's until one of the two GINNs suffered three slashes from a beam saber. The evidence of the action, the suit's arms and head were cleanly separated from the rest of the machine in quick succession. Rika spun around gazing at where her comrade's suit was now armless and headless and growled in frustration. " _Whoever you are, come out and fight us!_ " She shouted in challenge over an open com-line.

Rika moved forward and slashed at nothing, then the arm of her GINN gripping the beam saber, was blasted off of the suit by a beam from below. That was followed quickly by the sight of a magenta line that was a beam saber, flying towards her. She thought she was about to die by whatever this invisible enemy was, but at the last moment, her wingman, Christian pushed her GINN out of the way by ramming her with his. Rika, then had to watch as her comrade's GINN get cut in half by the magenta blade that didn't appear to be attached to anything, cutting from the bottom upward to the top.

" _CHRISTIAN!_ " cried Rika as she saw her wingman's suit explode.

Nicol faced forward again, just in time to see the fragments from the destroyed suit. Then he caught a glimpse of the mentioned enemy black mobile suit reappearing and activating its phase shift armor. The other thing that Nicol took note of, was that the Blitz's twin had difference equipment again from the last battle. That proved that it could, like the X105 Strike was supposed to be able to do, yet another contribution to the danger of this mobile suit and its pilot.

Lori and he moved forward, but the black machine had already changed its direction of flight and was now diving down at Rika's GINN. Its beam saber on the underside of its shield still ignited, coming down to slash at the GINN.

Rika screamed as the saber came at her, yet, just before the enemy suit struck, it hit by projectiles, which forced it to break off its attack and start dodging bolts and bullets from behind Nicol. He turned to see that the Black Zephyr and Commander Le Creuset were shooting at the enemy mobile suit. " _Rika, withdraw,_ " said Sakura calmly as Commander Le Creuset and she fired on the enemy mobile suit. " _You can't do anymore good with your machine in its current state._ "

" _Y-yes ma'am!_ " replied Rika.

As Rika retreated, Sakura and Creuset kept shooting at the black suit to prevent it from attacking during Rika's withdraw. The enemy suit kept dodging as it backed away, powering down its beam saber. Then it turned from black to grey, before it vanished as its mirage colloid spread over it, hiding the machine from view.

" _So, even your knights can be taken down_ ," commented Creuset as he and Sakura watched the black enemy mobile suit disappear.

" _Anyone can be shot down,_ " replied Sakura. " _The Battle of_ _Endymion proved that… the Mocking Jay fell there, or have you forgotten that. However, that black mobile suit has proven far more dangerous in two battles than most ever do. Whoever the pilot is, they clearly are experienced at piloting a mobile suit and fighting with one._ "

" _Yes, that machine is quite the wild card… hmm?_ " A message popped up on one of Creuset's screens. " _The legged ship…_ "

The message detailed that the movements of the target ship had changed and showed that it was breaking away from the fleet. " _So, Halberton's going to use the 8_ _th_ _fleet as a shield to let that ship begin its descent to Earth,_ " commented Sakura. There was a brief pause as she assessed the situation. " _Amalfi_ _, Zala, Elsman, Joule, we're breaking from the main engagement. We'll pursue the legged ship as far as we can, your firepower will be necessary to break through the final enemy defense line in the time there is before our target gets beyond our reach up here._ "

" _Yes ma'am!_ " replied the four pilots.

In total, eight GINNs had been lost including Christian's Assault Type, and both Rika's GINN and Commander Porto's CGUE had been forced to retreat back to their motherships. The Federation had been helping the Earth Forces gain ground against ZAFT, showing once again that Federation fighters were able to take on mobile suits.

The _Ziegler_ and _Galvani_ , still bearing down from the planar north, let loose another barrage into the 8th Fleet, sending two more ships up in flames, just as they'd been doing since first launching mobile suits. The whole battle was tipped in ZAFT's favor, thanks to the surprise flanking maneuver and the tremendous power of the stolen Alliance prototypes, leaving only a handful of mobile armors. But the Federation forces were making things much harder, especially the black mobile suit that was fighting against ZAFT alongside the Federation. However, Sakura and the two left of the Clyne team, along with Le Creuset team had been able to break off and punch through the 8th Fleet formation.

That was added to when one of the two Laurasia-class vessels were struck on their port side. This was quickly followed by two Federation cruisers appearing and began baring down on the ZAFT warship. The appearance of the Federation vessels, also added more of their fighters on the battlefield, which didn't help ZAFT at all. Sakura knew that if the fresh Federation pilots reached them, ZAFT forces would likely need to fall back and withdraw. So, the group she led forward towards the Archangel picked up their pace, while the rest of those that were fighting the Alliance, made a desperate attempt to delay the Federation Military forces.

As the ten mobile suits heading towards the Archangel approached the 8th Fleet's final defensive line, all of the Alliance warships opened up with everything they had. The CGUEs and GINNs were all forced back, with the exception of Ryan on Dearka's wing. Ryan was dodging the shots expertly and so stayed with his assigned machine. But, the four stolen Alliance's prototypes opened with everything they had, successfully obliterating a pair of escort ships. Yzak didn't wait for Mindy to take back her position on his wing, charging through the hole.

" _Yzak you're disobeying orders!_ " shouted Dearka as he gave chase, Ryan still on his wing.

" _Shut up!_ " Yzak shot back angrily.

Athrun and Nicol didn't disobey orders, instead they waited for their wingmen to regain position, but unfortunately, the 8th fleet used the opportunity to close up the hole behind the Duel, Buster and GINN.

" _Yzak Joule, mark my words, you will face consequences for your actions. And don't think your mother's position will get you out of trouble with me for even a moment. If you survive this battle, I will not only personally court martial l you, it will be in front of Lanus Treize, Joule,_ " came Sakura's cold voice.

The prospect of a personal court martial by the Black Zephyr herself was terrifying. But, for her to state it would be done in front of the leader of the ZAFT military made it far worse! However, Yzak ignored the threat as he didn't care at the moment. All that he wanted was his chance to get a shot at the enemy mobile suits that had caused such problems in his view. So, he ignored the orders and continued, gunning for the legged ship, where he believed he would find the other two enemy mobile suits, which hadn't appeared.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

" _The Duel, the Buster and a GINN have broken through the 8_ _th_ _fleet,_ " announced Miriallia over the PA.

Murdoch and the other mechanics gasped, " _The_ _Menelaos_ _is engaged in combat!_ " added Kuzzey, though his voice was only heard over the intercom of the mobile weapons.

"Lieutenant La Flaga!" said Kira.

"Yeah, I know kid," said Mu. He called the bridge once more, "Captain! Let us fight to the last second! There's still time before the ship starts reentry, as long as we get back before that, we're good!"

" _Don't be ridiculous,_ " said Murrue sternly. " _You want us too…_ "

"According to the catalogue specs for all of the Alliance prototypes," came Lacus's voice suddenly, "They are able to undergo reentry on their own, that includes the Strike, the Asuka and the Shadow should all be able to survive the atmospheric reentry process… in theory at least."

" _Lacus, what are you…?_ " asked Murrue, surprised to see pink-haired teen again, much less in the cockpit of the Strike where she was. The bridge crew gasped in surprise at what the young teen was suggesting as much as seeing the young teenager in the mobile suits " _What are you doing there? I thought you…?_ "

"Captain," came Kira's voice, just as suddenly as Lacus's. "If this keeps up, the Menelaos will be in great danger of being in destroyed. Come on captain, let us launch and do something while there's still time!"

Murrue hesitated, uncertain on what to do in this situation, which was difficult as it is. Tyler had already gone out to the battlefield… without permission, but he did what he saw was right and has said so a few times, regardless of any orders given from anyone else. If the other four pilots launched, the chances of them getting back before the Archangel started atmospheric interface, were fairly slim at best. Although, their chances were better than Tyler's chances of getting back to the ship before the third phase of reentry, since none knew where he was. Murrue knew the importance of getting the Strike to Earth HQ, so letting it launch at this point was crazy! Phase three of entry interface was the most dangerous as it was when a craft came into the Earth's Thermosphere. That was the point where burning up tended to happen the most for the instances that it had occurred.

Natarle sighed slightly in her own well-concealed worry with the current situation, yet someone needed to make a decision and Murrue was hesitating. So, it fell to Natarle as the acting vice captain to make the choice and she could swallow her pride enough to agree the pilots were right. She hit a button of the unoccupied mobile weapon control station, "Alright then, permission granted," she said. "But, you must return before we reach phase three. The specs may say it's possible to survive the full reentry process, but none of the G-Weapons were tested in the conditions that Earth's atmospheric interface possesses. We don't know what will happen to you in the cockpit, so keep a constant eye on the altitude and time, all of you. Do not, I repeat, do not drop below 850 kilometers."

" _Yes ma'am,_ " said Kira and Lacus as the com-line cut out.

Murrue stood up, glaring down at Natarle, "Ensign Badgiruel!" she snapped.

Natarle glared right back at Murrue, "If this ship is destroyed, the sacrifices of the 8th fleet will have been in vain!" reasoned Natarle. Murrue's eyes narrowed as the two women began a glaring match that made the rest of the bridge crew feel nervous, with one exception. Sofia was watching with interest, _'I wonder who will crack first and show their claws_ ,' thought Sophia.

Down on the hangar deck, the Strike and Asuka were moved to the catapults. Murdoch watched this with a worried expression on his face, one mirrored by Mu and Krystal in their Zeroes waiting for their turn to launch out. "Even I have never made a sortie in this kind of situation. I done a few simulations of atmospheric combat, but" muttered Mu.

The air tight shutters closed behind the mobile suits, "Yes, it's nuts yet, it's better than sitting around doing nothing Mu. Yet, I know about the simulations you're talking about, let's hope those were exaggerating what the idea is like," commented Krystal.

As the mobile suits were receiving equipment, Mu keyed the radio. "Hey you two, be careful when you get out there, okay? Tyler may already be out on the field, but there is no signal from the Shadow. So he may not be in a position to help us, meaning we're on our own. We'll also have to take account the effects of gravity while we're out there, for it will pull you down and deeper into Earth's atmosphere."

Once the Strike equipped with the Aile striker pack, the catapults open on both legs of the Archangel. " _Yeah, we will be,_ " said Kira as the he looked out at the Earth below them. " _The view is beautiful… it's a shame that we have to see it in a situation like this._ "

" _Yes,_ " agreed Lacus. " _But when this is all over… I think we should try to see it, when we can take the time to truly enjoy it later._ " She paused, " _Kira… I've got a bad feeling about this…_ "

" _Yeah, so do I,_ " said Kira, " _But there isn't much we can do but go ahead and launch so,_ " He paused, shaking his head. " _Well, let's go. Kira Yamato, Asuka launching!_ "

" _Lacus Don, Strike launching!_ " called Lacus.

The two Coordinators felt the catapults launching them forward and away from the ship at high speed. As they cleared the catapults, they activated their Phase Shift armor, and both Zeroes were quickly to follow the two mobile suits.

"Alright, let's see what we can pull off," muttered Mu.

" _Have some faith Mu, it's what we got to work with,_ " returned Krystal.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

As a group of ZAFT mobile suits broke through the 8th fleet's defense line, I got a picture that I DIDN'T want to see. The Duel and Buster along with a GINN were close to getting into range of striking the Archangel. Then both the Asuka and the Strike launched out, followed by both Zero armors and the shortly began clashing with the Duel, Buster and GINN. My friends and fellow pilots were currently holding their own for the time being, but if the six other ZAFT mobile suits that had broken through the Alliance defenses to join the fight, that would be bad! In other words, my friends were in trouble already as atmospheric conditions aren't helpful in combat at all and were about to be in even more trouble. If the defender of the Archangel fall, then the ship would follow… and though that would technically fulfill the objective of the current mission I was assigned, it was definitely not the way I wanted it to be done!

There was no way I'll let that happen! And with the resolution, I felt the onset of my own SEED mode. For me when this happens, I of course get the having eyes in the back of my head along with increased speed with my reaction time. Those two qualities are common with those with SEED factor, Kira and Lacus had shown that during the battle before the Archangel linked up with the fleet. However, I have another more individualist quality that comes into play when I go into SEED mode. I can also somehow predict with extremely uncanny accuracy where my opponents WILL be when I shoot or strike. It's this ability that others have nicknamed 'target forecasting' which puts me in the top ranks of Federation pilots.

Before seeing the sight of the Archangel's plight, I'd been taking on two GINNs with Lisa helping me still, yet that changed in a moment. Now, I was going much harder… and I stopped being so nice by just disabling my opponent. I was visible as I'd the phase shift armor active rather than the mirage colloid, so my opponents could see me. One of the GINNs rushed me and instead of blocking, I leveled my shield at the level of the suit's head and pulled the trigger for the railgun. My shot nailed the GINN's head and destroyed the head's cameras and the pilot fell back. I sensed the other GINN coming up from behind me to strike me however, I spun the Shadow around, igniting my shield's beam saber. My beam saber sliced through the torso of the GINN like a hot knife through butter, the suit exploded shortly after being cut in half. The Shadow's phase shift prevented damage from the explosion and shrapnel, though the battery power went down for it.

With both GINNs dealt with, I turned until I'd the Archangel in my view in front of me and had my thrusters give a healthy burn. I dodged the bolts that were sent my way from ZAFT mobile suits. Along the way towards the Archangel, I crossed paths with a GINN sporting a high-energy beam rifle.

After storing my beam rifle, I activated my shield's beam saber and quickly sliced off the backpack and the left arm of the GINN, then kicked it away. I 'disarmed' the suit in the way I did to make sure that the rifle and its battery pack were in working order. I took the rifle and attached the battery pack to the rifle's main structure, since oddly, the standard high-energy rifle that ZAFT makes, can have battery attached to the rifle itself.

I proceeded to use the rifle on the GINN that I'd kicked and shot just below the cockpit of the machine, to test the rifle to make sure it was working. The GINN wasn't destroyed and the pilot did run away, but I got my conformation of the state of the rifle. After that, I swung the rifle to the right and fired away at the GINNs that were still attacking me, which they stopped doing right fast with me shooting back at them and hitting them more than they were me.

I continued on my way towards my intended destination, the Archangel and as I drew closer to the Archangel, other ZAFT suits made attempts to stop my progress. I evade and dodged the attacks with seemingly the greatest of ease. In fact, I also destroyed three of the GINNs that had made the bad choice of attacking me, two with bolts from the high-energy rifle, the other I cut in half with my shield's beam saber. I finished off by nearly puncturing the battery of the rifle, then chucked the weapon at other GINNs. Then I watched for a little bit as the rifle flew over near the ZAFT units, then the battery ruptured, and the rifle made a very nice explosion. The bang did minor damage to the ZAFT machines, but it scared them good, that's for sure.

Within minutes, I caught up with the group mobile suits that were making their way towards the Archangel. I spotted the Aegis in its cruise mode and the Blitz among the group of mobile suits and it was the Aegis that noticed me coming up from behind. Athrun reacted by spinning around and shooting his suit's beam rifle in my direction… he missed, but I'll applaud the effort later. I did a tight barrel roll and avoided the shot that came at me and kept moving forward. The Blitz did the same as the Aegis… you would think that one would learn from the non-success of their comrade, but apparently, that's not the case. I Ignored the group in pretty much every way, except evading what attacks came my way, which were becoming more erratic the more I dodged. Without hesitation, I dove into Earth's upper atmosphere, the sooner I go to the Archangel, the better.

This would also be the second time I would be in upper atmospheric conditions, and I wasn't looking forward to the experience. But, it was necessary to protect friends of mine and so, I'll do things that I'm not fond of. The feel of gravity affecting my mobile suit registered to me and I adjusted the Shadow's flight to compensate if the extra force as I kept going towards the fighting where my friends were. By what I could see, three mobile suits had got into range to attack the Archangel, the Buster and Duel being two of the three, the last was a GINN.

 **-Line break-**

-Neutral pov-

"So, they've launched off their two other mobile suits," muttered Sakura as she shot down a missile barrage aimed at her. She smirked suddenly as two more objects emerged from the legged ship, "Well… if it isn't the Hawk and the Peregrine… it's been awhile since I've had a challenge, hopefully those two can provide."

Creuset could practically feel Sakura's the cold Black Zephyr spirit merging with the blood princess's own with the prospect of fighting an opponent that could be worthy of giving her a challenge. A part of him hoped that she'd lose all rational thought in her desire for a good battle, but most of him knew better. If Sakura hadn't known it before, she'd definitely learned her lesson about that at Endymion when she had come close to being defeated by a mobile armor pilot known as the 'Sliver Eagle'.

At that moment though, Creuset spotted something on sensors. " _The_ _Gamow_ _?_ " he questioned. The second ship of his team was moving forward, all guns blazing and its path a direct intercept course with the legged ship. "Has Zelman gone suicidal?!"

If the Gamow were to hold its course, it would break up in the atmosphere and none of the crew would survive that. Creuset wasn't the only one to notice the Gamow's change in course and where it would put the Laurasia-class. "Captain Zelman, this is an order," said Sakura coolly after noticing the Gamow's course. "Pull back your ship immediately."

" _But we can't let them escape!_ " reasoned Zelman.

Sakura knew the view that Zelman was using, but that was how good people died and there had been more than enough of those. "What you're doing isn't going to ensure the destruction of the legged ship, only the loss of a good crew and their captain," stated Sakura, voice still calm, but lost the cold tone. "So, I repeat, you are ordered to withdraw."

Even as Sakura ordered the Gamow back, she and the others took advantage of the distraction the Laurasia-class's approach had caused. That was done by blasting their way through the 8th fleet's formation and heading for the engagement with the legged ship's mobile weapons. There were several of the Alliance vessels turning in order to continue engaging them, even at the risk of plunging into the atmosphere themselves.

" _Yes, understood ma'am,_ " said Zelman at last. The Gamow fired reverse thrusters and began to turn around to withdraw, its cannons rotating so as to continue firing on the 8th Fleet. Even as it did so, numerous blasts from the 8th Fleet vessels smashed into the frigate's hull, though not destroying the vessel.

The attention of the mobile suit group was gained by something else. The Aegis was the first to notice that something was off, and when Athrun turned the Aegis to look behind. The sight of the Shadow not only coming towards their group, but closing the distance between itself and the mobile suits ahead of it with worrying speed. Athrun instantly shifted the Aegis from its mobile armor mode to suit mode and spun the Aegis fully around to face rearwards while still going forward, and fired his beam rifle at the Shadow. Of course, Athrun didn't aim at the cockpit, after all, he didn't want to kill Tyler, they were friends. However, the Shadow went into a tight barrel roll to the left and managed to avoid the beam. The shot didn't even brake its stride or course forward and the effort of avoidance was miniscule. That caught Athrun off-guard a bit, for this brought on a feeling of déjà vu, for this was how things morphed into in the last encounter with the Legged Ship.

Nicol had seen the Aegis shifting into its mobile suit mode, and then turn to face behind their group and fire off its beam rifle. Nicol glanced in the same direction, and spotted the Blitz's odd twin fast approaching. That was all Nicol had to see, to know that suit coming their way was something he didn't want to see or experience again. So, Nicol did the same as Athrun and spun around and fired the beam rifle he had at the oncoming mobile suit. But, the black machine spun into a barrel roll to evade the bolts, like it had known what had been coming. Nicol swallowed hard at seeing that, for it was near identical to what he had viewed from the records of the previous battle. The only difference, was that the other two enemy mobile suits had shown this… "change", and that had been scary to view. To see that this machine and its pilot could do close to the same thing was not nice to witness at all.

The enemy mobile suit oddly, ignored the whole group, the Aegis, the Blitz the CGUEs and the GINNs. It flew over them all and kept going forward toward the Legged ship and was using the improved thrusters. Of course, the ZAFT group shot their weapons at the Shadow as and after it passed them. However, every shot missed, the black mobile suit did acrobatics to maneuver out of the way of what was sent its way. It was truly as if the pilot had eyes in the back of their head! The suit dove into the atmosphere and went straight for the Buster and Ryan's GINN.

 **-Line Break-**

Kira and Lacus blazed out to aid the 8th fleet when suddenly the mobile suits began to slow and shake. "Must be gravity, pulling me down," muttered Kira. He pressed a button and had the Asuka's thrusters blaze away harder. Gravity would be a dangerous thing to be kept in mind in this battle, for to ignore it, meant you would fall and burn up if one went too deep into Earth's atmosphere. The Strike at his side, obviously having done the same, compensating for the pull of gravity.

In the Duel, Yzak smirked as he caught sight of the two mobile suits, "There you are, you damn Natural… finally got the courage to show your face again. You're not just going let that black suit come out and fight while it's invisible like a coward," growled Yzak, his voice dangerously calm with a distinctly sinister undertone. He reached up and grabbed a saber as he closed the distance between the Duel and the Asuka. " _This is for the nasty wound!_ " Yzak growled over an open-channel. The Duel rushed forward at the Asuka and quickly met in a clash of beam saber on shield.

"The Duel, with upgraded equipment?" muttered Kira as the Duel fired two rounds from its new shoulder mounted railgun at him.

The railgun wasn't the same as the one the Shadow had in its shield, but it still was something that Kira didn't want to be hit by. He dodged the second swing and took a leaf out of Tyler's playbook, using the Asuka's shield and rammed the Duel. Kira backed off a bit and began to weave out of the barrage from the Duel's Igelstellungs and then countering with the Asuka's own Igelstellungs.

Meanwhile, Lacus narrowed her eyes as both the Buster and the blue GINN with it, closed in on her. " _You won't win!_ " she said as she fired four shots in rapid succession, forcing the two opposing suits to separate.

Both opposing machines fired on her, but Lacus evaded the high-energy beam cannon shot from the Buster. Lacus then blocked most of the bullets from the GINN with her shield, and for those that she didn't block, the Strike's phase shift armor absorbed the precision shots from the GINN. The Buster fired missiles at her, but she gunned most of the projectiles down with her Igelstellungs, and blocked the remainder with her shield. Then, both of the Moebius Zeroes arrived to join the battle, deploying gunbarrels and using them to put on the pressure on the enemy mobile suits. Yet, Mu and Krystal were not letting the gunbarrels go out to the farthest extent with the environment as it was.

The Buster was still fighting the Strike, but the wingman that he had been assigned, was taking on the two mobile armors. Dearka dodged a shot from the Strike, returning fire with the beam rifle and kept switching between that and the gun launcher. Dearka would have liked to go against the black suit wherever it was right now, so he could get them back for destroying the Buster's beam rifle, thereby making the combined rifle entirely. But, with the orders received from the Black Zephyr… well, he wasn't as crazy as Yzak was being. Dearka certainly didn't wish to face a court martial from her, definitely not in the presence of Admiral Treize.

Lacus defended herself from the counter attack with her shield. At the same time, Mu took advantage of the Buster being thrown off by the Strike's response and Krystal having the full attention of the GINN, brought all of his weapons to bear on the Buster and opened fire, directing everything right at the center of the Buster's torso. The phase shift armor managed to hold up just fine, but the sheer force of the impacts sent it tumbling lower and closer to the atmosphere of the Earth and into the influence of its gravity. "Ugh, this machine is getting heavy!" muttered Dearka, firing thrusters to try and get back up to a more stable position, yet Mu kept up the barrage on the Buster.

However, the GINN broke away from Krystal and attacked the red Zero and forcing Mu onto the defensive and stopping him from peppering the Buster. Lacus tried to helped Mu, but the GINN countered and sent the Strike flying back a ways. Mu, the Hawk of Endymion redirected all of his firepower at the GINN, but Ryan evaded the shots and pumped two of the gunbarrels full of bullets in rapid succession. "Oh crap," muttered Mu as the GINN quickly closed the distance between Mu and the mobile suit that was swinging its sword at him.

Mu pulled the Zero around to dodge, but the sword cut off the barrel of the linear gun. Ryan would have then, proceeded to open up full auto on the mobile armor, but the blue Zero came up from behind and spat weapon's fire at the GINN. Ryan evade most of the shots, but some landed, didn't cause much damage. However, if given time, things would get worse for Ryan himself, he would've took a few shots at the red Zero, but things changed. His assault rifle was raised up, but before he could fire at the mobile armor, a beam pierced the rifle, forcing Ryan to let it go as it exploded.

Upon glancing in the direction of the shots had come from, Ryan spotted the black mobile suit that had been mentioned. The things that had been said and reported, were very troublesome to put it mildly and now that suit was come straight at him from above. Ryan pulled back, yet the Shadow came passed and cut of a portion of Ryan's GINN's right arm off. The Shadow put itself between Ryan and the Alliance mobile armor and since Ryan wasn't interested in finding out the accuracy of the reports of the enemy unit, he pulled away and upward. He was getting dangerously close to the no point of no escape from Earth's gravity well after all. The Shadow descended lower into the atmosphere as the blue GINN rose higher and higher to leave Earth's gravity field.

Mu was completely surprised to see the Shadow come out of nowhere, by what chief Murdoch had said, Tyler had left just before the battles start. But, as Mu saw his Zero wasn't taken the heat of the atmosphere well with two lost gunbarrels and damaged linear gun, things didn't look good for him. With two of the four gunbarrels missing, his thrusting power had taken a hit and with gravity pulling down, that loss was magnified.

" _Archangel_ _, this is La Flaga,_ " said Mu of the radio. " _I've been hit and am returning to the ship._ "

" _Roger that,"_ acknowledged Miriallia.

Meanwhile, Kira continued to tangle with the Duel, his beam saber locked with the Duel's own. That shifted between a shooting matched between the two machines, their phase shift armor protecting them from the other's attacks well enough. Yet, after a bit, Kira moved forward and kicked the Duel, sending it tumbling downward, " _DAMN YOU!_ " roared Yzak over an open channel.

Kira was just considering whether or not to finish the Duel off with his beam rifle when he suddenly sensed a familiar presence and tossed himself back, dodging an attack by Le Creuset's CGUE.

Ryan joined the rest of the group of mobile suits after his ascent and began helping,

" _Juno, Lori, Ryan, Mindy, deal with the pursuit ships,_ " ordered Sakura.

" _Ma'am._ " The four replied and broke off in the fights they had been in and did as they were ordered to do.

Sakura observed as the Duel which had been sent tumbling downward, recover and fly up to a more stable level. With only the Duel, the Aegis and Le Creuset's CGUE engaging the enemy mobile suits, Sakura zoomed down at the last Alliance mobile suit, sword in hand and ready. Even in the short observation, Sakura had seen enough to know who the pilot of this final Alliance prototypes was. The CGUE's sword hit the Strike's shield, which Lacus just managed to block the incoming blow in time. That single hit and the custom colored CGUE, made Lacus realize who was in the opposing suit's pilot was, "No way," gasped Lacus, freezing in shock. "Sis…"

The CGUE forced the Strike back and then fired a shot off, piercing the Strike's rifle. Lacus instinctively tossed it away, bringing her shield up to defend against the explosion of the rifle. " _Amalfi, change of plans,_ " announced Sakura as the Strike took out one of its beam sabers and swung it at the CGUE, in a manner virtually identical to the style Sakura had taught her sister several months back. " _Go assist taking out the 8_ _th_ _fleet ships pursuing us._ "

" _Ah, yes of course ma'am, but didn't you say…?_ " questioned Nicol.

" _I know what I said about flying solo, now go deal with the pursuit ships anyway!_ " Sakura commanded leaving no room for argument.

" _Y_ _-yes ma'am, right away!_ " said Nicol, slightly scared by the way she'd barked the order at him.

The Blitz pulled away and Nicol went to do what he was told, not wanting to be on the bad side of the Black Zephyr, like Yzak already had. Shaking her head slightly, Sakura proceeded to make three quick slashes that Lacus only barely parried. Then twisted her sword around to knock the beam saber out of the Strike's hand. Then Sakura reached out the CGUE's hand and grabbing the Strike's shoulder, establishing a direct contact link that would let her communicate with her sister undetected.

" _Hello Lacus,_ " she said a softer and a little warmer tone in her voice for one of the rare times that she showed emotions… other than around their father and one other. " _I'm glad to hear you're safe._ " Even as she spoke, she continued to perform mock attacks, like kneeing the Strike's hip to make it look like Sakura was still being serious in the fight.

"Sakura, I," Lacus tried to say.

" _It's fine… I trust you Lacus,_ " said Sakura. " _I know you wouldn't do this without good reason, so let me just say this: be careful of the Atlantic Federation higher-ups. A lot of them are Blue Cosmos and they'll only do what they see is needed to advance their own interests and destroy what doesn't._ "

"Sis," Lacus uttered.

Suddenly, something black moved over to where the Strike and the CGUE were and smashed into the black CGUE suit, forcing it to have to work to right itself. Lacus then found herself, looking at the back of the Shadow, which had put itself between the Strike and where the black CGUE ended out. Next over an open channel, Tyler's voice was heard, " _Time for you to back off and go Sakura."_

Sakura's heartbeat sped up at the sound of that voice, which she hadn't expected to hear on the battlefield. The one she liked so much, for it belonged to the one that made her feel at ease. The last time she had seen him and had been able to have him in her embrace had been around the PLANTs and that had felt wonderful! But, Sakura had been interrupted in showing her affections to him by her father saying those on the National Defense Committee wanted to speak with her. Then, she'd been forced to endure the old fools on said committee, trying to tell her how to do what she should do. As if they had any idea what she does best or had any right to tell her what she, Sakura Clyne should do. Only Lanus Treize, who had earned her loyalty could give her orders of any sort and expect her to follow them like they expect a normal soldier would.

Sakura hadn't even for a moment, considered for even a moment that her beloved Tyler would be here on this battlefield. And what's more, she'd never imagined that he could be in the pilot of enemy's black mobile suit she'd seen as a potential problem. Even the sound of Tyler's voice made her feel like a 'normal' person, like Lacus and their father… but there was more to it than that, which Sakura couldn't explain. Just hearing his voice made her feel happy in a way that not even Lacus or their father did. Perhaps it was that feeling he caused her to have, which drove Sakura Clyne to chase the young man as much as she did whenever their paths crossed. Sakura couldn't say for sure, all she could determine was she liked the young man a great deal. "Tyler! Oh my, you should've said you'd be around here, for you to dance with me in this kind of place… how bold of you!" Sakura said in a happy tone, mixed with giggles and a broad smile coming to her face. "Why didn't you tell me before now that you were into this kind of thing? I would have made arrangements for us to end out like this much sooner."

Lacus's jaw, if it could've dropped, it would have, but it went slack and was open in shock at hearing her sister talk to Tyler like she was… and she was… even giggling! She could barely remember the last time Sakura had giggled like this, it had been years at the very least. Sakura tended to be cold and calculating around everyone but their father and Lacus herself and even with the family, Sakura didn't show much emotions and none of it strong simply put. However, her sister was talking like she did years ago, before the war. She was acting almost like her old self, and Lacus had begun to think she would never see her older sister like she used to be ever again.

Oh yes, Tyler had mentioned that Sakura had a 'thing' for him as he put it several times. He had even supplied a few spares details about his experiences with Lacus's older sister, but other than that, there was nothing to suggest what was happening right now. Lacus herself, after hearing some of the things that Tyler had said, had a hard time believing what was described by him. For the things, he had said Sakura did around himself, she wouldn't do any more, it had been so outlandish. Yet, not only was there clear evidence being provided, that what Tyler had been saying where true, but Lacus hadn't thought or imagined that it was to this degree!

The CGUE backed off a bit, but didn't climb back up, out of the atmosphere and the pull of gravity. This left the Strike and Shadow where they were, the Shadow shot off towards where the Asuka was fighting another CGUE and the Duel was still around the area as it had recovered from tumbling. Lacus then spotted a shuttle that had been let go from the Menelaos, followed by a second shuttle being released from the Alliance vessel.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

"Captain, we have two minutes before reaching phase three of entry interface!" said Arnold Neumann. "Preparing to release ablative gel now!"

"Order the Strike, Asuka and the Shadow to return at once!" ordered Murrue.

"Kira, Lacus, return to the ship immediately! Tyler if you can hear me, then get back to the Archangel," said Miriallia in a tone of worry. "We have only two minutes left before starting phase three!"

A few moments later, Krystal's voice was heard, " _Crap… wish I could stay out longer, but can't if I don't want to not burn up._ "

The blue Zero fell in to the path that the red mobile armor had been taking, while Mu was close enough that he fired an anchor that shot towards the ship and once it had attached, pulled the mobile armor to the upper deck. The blue zero did the same when it got close enough and came to be next to Mu's armor once it was reeled down to the upper deck as the temperature kept climbing higher. Once Mu had attached his mobile armor to the Archangel, he looked around to see where the mobile suits were as they needed to get back here pronto as well! " _Where are you kids?! Get back to the Archangel now! Our times has run out!_ " said Mu in frustration.

Mu had been growing fond of both Kira and Lacus… even Tyler, sure none of them are perfect, but they were good kids. There was no reply other than the radio crackling with static.

 **-Line Break-**

Upper Atmosphere

Kira and Le Creuset clashed, CGUE blade against beam saber both mobile suits pressing against the other to make their opponent back down. However, this battle wasn't a one vs one, but a two against one with the CGUE and the Aegis fighting the Asuka. Athrun wasn't actively trying to shoot down the winged mobile suit, for the pilot was supposedly Kira Yamato, his other best friend. The last thing Athrun wished to do was to shoot down and kill one of his two best friends. And by the information he'd been told by Tyler, Kira was inside that mobile suit due to the Alliance taking advantage of Kira's naiveté and kind heart. The good and kind nature that Kira had, was one of his best qualities and had been proven multiple times. It was also why seeing him be fooled and tricked to assist the Earth Alliance caused such a conflict with Athrun himself, it was hard to watch and not help Kira understand what was being done to him.

Athrun fired his beam rifle at the Asuka, aiming for a leg, but Kira managed to break away before the bolt hit him. For all of the machines, the increasing influence of gravity was taking a higher and higher toll the long the battle continued and the further into the atmosphere they fell. At least, it was becoming increasingly evident that the Asuka's greater thrusters were giving Kira the advantage in the fight, even with him being outnumbered two-to-one by Creuset and the Aegis. The Aegis was also compensating for the force of gravity, but even Athrun has being hard pressed to keep up with the winged suit.

However, things became direr as the Federation forces pressed forward and ZAFT was being forced to fallback. That didn't mean that ZAFT was giving up without a fight and attempting to take down the Archangel. For a few of their mobile suits did get shots fired off in the Archangel's direction, yet due to the anti-beam depth charges and Earth's atmosphere, the beams didn't reach the ship. Yet, ZAFT didn't keep their struggle long as two out of the four Nazca-classes and both Laurasia-classes had been disabled and had to crawl away from the combined fighting force of the Alliance and the Federation.

Back in the upper atmosphere, Kira kept fighting both the CGUE and the Aegis, his worry about the Archangel grew, but he couldn't make his way over to the vessel as the two machines wouldn't let him get far before attacking him again. But, that changed when the something black rammed into the Aegis and when Kira glanced over, he identified the black object as the Shadow. The black mobile suit held the full attention of the Aegis, making Kira able to focus on the CGUE, making this and even fight of two against two. Kira himself, was happy to see Tyler was okay, even during the heat of battle and the atmosphere.

After another minute, the dull glow of orange that had formed around the mobile suits, became brighter as they passed the halfway point of the exosphere, the outer most layer of Earth's atmosphere. The glow around the Archangel also brightened as they continued descending, but also, the time before the ship began phase three of atmospheric entry interface was very short. Phase three of atmospheric interface started just before a ship reached the thermosphere, which was not only the biggest layer that made up the atmosphere, but also the roughest and had the most heat. The problem with this situation, the Archangel would need to release the ablative gel that would cut down the affects from the heat and accompanying friction of the atmosphere. Doing so would make it impossible to open the catapults and allow the Strike, Asuka and the Shadow to come back onboard and it would slow the Archangel down relative to the descent speed of the mobile suits.

The ZAFT forces at last let up on their attack, no longer able to keep up their attempts to divert the ship's course and fend off the opposing forces. With the assistance of the Federation forces, the Alliance's 8th fleet wasn't completely wiped out, but more than half of them had been destroyed. Then most of the Alliance vessels had taken damage of some sort and to varying degrees and so wouldn't be able to go into battle for a time.

For those in the atmosphere, they were beginning to realize that they were getting to the point of no escape from one of the things that gave Earth the abilities to support life. Rau Le Creuset, was trying to get his CGUE to climb out of the atmosphere, but his mobile suit's power wasn't enough. " _Athrun, we're at the limit,_ " said Le Creuset as he struggled to move. " _My CGUE can no longer fight under these conditions. I'm not even confident that I can break free of Earth's gravity at this point._ "

" _The Aegis can do it,_ " said Athrun, before breaking away from the engagement it had been in with the Shadow. Then the red mobile suit shifted into its mobile armor mode, before zooming forward and grabbed the CGUE in his machine's claws. After that, Athrun shot upward and away from the Earth, leaving the Asuka and the Shadow where they were.

For the ZAFT forces, Sakura gave the order to withdraw, even if she was still very close to the atmosphere and so still under the pull of gravity. "All forces are to withdraw," Sakura ordered. "The battle is over."

" _But ma'am we can at least finish off the 8_ _th_ _fleet despite the Federation's interference!_ "

"No," said Sakura sternly. "To continue fighting now would be meaningless. There's no reason to get ourselves killed."

Somewhat reluctantly, all the ZAFT forces obeyed her command, pulling back from the 8th fleet engagement. On the other hand, Halberton let out a sigh of relief that ZAFT forces were pulling back. He had been worried before, but was grateful that the Federation had stepped in and helped the 8th fleet out. The losses they'd sustained were harsh, but they could have been so much worse than they were. Halberton then turned to the whole reason that the 8th fleet had done what they had, the safety of the Archangel. "What's the status of the Archangel?" he asked, yet when the answer came from the sensor officer, his blood ran cold.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After saving Mu from being killed and forcing the custom GINN to retreat, I took in what the circumstance around were like right now. My concern about the things that could possibly go wrong in this present crapshoot this battle was quickly becoming, had been growing the longer this battle went on. They increased sharply when I saw not one, but both civilian shuttles being released from the Menelaos in order to descend down to Earth. I understand the reasons why Halberton would do so, but both shuttles were still coming onto the battlefield and that's dangerous! They could be seen as a target by some idiot who think there are soldiers onboard trying to escape the battle or something stupid like that. True, I'd help Kira out in his fight with the Aegis and the CGUE and they shortly gave up the fight and had gone back up into space. So, the one that I could expect to do such a thing as shoot a civilian shuttle, Rau Le Creuset was gone. Yet, the worry that I was feeling didn't leave me really at all, it stuck with me more than ever.

It shot up further when I saw the Duel turn to face the shuttles and point's its rifle at them, likely the pilot doing exactly what I feared an idiot would. I put on a burst of speed in the direction of the shuttles and Kira went for the Duel. I managed to reach the first shuttle even as the Duel fired on the craft before Kira could reach the machine. I blocked the bolt with my shield preventing the destruction of the shuttle and the death of the refugees, I stayed where I was. " _What the?! Damn you, Natural pilot!"_ Yelled the pilot of the Duel over an open channel.

"Back off," I said in a cold voice, "Leave these shuttles alone, or else I'll personally use you as a shield to block the heat and ride you through reentry, taking the steepest entry angle I can!"

The Duel's pilot didn't listen to me, no, they rushed forward at me, his rifle raised. Kira got caught up in a thermal draft, making it plain that this clash would be the Shadow and me verses the Duel and its pilot. I didn't move out of the way as behind me were the two refugee shuttles and moving would put them at risk. As the shots came flying at me, I intercepted each one of them with the Shadow's shield and for a couple of shots. The others I didn't take with my shield, the mobile suit's physical armor took those, draining my suit's battery a little faster. I had to balance my suit's forward thrust and the momentum from the incoming weapon attacks and most of all, the pull of gravity, which was pulling stronger every passing minute. You know, as much as it pains me, the Shadow would need major repairs after this outing and I don't look forward to seeing how much will be needed. However, I managed to keep even one attack from hitting either of the shuttles descending behind me and that's what I was working for in this right now!

Once both shuttles had gotten far enough away to vanish from the attention of this pilot of the Duel. I refocused on the idiot, who needs SERIOUS anger management from what observations I've made thus far, more than Natarle Badgiruel did. I glanced down at system readout screen and saw that the secondary battery was at below a fourth of its power capacity left. The Shadow's main battery was still fully charged and ready to go as I'd been using the secondary battery for this battle. Even though I wasn't happy about what would result from it, I made the executive decision, I switched over to the Shadow's main battery for power. The thought of how I would miss this set of equipment for the Shadow was currently using passed through my mind. The amount of effort that would be involved in replacing the stuff wouldn't be small, and it hurt to think about it, but too late for the aching now. I'll beg to my friend that works at Teswa R&D the next time I get around home.

Oh well… I sent the command for the attached equipment to be ejected, the parts that amplified the thrusters output, that weren't a part of the suit normally, came off and quickly broke up or melted in the atmospheric heat. The battery compartment stayed intact as it was shielded more than the rest and I grabbed that, before moving forward towards the Duel. The opposing mobile suit took out its beam saber and swung it at me, yet I evaded and swung around to end out behind the Duel before the pilot knew what was going on. I attached the secondary battery on the top of the main thruster of the Duel, "Okay then you punk, enjoy doing reentry without the main part of your propulsion system." I said as a farewell.

Once I gave my farewell, I moved back and pounded the battery I stuck on, with the Shadow's right hand. The now damaged battery, shorted due to the impact and then exploded, which did heavy damage to the Duel's main thrusters, making them inoperable overall. The result, the Duel started falling a good deal faster from the pull of gravity. Nonetheless, this guy had ticked me off enough, that I willingly helped him along his non-merry way by giving him a good kick to the Duel, sending the mobile suit downward.

I took the time to gage my current position and found that the Archangel was a LONG distance away from where I was. That's not the best position or even a good position to be in with the current circumstances and my location. I noticed the Strike was the closest to the Archangel and the Asuka was closer to where I was. … the phrase that comes to mind at a time like this, 'out of the frying pan and into the fire' …and how! Know that I had thought it possible that I might have to do reentry in the Shadow, but I didn't think I would actually have to do the process! So much for slim chances not coming into play for me, this really sucks!

With the Duel dealt with, along with the two shuttles filled with refugees on there way, I flew over to the Asuka. I'm no fool, I can see that as things stood, that it was pretty much a given that Kira and I would be doing the reentry process on our own. My issue was that I don't like depending on systems that haven't been fully tested for what their specs say they can do. The Alliance prototypes, and in this, I would include the Asuka and the Shadow, are 'supposed to' be able to go through the atmospheric reentry process on their own. However, that particular ability is one that I know wasn't only never tested, but no attempt was made to even put any of the units under any of the conditions they would encounter in Earth's atmosphere or close to them.

The mobile suits had been doing okay under the conditions they had been under thus far in this battle. Nonetheless, the process of reentry is another beast from the battlefield and it's not something that you go into with questionable equipment if you want peace of mind or cut down on stress. Once I got over to where Kira was, I use the Shadow's short-wave radio, "Kira, you okay?" I asked.

The com-channel wasn't stable and there wasn't any picture or video of Kira, but with the interference from being in the atmosphere, this is the best I get. " _Yes, I good for the moment._ " Kira replied.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement and when I looked in that direction, the view of the Archangel coming closer to our position. Yet, at its current speed, it wouldn't get close enough for Kira or myself to be able to land on the ship before we're forced to begin reentry if we don't want to possibly burnup. But, there may be a way for at least one of us to make it back, "Kira, with the distance we both are from the Archangel, the two of us can't get to the ship as things stand, yet one of us should be able to reach the Archangel… and it's best that it's you," I said. I backed the Shadow off a short way, "So, don't take this personally, this isn't a goodbye, merely a parting of ways for a short time. I catch up with the Archangel when I can, most likely before it reaches Alaska," I said. Then I put the petal to the metal and rushed forward at the Asuka, with my shield in front. I slammed into Kira and sent him flying towards the Archangel, "See you later my friend."

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **That's chapter 10. Wish for all of you are enjoying the revision so far. I state, not for the last time I feel, and it may fall on deaf ears, but, as an author of this fanfiction, I have the right to change what I want and see fit to from the original storyline, period! Please, some of you take the time to write a review or PM me and say what you think.**

 **X209 Shadow**

Flight Pack

The optional piece of equipment has a central part that the rest of the equipment is built on or around. That central 'hub', was kind of a teardrop shape, which sits and is attached to the upper back of my mobile suit and settled between the two topmost thrusters the Shadow has. On the bottom of the hub, parts that were positioned to go over the four back central thrusters, allowing their performance to be improved. So, this equipment was for more power supply and better maneuverability.


	11. Phase 11: Down to Earth

**A/n**

 **I'm finding and I'm sure some of you are noticing that the more recent the chapter has been put out, the less that is different. Anyways, I don't own nothing from the Gundam universe, only my own original characters and musings with which I write stories with. If you see similarities, it's a coincidence, that's my reasoning and I'm sticking to it! Now, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 11: Down to Earth

February 20th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

"We are entering Atmospheric Interface phase three, deploying ablative gel in preparation for entering the thermosphere," announced Arnold. And shortly after he had made the statement, the Archangel began to shake noticeably as the effect of friction with Earth's Atmosphere, and most visual pictures became distorted from the atmospheric heat.

" _Mu, to your right, it's the three mobile suits!_ " shouted Krystal, with tones of growing dismay.

The crew also stared in horror as the Strike, Asuka and Shadow came into view of the bridge viewing ports and the sight of them plunging into the atmosphere on their own caused serious worry and panic. The feelings increased as it became clearer that the three mobile suits were falling in completely different paths from one another and the Archangel itself. The Strike was shorter distance away than the other two suits, but even the Strike was a sizable distance from the ship as it fell. Perhaps if they had full or three-quarters power levels, the Strike might be able to make it back to the ship, yet the Asuka and the Shadow even with fully charged batteries, it would be a stretch for them to return to the Archangel. However, all three were low on power after the battle, due to its length and the odds stacked against them, so they were in a harsh position that they may have to do atmospheric reentry on their own.

"Kira! Lacus! Tyler!" cried Tolle as he watched what the scene playing out.

"No way," muttered Sai with growing concern.

"They not seriously thinking of attempting reentry on their own?!" questioned Natarle incredulously.

"They may not have a choice with the situation as it is," said Sophia. "How accurate are those specs on those suits mentioned before, cause there is a chance they're going to be put to the test?!"

"The specs don't matter at this point!" said Arnold. "Their descent angle differs from our own! Even if they make it through reentry, they're going to land in completely different places than we will!"

Tolle pushing aside his worry about their friends, knowing that panicking wouldn't help in this. He quickly started inputting data on his console to do something that would help in this situation. Once the data of where the suits would end out with their current descent vectors came up Tolle read what was on the screen, "Calculations say that Lacus will land around the coastline to the south of the Middle East." he said, pausing as the calculations for the Asuka's and Shadow's courses appeared, "The Asuka and Shadow, somewhere within the Equatorial Union boundaries, but likely in different places."

"That puts the Strike very close to ZAFT territory! The other two would be separated from us for who knows how long or if they would get help," exclaimed Pal.

"And there's no way for any of them to make it back here in their current state," muttered Murrue, considering the options there were to change things. She only saw one that could give their pilots a chance, even if it complicated the Archangel's mission for an amount of time. "Alright then, bring us closer to them! The Archangel's thrusters should be powerful enough to get the Strike and give the other two a chance to get to the ship!"

"Yes ma'am!" said Arnold without hesitation.

Then Arnold beginning to divert their course, knowing that doing during this phase of reentry or later is risky, as it could do extensive damage and cause the ship to have a more difficult time through reentry if the ship got through at all. But, the risk was seen as worth it to give all three of the Archangel's mobile suit a chance to get back to the ship and not have to do reentry on their own. Those suit's pilots had protected this ship and those on board more than enough for them all to wish to help those young Coordinators out of the jam they were in.

"If they can get on the top deck, then the Archangel should be able to shield them from the worst of the atmospheric heat," said Sophia, doing some quick figuring of the dangers that the pilots still faced. "Haw! Instruct them to land on the upper deck as soon as possible!"

The Archangel fired up all its thrusters hard and moved itself closer to the falling mobile suits. The Strike saw the Archangel moving closer and made its way to it, quickly landing on the upper deck. Those on the white ship stared at the Asuka and Shadow, hoping to see them get closer so that they could land on the ship. However, that wasn't what was happening, the distance wasn't decreasing enough for the two mobile suits to get to the Archangel in the limited timeframe there was before things became worse. Then, as all watched, as there was movement with the two distant mobile suits and then, the Asuka quickly flying towards the Archangel. Just as the Asuka got to be above the ship, the Strike leapt up and caught the hand of the other mobile suit and brought them both back on to the upper deck of the Archangel.

Sai was looking over his station's display, which still showed the signals of the three mobile suits. Yet, suddenly, one signal disappeared from the screen and his eyes widened. "Captain, we've lost the signal of the Shadow," he said.

All the students looked worried, as they understood that they didn't know where Tyler was anymore. None of them believed for a second, that Tyler had died, where he was… none could say, but alive they were sure of! Murrue gritted her teeth and sighed at the difficult decision she was about to make, "I'm sorry to say that the Shadow will be on its own. Arnold hold our descent vector as it is now and continued on our present entry vector," she ordered.

Arnold hesitated as did all the rest of the bridge crew, even Natarle at being told that Tyler would be on his own. He had become a member of the crew not too long after coming back, so to be told to leave them… was weighing on him. Then the Archangel's pilot nodded, "Understood ma'am, continuing descent down to Earth… and good luck to Tyler on getting through reentry and landing," he commented.

The rest on the bridge nodded and muttered agreement to the statement as the Archangel resumed its journey down to Earth. The view of the southwestern most area of the Eurasia Federation, was getting larger all the time as the Archangel flew lower and lower.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Lower Exosphere

The farewell to my friend as we were parting ways was shorter than I would've liked, but it was the best under the current circumstances that come be given. I watched as the Asuka sailed in the direction of the Archangel, knowing that I'd made the best decision in sending Kira back instead of going myself. Kira Yamato, as naïve as he is at times, has the heart of gold and the resolve to protect those on board the Alliance vessel if the need arises, and I've complete confidence in him in that. An alarm going off in the cockpit, called back my attention to the matter at hand, which got me looking down at the readouts on the center display screen. The sensors were telling me that the distance I'd fallen, which had me under 800 kilometers from Earth's surface. I would be soon entering the Thermosphere and that is the roughest part of the atmosphere. So then, it wouldn't be all that long before the first major difficulty of reentry comes, besides the landing portion of the process and I would deal with that when it came.

The question that comes to mind right now is, who was it that designed the systems that the mobile suit will depend on to prevent me from dying or losing consciousness before getting through the atmosphere and then land on the ground. If they were Federation scientists or personnel, then I'm less worried about how things would go. However, if the Earth Alliance personnel were responsible for the necessary system for reentry, then I'm seriously concerned! Nevertheless, I no longer get the choice in this instance, so I work with what I get and pray that those who built this machine knew what they were talking about!

I started by using the mobile suit's thrusters to maneuver myself into a more controlled fall, this in the effort to lock in as stable of a descent vector as I could get. Doing so, had me facing downward towards Earth's surface, along with my machine to have as much surface area as it could. My adjustments made, I then shifted the Shadow's shield to be in front of the cockpit, to lessen the heat I would have to feel… I hope. The temperature inside the cockpit was already above a hundred degrees and it was still climbing, it felt like I was in an oven.

Once my course was set, I looked down below and saw the Earth sphere laid out before me and what a view it was! It was breathtaking, the southern half of the Asian continent was slightly above the center of my view. I saw my homeland, the Republic of East Asia below, the Shania Sea to the south of the Republic, shined blue mixed with the white of the clouds above its surface. The old Indonesian islands that were a part of the Equatorial Union were also visible from my current perspective. Even at times like this, seeing a beautiful sight like this, makes me wonder why those who wish for this war to keep going, it makes no sense. Yet, I didn't get to look at the view below me for all that long as the buffeting around that came with reentry starting and I was forced to concentrate harder.

On the peripherals of my vision, I spotted something descending to be beside me on the right-side screen, when I looked to my right, I saw it was a Federation Delta Fighter coming into position along side me. There was no doubt who was the pilot was in my mind, so I opened a com-channel, "I take it your planning to join me for the reentry process then, are you Lisa," I asked.

" _I certainly don't intend to allow you to go through the process alone, especially in an untested mobile suit,_ " she replied.

I couldn't disagree about the untested suit making this an experience that I'm not liking or looking forward to. "So then, can I assume that Allen and Luke won't be joining us for this and will be meeting up with us later" I returned.

" _You would be correct Tyler, they'll return to the Donnen for the time being,_ " answered Lisa.

The shaking that the Shadow had been undergoing became worse than before, meaning Lisa and I were about to come into the thermosphere where the really 'ride' of reentry happens. There are three different parts to the process of reentry to get down to earth; that's descend into the atmosphere, getting through the atmosphere itself and lastly, landing of course. Right now, Lisa and I were in the first part of this process which takes place in the exosphere and above it. The second part of reentry, started when you hit the thermosphere and lasts until you reach the stratosphere and then the landing is still left. I've done reentry before, but that had been in a Delta Fighter and those are made to do this task and they've been heavily tested to make sure of it.

However, for this round, I'm in a mobile suit that "in theory" can do reentry on its own, but no guarantees that it can do the job, yet I'm about to do reentry anyways. I'm already wishing that I could find those who built this machine and stuff them into this cockpit and have them do this first, but that's not an option right now. While I was quietly cursing the builders and designers of this suit to myself, I observed the main wings of Lisa's fighter retract in a little, making it easier for my companion to steer her machine through the descent. There was only minutes before things became even more rocky as the two of us continued the descent towards Earth's surface. It was then, the Shadow's sensors, which was kind of surprising to me, picked up two signals behind Lisa and I. Risking a glance, I moved my mobile suit's head to look backward and what I saw… was the Aegis and a black CGUE falling a short distance behind us.

The Aegis was in its mobile armor attack mode, with its four limbs outstretched to grab and hold of objects. That made me think that Athrun was about to try to grab the CGUE and then will probably try to fly up out of the atmosphere like he had a little while ago with a different mobile suit. Now, under most circumstances, that's not a bad plan to go with, if not for one particular wrinkle in this, power supply. I would bet and even assume that the Aegis is running well below half of its battery's full capacity by this point. With that in mind, even should my blue haired friend grab the other mobile suit, he wouldn't have enough power for the Aegis's thrusters to escape the pull of Earth's gravity with how deep we are in it. So, knowing that fact, that meant that not only would Lisa and I be going through the reentry process, so would the Aegis and the CGUE.

The other issue in this for me, the black CGUE… belongs to Sakura Clyne and that fact doesn't sit well with me. I may not like how Sakura acts around me or what she does to me when she catches me, but that doesn't mean that I want Sakura dead. The woman that was Lacus's older sister, isn't as bad as her reputation suggests, the quirk of the way she acts around me aside. If Sakura would just leave me alone, not catch me and try to dominate me, then things would be fine! But silly me, I'm too much of a damn nice guy to look the other way most of the time, I just can't bring myself to do it and be able to live with myself afterward. That's the way I am and so, I couldn't help the eye roll that happened because of the frustration I felt at the sight behind me.

I opened a channel to the two machines behind us, "You know, the things that one does to have you taking such risks like this, are probably not my business, and normally I wouldn't pry into other's chosen hobbies. However, I feel the need to speak up and say something, when this particular type of thrill seeking is being done by those who should really know better," I remarked over the com-line.

" _Tye,_ " muttered Athrun.

" _Tyler! Fate has brought us together once again!_ " said Sakura happily.

And there's the weird behavior from her again, I couldn't help the sigh that escaped me at hearing Sakura. "Now's not the time for that Sakura, do give attention to the current situation, please, mistakes in this environment can easily get you killed and normally do so."

I focused on what needed to be done, now there were going to be four us in this group of descent there needed to be changes. Athrun would be running lower on power and CGUEs weren't designed to do this task at all. And so, I quickly thought up a plan that was one that was seriously "flying by the seam of our pants", but that's all I got! "Athrun listen to me, you won't be able to escape the pull of gravity with the power you likely have left by this point, so don't try it. I know the specs of that machine better than you would think and I would guess you're working with less than half of the suit's full power. Even with full power, I would question if you could make it out at this stage. Instead, put as much of what you have left into the Aegis's phase shift armor system, it should provide the best possible protection from the heat. Then use the Aegis's attack mode and latch on to my suit, it should be able to provide enough shielding from heat to make up for power your suit's lacking and get you through reentry." I took a breath, "And you Sakura, as ZAFT CGUE suit models aren't built with doing atmospheric reentry without a descent pod, you'll need to ride my colleague's fighter down."

" _Tye, what are you,"_ Athrun started.

Nevertheless, my friend was cut off by Sakura herself, " _Do as he says Zala. We're going to go through atmospheric reentry and there is no way out of that anymore, we're in too deep._ "

I readjusted the Shadow to return it to the vector I'd been on before noticing Athrun and Sakura. While I did that, Sakura descended and gently landed on top of Lisa's fighter and Athrun moved the Aegis lower and latched the mobile suit to my own. A dull thunk registered as the Aegis tapped the back of my machines, followed by four more bumps as the Aegis's limbs closed around the Shadow's frame. Then, we all steeled ourselves as we then came into the thermosphere and the temperature and the shaking increased a large amount as we kept descending downward towards the Earth's surface.

The buffeting around from the shaking that my mobile suit was being put through from the effects of atmospheric reentry, wasn't nice at all. Being bounced around inside the cockpit was harsh enough, but added to that, the cockpit was also feeling like an professional grade oven too and I'm not meat to roast. Inside the Shadow, things had gone beyond hot, I was literally roasting and only my pilot suit was preventing my body from overheating and me dying. Heck, it didn't take long for my pilot suit's medical support system to activated and attempt to keep me from fainting. The lower my group fell towards the Earth's surface, the harder things became. Not only was gravity getting stronger, but the high the temperature climbed, the less effective my ability for my brain and body to function became. My hands clenched the controls tightly in what was close to a death grip, doing the utmost to maintain the entry vector that I'd set. I'd taken the time to switch off the systems that weren't necessary and diverted the power to go into the phase shift armor system to make my chances as high as possible not to have issues. This threw the cockpit into darkness except the glow from the displays and some of the controls.

Yet, my body temperature was still climbing along with the temperature in the cockpit and it was very unhealthy. The medical support system in my suit is one that's standard in Federation pilot suits. The system's function is to assist the body in working at times that the pilot is injured or is in serious trouble. The support system was doing the best it could to keep my body temperature from rising too high, where it would put my life in danger. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be able to keep up long with the kind of temperatures that you experience in the atmosphere, found that out the previous time did an atmospheric descent in a Delta Fighter.

My grip on the suit's controls tightened even more as the shaking increased in violence and was rocking of the suit good. It was taking a noticeably more effort to hold the descent vector that had been set. The descent vector I had chosen to go with was on the steeper end of the spectrum, but with untested machines, I wanted the reentry process done as quickly as possible so, I chose less fall time over a less rough ride. The exchange that came with that, is reentry is a good deal rougher than if you chose a shallower entry vector. I was certainly thankful to the restraints that strapped me into the pilot seat, or I would likely be thrown around the cockpit if I wasn't. And then, I wouldn't doubt I would be getting to experience some serious whiplash and I would prefer not to do that when I don't have to. I gritted my teeth as the shaking kept up, holding the controls where they were to make sure I stayed on the path, that would hopefully get me through this steep reentry in one piece.

The view of Earth's surface was now narrower but still of the southeastern part of Asia, that included the Equatorial Union and the Republic of East Asia. There was also the northern half of the Oceania Union in the view that we had, but it was disappearing. Our current course would have myself and the others with me coming down off the eastern coastline of the Republic, so if things go bad, there would be help around to assist. For the next ten to fifteen minutes, which felt twice as long if not more than the time it was, I steeled myself against the tremors rocking my mobile suit. No doubt I would be sore later from all this buffeting around, the human body isn't made to undergo this kind of abuse for long periods of time.

But then finally, the shaking died off along with the orange glow of the flames that came from the friction from the atmosphere went away. My group had arrived in the Stratosphere and now comes the next and final leg of the descent, landing. The issue thus far, I was dead tired and would lose consciousness soon enough due to the effects of steep reentry, would be worse if not for the work of the medical support system in my pilot suit. I hoped I was still able enough to do what I saw would be needed for the last leg of the journey. Crashing kind makes reentry almost pointless since you didn't live through it and I would like to avoid slamming into the ground if at all possible.

The Aegis detached from the Shadow and floated backward a short distance. After confirming Athrun was behind me, I pushed the throttle for my mobile suit's thrusters forward… and I felt nothing, but heard I audible bang. My intuition tells me that the series of sounds I just heard, doesn't bode well for the current situation, more like I'm screwed as things stand. Next moment, an alarm began going off and upon looking at the forward screen, the reason was being displayed, and what I saw didn't comfort me. By what was iterated, the thrusters, all eight of them, had taken enough damage in the thermosphere and weren't responding to commands from the cockpit controls. So, landing by my own power… isn't going to be possible with the Shadow's thrusters as they are. Well, suppose I should check with the others to see what how their situation is, have to see what else there will be to deal with. I would bet a large sum of money that there'll be other problems besides my own, "What's everyone's status?" I asked in a tired voice.

The first to answer my injunction was Athrun, " _The Aegis's thrusters aren't working._ " Athrun uttered over the com-channel.

My friend's voice clearly told that he was fighting to stay awake from the draining effects of reentry, much like I was. Yet, in Athrun's case, I believe the battle we all fought, he was closer to the end of it. " _I'm okay, but I don't know how much longer it will stay that way,"_ responded Lisa.

" _I think all of us are in that position,_ " commented Sakura and even she sounded tired and out of it.

Unfortunately, I do believe Sakura is right in what she said, we are all just a short period of time before we lose consciousness. That's problem number one, none of us are up to landing safely on our own. Issue number two, crashing into the water wouldn't be good, as then we would have to be fished out and can't begin to guess how long that will take. Third point to add to the list, my sensor screen showed… of all things, the two Alliance shuttles with the refugees from before were located a small distance behind the four of us.

That left us with really one option in this for all of us to land safely and not crash, that was to call for assistance from the Federation military. I switched over the com-channel and took a deep breath, "This is Commander Tyler McGregor, identification code 13 A 57 U 62 E 29 S, requesting immediate assistance. My team and I are unable to land on our own, machines' thrusters are not responding. Our team is made up of two unclassed mobile suits, one CGUE and one Delta fighter. There are also two shuttles coming in behind us, their passengers are refugees from Heliopolis, over," I stated.

I didn't have to wait long for the response to my request, " _We hear you commander, we have you and your team on sensors. A fighter squadron is scrambling to assist you. We also have the two shuttles and will take care of them and refugees when they land,_ " responded a voice from the other end, that was likely from the military command center in the Republic.

Within the passing of a couple of minutes, in which the surface of the ocean got a sizable amount closer, twelve delta fighters flew past us and then came up behind us. " _Commander McGregor, this is Lieutenant Coal, we're coming up behind you. One of us will get under you and have you land on the fighter, and then we'll take you and your team into land,_ " said Lieutenant Coal.

I was beginning to breathe harder as I had to fight actively to stay awake, I switched the com on, "Understood Lieutenant," I got out.

A fighter came into view below me, though I don't have the main thrusters, I can still maneuver my mobile suit enough for what I needed. Shortly after the fighter positioned below me, I came down and landed on the top of them and then held on the best I could. Looking at my sensor screen, I saw that what had been done for me was being done for the Aegis. I switched the com-channel, "Athrun… (huff) you okay?" I asked.

I heard nothing in reply… meaning Athrun was likely out cold at this point, I sighed and shook my head to try and keep myself from passing out. "Lisa, you still with me? We already lost one of us so far I believe," I asked.

Heard Lisa gasping, " _Switching my fighter… over to do an automated landing sequence,_ " said my female friend.

It sounded like Lisa was close to being gone to la la land, in fact I heard switches being flipped before a faint bump came over the line… which I took to mean Lisa had fainted. Even in Delta fighters, atmospheric reentry is still hard on the pilot and making it through awake upon landing, it's around fifty percent success rate, perhaps a little more. That was before you take into account the entry vector I picked, that makes it much harder. It's really why there's an automate landing sequence programed into the fighters for most make it through the first two phases of reentry and that's long enough to input the commands to do that sequence.

So, that's two out of four of us down, felt the waves of pain and tiredness washing over me and knew right then and there I wouldn't make it to the ground conscious. The issue is, there's still things that needed to be said before I fainted myself! I got back on the com-line and told Lieutenant Coal that the Aegis would need Earth Alliance codes that were third tier ranking. Then I transferred the codes I used for the Shadow as I wouldn't likely aware enough, if I was awake at all to open the cockpit. Just after I finished transferring the information, I could fight the encroaching grey tunnel no more and I fell into the embrace of unconsciousness.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The fighters that were carrying the Shadow and the Aegis broke off from the squadron and lined up with the runway at the Republic's airfields that were on the southeast coast. It was at the edge of the large city that was built along the coastline, the city was Shira, the capital of the Republic of East Asia.

The city itself encompassed an area of almost fifty kilometers in total and was close to an oval shape. Shira was divided into five major sections, the northern sector, which was mostly used for residential purposes. The eastern sector was commercial, and business used areas. The western was the industrial district where factories tended to end out in. Then the docking facilities and airport and other things that go with the two, took up the southern part of Shira. Finally, the central sector of the city, was where the government and administration buildings were.

The two fighters, the one holding the Shadow in the lead, came down and landed on the runway. The magnetic deceleration system caught the landing gear and began to assist the fighter to slowdown as the Shadow provided extra weight for the fighter to have to balance with. While at the other end of the runway, a magnetic repulsing emitter was also helping the fighter come to a stop safely. The second fighter with the Aegis on top of it, bumped down onto the runway in a path parallel to the first craft, mobile suit still on top. It also when through the same magnetic deceleration assistance before coming to a stop. The fighter that had come down with the third mobile suit, locked in its approach to the runway then landed perfectly, with the CGUE still holding on to the top.

The rest of the fighter squadron maneuvered themselves to escort the two Alliance shuttles as they descended towards a separate runway ahead of them. Many of the refugees on the shuttles were praying that they would land safely, even when the shuttle pilots said they would be coming to land in one of the nations that was allied with the Human Federation. As the wheels of the lead shuttle bumped onto the runway, a number of the passengers were breathing sighs of relief as the craft they were on was on the ground in one piece and alive.

Further down the airfield, the Shadow and the Aegis had been removed off the fighters that had brought them down and had been flipped over by cranes so that the hatches to their cockpits were facing upward. The black mobile suit became grey as its armor system shut off with no power being provided to it, the Aegis shortly followed suit. Federation pilots and workers were putting forth their efforts to open the Shadow's cockpit. As Tyler had given them the access codes, it didn't take long for the hatch to open and reveal the cockpit with Tyler inside, his breathing ragged and him out cold. Tyler was lifted out of the cockpit by two Federation pilots and lowered down towards the ground.

At the same time, an ambulance, sirens wailing, came barreling down the runway towards the mobile suits. By the time Tyler was at ground level, the paramedics had gotten out and retrieved a stretcher and headed towards the pilots carrying him. Tyler was quickly laid on the stretcher, helmet removed so that an oxygen mask could be put over his face, then he was being pushed back towards the ambulance.

Sakura was helped out of her black CGUE, and was standing, be it shakily on her own legs with the support of two Federation pilots. Her helmet had been taken off and she was glancing ahead, and she had enough time to see Tyler, helmetless on a stretcher being put into the ambulance. Just after she had the view, Sakura wasn't able to stay standing and then she, the last of the four that had descended to Earth fainted. She was quickly put into the ambulance along with Tyler and were driven to the closest hospital. While that happened, the unloading of the two shuttles began shortly after they landed on the runways at Shira. Government personnel quickly appeared and helped organize the process of unloading and identifying the refugees from Heliopolis. The vast majority of them were tired and shaken, but were grateful to feel solid ground under their feet.

As things moved along, a black car pulled up close to the shuttles and a woman got out of the vehicle and looked over the scene. She was 5'6" in height with Hazel eyes, which were looking over the numbers of people coming off the shuttles. Her hair was mostly brown, but had a small number of grey strands coming in, most of it in the back. The hair style was that of a braid that fell on the left side of the lady's face and went down to her upper chest. The woman was wearing a business suit, that was black and made up of a suit jacket and dress pants. The white blouse had ruffles that I could see between the V of the suit jacket that was held shut by a silver button a little more than halfway down.

The woman was Ellen Blass, the prime minister of the Republic and she'd come here as soon as she had been informed of the unfolding situation to take it in herself. What had been happening to these refugees from the Orb Union's colony Heliopolis, had been unfortunate in many ways. Ellen had heard the worries that Uzumi Athha had last night when he had called her to talk. What had befallen Heliopolis and its citizens hadn't been Uzumi's fault, and yet the man blamed himself. At least now, Ellen could soon put the Uzumi's mind at ease with the citizens that had been unaccounted, were now here on Earth and safe. Uzumi had been a friend and had helped her through hard times as well, so it was nice to be able to do the same.

Ellen came up to one of those trying to keep order, and asked him how things were going with the refugees. She was told that for most of the refugees were tired, battered and shaken, but most were calming down now they were on Earth and away from the fighting. The feeling was completely understandable, Lord knows that these people had seen far more of the ongoing war between the Alliance and ZAFT during the trip here than they should have to. Ellen after being briefed on the situation, walked through the crowd of people, trying to assist where she could. It was this habit of hers that had made Ellen known as a representative of the people and was well-liked by the citizen of the Republic. She'd never had an issue getting down to the same level as even the most impoverished person and treat them like they were a friend close to family.

As she mingled with the refugees, Ellen came across a man that she didn't expect to at all, not with these people. The man was middle aged, around the same age range as Ellen herself. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. The man was wearing a light brown suit that was not well kept at the moment. Ellen herself, had met the man, his name was George Allster and since he was the Atlantic Federation's Vice Foreign Minister, she'd been required to deal with him. The man hadn't appeared to notice Ellen, so she spoke up, "George Allster, quite a surprise to find you among these people. Perhaps you're working on a change in yourself and position?"

George Allster turned and faced Ellen, "Blass… of course, I'm not changing things for myself and what would you care anyways?!" He replied.

Ellen sighed at Allster's reaction, "I see, suppose that hoping for improvement is still unfulfilled," she remarked.

The conversation that ensued between herself and George Allster was one that Ellen wasn't fond of. But then, the times before this that Ellen had been forced to be around this man, had not been pleasant to her. George Allster had proven to Ellen beyond a shadow of a doubt that his judgement was affected by his disliked and distain of non-Natural-type humans. Although, even if Ellen didn't say it, such mentality didn't sit well with her at all, more so with her son being a Coordinator. So, Ellen was silently relieved when the man moved along and ended their conversation.

Ellen resumed moving among the people from the shuttles, seeing what needs they had and if they could be met. This went on, until Ellen came across a young blonde-haired girl that was under the age of ten and she was clearly upset about something as she was quietly sobbing. Ellen knelt down in front of the child, taking out a handkerchief, "There there dear, things will be okay." Ellen brought the little girl into an embrace, quickly feeling the girl hugging back.

Memories of her daughter Lana, came to her mind as times that she had comforted her had felt quite similar to this. Ellen had the girl blow her nose and managed to calm down the child, "Now then dear, what has you crying? Perhaps I can be of help to you."

The girl sniffled and looked up at Ellen, "I-I lost my mommy, a-a-and I can't find herrrrrrrrrr," she said, breaking down into crying once more.

Ellen scooped up the girl and rocked her in her own arms, "Don't worry yourself about it, there are a lot of people around here, so finding one person is harder. But, I will help you find your mother, I wouldn't doubt that she's just as worried and sad at not knowing where you are as yourself," Ellen soothed.

The girl looked at Ellen, "You'd help me find my mommy?" she asked.

The woman, whose formerly crisp looking blouse was now somewhat messy from the crying girl pushing her face into the piece of clothing, smiled at the girl. "Of course I will dear, so then, what's your name?" she returned.

"My name is El nice lady," she replied.

Ellen continued to smile as she rose back up to her full height with El in her arms, "Well then El, let's go find your mother then, shall we?"

It took a little over five minutes, until El spotted her mother. Ellen made her way in the direction that the girl had indicated her mother was in. The woman was overjoyed to see her daughter again, and was thanking Ellen for bringing back her daughter, when one of the government personnel saw Ellen. The man snapped to attention at seeing Ellen, "Madam Prime Minister! There was talk that you were here, but I didn't know that you actually were ma'am."

Ellen waved at the man, "No need to be so formal during this kinds of events, the more help in this, the better I would say. So, I came down here as soon as I could to see what could be done to help these people. They have gone through far more than any should have, seen the horrible things that the war between the Alliance and ZAFT has brought about. It's best that they get some actual rest and peace of mind as quickly as they can."

The man nodded and continued along his way, while Ellen turned back to the pair of mother and daughter. El was staring curiously at Ellen, while her mother was looking at Ellen with a bit of embarrassment at spotting the mess that her daughter had very likely caused to Ellen's blouse. "Why was that man acting like that? And what is a brime minester?" El asked.

Ellen smiled at the young girl, "The man was being unnecessarily formal, some are like that. Then, the title is pronounced 'prime minister' and it simply means that I'm the one that manages and leads the country that you are currently in," Ellen answered.

El's mother bowed to Ellen, "I'm so sorry for the trouble my daughter has caused!" she said, clearly worried.

Ellen waved a hand in a dismissive gesture, "Oh don't worry about it. It was no trouble at all really, glad I was able to help. I'm not as intimidating as leaders from the Earth Alliance or ZAFT would say I am, especially with the nickname they have given me, I'm quite the opposite in fact. I tend to be one that will get to know most of those who I represent, and that's apparently why I keep getting reelected as prime minister."

Both El and her mother continued forward towards the check points that were screening people through and letting them into Shira. It was as Ellen was about to keep moving through the crowd to see what could be done, when she spotted a blonde-haired teenaged young woman a short distance from her current position.

The teen, who looked to be between fifteen and sixteen years of age, stood at five and a quarter feet in height, and appeared fit, yet not muscular. Her blonde hair was medium length and ended at about the bottom of her neck with the exception of her bangs which came down to just above her eyes. The girl had amber eyes, which complimented her blonde hair. She was wearing tan pants and a red-orange short-sleeved shirt. The reason that Ellen noticed her, was she recognized the girl even if she hadn't seen her for months, nor spoken to her in that time frame and that was unusual. The teen's name was Cagalli Yula Athha and she was the daughter of Uzumi Athha, the leader of Orb.

Ellen closed the distance that separated her and Cagalli and put a hand on the teen's shoulder, "Cagalli? I can't say that I expected to see you here, at least not with the Heliopolis refugees," she greeted.

Cagalli twisted around and looked at Ellen, her eyes widening slightly, "Prime Minister Blass," she uttered, quickly going into a bit of a panic.

Ellen smiled a bit, "I've told you to not use the title, Ellen is fine especially with the relationship we have. And you being among the refugees could explain why your father is as worried as he's been the last few weeks."

After Cagalli got ahold of herself, she and Ellen moved out of the crowd and entered the car that Ellen had used to get here. The car drove back to the Minister's residence and shortly after arriving, Cagalli found herself sitting in a chair, facing the leader of the Republic. It wasn't like Cagalli was nervous or afraid of the older woman or anything like that. Cagalli actually liked Ellen, she'd been like the mother that Cagalli never had really. Ellen had never complained when Cagalli had called in the middle of the night and woke her up, just to talk to another female about what was going on in her life. And Cagalli hadn't really had another female around her that she could talk to about things that she felt she couldn't speak to her father about, definitely not a mother figure.

Yet, Cagalli hadn't told her father about her trip to Heliopolis in anyway. The journey was supposed to be just to check on the rumor that the Alliance might be using Orb for their own purpose. However, the simple trip had gone so wrong, so quickly that Cagalli couldn't understand how things developed into the way events had played out. In fact, Cagalli found herself, talking about everything that had happened, without being able to stop herself from doing so. The whole chain of events had spiraled out of control and had become crazy so fast, even Cagalli had wondered how things had got to what they were.

Ellen had come to see Cagalli like a daughter, and Uzumi certainly hadn't a single issue with Ellen being a mother figure to her. In fact, it was more like Uzumi had been glad that his 'wild princess' daughter that she could sometimes be like, found a woman that she could honestly talk to. And perhaps learn some skills and good manners from, Uzumi had confided that could hope for such a thing for Cagalli. So, Ellen sat in her chair and just listened to Cagalli get the time away from Earth off her chest, for it seemed that the girl had been through a great deal.

Still, the chain of events that had come upon this girl and those from Heliopolis were far harsher than Ellen had imagined they were from the reports she'd read. None of it should have happened to begin with, from the attack on Heliopolis, to the refugees seeing the battlefields they had. Granted, it probably would've been better if Uzumi had announced that the Orb Union had joined the Human Federation last year. Nonetheless, she knew of and understood the reasons that Uzumi had to not announce the idea, but still. Unfortunately, Uzumi hadn't found who it was that had gone behind all the rest of Orb's government and had done an under-the-table deal with some from the Atlantic Federation. He had eliminated a good number and so was closing in on who it could be, but a sizable amount of damage had been done already.

It was also apparent, that Cagalli wasn't aware that there had been behind the scenes dealing with the Atlantic Federation by some within Orb's governing body. It hurt worse as Ellen knew Cagalli had a good heart and that it was in the right place.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel, Eurasian Territory, southern Middle Eastern coastline

Both Kira and Lacus found themselves alone and falling through a sea of blackness, plummeting endlessly through the void. As they fell, voices shouting from unknown places from within the void…

" _Kira! Lacus! Tyler!"_

Random images floating around both Lacus and Kira as they kept falling forever through the black nothingness…

Countless heavy attacks bearing down on them… Ships of different shapes and sizes fighting one another flashed all around them at random.

Names of important people…

 _Athrun… Sakura…_

 _Sai… Miriallia…_

 _Tolle… Kuzzey…_

 _Flay…_

 _Tyler…_

"Birdee!" came the mechanical chirp of a green robotic bird as it flitted from one high place to another as it looked at two young teenagers in two beds.

"Lacus! We got a problem! Lacus!" demanded a robotic voice that belonged to a pink ball shaped robot. The said robot was bouncing up and down, and then sometimes rolling around the floor of the room, repeating the one line over and over as it did so.

On the parallel beds in the Archangel's infirmary, Kira and Lacus laid, delirious and suffering from heavy fevers, tossed and turned in their beds. They had both been brought here after being pulled from their mobile suits, for they had been in no condition to get out themselves. Their body temperatures had been dangerously high, even for Coordinators, and they hadn't gone down much with the time that had past. In the hours that had gone by since being brought to the infirmary, the ship's doctor had been doing his best to keep the two teens' fluids up and lower their temperatures.

The volunteers from Heliopolis had been taking turns, including Flay at watching over their friends, so they didn't get worse. But, there was so little they could do for them and that frustrated them more than watching the two in their current condition. At the moment, Flay was watching over both Kira and Lacus along with Sai. The others came in after a bit, and were asking the doctor if there was anything they could do, much like they had many times now. Doctor Mark Graham didn't mind them asking the same thing over and over, it was easy to tell they were extremely worried about their friends. And he reassured them that with Kira and Lacus being Coordinators and that they would be fine given time. He would have said more, but Kira accidentally knocking the curtains around his bed open and he thrashed around. That drew the attention of the friends there to attend to them.

Meanwhile Mu and Murrue were in the captain's quarters, discussing the situation as it now stood. Natarle and Krystal were on duty to keep things running as smoothly as it was possible at the moment.

"This is Alaska," said Mu. He was pointing to the northwestern most section of the deep blue province of North America. Before moving his hand across the map and pointing to a place that was close to the dark red region of northern Africa to the west and a blue area to the north that was Eurasia's Middle Eastern coastline. Further east was white territory, which was the color that was used on digital map displays to signify Human Federation territory. "And this is our location currently. It could be worse, but not by all that much. We're in neutral territory, yet close to Eurasia, who are on none too nice terms with us since Artemis. ZAFT territory is behind us with the northern African Community and then we have Federation member nation, the Equatorial Union ahead of us."

Taking a sip of her coffee before sighing, Murrue spoke up, "There wasn't much choice," she said sadly. "Our alternative was to get separated from the Strike and Asuka, and we couldn't afford to do that." Murrue leaned forward slightly, twirling her hair around her fingers while she frowned, "I wish we could have retrieved the Shadow before coming down to Earth, but that wasn't possible at the time. It had to be done the way it ended out… for the best of all of us on the Archangel. Despite what happened, our ship's objectives and destination remain the same. We need to make our way to JOSH-A and deliver the Strike."

Mu caught the tone of regret at not being able to assist Tyler up in the atmosphere, "I wouldn't doubt that Tyler made it and we'll come across him at some point. The kid is resourceful in ways I haven't ever seen before and his drive is something else. But aside from that, is everything all right?" asked Mu, sitting down.

"They should be," replied Murrue absent mindedly.

"I meant the issue with the deputy commander," said Mu, seeing that she misinterpreted his question. Murrue glanced at him, remembering her brief confrontation with Natarle on the bridge when the woman gave the three pilots approval to launch.

"Everything's all right," said Murrue, wanting to reassure him and herself, "Natarle made the best decision back at the time, now that I've had time to think back and assess things," she said. If the mobile suits and armors hadn't launch when they did, ZAFT forces that were breaking through the 8th Fleet, probably would've destroyed the Archangel rather than just managing to divert the original planned course. Then neither Mu or herself would be here right now, and that was the truth.

"Very pleased to hear that," said Mu. "Let me see now… think I'll stop by to see how the kids are doing, and then I'll get some shuteye." Mu stood up and strode out of the office, stopping at the door to look back at the captain. "You should get some sleep too. A commanding officer mustn't allow herself to get worn out and exhausted. Not good," his voice held a slight teasing tone that Murrue found more than a little exasperating, but before she could respond, he left the room.

While back in the infirmary, Doctor Graham was explaining in more detail the condition of his two charges. "So, as I said, despite their fevers, there's no sign of internal damage or infection," said Doctor Graham to the newly enlisted students along with Flay and Sophia, the latter two attending to Kira and Lacus. "Right now, we can't do much more than give them plenty of liquids and try to lower their body temperature."

"That's all that can be done?" asked Sai.

"Well," said the doctor a little hesitantly, "this is the first time I've had to give medical treatment to Coordinators. I don't claim to be an expert when it comes to diagnosing them medically by the symptoms. However, what I do understand is that their physical functions are far superior to ours. So, if I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about it, though I wish I could do something for these teens. They're some of the bravest I've met, to go out and do what they did… most would shrink from what they've faced."

"But still," began Sai.

"As much as they may look the same as the rest of us," said Sophia suddenly, drawing everyone's attention, " they're internal capabilities are on a completely different level from ours."

Flay didn't say anything, but was mentally agreeing, Coordinators surpassed Hybrids, and she was familiar with the sorts of abilities Hybrids could have. Graham nodded, "They have bodies physically capable of greater strength," he said, "and minds capable of acquiring more knowledge, and so on. No fatal disease will develop with that immune system they have, rest assured. Sure, a bullet wound could prove lethal, and sometimes they may get sick, but it would be a greater risk to us than to them."

Lacus moaned softly, drawing Flay's attention, and the girl gently wiped away some of the sweat collecting on the rosette's head. She glanced back at Kira, who seemed to be doing better than Lacus was at that particular moment.

"For example, did you hear about the extreme temperatures they were exposed to inside their mobile suits cockpits?" asked Graham.

"No, we didn't," piped up Tolle.

"Well, I can assure you none of us would be doing anywhere near as well as these two. I would assume for the other pilot I've heard about probably went through more having to experience the full reentry process," said the doctor.

That reminded the younger crew members about their other friend that had once more become separated from the Archangel. None knew or had even a clue where Tyler could have ended out, sight and signal of the Shadow had been lost. The assumption was that he in the Shadow had gone through atmospheric reentry and managed to land somewhere. Where that was none knew or calculated, not without the vector the Shadow would have been on and no one could even guess that.

"I heard about it as well," said Sophia. "It's strange, Yamato, Don and I wouldn't doubt this McGregor that I keep hearing about, all made it out of some really tough stuff. My little brother Ken… well, he's a Coordinator too and can do incredible things. Then, I've studied genetics as something of a hobby myself as well as to try and understand my brother. But, even most Coordinators wouldn't only come off with fevers as the only effect to worry about from those temperatures and that's not taking into account the fighting they were doing at the same time. All of that really increased the heat they were experiencing out there, who knows? They'd probably be recuperating in their rooms if not for those factors."

"An interesting point Lieutenant," said Graham before turning back to the former students. "Anyways, there's nothing to worry about. These fevers are nothing in comparison to those cockpit temperatures."

"La Flaga here," came Mu's voice from the other side of the door, "I'm coming in." The infirmary door slid open and the mobile armor ace stepped through, glancing at the civilian volunteers or cadets now, in surprise. "Huh? Is there something I should know about?"

"Uh, no, nothing's wrong lieutenant," said the doctor standing up. "I was just taking the time to explain to these youngsters that their friends will be fine."

Sai watched them quietly for a moment before he looked away, ' _I always knew that their internal abilities were on an entirely different level from ours_ ,' he thought, ' _but still… I hate it when something like this drives it home. It feels like the world is trying to force a barrier between us and them…'_

Kira was Sai's best friend, the idea of a barrier like that forming between them was unbearable for him. Yet it was then, something that Tyler often said came to his mind, 'whether one is a Natural or Coordinator or any other type of human, they are first and foremost human beings. Nothing will change that fact, as much as many would love to deny it. That fact alone proves that we have more in common than many would admit or think about. One just has to stop looking at the differences and start looking at what's the same between us, then you can see there is more in common than different.'

As Sai considered the idea that Tyler had been making heard, it was like a light turned on in his head and he understood better what he had been saying. Tyler had been saying that, no matter which kind of human you are, the fact is you're still human and that wouldn't change. That point alone would always be one that Sai and Kira would have in common, and Sai held to that, thankful that he had remembered that line from Tyler.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Unknown Location

I opened my eyes slowly, feeling pain, mostly a throbbing in my head, but I wasn't sweating puddles like I'd been doing while coming down to Earth. Next thing I noticed, was I'd an IV in my right arm along with the oxygen tube over my face and the ends put into my nose. I felt tired both physically and mentally at the moment while I was laying, presumably in a bed. I let out a soft groan as the pain sharply increased for a moment as I tried to figure out what happened and where I was, for I had no idea of the answer to either question.

The sound of the door opening to my right caught my attention, I turned my head, still on the pillow and saw a woman in a nurse's uniform. The lady glanced over the room and locked her gaze on me, seeing that I was looking back, she gained an expression of surprise. "Oh, Mr. McGregor, you're awake, that's good. Let me go inform the doctor on duty, so that they can check you over." She said before she turned and left the room.

In what seemed like near no time at all, the nurse returned and this time with another blonde-haired woman in a white doctor's coat and came over to the bed that I was laying in. "Good evening Mr. McGregor, I'm Doctor Hessing. Tell me can you understand what I'm saying to you?" the woman asked me.

I nodded, "Yes, I do. Where am I doc?" I inquired, not bothering to sit up just yet.

Doctor Hessing smiled, "You're at Whereta General Hospital in the western sector of Shira and you've been here for close to two days since you landed. You here with high fevers, a common symptom that comes during and stays after the atmospheric reentry process," Dr. Hessing said in answer.

So then, I'm in the capital of the Republic, my homeland, that's a good point to start with. Add to that, I've been in Whereta Hospital for nearly two days laying in a bed out cold, that's not so good. Then, I've no idea where the Archangel is right now, nor if Lisa, Sakura or Athrun are here in this hospital or somewhere else. So, my situation hasn't improved all that much from what I had up in the upper atmosphere, just has changed in some ways. My mission is still unfinished and the longer that's the case the higher risk that failure will occur, and the Alliance gets mobile suits they can mass produce them. I can't see much of a way for my current situation much worse, but all thing considered, I'm doing fairly well when I think about it. Doctor Hessing was checking my vitals and my condition over, while she was, I was becoming more aware of my surroundings and what was going on.

Once, the doctor was done, she told me that I did have a visitor, which made me wonder, for I hadn't expected anyone to visit me already. I said to have them come in and when the door opened, I kind of wished I hadn't done so, but was also glad I did. They certainly got me to sit up, painfully, but still managed to get my upper body to an upright position.

A woman stepped into the room, and the second I saw her, I got worried about what would happen to me. Her hazel eyes, which were looking at me with a stern expression set. She's forty-six years of age as of earlier this year, and yes, I'm sure of her age. The woman was wearing a less crisp than usual business suit she wore. Now, some would ask how I know so much about this woman, well there's a reason I know her. That particular reason would be… well, kind of complicated, yet also simple at the same time. I smiled slightly as she stared at me, "Hello mom, you're looking well since last time I was able to make the time to swing around home," I greeted a little nervously.

Yes, this woman standing in this room to visit me, whose name is Ellen Blass, is my mother, the woman that brought me into the world. Where a portion of Coordinators are born from artificial wombs, not all of them are, only a little above fifty percent or so. I'm not one of those that came from an artificial womb, the woman before me had given birth to me through natural mean. My dad told me when I asked upon the subject of my origins, my mother did go through hours of labor to bring me into the world. Some of my genes are still altered, I'm a Coordinator after all, but I was naturally born. She's also the only member of my family still alive and that's a fact we share in common.

I don't see her often as she's busy with work, and I'm working most of the time as well. My mom was the current Prime Minister of the Republic of East Asia, the political leader of the nation and she has been for a decent period of time. The position is a four-year elected office, no term limits, so she's held the office for the last four terms, since I was two and while she was pregnant with Lana. The citizens have kept reelecting her as they have come to trust her to keep the peoples best interest in the forefront of the decision made by the government. So, she could probably have the job for as long as she wants before retiring when she chooses to. Although, as a good point of character for my mother, she did take the time so that she could spend it with my dad, Lana and me, even with her busy schedule.

Then, with me being a member of the Federation military, a choice that my mom wasn't the fondest of, we don't see one another every day, or often much anymore. So, getting time with my mom wasn't easy from my end any more than it was for her. In fact, I'm lucky if I get to spend a couple weeks out of the year with my mom, between me being on assignment and her fulfilling the duties of her office.

My mother strode over to my bed, and I prepared myself to get a detailed lecture of how I shouldn't put my life in danger like I do. It wouldn't be the first time I've gotten such a lecture, nor in different variations, since I haven't been the safest decision maker throughout my life. Yet, what I received, was an embrace from the one who had given birth to me, "Why do you insist on putting your life in jeopardy Tyler," my mom asked as she hugged me. "Do you have any idea how I dread that I will receive a report that you've died on one of the missions you are assigned?"

I carefully put my arms around my mom, to make sure that the things connected to me didn't come out as they would be put back in. "Sorry mom, I don't try to do such things, but circumstances just so love putting me in the position that I put my life on the line for others," I answered.

My mom drew back and sighed, "You are so much like your father, always thinking of others before yourself, it can be irritating as well as endearing," she remarked.

I smiled in response, "I take that as a compliment to be told I'm like dad. It means a lot to me to be compared to him," I returned.

Dr. Hessing returned with a clipboard in hand, "Forgive the interruption Madam Prime Minister, but Mr. McGregor's tests are done, he is good to check out. However, I wouldn't recommend that he drive himself just yet, the pain killers are still in effect," she said.

Ah ha, that explains why I'm in far less pain than I probably should be right now. I'm not one to normally be for having drugs, but they can sure help with some things! Mom nodded to the suggestion and then the nurse in the room started to take out the tubes and other devices that were attached to me. I was given my pilot suit back, and as that was the only piece of clothing I had to work with, I walked to the bathroom, changed back into the suit, leaving the collar open, before exiting the small room. The check-out process was fairly simple and so not that time involved. Mom then took me to the car she had waiting, and we were driven back to the place I had for myself.

Now the house that I have, and yes, I know that most eighteen-year-olds don't have a place for themselves. However, I did some forced growing up when my dad and Lana died in the Bloody Valentine Incident, so even if I'm eighteen, I'm more mature than many my age. Anyways, my place is a medium sized, one floor house. Normally, when I'm around it, I'm the only person living in the house, even if it's a house for four or more individuals.

The house's dimensions were as follows; four bedrooms, one being the master bedroom, three and a half bathrooms. The entrance of the place was on the south side of the house and the front door was on the inside and on the left of the front porch. The master suite was in the west side of the house along with the office, the garage that did have a car that was mine in it and the half bathroom with just toilet and sink. The east side was made up of the three other smaller bedrooms, with one slightly bigger than the other two, along with the two other bathrooms. In the center of the place, was where the kitchen, dining area, family room or den, living room and a small room for utilities. I get a nice view of the ocean from the back of my house, I admit and enjoy it when I'm here.

My mom helped me into my house and got me to my room which was the master suite. I said my farewell, saying that I would come and visit her soon and then, I changed my clothes before falling onto my bed and fell asleep quickly.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt less tired than the day before when I was in the hospital, though I didn't feel 100% either. I rolled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, I really needed a shower, it's kind of hard to remember the last time I got one. After I was clean and changed into a more casual set of clothes. My plan was to go see if those who came down with me were in Whereta hospital, if they were, find out if they had woken up yet.

Preparing for the chance that one or more of the three would be awake, I grabbed a set of mine own clothes, since Athrun isn't that much shorter than me and he has approximately the same body shape as I do. My issue came with the two females that I would be seeing. When it comes to Lisa and Sakura, none of the clothing that I have would fit them well, if at all, so I need an alternative. Maybe if I visited my mother, she could help me with this dilemma… been meaning to pay her a visit anyways to thank her for helping me out yesterday.

I went to the garage and smiled at the sight of the car that was mine. This vehicle was based on a model of car that's a classic now, but was once a machine known for speed, power and sleek design. The car model was still called a Lamborghini, where the name came from, I don't have a clue. But, the car certainly has power and speed, which I can really appreciate. The specific type, as Lamborghinis had different variations, is the Murcielago, which is pretty aerodynamic. The vehicle was black, had the driver seat and passenger seat next to that and two back seats, which wasn't standard to Lamborghinis historically by what I'm to understand, though the back seats weren't as comfortable as the front two.

The car doors on either side didn't open outward as most cars do, but upward and forward. The engine wasn't the old fashion V-12 gasoline block type engine like these cars used to have in them. Due to the uses of fossil fuels dropping tremendously after the end of the reconstruction war caused by heavy embargoes and tax that were put on those products as they put out heavy pollutants. So, this vehicle like almost all these days, use a fuel cell instead as it's the more efficient alternative fuel these days. The cell is on the higher-powered end of the spectrum for automotive machines, for my car, when it's combined with the compact engine, they give me a range of 700 horse power at 9000 rpms… to 850 horse power at 10,000 rpms if I push it. The fuel cells thankfully can be recharged easily enough, so 'refueling' is no issue at all. Apparently, when gasoline combustion engines were used, they guzzled and burned the fuel that was put in them at a ridiculously inefficient rate… something like 21 to 22 liters for every 100 kilometers, which is a HORRIBLE waste. A normal fuel cell gets at least eight to ten times that amount on average.

Now… this car wasn't cheap, and I'd to pay for half of it and that was half a year's pay check for me… on the one busy year yet, it was worth it to me! I opened the driver side door, put the set of clothes I grabbed for Athrun in the back of my car. Pulled the door closed and buckled myself into the seat with the five-point harness that I installed. Perhaps it's because I might like to put my foot down and zoom down a road when I can get away with it. Or maybe, it's my love of drifting and I know my mother would hound me for not doing so safely… along with doing such things at all. Still, I will neither confirm or deny such to any authorities were they to inquire as I would get into trouble if I did.

I started the car by pressing the starter button and glanced over the dashboard and central display screen. The central screen showed that the engine was running in good shape, told me energy consumption compared to mileage, along with the basic readouts of the car's condition. Once I saw that everything was in working order, I pulled the lever under the steering wheel that was for shifting down in the transmission. With the car now in reverse, I backed out of the garage and drove over to the mansion type residence that my mom lived in since she's the Prime Minister.

The staff there let me in as they knew me well by now since this was the house I grew up in. I asked my mother for her help after laying out my plight of having two female companions that I don't have clothing for. As I've said, I'm a gentleman, so I'm trying to think of Sakura and Lisa in this. My mother, being the nice woman that she is, hence where I learned such good manners from, she agreed to assist me and lend me some of her clothes to let my two female companions something to wear. I put both sets of clothing in the backseat with the set I had for Athrun and got back in my car and headed to the hospital.

I went to the front reception desk and asked the secretary first, if others were brought here with me and if so, then what their condition was. By what I was told, Lisa had woken up earlier this morning, yet Sakura and Athrun had yet to show a conscious response to give signs that they were awake. Once I got the room number, I thanked the receptionist and went back out to my car and fetched one of the sets of clothes I'd borrowed from my mom. Then I headed back into the hospital and up to the room that I'd been in, which apparently, Lisa was still in now. Yet, I ran into a doctor. I asked them about Lisa and her condition, and they said she was doing good enough to check out.

I knocked on the door before I stepped into the room, and was happy to see my comrade and friend sitting up in her bed. I smiled, "Nice to see you sitting up in bed Lisa," I remarked.

Lisa glanced over at me and smiled weakly, "Thanks for the visit Tyler, it is appreciated," she replied.

I sat down in the chair next to the bed, "How do you feel," I inquired.

She took a moment to think, "I've been better, but it could be much worse, around the same the last time I had to do atmospheric reentry in a single pilot craft. I did get a call from Alan saying that he and Luke will be coming down to Earth sometime in the next week. Also, received a call from my mom," Lisa said trailing off.

From what she had told me, Lisa's mom lives in the PLANTs, specifically Maius 2. Her father works on the Legislative Committee, one of the governing sections of the PLANTs and have representatives on the Supreme Council as well. Both her parents are big supporters of ZAFT and her father leans towards the radical standing in politics, not so much her mother. Lisa disagreed with her father's views and that had created a bit of a wedge between her and her father. It was apparently, because of the man, Lisa left her original home in the PLANTs. She still talks to her mother every once and a while, gets updated with the family she used to have is, but her father doesn't really speak to her since she left the PLANTs and changed her last name.

"It's not my business, but how did it go talking with her?" I asked.

Lisa shrugged, "About the same as it usually does, she's polite to me, yet I think she wants me to visit, but her husband… Legislator Minti I believe pretty much stands by what he said when I left over five years ago. I'm not his daughter anymore, I'm a stranger to him and am not welcome around him or his family," she said drily.

I frowned, family issues can really hurt, especially when one side is unwilling to compromise at all. "Sorry to hear that Lisa, has to suck to have such issues. Anyways, the doctor I bumped into, said that you were good to check out. So, since that's the case, it's lucky that I happen to bring a set of clothes for you to wear out instead of your pilot suit," I said.

Lisa smiled a bit, "Still a gentleman I see," she remarked.

I set the clothes down on the bed and stepped out of the room to be polite and give my friend her privacy. I'm a gentleman after all, I don't do things that can be misconstrued as me being a pervert. After five minutes, Lisa exited the room, dressed in the slacks and blue collared blouse and she fit the clothes pretty good considering the small difference in figure and size from my mother.

"I take it, that you borrowed these from your mother, judging they're more a formal style and knowing that's the type of clothing that your mother tends to wear," Lisa said.

I nodded, "Yep, you would be right," I answered.

The two of us stopped by my car and picked up the other two sets of clothes and then we made our way to the second room that was at the other end of the hospital, which Athrun and Sakura were in. I'd found out the information from the receptionist at the front desk of not just which room Lisa was in, but also where Athrun and Sakura were as well. Neither of them might be awake yet, but I couldn't call myself a friend if I didn't come and visit Athrun while he's in the hospital. Sakura, well… I'm not complaining about her being unable to chase and catch me for the time being, had more than enough to last me a while.

Lisa and I entered the double room and I saw to my relief, Athrun was sitting up, moving and responding to the nurse that was checking him over. I felt a smile form on my face at seeing Athrun was okay, "Good morning Sun Shine," I said in greeting to my other best friend aside from Kira.

Athrun glanced over at me as I strode over to his bed, "Tyler," he mumbled.

The nurse doing tests on Athrun quickly finished up, before she bowed and left the room, leaving us alone with Athrun and Sakura, which said pink-haired woman was still out at the moment. Lisa stayed by the door, while I put the set of clothes I had down on the bed. Then I grabbed a chair, spun it around and sat down straddling the chair next to Athrun's bed, "So then, how do you feel Athrun," I inquired.

"I'm okay," he answered me.

I nodded at the reply, "Well, that's good to hear, atmospheric reentry really is a harsh experience, at least it has been for the two times I've done it. By the way, you're currently at Whereta General Hospital in Shira within the Republic of East Asia. There's no need to worry, even though you're a part of ZAFT, that doesn't make much of an issue here. So, if you were thinking about taking a vacation, now would be a great time, since you'll need to recover anyways," I informed.

I would've made a suggestion or two of what Athrun could do while he was here in the Republic. It has been more than two years since he had come to visit, and it had just been him, not his father, something about the man being busy with work. But, then there was a soft groan heard and all of us turned to the occupant of the other bed in the room. I personally tensed a small margin and seeing that Sakura was waking up. She sat up slowly, put a hand to her head, "Where am I?" Sakura asked in a flat voice that was emotionless.

That's the way I expect Sakura to talk with the reputation she has, yet, so rarely hear it when she's around me. I wonder how long it will be before it reverts back to how she is with yours truly. It was me that answered the stated question, "You're currently in Whereta Hospital, within Shira the capital of the Republic of East Asia."

Literally, seconds after I had answered her question, Sakura's expression completely morphed into what I've unfortunately become accustom to. "Tyler! How wonderful of you to come and see me!" She said in a happy tone of voice with her smiling.

I stared at Sakura for a moment with an expression of consternation, silence filled the room, until I scooted my chair ever so slightly to be farther away from Sakura's bed. "Well, um… since you two are awake, it shouldn't take all that long for the both of you to be able to check out of this place. Thinking ahead, I brought you both some clothes to change into so that you don't have to put your pilot suits back on right now, they don't feel nice after reentry," I iterated.

I'd hardly finished speaking when a nurse came into the room, and seeing that Sakura was awake began checking her over. I helped Athrun out of his bed, picking up the set of clothes I had brought and helped Athrun over to the bathroom and handed him the clothes. I stood outside the door and waited as Athrun changed into the clothes. Thankfully, my friend, though a tad shorter than I am, has similar body shape to me, so my clothes should fit. By the time he was done, Sakura was being unhooked from the various tubes and devices that she had been attached to. Both Athrun and I stepped out of the room as Lisa handed Sakura the set of clothes I'd borrowed for her. For me, it was also to not give Sakura the opportunity to capture me and do whatever is her fancy.

When Sakura had changed into the clothes, both she and Lisa exited the room, and I got a look at the two women. I was forced to pause at seeing the two women, for… let's just say that they're hard to not notice dressed as they are. I'll admit, Lisa fills the clothes she has on much like my mother does, perhaps a tiny margin tighter on Lisa than my mother as they have slightly different proportions, but fairly hard to tell unless you look hard. However, with Lisa standing next to Sakura… well, it shows that Lacus's older sister was a different story than Lisa is and the difference was defined enough that you couldn't miss. I'm not blind or dumb, I'm aware that Sakura Clyne has a more voluptuous figure than my most of the women that I know have, easily larger than average. But, the set of clothes I'd borrowed from my mother, they certainly emphasized the point well. If I were to say that the blouse was a 'tight fit', I would be exaggerating, I might just end out buying my mother a new blouse. The most noticeable sign of the tight fit for Sakura, was that the buttons were straining keeping the shirt together.

Moving on, once that was done, the four of us head back to the parking lot, a bit slow so that Athrun and Sakura could take it easy since they're still recovering. However, I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face when Athrun gaped at seeing my car, for it was taken as a compliment by me. After snapping Athrun out of his trance, we piled into the car, Lisa and Sakura were in the backseat while Athrun sat in the passenger seat. I wasn't about to allow Sakura to sit in the seat next to me, far too much opportunity for her to do things to me that I don't want while I drive, it's too dangerous! I drove them to my house as that's where they will be staying for the time being, which is fine with me… even with Sakura. Although, that woman still worries me, because she'll have such opportunity to do who knows what with her being in my house. But I can't think of a viable reason to deny her staying and justify it.

I gave them a short tour of my place, there really not much to see in my home so the tour wasn't long. Now, as I'm a single guy living in this house that is meant for four people or more, I don't have a lot of clothing for females. I had to literally go to my mother and borrowed some clothing from her for Lisa and Sakura, but just one set for each of them. I thought about what to do to solve this issue as it would quickly become a big thing if nothing is done. In the end, I went to Lisa and asked her to take Sakura out and buy clothes for themselves. I trust her more than Sakura as I also gave her access to my funds. Sent off the two women, allowing Lisa to drive my car, which was hard as I really like that car and so don't lend it out to just anyone.

Those two went off to go shopping… who knows how long that will take those girls? I'd sat down in one of the recliners in the den and Athrun took the sofa across from me, the look on his face told me that he wanted to have a serious talk with me. Knew the need of a discussion would come up between Athrun and me, best to get it over with. I took in a deep breath, "So clearly, you want to ask questions of me Athrun, go right ahead, I'll answer them the best I can." I stated.

Athrun was silent for a minute, then he looked at me in the eye, "First, why were you at Heliopolis? You mentioned something about a Federation investigation team," he asked.

I took a moment to order my thoughts, before I began to give my response, "Officially, records will say that I was there on an educational exchange. However, obviously, that was a cover for what I was really there to do, which unofficially, was to look into information that had been acquired before that. Of course, I wasn't there alone but part of the Federation investigation team sent to Heliopolis." I paused, "The information had been in the form of a rumor that a 'group' within the Earth Alliance, was doing weapon development in neutral territory. That's how this got started as far as I know, I won't doubt there's more to the story, but I don't know about it."

My friend nodded in understanding, "You then at some point, found out Morgenroete was being used by the Alliance, but how long ago did you know?"

I hesitated at that question, for the answer wasn't one that I liked really. I'd wanted to confiscate the Archangel and the mobile suits when we had found out about them and be done with the matter. Yet, that hadn't been my decision, and so, I'd to wait for those that it was the decision of. I assume that the delay had something to do with politics or some type of agreement that the Federation has with someone else. But, what's done is done and I can't deny what happened, even if I didn't like it, "A tad less than six months before the colony collapse, I didn't like having to wait, but that was a decision that was out of my hands," I returned.

Athrun stared at me in shock, "Almost six months?! But why would the Federation wait that long against a clear threat?" he asked.

I shrugged, "I haven't the faintest idea, like I said, it wasn't my choice to make, didn't like how long it took, but that's in the past. However, when the decision was finally made, had felt relief… until a ZAFT commander by the name of Rau Le Creuset interfered," I remarked.

Athrun broke my gaze at the mention of Creuset, as the man is apparently a sore subject, I switched the subject, "Don't blame yourself for what happened Athrun, won't help change how things are right now, so moving on to the next question then."

"Um… where did the black and winged suits come from?" Athrun asked.

Oh those, yeah… figured that they would come up at some point during this question and answer session, "Yes, those machines. I happened to come across them while the theft of the Alliance prototypes by you and your comrades was going on. They were at the back of the Morgenroete factory floor, even I was slightly confused and surprised to find them in construction docks. There was never any hint about either of them, I didn't even know they existed until I saw them," I returned, before I asked my first inquiry. "So, a question for you Athrun, have you noticed the change of… perspective within the PLANTs and ZAFT held by many? The shift towards the more aggressive and radical view that all who are Naturals should pay for things that have been and are done to Coordinators. Not naming names, but I would assume you know the type I'm referring to."

Athrun didn't meet my gaze at the inquiry and that was answer enough for me, "So you have noticed the shift then," I commented quietly.

Athrun changed the subject and I let him as the question I'd asked referred to those like his father and that hurt my blue-haired friend. "You said back at the PLANTs that you would go back to the… Archangel if given the chance, why?" posed Athrun changing the subject.

Put a finger to my chin, "Well, by choice, it was to protect my friends I made at Heliopolis. However, I got an assignment that had me chasing the Archangel anyways and so going back to the Archangel was easier. The goal of the mission and still is, to prevent the Earth Alliance from getting mobile suits. After some digging, I would say the goal has changed a bit to include also stopping mobile suit data from getting to one of the two Alliance headquarters as well," I replied.

Athrun gained a confused expression, "Mobile suit data? I would think a mobile would be easier and better?" he asked me.

I shook my head, "A mobile suit would work in the end however, data would allow the Alliance to begin producing mobile suits in mass immediately without further work. Whereas if they have a mobile suit, then they have to take the time to reverse engineer it before starting production. Plus, that would only give the Alliance one design to work with and they want more than one," I explained.

My friend gained a thoughtful look, "By what you say, there's already mobile suit data somewhere then. Where would it be hidden," he mused.

I smiled slightly, "Oh, I already know where the data is, stumbled across some of it and it didn't take much to find the rest. The pattern the Alliance used to hide the data is fair, but I've not only seen the method before, but whoever did it was being lazy. So, in the end, the data was easy to find and didn't take me long to do. That data collection would include complete blueprints of all five of the Alliance prototype mobile suits. It's all imbedded in the systems of the Archangel, the ship you've been chasing, and done so they're hidden in such a way that the crew won't notice it being there at all, and none of it will interfere with the ship operating systems. That being said, I wouldn't doubt that there will be techs and engineers at JOSH-A or had been at the Alliance's Lunar base to extract the data should the Archangel get there," I finished.

Athrun nodded slowly, "That would make logical sense, if something happened to either the ship or the mobile suits themselves, then there would be a second way to guard the information and get it to those who can use it," he said.

And there's Athrun's logic and problem-solving skills at work, sharp as ever I see and how nice it to know that he keeps them that way. Of course, I'd come to the same conclusion as my friend had, in that the Alliance had enough foresight to comprehend that there was a chance that their work could be compromised in some way. So, someone or a group of people had made sure there was two copies of the prototype mobile suits, the suits themselves and the data blueprints for them. Right now, the blueprints are in my view the more dangerous than the X105 Strike, for the simple reason that the collection of blueprints include all five prototypes.

"So then, the Alliance getting mobile suit is seen as an issue by the Federation as it is for the PLANTs and ZAFT, isn't it?" Athrun asked, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I looked my blue-haired friend straight in the eyes, "Absolutely the Federation sees the Alliance getting the ability to use and mass produce mobile suits as a problem and a serious one at that." I paused for a moment, thinking about how I could accurately get across the idea I was attempting to have Athrun understand. "Look at it this way Athrun, the Alliance is losing bad right now, and should they get and a way to match ZAFT, do you honestly think they wouldn't use such an idea right away? Then, why stop there? It's no real secret that the Earth Alliance dislikes that the Human Federation has remained neutral in this war. Granted, ZAFT hasn't been very appreciative of the point either, but they accept it and left the Federation mostly alone. The Earth Alliance hasn't done the same, they've been constantly trying to sway and convince any they can to join them in their fight against the "evil Coordinators" that make up ZAFT and live in the PLANTs. It has been fairly clear that many in high and/or in influential positions have been setting and adding fuel to the fire that is the hatred and fear of Coordinators."

"But they haven't succeeded in that, have they?" Posed Athrun.

I shook my head, "No, of course not any parts of the Federation, but honestly, it's no longer a question of if, rather of when the Alliance gets mobile suits. And when they do get them, how long it will be before they use them to enforce their views on those that disagree and assert their control? Rest assured, when the Earth Alliance does get the ability to use and produce mobile suits, they will use them to attack the member nations of the Human Federation," I said tiredly.

Athrun appeared worried about my statements, but what I had said was the truth as I knew it and that came with contributions from the Federation's Information Network. We kept talking about what had happened since we had last had a chance to catch up. There was a great amount of things that had occurred to both of us over the last near five years.

The sound of a car brought my attention back to the world around us and I glanced down at my watch and saw that almost two hours had passed since the girls left. Looked behind me to the route that lead to the garage, and less than a minute later, both Lisa and Sakura entered the room. I instantly took in the number of bags they were carrying between themselves. …Just how much did these two females spend of my money?! I gave a quizzical looked to Lisa, silently asking her if I wanted to know how much all they had bought would cost me. The response I got was Lisa looking away, which told me I would be feeling pain about my decision of sending the two women shopping later. Sakura on the other hand, looked like a child on their birthday, having been let lose in a toy or candy store, which increased my worry more.

And yet, with Sakura here, I fear that if I don't state the dos and don'ts, she will do much more than if I do not say anything. So, I let out a sigh and I got down to business, "Okay, nice to see you back ladies… moving on to room assignments as you three will be staying here for the time being." I said turning towards my blue haired friend, "Athrun, you'll get the first bedroom down the hall." I pointed toward the west side doorway in the den to motion where I was talking about before I continued, "Lisa, you get the bedroom in the middle." Finally, I turned to Sakura, "You Sakura, get the bedroom at the end of the hall."

I'd barely finished speaking, when Sakura shot past all the rest of us and down the hall to the bedroom I had mentioned. That was completely from left field and it got me to blink a few times, before I turned to Lisa, "Should I even ask why she would be running to the bedroom as she did? Or perhaps you wish to warn me of what's coming, since I've a feeling she'll show me soon enough," I queried in a tired voice.

Lisa frowned, which told me that Sakura had something I would likely not like in store for me. I exhaled heavily, "Okay, next question, do I ask how much you two spent or would it be better for me to not and just assume that it was more than I had figured?"

Before Lisa could answer me, I heard footsteps coming back down the hall and as we all turned, Sakura came back into the den. She was wearing a pink blouse and blue knee length skirt, spinning around a bit, clearly to show me what she got. Sakura used the time until dinner to show off what outfits were bought with my money, not that the clothing was bad, looked quite nice on her. But it was clear to me, that Sakura had bought what she had, in the intent to impress me or have me like her appearance.

After dinner, I knew that I still needed to establish a ground rule before we retired for the night so that there would be less risk for all… rather for me. So, before we all went our separate ways, I gathered everyone back into the den so that I could make sure all knew the rule. I cleared my throat, "Okay, before we all go to bed, I would like to declare a rule as is my right as the owner of this house. The rule is, no sneaking into another's room or bed," I pinned Sakura with my gaze, "Admittedly, this rule is specifically for you Sakura, as I don't see Athrun or Lisa doing such things. You on the other hand, I can see you trying, so read my lips, do not sneak into my room or bed during the night!"

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

2047 Hours Local Time

"Birdee! Birdee!"

With a headache like he had, Kira wanted to throttle the little noisemaker that Athrun had made for him and gave to Kira at their last meeting before they and Tyler went their separate ways. As it was, he barely had the energy to force his eyes open, turn his head to the robot, which was flitting between high places and spoke, "Hey Tori… please shut up," Kira croaked.

The curtain around Kira's bed was suddenly pushed aside to reveal Flay, staring down at him with a concerned expression… Kira couldn't say for sure. However, Kira then began taking note of his surroundings, since he saw the rest of the room with the curtain had been opened. The action had also let in the full light of the room they were in and with the light coming in now, forced Kira to squeeze his eyes shut to stop the headache from getting worse.

"Kira, you're awake," said Flay quietly.

"Flay," muttered Kira, slowly cracking his eyes open again. He tried to sit up, but the redhead put a hand on his shoulder to hold him down. In his condition, Coordinator or not, even a delicate Natural girl like Flay could easily pin him with just that.

"No," she said firmly, "you shouldn't try to sit up so suddenly like that."

The girl turned her attention away from him and reached out to grab a glass of water. "Where am I, Flay?" Kira asked.

"The infirmary," she answered, reaching an arm partially under him to help him lift his head and put the glass of water to his lips. "You and Lacus were unconscious when others pulled you from your machines when they were brought back onboard, so I guess you might not remember."

"Lacus," muttered Kira after he stopped drinking and Flay laid his head back down, "is she?"

"She's fine," said Flay with a weak smile, glancing at the bed opposite Kira's, which still had the curtains pulled around it. "She's still resting, as she was a bit worse off than you are. Lieutenant Falco said it's probably because you're a first-generation Coordinator, so your body's a bit tougher than hers."

"I see… so, we must've landed on Earth after all. Then where is the Archangel now?" Kira asked.

"We landed in the ocean off the Middle East coast by what the bridge crew say," she said. "It was early yesterday morning for us, but it's really early morning local time now." A touch of humor showed in her smile. "The shifting biological clock is going to be tough to deal with."

"I lived on Earth when I was really young," said Kira, "and then it was the moon before I came to Heliopolis. But I was living in Orb, so the clock never shifted that much for me. It'll be a new experience."

Flay smiled at that before standing up, "I'll go get Doctor Graham," she said. "Don't try to get up or anything until he's had a chance to look you over."

Kira watched as Flay went off, when thoughts of his friend Tyler came to mind. What had happened to him? Tyler had sent Kira back to the Archangel, but hadn't come himself, so where did he come down at? The worries about his friend wouldn't leave Kira's mind as he laid in the bed.

 **-Line Break-**

Mu was having a hard time sleeping as of late, with so many unanswered questions and so little-known information that could answer any of them. So, to distract himself, he fell back on his habit to work on something while others slept, it made it so they would be less likely to disturb him and it took his mind off of the issues that kept running through. This night, he had been down in the hanger looking over information on the new piece of equipment the Archangel had received the Skygrasper craft with only Chief Murdoch and Sophia Flaco for company. "I went through the manual last night," said Mu as he looked at the Skygrasper he would be using. "This thing sure looks like a lot of fun." Something else came to mind though, and he turned to look at Sophia as she had been helping the mechanics out due to the limited crew, "It can mount the Striker Packs, which is great and all, but what does that make me now? Some sort of delivery boy?!"

"Well, that's the intended primary function intended," said Sophia, "but even so, only when the ensign needs it, otherwise you can feel free to use the weaponry as much as you like. Trust me, it can make a difference, I would know as I helped design these things, before being assigned to the 8th fleet. They might not be able to match mobile suits or Federation fighters, but they do better than mobile armors do up in space."

Murdoch chuckled, "She's right lieutenant," he said, "But when the time comes, in your hands, all deliveries are guaranteed whether near or far."

Mu walked over and looked the Skygrasper over more thoroughly, "The vote of confidence is nice and all, but little good it does right now with both of the kids unable to pilot. And then, our third mobile suit pilot we had, no word on where he ended out."

"The students are all regular military now," said Murdoch, ignoring Mu's comment. "I mean, the kids are even ensigns already! Ah well, they are pilots after all. If what McGregor said is correct, then he's a commander in the Federation military." Although truthfully, he was somewhat miffed that Kira and Lacus were barely more than half his age, yet still his superiors in the chain of command.

Sophia looked at the two men, somewhat confused by what they had said. She herself, had hear a few things about this 'Tyler McGregor', supposedly a teen like the volunteers, but a year or two older than the rest. However, this was the first time Sophia had heard mention of the said teen being a part of the Federation military AND a high-ranking member at that. "I beg you pardon from both of you," Sophia spoke up, gaining the attention from both men, "But, did you just say this Tyler McGregor is not only part of the Federation military and a commander as well, all before he enters his twenties?!"

Chief Murdoch put a hand to the back of his head, "Yeah, hard to believe when you first meet the kid, know the feeling myself. Yet, he's proven that he's no joke and knows how to pilot mobile weapons, whether it's a mobile suit, mobile armor or a Federation fighter."

"I'd have to second that, Tyler has skills that terrify the hell out of me were I have to go against them. But, he has a good heart as far as I've seen, heck who know, if this war wasn't going, Tyler might not even have enlisted," Mu added. "And besides Kira and Lacus, the rest of the volunteers are crewmen, second-class, man oh man."

"Heh, they'll develop into great soldiers before you know it," said Murdoch. Sophia's eyes turned away, though primarily an engineer, that was a thought she could do without having on her mind. The volunteers and their friends had all appeared to be good kids and yet, they were roped into this war and it had been going much longer than any had expected. "By the way, how are the kids' fevers?" she asked, changing the subject.

"I hear they finally dropped to acceptable levels earlier this morning," said Mu as he climbed up and looked into the fighter's cockpit. "Seriously, I don't know whose construction is more impressive: The Strike and Asuka's frames, or their pilots, and the same I wouldn't doubt can be said about the Shadow and its pilot, wherever they are. Just feel kind of useless not being able to be out there fighting next to them, perhaps in future…"

"Asuka?" questioned Sophia, "Wasn't that what Yamato call his machine that before the launch in orbit?"

"Yeah, it's a nickname attached to the machine when he found it," said Murdoch. "From what he said, its official name is Asuka Astray Frame, the prototype in a series most likely."

"And speaking of nicknames," said Mu, looking back at Murdoch, "do you have any idea why Kira and Lacus keep referring to these mobile suits as 'Gundams'?" Mu's question peaked Sophia's interest, and she walked over to them curiously. She hadn't heard anything about this.

"Oh that, it appears on the activation screen," said Murdoch. "Uh, General Unilateral Neuro – link… something or other, can't remember what the rest is at the moment. Anyway, take the first letter of each word and that's what you get. Better than the military simply calling them G-weapons."

Sophia shook her head, smiling slightly as she looked up at the Strike and Sakura, "Yeah," she said, drawing the attention of the two men. "Gundam… it really does sound better than G-weapon, don't you think?"

"Heh," chuckled Mu, "That it does."

Even with it being as late at night as it was, Miriallia and Tolle had gotten off duty were heading towards the mess hall to get a meal, before they planned to stop by the infirmary to check on Kira and Lacus. Along the way, they bumped into Sai and Kuzzey, and they asked about their friends as they all moved towards the mess hall. "Wait, what?" questioned Miriallia. "You're saying Kira's regained consciousness already?"

"Yeah, it happened just a little while ago," said Kuzzey.

"Doctor Graham said that Kira's doing well enough now," said Sai, "That he's been transferred back to his quarters. Flay went over there to take his meal to him."

The four reached the mess and got 'dinner' and sat down and kept the conversation going, shifting to asking about Lacus's condition. Shortly after this began, the doors of the mess hall opened, and Flay herself stepped through, drawing the attention of the four off-duty cadets.

"Hello Flay," said Miriallia.

"On a shift change?" asked Flay absentmindedly as she carried the empty tray to the counter. She hadn't expected all four of them to be let off-duty at once.

"So, how's Kira doing?" asked Miriallia.

"He really seems to be alright," said Flay. "He's got a healthy appetite anyway. Lacus is awake too and has been transferred out of the infirmary, so I was going to grab a meal for her. Anyway, it's as if the last two days never happened for them, though the doctor advised them to stay in bed for the day." Flay stopped momentarily. "Their bodies… I always knew what they could do was really different… but it's never been driven home quite like this," Flay continued to walk as Tolle and Miriallia gasped softly at the words, worried that Flay's anti-Coordinator feelings might be reignited.

"I see," said Miriallia, deciding to brush it off for now. "But, I'm just so relieved that both Kira and Lacus are starting to feel better."

Sai rose and closed the distance between Flay and himself, "You must be exhausted," he said with concern. "You've been by their side for a while now; don't you think you should get some rest yourself?"

"I'm doing just fine," said Flay as she filled up two glasses of water. "Really, I just finished eating with Kira. And it's not like I actually have a job on this ship yet, not like the rest of you."

"Flay?" muttered Sai.

"It's vital that they get better as soon as possible," said Flay softly. Sai looked at her curiously. "We're in not in allied or even friendly territory after all. I'm still a little worried, so I'm going back to their quarters."

Now Sai was really getting worried, for Flay was acting more and more… out of character. Even though Sai was almost as certain of Kira's and Lacus's feelings for each other as everyone else, he also knew that Kira used to have a crush on Flay… and was fearful that she might be returning the affection when it would be better to not happen. "Flay," said Sai standing up, and striding over to grab her shoulder, "hold on for a moment."

"What is it Sai?" asked Flay, looking back at him with some concern.

"Well," said Sai, now feeling silly for worrying about her recent actions. "As nice as it is of you to worry and help Kira and Lacus, there is also the need to give them space to do things themselves… Plus, you need to take care of your own health as well."

Flay sighed and looked away, "Listen Sai," she said softly, "if you want, we can talk more later when Kira and Lacus are fully recovered. For now, it's best to make sure they're in as good of condition as possible, and we don't want you guys exhausting yourselves either. The ship barely has enough crew to function, so those with duties need to be as capable for them as possible, since there are no substitutes. So, I just happen to be ideal for this sort of thing."

Slowly, Sai nodded, "Okay," he said. "Just don't drive yourself to the point of exhaustion; that would just worry Kira and Lacus."

"Yeah, I know." Flay replied.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, East Side of Northern Housing District, the Republic

I came out of the dream I was having can't remember a lot of it, just that it was one that was odd and didn't make much sense. It was still dark as light wasn't falling on my face, so it was still early morning currently. Since I had no pressing engagements for today or the next few days… none until I find out where the Archangel is honestly, I could sleep in! And I fully intend to take advantage of the opportunity as it's so rare for me! Especially with my bed as warm and comfortable as it is… hold on… there's something off with the current warmth. Yes, my bed can get this warm, but it doesn't happen often. And now that I take the time to take in my surroundings, there's more weight than there should be with just me laying in the bed.

I cracked my eyes open slowly as I wasn't very interested of waking up right now, but the oddity of the warmth and extra weight held my attention and wouldn't let me drop off again without explanation. My room was dark, yet my eyes were adjusting to see somewhat with the current lighting and, so I began looking around. To my left, the was nothing out of the ordinary when I turned my head that direction. However, that wasn't the case upon turning to the right, I had to blink hard a few times to make sure that I wasn't still in the dream I had been having. Right next to me in MY bed, was Sakura Clyne, the female that has a serious interest in me that I can't figure out why she has such for me. …I know I specifically told her to NOT sneak into my bed! Yet, here she is having done exactly what I told her not to do. Should I get a restraining order or something like that?! …No, that wouldn't make a difference to Sakura, she would still chase me and ignore the legal order.

My brain quickly came to full wakefulness at realizing that Sakura wasn't just in my bed, but was also rather close to me. I… attempted to roll away from the woman and out of bed, yet when I did, a pair of arms circled around my upper torso and pulled me back down to the mattress. I found myself now pulled against the woman that hadn't been invited and hold me in an embrace that I don't think I could get out of. Sakura always had strength that I could never understand how she had. Nevertheless, back to my issue, I worked to turn myself around in the embrace as I'd started with my back against Sakura's front. I then got my hands onto Sakura's shoulders and began to shake her to wake her up and get an explanation. "Sakura, wake up, get up right now as you have explaining to do," I said in a firm voice.

It took around half a minute to get Sakura to open her eyes and blink tiredly, followed by her rubbed her eyes, which released me from her embrace. I took that chance to put some distance between the woman and myself, sitting on the other side of the bed, waiting for Sakura to wake up. "Tyler, why are you awake this early?" Sakura asked.

I crossed my arms and frowned a bit, "You tell me why you're in my bed, and I'll tell you why I'm up this early." I returned in a flat tone, "Now, sit up and give me an explanation of why you did the opposite of what I set as a ground rule last night."

Oh, did I ever regret telling Sakura to sit up… for, when she had, my brain slammed on the brakes, bringing all its processes to a halt as I got a full view of what she was wearing! Sakura was wearing light salmon colored one-piece nightgown, which the word 'short' applies, but that was stretching it. The bottom ended at few inches below her hips, even clothing that are 'called' mini are longer than this piece was. The gown was held on Sakura's body by two thin spaghetti straps, one over each shoulder, which attached on the front and back of the rest of the gown. What Sakura was wearing wasn't completely revealing, but it certainly wasn't covering what most appropriate clothes do! I mean, the parts of this nightgown that cover her chest, they were somewhat see-through, and though she had underwear on, it was clear that that underwear wasn't something you find in a 'normal' store. Not that I know what stores that carry female underwear supply, just assume that it's logical and appropriate for most of it. Anyway, the rest of the gown appeared to be made of silk and it hugged her body, and appeared to be pretty thin. It clearly showed off her well defined womanly curves and brought attention to her flawless cream-colored skin.

My mouth of its own accord fell open slightly as I gaped at Sakura and the apparel she had chosen to sleep in. Words failed me, as a good amount of my logic and intelligence followed suit. In my defense, this is nature doing its job, I'm an adult after all, at least done with puberty. Seriously, I'm an eighteen-year-old male and there's a scantily clad female that's only a couple of years older than me.

Sakura woke up more fully and she noticed me staring like I was, she then gained a very confident smirk, "Like what you see Tyler?" She asked with a slightly seductive tone of voice, "I don't mind since it's you, go right ahead… or perhaps you would be interested in something more?"

Her words didn't help me, did the opposite as I muttered incoherently at both questions, which only seemed to encourage Sakura to keep going with she was. Sakura crawled forward on her hands and knees slowly towards me as she stared at me with that confident yet seductive expression. In response to that, I moved backward, until I came to the edge of the bed, my choice is to either fall to the floor or I need to change direction in which I'm crawling backwards. I moved to the right, yet, Sakura followed me as I made my way back to the middle of my king-size bed, not allowing our locked gazes to break. The woman didn't let me make an increased distance between her and myself. All the while, Sakura's confident smirk had an air of seduction growing and it really worried me!

My running or speedy crawling was brought to an end as Sakura cornered me and cut off my escape routes. I was trapped in the middle of the bed, with us being around two feet apart. The pink-haired woman looked like a cat about to pounce on its prey, all she needs are ears and a tail and it would be a precise picture. I tensed myself, preparing to throw my body either left or right when Sakura launched herself at me. I didn't have to wait long for Sakura did just that, she pounced at me and let me tell you, as pretty as Sakura is, it was scary when she's lunging at me! Even though I prepared to evade the incoming attack, Sakura was a step ahead of me and was ready for my escape attempt. The woman managed to wrap her arms around my neck and quickly pinned me down, not letting me get away from her. Next thing I know, Sakura had pressed her lips against mine in a kiss.

My mind is being torn in two by my current situation, on the one side my brain was shouting that this was dangerous and to get away immediately! The other side of this in me was being influenced by the incoming sensory input I was getting, telling me to let this happen. All I can say in this for the moment, I had no idea that Sakura would be this good at kissing! The way she was kneading my lips with her own, it didn't let me even think about ignoring the motion. That wasn't the only thing that I was noticing, like a couple of the times before now when she has chased and caught me, Sakura had a scent. Not like a perfume, the smell that I got when Sakura is around me that I believe comes from her, yet it's a fragrance that I can't breakdown exactly. There was a hint of a rosy smell and a few other things, but that's the best I can come up with to explain it.

However, the thing that I detected almost as much as Sakura kissing me, would be her body positioned over me. Hell, it's kind of hard not to note the feel of her body pressing against mine specifically, two soft somethings pressing against my chest. Now, I'm not an idiot, I've learned enough about health and specifically the female anatomy to give a very educated guess of what was pressing against my front. Admittedly, this was my first actual experience of having a woman's assets touching me on purpose… and I got to say, they're softer than I would've imagined them to be. This thought tangent kept running through my mind as I recalled, what exactly Sakura was wearing currently. All that separated the skin of our bodies, was just one layer of thin silk fabric and the cotton t-shirt and a pair of shorts I had on. And with Sakura moving and grinding her body against me like she was as she kissed me, her gown had been riding up higher and higher!

After about a minute, Sakura finally stopped pressing her lips against mine and pulled back slightly, which allowed me to breathe again. I gasped and gulped in air now that my mouth wasn't covered over, my eyes were shut as I focused on getting oxygen into my lungs. Once my head was swimming less and became clearer, I opened my eyes and saw that Sakura's face was still very close to mine, her nose was less than a centimeter from touching my own. Her body hadn't been removed from being against mine. This situation is going deep into very dangerous territory! …I can only think of one way out of this that will likely get the result I want before Sakura gets busy getting what she's after, if her actions are anything to judge by. The only problem that causes me to hesitate, what I would need to do is so outright embarrassing to me!

I took a deep breath… I'll keep my silence about this action I'm about to commit and take it to my grave… none but those closest to me can or shall ever learn about this! " **HELP, I'M ABOUT TO BE RAPED!** " I screamed as loud as I could, in blood curdling tones.

If my scream hadn't woken up the other two staying at my house, when I could've probably woken the dead, then they would have to be deaf or completely drugged beyond coherent thought, and I they better not be! Sakura ignored my desperate cry for help to the others and continued her… cuddling with me, and she added giggling softly as she clung to me. The next few minutes felt like a small yet long eternity as I was in the clutches of Sakura Clyne, she was having her way with me… and given enough time, that could take something from me that I can't retrieve back ever again.

However, thankfully, the door to my room burst open with a bang, I raised my head and saw that the salvation I'd yelled for had arrived in the form of Lisa and Athrun coming through the door, Athrun slightly behind Lisa. My struggling against Sakura increased with friends here, hoping that seeing me doing what I could to break and free myself from the woman on top of me, would get them to help me out of my plight. The attempt I was making to get free, seemed to spur the pink-haired woman onward and forward in this activity. Lisa came forward shortly after getting through the door and seeing my struggling, Athrun joined her quickly and they both began to pull Sakura off me. It took a couple of minutes for them to get Sakura off me, as she fought them and clung to me as much as she could. Yet, in the end Lisa and Athrun prevailed and managed to pry the woman away from me, to my intense relieve!

Lisa then dragged Sakura out of my bedroom. Sakura, the woman known to be colder than cold, shows little emotion, the feared Black Zephyr of ZAFT, was complaining and whining like a child being denied what they want by their parents the whole way to her room. Yes, Sakura was throwing a small tantrum as she was pulled out of my bedroom and the sounds that came from the hallway, Sakura continued her fit as Lisa kept dragging her back to her room proved the idea.

I let out a sigh and shook my head and the event I had just been forced to go through, "Tye, what was that about," asked Athrun still clearly not sure he had been seeing correctly.

My attention shifted to my blue-haired friend, "No, you weren't seeing things Athrun, that was Sakura Clyne, the infamous Black Zephyr and the Blood Princess of ZAFT. She acts quite differently when she's around me, as you saw… I'm still not used to the vast difference between the two," I replied. Then I put a hand to my temple, "But I didn't think she would go this far already… thanks for the save my friend."

Athrun slowly nodded and left my room, after he did, I exhaled, looked at the clock in the room and saw that though it was early, it wasn't worth going back to bed. So, I rolled myself out of bed to start the day, giving up the dream of sleeping in, as there was a chance that Sakura would return to my room. Then, I'd made arrangements yesterday, to have a meeting with my mom, and as my luck would have it, today is her day off for the week. Part of the reason I scheduled the meeting, was to have my mom get through the procedures for Athrun and Sakura being here. My mother had said she would be free this morning, so I had intended to wake up kind of early this morning, just not to when I did.

That being said, after an hour and a half to get everyone together and in order, which took far longer than it should've if you ask me. Athrun and I were dressed, had eaten breakfast and were ready to go in around forty-five minutes upon us waking up. Lisa and Sakura… took twice that, I'll never will understand why women need so much time to get themselves ready for things. Anyways, once we were all ready, the four of us piled into my car and I drove them and myself to the minister's residence. We were let in by the staff, Athrun and Sakura seemed to be looking around and were thinking about something, what I couldn't guess. I'd told them that they were going to meet the Republic's Prime Minister yesterday.

To say that the reaction to that statement had been interesting, would be putting it mildly. Athrun had seemed nervous about meeting with my mom. Athrun's response had been sort of funny, for he had met my mother before, but it's been a few years since he's seen her. However, he seemed nervous about this meeting, though my mother isn't mean or anything like that, maybe he's intimidated by her, though I can't think of why. Lisa had been indifferent as she was aware that the Prime Minister was my mother… one of the few that do know. I had told the point before, so this would be a friend meeting my mom.

Sakura appeared somewhat annoyed, but with Sakura, I would assume with her position, she probably has to meet with political figures often enough. Politics with the PLANTs aren't all that different than how they are on Earth, there are those that have their own agendas and see nothing wrong with doing deals with others to get what they want. So in this, with Sakura's probable experience with politics, along with her father being the Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, she could go either way good or bad. But around me, I can't predict how the woman will act at all, I just hope and pray that she doesn't embarrass me in front of my mother.

It's unfortunate, but I've had to go to great lengths to hide the identity of my family, specifically my parents' identity. Although, it shames me to do it, the need to separate my reputation and what I do for the Federation military from my private life, has been clearer the longer I've been in the service. The major reason I saw it to be so necessary, was my mother would take a hit should I get into trouble or for what I do. The Earth Alliance hasn't appreciated the things I've done against them at all and if they knew my real identity, things wouldn't end nicely. There are those in the Alliance that would not only make my life hell, but would go as far as to do the same to any related to me and those I care about. For my mom, I don't see it to be a good idea to create a political fiasco out of the things I do to protect others.

I drove all of us to the Minister's Estate and the four of us were escorted to the office in the house after we arrived. Behind the desk was my mom, the sight of her at her desk looking over documents, gave me yet another example of where I get my stubborn work ethic. Even though it's supposed to be her day off, my mother was going through paperwork, still doing work, typical. However, the expression on her face, didn't speak well of whatever she was going over, it was an expression I've seen and was when she was going over things that she didn't like or saw as ridiculous. I cleared my throat to alert the older woman of her visitors, and my mother did look up and noticed we were there. "Ah, you're a little early," my mom greeted.

I shrugged in response, "As I recall, you always did insist that punctuality is an important quality to cultivate. Oh, how did you put it so often… oh yeah, I quote, 'if you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late and should be ashamed of yourself. If you're late, then things started without you and it's your fault and loss,' end quote. At least, that's how I remember you saying the idea most of the time," I replied.

My mom sighed at what I said, putting a hand to her temple, yet I saw a small smile form on her face. "I suppose I should at least be glad that some of the ideas I tried to teach you did stick in your memory and that you apply the lessons intended. It means that you did listen to your father and me on occasion," she returned.

I chuckled a bit at my mother's reply, and kind of forgot that there were others in the room with us, but I was quickly reminded of my three companions. "You two clearly know each other so, what's the relationship?" asked Sakura, with a subtle tone of jealousy.

I twisted around, and was made aware of the others here in the same room, then focused on Sakura as she had been the one to ask the question. However, the tone she had, made me wonder if she implied something against my mother. Then, I shook my head and spoke to the group at large, "Everyone, meet the current Prime Minister of the Republic of East Asia, Ellen Blass, who as it happens, is also my mother." I spun around to face my mom, "Mom, you remember my friend Athrun Zala I would hope. This is Lisa Malto, a more recently made friend," I said pointing to Athrun and Lisa in turn as I introduced them, "And Sakura Clyne."

There was silence for a bit after I made the introductions, yet it was Sakura's voice that broke it. "Wait, you're the son of the Prime Minister of the Republic?" she asked, somewhat surprised.

I nodded, "Like you're the eldest daughter of the Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, yep," I replied.

My mother rose from the desk and came around and bowed to those with me, "It is nice to meet the two of you," mom greeted, talking to Lisa and Sakura, before she turned to Athrun, "It is good to see you again Athrun, you look even more like your mother than when you were younger."

Athrun rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Thank you ma'am, that's very kind of you to say that," he returned.

My mother hadn't only met Athrun's mother, Lenore Zala, the two had become very good friends. The woman had visited the Republic a few times as well, which had always been enjoyable, she was a very nice lady. However, I refocused my attention back on the present, "So mom, what were you looking over that has you in an irritated mood," I questioned.

My mom sighed while putting a hand to her forehead, "You noticed Tyler?" she posed.

I gave an affirmative nod, as I've picked up the skill over the years. My mother walked back over to the desk and picked up a page, then came over to me and held out the said page. I took the paper and looked at it, and in a few seconds, I fully understood why my mother was irritated like she was. The page was part of a document and went as follows:

 _To the government of the Republic of East Asia_

 _The Republic, a neutral nation that allies itself with the Human Federation, is not taking into consideration the current state of world affairs as they have become. It is urged to review current events and consider its lack of action and what such shows to the rest of the world. As a nation on and of Earth, there is a responsibility to protect the world, its best interests and not to only seek to preserve its own domestic peace. The Republic has received continually repeated requests for cooperation in efforts to make the whole world safe and not just part of it. On behalf of all participating member states of the united Earth Alliance ask and urge the Republic to assist in this conflict that involves the Earth and those who threaten it. We await your reply and hope that you make the right decision in this._

 _The President and Members of the Leadership of the Atlantic Federation, along with the other member states of the Earth Alliance_

The document went on with the drivel that the senders were saying the government of the Republic should do. I stopped scanning the 'suggestions' after the first three as each made me angry and fed a desire to break something. It was obvious to me, by the wording and the suggestions, whom the senders were. The Atlantic Federation, the senders, were basically saying to leave the Human Federation, throw away our values, both moral and political, to become 'members' of the Earth Alliance and do what they said going forward. What the words meant, were different than what was inferred and implied, like night and day in my opinion. The Alliance wasn't doing well against ZAFT, there was lots of mounting evidence that proved the facts as they were. Although the leaders of the Alliance won't admit that they're losing right now so instead, they're putting pressure on those who were a part of the Federation to work for them plus, I would assume they are desperate to get their hands on Federation tech. It's not a threat… just yet, but I get the feeling that it'll become so soon enough.

I handed the page back to my mom and gritted my teeth, "I understand… why you're irritated mother, what's on the page is not only a load of stinking crap, but complete malarkey," I growled low. "I'm really not surprised it's being put the way it is, since it's coming from the leadership of the Atlantic Federation. Those at their head never have cared about anyone or anything other than themselves, their views and vendettas."

"What are you talking about Tyler?" asked Lisa.

It wasn't me that answered the question, but my mother, "A… request, from the Atlantic Federation, on behalf of the Earth Alliance the document says. Urging those of us who are the political leaders of the Republic, to reconsider our current standing within the Federation and side with the Alliance," my mom remarked flatly.

Sakura stayed silent, yet Athrun didn't, "But, why would any part of the Alliance's leadership even ask any of the member nations of the Human Federation, especially one of the two founding ones, to join them? It doesn't make sense, more so with the treaty between the Alliance and the Federation," he said.

My mom gained a pitying expression, "To most people, especially those who possess common sense, it doesn't make logical sense at all Athrun. However, something you must understand, from behind the scenes, there is a growing group in the leadership of the Earth Alliance that have extremely differing views than the Human Federation as well as most in the PLANTs and ZAFT. Yet, they want the power that the Federation has to protect its citizens and interests, to fulfill their ambitions," my mother iterated.

I snorted, "In other words, they're so focused on their hatred of Coordinators, that they don't care who gets hurt or killed for them to get what they want. For the Republic specifically, the reason the Alliance wants this nation at their beckon and call, is for the 'Shen Lóng', our massdriver, along with the Teswa Research & Development complex," I added.

My mother sighed, "Yes, they certainly want them, and add to that, they are nonverbally slapping and discounting the values we hold here, moral and non-moral ones, by telling us to essentially throw them away. For instance, in the document, one of the suggestions given, is that we exile or deport all the Coordinators that live within our nation. Or the other form of the idea suggested as a separate item, would be in my personal view worse, to register and 'tag' Coordinators and use them for our own benefit without treating them as people. Either way is a type of abuse that is unacceptable to be done to anyone. It should not matter whether one is a Natural-type or a Coordinator, or any other type of human, they are all human beings when all is said and done. What matters is what a person does with what they have that matters the most and how a person with be judged," she stated.

I nodded strongly, "Right you are mom! Honestly, the 'leadership' of the Atlantic Federation can go screw themselves and have it recorded if you ask me. For them to try to force their ridiculous views and hatred of those that are different, it's wrong! They're using the 'crime of existence' to justify what they do and that's not right," I remarked.

"Crime of existence? What are you talking about Tye," asked Athrun in slight confusion.

It was my mom that answered the question that was a very philosophical one in its subject matter. "The 'crime of existence' is a philosophical argument that has been debated for an unknown length of time, but it was around even before the beginning of the Cosmic Era as historical records have noted. The idea of Natural vs. Coordinator falls under the age-old argument much like different ethnicity did long ago. The easiest way to explain this, is to use an allegory. Let us say that a man and a woman have a child, to some this child represents a danger of some sort. Then there's a group that reasons, if the child had not been born, then the world would be a safer place as there would be no danger." Athrun was about to interrupt, but mom held up a hand to stop him, "Whether that view is true or not, is irrelevant to this allegory. The two who brought this child into the world are also blamed for the possible danger however, not as much as the child who the hatred is aimed at from those who fear them. Yet, the child has done nothing wrong at all, and only wishes to live their life in peace. Do you see the glaring contradiction within this example," my mother finished.

"Simply put, the child's crime is simply being born, which accusation itself isn't in any way fair. A child can no more be held responsible for coming into life as they are, than someone can stop the movement of the plants of the solar system around the sun. Hence, the conundrum in this argument and why it makes no logical sense. You can't truly and honestly blame someone for an event they had absolutely no control over or choice in," I stated clearly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

It was mid-evening of the fourth day since landing on Earth, Kira and Lacus had been allowed to go back to their quarters for the rest of their recovery. Flay, wishing to help, decided to keep an eye on both Kira and Lacus, until they both recovered fully. So, the red head made her way to their quarters and knocked on the door, "Kira, Lacus? I'm coming in," said Flay.

She opened the door to Kira's quarters, which they were sharing for now, to see the two sitting on their respective beds, their robot pets twirling around them. She smiled softly as the two looked up at her, "I was just bringing something to you," she said, just as she'd told Sai, she'd spent a lot of time watching over the two, with nothing else to do for the time being.

Flay held out two paper flowers to them. "The mechanics found these in the cockpits of the Strike and Asuka… they look like the ones we made for Junius Seven." Flay looked at them uncertainly. "Is… there a connection there?"

"Sort of," said Lacus as she accepted the blue flower. "You remember that girl, El? She gave these to us before boarding the Menelaos launch, as a thank you."

"Oh, I see," said Flay as Kira accepted the yellow flower. The redhead smiled. "I think she picked that color because it matches your eyes."

"Hmm…" mused Lacus.

"Well, it's late," said Flay. "I'm going to bed now, you two just rest."

"Okay," said Kira. "Good night Flay."

"Good night," added Lacus. Flay gave them a slight nod and left.

They were quiet for a few minutes, staring at the flowers, before Kira turned to Lacus to continue the conversation Flay had unwittingly interrupted.

"So, Sakura was leading that last battle?" asked Kira, "by what chief Murdoch said, Tye said as much."

Lacus nodded, clutching the paper flower a little tighter, "Yes, she was, but Sakura was… well, she was acting different," she said. "Kira, the last time you saw Sakura was almost four years ago. You remember?"

Kira nodded, thinking back to that time.

 _-Flashback-_

Yamato Residence, Copernicus City

Sakura watched her little sister Lacus as she 'cuddled' with her friend Kira Yamato. She hadn't much of an issue with the boy, it was odd as most males that tried to get close to Lacus irked Sakura greatly and she made sure that such fools knew that she felt that way. But, as she kept watching the pair, there shortly came a point that Sakura would not say quiet. "You two really should try to be a LITTLE less affectionate with each other," she commented teasingly as she smiled down at the two twelve-year-olds leaning against each other as they watched TV. The two sprang apart, blushing faintly, looking up at her. Sakura smiled. "You wouldn't want your fiancée getting jealous, now would you?"

Lacus glared at Sakura, "You'd rather he gets jealous or call things off anyway," she said with a slight huff.

Sakura laughed a bit, "That's true, but that's because I'm protecting you, since no one else seems to do the job. Even Kira doesn't have my approval yet, but he's closer than Athrun Zala," returned Sakura.

"Really Sakura, it isn't like that, and Athrun didn't get a choice in the arrangement either, he told me that," muttered Kira.

"Sure it isn't, I'll believe you for the moment, now… what are you two watching?" Sakura glanced at the TV and blinked, "A concert?"

"Kira seems to enjoy listening to female pop artists," said Lacus with a slight grin. Kira blushed slightly, shaking his head in denial. "Oh, don't try that with us Kira!" said Lacus.

"Well, music is one of the most wondrous thing in the world," said Sakura with a bit of a far-off look in her eyes.

"Well… my interest was piqued a few years ago by Sheryl Nomie," admitted Kira. Sakura and Lacus both shared shocked looks at that. "I know she disappeared from the music scene before I was even born, but when I heard her music… well, I guess you could say I fell in love with it. I started listening to music a lot after that, so," Kira trailed off in his mumbling.

"I see," said Lacus softly. "Hmm," She coughed, clearing her throat, then took a deep breath.

 _Everyone calls me "fairy"  
I try to live up to it._

Kira and Sakura stared at Lacus in surprise as she began to sing one of Nomie's songs in a near-perfect imitation.

 _I can't feel the weight in my heart.  
That's why I chose to fly in the sky._

"Lacus," breathed Sakura softly, staring at her baby sister in shock… and what might possibly could've been a touch of envy.

Kira started to relax, listening to his friend's perfect singing of a song that he remembered listening to over and over again just a few years back.

 _I was shaken by love from meeting you, and my wings lost their way._ _  
_ _Exposed to the rain, they are wet, and they woke the sleeping lifeforms._ _  
_ _Fly away, for another day.  
Call for me with your voice._

 _-End Flashback -_

Kira shook away the memory before he got distracted and went about asking Lacus to sing something, which wouldn't be good for her health right now anyway. "I remember," he said. "It was the first time I heard you sing." Kira said.

Lacus nodded, "You know all about the resentment between us," she said. "I was always living in Sakura's shadow, but I had the one talent Sakura wished to have more than the ones she possessed. What you don't know is a lot of other stuff that happened with her."

"Like?" asked Kira.

"Well, Sakura discovered her talent for combat," said Lacus. "Combat, military leadership… she had a knack for it. She's always been highly capable at almost anything she puts her mind to, but she was a really good fighter and commander. So, she worked to cultivate those skills. She's called the Blood Princess for a reason… and there's also reasons she's called the Black Zephyr too."

"That would be?" questioned Kira.

"For a while, sis was… someone who fights for the sake of it. She loved combat and challenges, the adrenaline rush was, to use an old metaphor, better than sex for her… not that I think she's done that with anyone. Yet, she still hates war in and of itself, but she loves combat, for the push and challenges that it provides. However, killing, destruction and hatred, those are the roots of her hatred for war, even though it's where she thrives. But then Endymion happened, and she lost her team… her second family, including her childhood friend who she cherished and opened up to, perhaps more than her own family."

"Wow," said Kira slowly, "I didn't know that…"

Lacus continued, "After the events at Endymion, Sakura was lethargic in public, so most didn't even think much of it, but in private, Sakura was falling apart into a complete wreck. She blamed herself for getting everyone killed, and then, when she was sent back out to L4, she was mostly going through the motions… until Lieutenant La Flaga showed up. The prospect of a challenge that even the other two top ZAFT aces had never quite beat brought her fighting spirit back out, though she's a lot more restrained." Lacus paused, "Still, she'll keep coming after us as long as she can, keeping her lips sealed… and going out of her way to fight the two of us head-on, both to help us improve and for the sake of challenging our mobile suits. But she'll do what she can to keep us safe."

"Considering what she hit us with back in orbit, she has a funny way of showing it," mutter Kira.

"Yes, but I don't think she'd have done that lightly," said Lacus.

She hesitated, remembering the change and vast difference Sakura had shown when Tyler had shown up. Her sister had been acting happier than she had when she'd been with her team. It had made so little sense to Lacus and she wouldn't have believed that her sister would be like that if she hadn't seen it herself! Looking at the paper flower and clutched it to her chest, she spoke again, "Kira," said Lacus.

Kira looked to his pink haired friend in slight confusion, "Yes?" He asked.

"Well, there was something… odd recently, during the battle in Orbit in fact. You remember how Tye has said he avoids my sister," Lacus inquired.

Kira thought for a moment, Tyler had indeed told Kira himself about an 'issue' that he had with Sakura. By what he had described, it had sounded like Sakura had be stalking him or something like that. It had sounded crazy and hard to believe, especially with some of the specifics times that Tyler had described, Kira thought he had been exaggerating since Sakura wouldn't do such things. Kira nodded slowly, "Yeah, I remember much of what Tye has said, probably has bad experiences with Sakura in the past. But, he wouldn't want to hurt your feeling since you respect her so much, so he describes them in an odd way. Why do you ask Lacus," he asked.

Lacus hesitated, "Well, while Sakura and I were fighting each other in the atmosphere, Tye got between us and just after he spoke… Sakura changed. She sounded happy and… well, infatuated with Tyler I think. I haven't heard her talk like she did for years… since before the war started. It makes me wonder if what Tye has said about my sister and what she has done around him, isn't actually true in some way. I mean, Tye doesn't have a tendency to lie to us," she said.

Kira was silent for a moment, "So then, there is a chance that we will have to go against her again?" he asked.

Lacus nodded, "I believe so, though I can't say when it will happen or where." She answered.

In the ship's hangar, Murdoch finished typing on a computer connected to Skygrasper One. He heaved a sigh of weariness, wiping sweat from his forehead, and turned to face the pilot sitting in the Skygrasper in question.

"Listen Lieutenant," called Murdoch, "what do you say we call it a night? You won't really know what fine adjustments are needed until you get it up in the air. And quite honestly, we both need sleep to be effective in this work."

Mu stretched, heaving a sigh himself. "Yeah, you're right," he said as he clambered out of the cockpit. "The health of our two young pilots is definitely starting to improve by what I hear, so, we may be able to get out of here as early as tomorrow. Although I would've preferred getting on our way and into safer territory than we are in right now."

The door to the hanger opened and Sophia and Krystal came in, "Didn't I tell you Sophia, Mu and Murdoch would still be down here working?" Krystal said to Sophia.

Sophia sighed and nodded, "Yes, you are right Krystal, Mu probably works himself more than he should," both women turned to face the two in the hanger, "Although, I'm agree with you Lieutenant La Flaga," Sophia said. "You two need to put down the tools and get some sleep."

Both men looked at one another and knew it would be best to admit defeat as these two women would unlikely give up and leave them alone. So, best to call it a night…

Meanwhile, on the Archangel's bridge, it was quiet as the ship kept moving forward. "The ship can be cooled by routing excess heat through the black hole exhaust system," said Pal to Kuzzey in the CIC, wanting to reassure the boy that they probably wouldn't have a fight on their hands in the near future. "As long as we can evade infrared scans by satellites, we just might pull this off. Our radar's unreliable, but that means theirs is too."

At that moment, the main door of the bridge opened, and Tolle and Miriallia stepped through.

"We're here to begin our shift," said Miriallia.

"Don't give me that!" said Arnold sternly. "You're late!"

"Sorry," apologized Miriallia.

Arnold just shook his head and decided not to worry about it as the two sat at their stations. The help of the students from Heliopolis was appreciated, but they had so much to learn about what being a member of the military was about, since they enlisted.

"And that's all because of the Neutron jammers?" asked Kuzzey, returning to the subject he'd been on with Pal before his friends arrived. "But isn't there a way to get rid of them?"

"That's impossible," said Pal, shaking his head. "They've been fired deep below the Earth's surface. We don't even know how many there are or where a lot of them are located. If it were possible, then someone would've done it already. The way they came down, it's suspected that specific targets were chosen before they were sent down to Earth. But, as a result, radio waves and fission-based energy have been adversely affected, might as well say the barely work, if they do at all. However, it's still a lot better than having nuclear missiles flying around all over the place. If ZAFT had retaliated in kind after the nuclear attack on Junius Seven, then there would be no Earth right now. Even if the Earth Alliance doesn't want to admit it, ZAFT made a hard yet noble choice in not blasting us with nuclear missile after the Bloody Valentine occurred."

"Anything unusual?" asked Natarle as she stepped unexpectedly into the bridge.

"Nothing detected ma'am," said Pal, looking up from the CIC for a moment. Of course, this was Kuzzey's station, but no harm in sparing the kid from the need for military discipline, if only for a moment.

Natarle mentally noted Pal's report as she walked to the front of the bridge and offered a bottle of water to Arnold. "Do we have the data on the hull's distortion?" she asked.

"Yes. Thanks," said Arnold as he took the bottle. "These are just simple measurements. The stress distortion seems to be within acceptable limits, the details can be seen…" Arnold trailed off as he tried releasing the water bottle in mid-air and it dropped unceremoniously to the floor.

"Petty officer Neumann, please," said Natarle as she stepped around him and retrieved the bottle, "try to remember we're no longer in a weightless state here on Earth."

"I-I'm sorry about that," he apologized.

"Sonar is detecting only biologics below us," said Natarle, scanning Arnold's station read-out boards.

"What does that mean?" asked Tolle.

Arnold turned to look at the copilot. "That there's nothing out of the ordinary in the ocean we're in right now." Arnold then turned to Natarle, "So then, where's our next destination?"

Natarle thought for a moment, "We can't go back and our eventual goal is still JOSH-A Alaska, however, we need supplies." She looked over the small map on Arnold's display, "The best course right now would be to Human Federation territory. They aren't against resupplying ships from the Alliance or ZAFT."

Nodding, Arnold looked at the map as well, "The closest in that would be the Equatorial Union."

Natarle agreed, "Set course for Delias then," she said.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **The ending point is the same. Now a 'question' for you readers. I have considered whether to make a scene after the two shuttles land in the Republic. The scene would be Cagalli meeting with Ellen Blass and having a talk about things. Would any be interested in seeing something like that, or would it be a waste and detract? As always, please some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think. Until next time, peace out to you all!**


	12. Phase 12: Meeting Again

**A/n**

 **This is the revised version of Chapter 12 of Gundam Seed: the Federation. Not much more I can say for this other than, On with the story!**

* * *

Phase 12: Meeting again

March 1st, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, the Republic

A few days had passed by since the meeting with my mom and my house guests, making it about a week since landing and being separated from the Archangel and her crew. It's been nice to spend some time at home, not saying that it's not, but… it has had its issues. Of course, the stay in the hospital hadn't been something I wanted to do, but no real choice with me out cold. I'd be fine after that… except for the fact that Sakura crawls into my bed every FREAKING night since Lisa, Athrun and she started staying at my place! The woman had been so gosh darn clingy and invasive into my personal space, I've had little privacy.

This morning was no different than the previous ones this week while I've been home other than the first one. When I woke… Sakura was in my bed as she shouldn't be, and 'hugging' me I might add. I had really put a sizable effort to get away from the pink-haired woman, yet to no avail so far. The amount of sleep for me hasn't change during this week, but the quality certainly has, and it was taking its toll on me! While I suffer, Sakura appeared to be having the time of her life… at my expense. Lisa and Athrun did help me from time to time, but Sakura wouldn't be denied what she wanted, or that's what I was finding out. …I miss being around Lacus, she's so much more reasonable than her older sister.

However, I got a 'get out of jail free' card for part of the day, that came in the form of a call from a friend of mine that works at Teswa R&D complex. Apparently, he needed me to come there and answer a few questions about the mobile suits that Athrun and I had come down in. The Aegis and the Shadow had been sent to Teswa after we pilots had been extracted so that they could be repaired.

I was more than willing to take the chance to get time away from Sakura… I mean, I'm forced to take the time to go and provide assistance to the scientists at Teswa, yes, that's what I meant to say! I went to tell the good news, um… break the situation to my house guests that something very urgent had come up that desperately needed my attention and had to spend time away from them. Athrun was fine with it, Lisa, I think for one, if not both she and Athrun, knew I was using whatever I'd been asked to do as a way to escape Sakura. And of course, the pink-haired woman herself… well, she wanted to come with me. I don't think I've said no so quick to almost anything before now, with the no I told Sakura to her coming with me.

After telling my guests the news, I got myself ready for the day and I took my car and drove the distance to the northern train station. For the Republic of East Asia, there's an underground transit system in place that connects the major cities, heavily residential areas and other sites of note within the Republic. Some of those sites would include the facilities around and for the control and management of "Shen Lóng" the Republic's mass driver. Such major facilities are more regulated and secured than the lines between cities and residential areas. The same is true of the Teswa Research & Development complex and you need either a military ID with a minimum level of clearance or an ID for those who work at Teswa. In fact, the underground transit system is one of the few ways to get to the complex, which helps to keep the actual, physical location secret from the Alliance, ZAFT and most citizens in the Human Federation.

It's no secret that the Earth Alliance leadership, both military and political, wish, want and have even begged to get access to Teswa and other development facilities. They've also threatened and attempted to intimidate the governmental leaders of the Republic and the Federation's military Admiralty… to no success, but still. ZAFT is better, but they too, have asked and requested in different ways to gain access to Federation scientific and development data as well. Neither side have received anything, mostly because it is the view of the top brass that sharing of data and/or information to either side, would make things worse in this war. That's not what the Human Federation wants, peace is the goal for the Federation and its goal for itself and its citizens… preferably, for everyone if possible.

Anyway, I parked just outside the entrance to the station in the northern sector of Shira and descended down into the station itself. Flashed my military credentials to those at the ticket station, they simply nodded and waved me through. I waited for five minutes before the train I would ride to Teswa arrived in the station. Once it came to a stop, I boarded the train and took a seat. The train itself, was pretty empty, but then, I was riding after the morning rush, yet before the midmorning pileup. Yet, it wasn't empty, but sparse.

Technically speaking, Teswa is in the northeast area of the Republic and the area the complex takes up isn't small at all. However, most of the complex is underground or hidden by the natural landscape. That means that looking down from above Earth won't help and Teswa is built with material that sensors can't see. Thankfully, the transit system that the Republic has and uses, isn't slow, quite the opposite. It took around twenty minutes for the train to come to the station at Teswa R&D. I got off and approached the entrance of the complex, which is where the security checking starts for this place.

As this is the most advance scientific development facility that the Human Federation has on Earth and possibly off of Earth as well, security is taken very seriously and is tight. Even with my Military ID with the level of clearance I have, which isn't low, it took me a good fifteen minutes to get through the security.

When that was done, I found that I did have someone waiting for me. The man was six feet tall, fairly thin overall, but not in a sickly way, looks good for a man that's thirty-six. His hair was of medium length and black in color, had a tendency to come down straight. The blue eyes that he had were still visible behind the red square semi-rimmed glasses. Currently, the man was wearing black slacks and a blue dress shirt with red tie, and last but not least, the customary white lab coat. I smile as I walked up to him, his name was Carlos Neil and he was a scientist here, one of the ones who unofficially ran things in areas of the complex. He's a Natural, one of those who proves that it doesn't matter if you're born Naturally or have genetic alterations… kind makes me wonder if Sai won't do amazing things as he gets older as this man reminds me of my glasses wearing friend. Anyways, Carlos was looking over reports of some sort were I to guess and so, wasn't paying a great deal of attention to what was going on around himself.

"Busy as always, eh Carlos" I commented.

Carlos looked up from the page, "Ah Tyler, a very quick response to my request, I didn't expect to see you for at least an hour." He replied.

I frowned nervously, "Um well, happened to be free to come down, so I say why not," I said

Carlos stared at me, before pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, "If you say so, I'll not ask further as it sounds like you don't want to talk about it."

I nodded, and Carlos rose from the seat that he'd been sitting in, and I followed him as he led the way into the Teswa complex. Now, let me say this about this research facility, Teswa isn't small in any way! This complex is for scientific research of course, but not just one specific area of science gets worked on here at Teswa. There's a reason the complex is known to be one of the most advance development facilities that the Federation has, and it's because the scientists that work here tend to do work in multiple areas and also bring in their own expertise and share them with each other. Such has amazing results, no denying that fact!

My friend Carlos led me to the area that he tends to spend his time, which is where mobile suit development is done. Yes, the Human Federation does have access, the ability and does build and develop mobile suits. ZAFT and the Earth Alliance do suspect this fact, but have no proof of their suspicion. Carlos is one of the best MS researchers in the world and colonies, doesn't look like it, but that's how he is. My friend… well, simply put he's a GEEK, and I mean a seriously obsessive one at that! If he didn't have a wife and daughter at home to return to, Carlos wouldn't leave the lab, he would live here… kind of does sometimes by what I hear, even has a cot in his office.

Anyways, as I came into the MS lab behind Carlos, I instantly spotted my mobile suit, the Shadow standing in a maintenance cage. A good portion of the Shadow's plating that covers the internal components of the machine were off as mechanics were doing work on my suit. I wouldn't say no to a free and thorough overhaul which the Shadow needs after going through reentry among other things I've put it through over the last few weeks. The other interesting thing I noted, was that the Aegis was also here, in a cage dock that was next to the Shadow. The Aegis was undergoing the same treatment as my own machine was. I would guess that the scientist and mechanics were using the original specs that my team had gotten at Heliopolis. And by the way those working were showing excitement around both mobile suits, they were happy to work on them.

Carlos guided me to his office, which was in a room just off of the development floor and he shut the door behind me, cutting off the sound of the work going on. My friend then went over and sat down at the desk in the office, looking to me, "Tyler, I'm hoping you could answer a few questions for me concerning the two mobile suits you brought with you upon your return to the Republic." Carlos said to me.

I shrugged, "I'll try my best, but I don't know everything about those two machines Carlos." I replied.

My friend nodded and began, "I was wondering if you knew who any of the developers at Heliopolis's Morgenroete were specifically," posed Carlos.

I thought for a moment, of the people that I was aware that were involved in the development and construction of the Alliance prototypes, I only knew one much at all. That person was professor Kato and that was more a guess with the evidence I had collected. "No, I can't say I do, I was positioned more around the college rather than Morgenroete itself. My teammate Alan didn't mention any names of note that I can recall. Why do you ask?" I asked out of curiosity.

Carlos brought up data on the display on his desk, "Because, one or more of them at one time had to have worked in Federation weapon development, even if they don't now," he returned.

My eyes widened a bit at the implications Carlos was making, "And how do you figure that?" I inquired.

A holographic image appeared in the middle of the office and it formed into a design spec of the Shadow. Carlos continued, "I say that due to the fact that the suit you have been piloting has federation technology in it, you can't find a few pieces of equipment that this unit has with the Earth Alliance or ZAFT. Although, I have to say, whoever it was, they've done an impressive job adapting Federation tech to work with the systems that the Alliance used in this prototype series. And I would think you understand that the Alliance systems don't work or play well with others," Iterated Carlos.

It was true that I had figured out that there was Federation equipment built into the Shadow, it had been fairly clear the more I delved into the systems of the mobile suit. Then, what Carlos had said about the Alliance systems not working or playing well with others, was the major difficulty I had been working against in the streamlining of the Shadow's operating system over and over again. I'd wonder what whoever was building this machine was thinking, though hiding the Shadow's existence made more sense with Federation tech being at stake. "I have seen some things that would be designed by the Federation, but what equipment precisely are you referring to Carlos?" I questioned.

The image of the Shadow zoomed in on the head and rotated to the right side, with the hidden scope coming out. Personally, I had to admit that the scope had proven handy in many situations already so far to me and I'd come to like the equipment. "One of the major ones, is the hidden targeting scope, it's definitely a piece of Federation equipment, one that's going into the next generation of mobile suits. Same for the detection system that is built in to work with this scope and it's the one that Federation scientists came up with, I was one of them myself. Then there's the 'Echo Trace Emitter', which makes this machine invisible to any and all sensors, that ZAFT and the Earth Alliance have. Hence, why I was hoping you knew any of the developers, for some of those who helped with the systems have gone missing over the last year," Carlos trailed off.

I nodded in understanding, but keeping my mouth closed as I had nothing that I could say about those who had been developing my mobile suit. My friend kept going when I said nothing, "The other question that I'm not alone in wondering, would be what information you have, if any on the transformation capabilities that the X303 Aegis has. For it's very likely based on Federation technology that the fighters have built with," said Carlos.

The rest of the conversation focused on the five Alliance machines and what I and the team had learned after seeing them being used. Teswa might have the blueprints and designs for the Alliance prototypes, but that doesn't give data on their performance that came after that.

 **-Line Break-  
**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

"You know, I think this ship may have a future career in battlefield training if things don't work out," said Sophia as she worked on the final adjustments on the Skygrasper simulator.

"Well, we've got the two current top aces in the entire Earth Alliance, and arguably the two most brilliant rookie pilots I've ever heard of," said Murdoch, "We had a hell of a Federation pilot, so I really can't dispute that belief."

Sophia smiled slightly, patting the simulator almost fondly, "It's not perfect," she said. "Right now, it's not able to run simulations smoothly just yet and it will still take time and tuning to make it run realistic simulations. I'm more amazed you guys managed to put programs together that could do that idea at all. But, rumor is Sai's working on it, showing to have a bit of a knack for programing, where I don't. Then, when Ensign Yamato returns, hopefully he'll be able to upgrade the system with better scenarios. Currently, it only is a shoot and dodge game, because some idiot higher up didn't think to give us proper simulations. And don't… get me started on the lack of data recent or otherwise to build them with I'm forced to work without."

"Well, the lack of data is probably a good sign," said Murdoch, "It means we haven't seen that much combat since getting the Skygraspers. Those kids haven't been so fortunate, still on the road to recovery I understand, even if they're adamant in working."

"Hmm." Sophia looked up at the Strike, which Lacus was currently working on, then she glanced over to the Asuka that Kira was doing adjustments to. "Both seem pretty anxious, but I can't blame either of them, to be expected after the battle in orbit. With ZAFT's Black Zephyr possibly tracking us, who knows how long we got until she finds us again and we won't have the 8th orbital fleet's support and that made a difference."

Murdoch nodded with a frown, "Yeah, that was all the motivation me and my boys needed to double-time all our work. Made the needed repairs and we've been working on wrist-mounts that the Astray Frame can equip flamethrowers on, then eject them when the fuel runs out. It's so Kira will at least have options to work with, and Lacus asked us to mount a dual-grenade launcher on the Strike's right wrist. Kids are thinking about what could be coming seriously, I'll give them that."

Mu made his way up the stairs towards the entrance of the hanger, leaving Sophia and Murdoch discussing possibilities for the mobile suits and skygraspers. At the door, when it opened Murrue was on the other side, Mu moved and let her in, "What brings you down here captain?" asked Mu.

"Just came to see how things were going," replied Murrue.

Mu and Murrue stared down at the activity; mechanics were currently mounting the grenade launcher on the Strike, the right wrist only as to leave the left free for the shield of the Aile and Sword Striker packs, especially the latter. Lacus had been working on adapting the Strike's OS to use it, Kira had also been helping some of the mechanic, including the newest mechanic that had joined the crew, Arthur Nicks. Then there was Flay, who was currently cleaning out the cockpit of the Asuka while Kira was busy with other tasks, since Kira had apparently left a bit of a mess in there.

At seeing the girl cleaning, Murrue couldn't keep silent, "So, I'm curious, how long has this been going on?" she asked, gesturing towards Flay.

"Beats me," said Mu with a shrug. "Every time I saw that girl, it seemed like she didn't care for Coordinators all that much, which isn't surprising given her father's behavior. But, after Artemis, that has been changing from what I've been told, she's really gone out of her way to look after the two of them."

"She's Sai's girlfriend, right? Maybe he knows more?" posed Murrue.

"Fiancée actually," said Mu. "But yeah, he'll probably know more. If you're really concerned about it, you should ask him when he's off-duty."

Mu turned and left the hangar, Murrue following after him and soon coming up to walk next to him, "You're not at all concerned about the situation?" she asked. "I'll grant that it's easy to forget, but Kira and Lacus are just kids without any military training at all."

Mu took a moment to think about how to answer, for he had his suspicions about the three teens that were pilots, even if Tyler wasn't here right now. "I don't dispute that Kira and Lacus no military training. Tyler was the only one that I'm sure had military training even before we found out he was a member of the Federation military. How much training and what kind, I can't even begin to guess. However, with the pink princess… I'm not sure if that's true, the way Lacus has piloted, it's unlikely just natural talent," said Mu, coming to a halt.

"Huh?" muttered Murrue, turning to face him.

"It's like… well, I think someone taught Lacus how to pilot," admitted Mu. "It's easy to miss, but the way she flies is a bit more fluid and controlled, she's actually a bit more skilled than Kira. He's just a faster learner and is improving on a steep learning curve and has stronger physical and mental capabilities. Outside of that though, I'll admit that I haven't seen a hint of military training, nothing like what Tyler has and that kid hides his better than most soldiers I've met can hope to do."

"What do you think it means?" Murrue asked.

"With Tyler, the way he fought, it's clear as day that he's done it before, but to those who haven't fought on a battlefield, it wouldn't be visible." Mu paused for a moment, considering the words that would get across what he was trying to convey, "With the pink princess… I can't say for sure, but it may be nothing, or may be something. If she was taught, then whoever did the job was not a novice, I can't say much more than that. At any rate, she's here and on our side, we've trusted her this far, I see no reason not to continue that. But that's off-topic, you were worrying about the situation with that Allster girl."

Murrue nodded, "We're in a tense situation, and they don't have military discipline to help keep their emotions under control." Murrue then put a hand to her chin, "And now that you mention it, Tyler has proven that he has that kind of discipline looking back," said Murrue. "I hate to imagine where this could lead if there are no boundaries set."

"Well, personally, I think it's a good thing," said Mu. "They require each other for emotional support among other things. That girl and Sai will be a huge help to them in a way that the rest of us just can't be to them." Mu paused, and smiled slightly, "If you're worried about potential fraternization though, remember that this is a mixed crew."

"Wait, I didn't say anything about _that_!" Murrue shot back.

Mu smirked, eyeing her slyly, "I didn't say you had, I was just putting it out there," he said. "Besides, I hear Orb's kind of big on the open relationship concept, much like a good portion of the Human Federation."

"Lieutenant!" yelped Murrue.

The ace pilot couldn't help but laugh at his captain's flustered state.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Western Outskirts of Shira, The Republic

It was now the start of week two since landing in the Republic, and it was high time that I reported to my superior officer here. It's a responsibility I've as a soldier and member of the Federation Military. I know going into this it will be a long report, can't say exactly how long or even estimate, but I do know it'll be long. I made the trip to military command, which lies on the outskirts of the north end of Shira pretty much in the mountains behind the city. And after showing my ID, I headed to the officer that I would need to see. Thankfully, I knew where the office was and so went straight to it to save myself time.

Knocked on the door and was told to enter, and so I did. The man sitting at the desk in the room, appeared to be in early fifties. His height was 180 centimeters, though he was sitting down at the moment, so he wasn't at full height. The man had short black hair, brown eyes and a goatee and moustache on his face. He was wearing a Federation officer's uniform, however, his was white denoting high rank. Where Captain Shepard's uniform had been blue and black, the black was the same, but the white took place of the blue. The shoulder pads that were gold and had two stars below the Federation crest and on the cuffs of the coat, there was one wide gold with a thin gold band above the wide one. The man's name was Bart Maxwell, and he was the top commanding military officer in the Republic and was the head of the Federation forces here.

I snapped to and saluted, "General Maxwell, Commander Tyler McGregor, here to report upon previous assignment sir," I stated.

General Maxwell nodded to me, "At ease McGregor, good to see that you're doing better after going through reentry and landing. Do have a seat, so that you can begin your report, don't doubt with you being gone for a year, you have a great deal of things to cover." He said gesturing towards a chair in front of his desk.

I sat in the chair, took a deep breath and began to go over the events that had happened over the last near fourteen months. Summarized the majority of what went down at Heliopolis up to when things went south, as most of it wouldn't be unknown to the Admiral. Along with the specs of the Archangel and the Alliance prototype mobile suits blueprints, there wasn't a lot of note during the time my team and I were gathering information. That lasted for around an hour and a half, I didn't see a reason to bring up the time with those I had befriended at Heliopolis, so I did not. Then I went into the events that led to the current issues that are being faced. I began with coming to the realization that ZAFT would make an attempt to steal from Morgenroete's complex at Heliopolis. I managed to keep my voice even and my manner calm when I gave the details of how Heliopolis collapse, as to an extent, some of the fault falls to me and my team for not being able to stop it.

Next, I went over the time I was on the Donnen and even the sight I got of Le Creuset on the ZAFT Destroyer. Then moved on to the meeting with the PLANTs Supreme Council, wasn't happy with how that went. My reporting of events up to my landing here in the Republic went on for hours. There was one break for a meal, but other than that the report was as I expected it to be, long.

My reporting to General Maxwell, had lasted for hours, so since I started in the early afternoon and when I had finished, it was mid-evening. One of the longer recountings that I've given that I can remember. I made my way back to my place and had dinner with my house guests, before I decided to turn in a little early as it had been a busy day for me. I was so tired that I didn't even tell Sakura to not sneak into my bed like I had the last few nights, plus, she ignores me anyways. So, I fell asleep rather quickly, that's how tired I was.

However, I was woken by an incoming call, I rolled over and tapped the communicator, "This is McGregor, who is calling and why at this time of night," I asked in a sleepy voice.

"Apologies commander McGregor for calling at this late hour, yet apparently it was said that you wanted to know when there was information about the Earth Alliance vessel called the Archangel. Information on the ship just came in, and they are heading for Delias, will likely dock there tomorrow early morning. That is all commander," said the Federation officer before he hung up.

My head sunk back to the center of the pillow and I was about to go back to sleep, planning to deal with the new information about the Archangel tomorrow. However, before I could return to dreamland, motion to my right caught my attention. I glanced over to the right, I saw that once again, like since the first night she had gotten here, Sakura had snuck into my bed. And like the times before, pink-haired woman was scantily clad and was clinging on to me. Normally, I would try to kick her out of my bed, but you know what, I'm too tired right now and only half awake at the moment to really fight this or care. So, I spun around to face away from the woman and broke free of her arms encircling me, then settled back in my bed. Still, I felt Sakura move in her sleep before I dropped off, she shifted and ended out snaking her arms to go around my torso again and press her front against my back. Sleep welcomed me back into its fields and I returned to the dreams I'd been having before the communicator had woken me.

With learning what I had about the Archangel last night, that being that they would be around the Equatorial Union's capitol Delias in the area that is formerly known as India. Unfortunately, the Equatorial Union had been having internal issues according to what my mother said that the government was 'handling'. So, as a result, those who belonged to groups outside of the Human Federation weren't very welcomed right now, it was to keep problems from becoming more volatile. That in mind, it would be unlikely that the Archangel would be permitted to dock at Delias

The possibilities of what awaited the Alliance vessel, depended upon what route they would take from Delias to eventually arrive at JOSH-A in Alaska. The Archangel would need to resupply somewhere along the way and the two most likely places they would stop at either the Orb Union or the Republic itself. With the ZAFT controlled Oceanic Union to the south, specifically the Carpentaria base, which is ZAFT's main operational base for the Pacific Ocean, options were limited.

Should the Archangel go through the former Indonesia islands part of the Equatorial Union, then there could be trouble. There had been rumors of 'pirate' activity for the last few months, commercial vessels being attacked and raided for their cargo being the type of incident that brought the rumors to light. Hence, the reason that commercial vessels were now escorted through that area lately. These facts had me worried, yes, I trust Kira could defend the ship if the need came up. However, there are still those I consider friends on board and I don't wish them to be in danger if it can be avoided.

By the time mid-afternoon came around, I made up my mind and headed over to Teswa R&D, hoping and praying that the Shadow was ready to be used. If not… I wouldn't say no to borrowing the Aegis and I doubt that Athrun would have a problem with it either. However, there would be issues and unwelcome questions asked by the crew of the Archangel were I to show up in one of the stolen Alliance machines. There were things I couldn't tell them at this point and they'll have to accept that, but I'll cross those bridges if or when they come up, I'll burn them if necessary. No need to add to the pile of worry there already is from current events, if I don't have to.

Once I arrived at the laboratory, I made my way to the mobile suit development section, the facility was quiet and sparsely populated. Yet, it tends to be light on people working on the weekends and as it's the weekend, makes complete sense. However, to my surprise, when I reached the development floor, I found that Carlos was in his office. With it being the weekend, you would have thought he would be at home. I went over to the clear plastic walls and knocked on one to get my friend's attention, and I got him to jump and look up. Carlos got up and came out of his office, "Tyler, what are you doing here?" he asked.

I crossed my arms, "I could ask you the same of you, normally you're home on weekends, perhaps there are problems at home… with the wife? Not that it's my business of course," I replied.

Carlos rubbed the back of his head, "Well, the in-laws are visiting, and uh… they don't tend to get along with me when they visit. Something about disappointed in my work and job as a scientist, so I'm here working to keep harsh words from being said. My wife understands and doesn't fault me for this, I think she is actually… well, anyways," Carlos trailed off a bit, before focusing back on me, "So, what about you, what brings you to Teswa on the weekend?"

"I'm here to ask if my mobile suit is ready. Something has come up and I need a unit to use," I returned.

Carlos took a moment to think, "One of the mobile suits, is ready yes. However," he started, but trailed off.

My head fell a bit, "However, I assume not all the equipment is good to go, am I right?" I inquired.

My friend nodded sadly, "The Shadow's main beam rifle and the shield are still getting work done on them," was his answer.

I looked to the Shadow and then glanced to the Aegis, "What about the Aegis, is that mobile suit ready to go out to a battlefield?" I asked.

Carlos shook his head, "Unfortunately, no, we found that some of the hydraulics were put in badly and so needed to have them replaced. We ended out having to tear the bad pieces out and that took longer than we expected. That being said, the suit isn't in an acceptable condition to be used," he remarked.

I sighed in resignation, "So, the Shadow is ready, but no equipment to work with, the Aegis isn't usable… come on Carlos, help me out here, I need something to work with!" I said desperately.

My friend smiled, "Now Tyler, I never said there wasn't something I can do to help you. Yes, your mobile suit is ready except the rifle and shield. All that's needed is different equipment, which happens to be available," said Carlos

I stared at my scientist friend, "Well, don't keep me in suspense Carlos, tell me what you got man," I told him.

Carlos smiled, "How about I show you what I have?" he posed.

My friend went over to a control console and type in some commands, the Shadow moved to the center of the development floor. Once my mobile suit reached the center of the floor, a compartment above the suit opened and something started coming down. The first sight of the equipment was two barrels, which were positioned behind both shoulders of the Shadow. The one on the left appeared to be two barrels that were folded, one behind the other barrel. The other barrel was rectangular for two thirds of the gun and triangular for the other third. The triangular section being divided into three gun barrels, with one at the top and the other two on bottom corners of the triangle shape. Both weapons were attached to a backpack that was also a flight system that would connect to the Shadow's back and improve the thrusters output with the flight system.

The cannon on the left, mystified me, as I haven't seen a weapon like it. The barrel itself, was long yet a little over two feet in diameter from the large end that was connected to the backpack to the end of the second half of the long weapon barrel. The big end, was the shape of a metal liquid container barrels and one and a half of the hundred gallon drums in length, which I assume was where the ammunition is and is fired from. I stared at the backpack as it was being attached to my mobile suit, "So Carlos, mind telling me what I'm looking at, because my brain is yelling 'What is that!' in a rather excited fashion," I asked.

"What you're looking my friend, is the 'Kale' Artillery pack. It comes with the flight system that I wouldn't doubt you've spotted and it works with the thrusters your suit comes with. The output of the flight system is about one and a half times what your unit's thrusters are capable of. On the right, you're looking at an experimental prototype 300 mm 'Titus' compact positron blaster cannon, recommend caution in its use as you should be aware of positron energy's effects on the environment. On the left, I'm proud to present the other prototype and first of its kind, the Linear Accelerator Shot Cannon, or LAS cannon for short." Said Carlos with pride.

I nodded slowly, "Okay, neat Carlos, what does the LAS cannon do?" I asked.

Carlos snickered, "What does the LAS do? I would think its name would give you a hint, but you know how the Magnetic Acceleration Cannon works?" he questioned

Nodded in answer, "Yeah, have seen and am aware of how the MAC gun works, do remember, I tend to work up in space my friend, why?" I replied.

Carlos continued, "The LAS cannon works along the same principles, though it is a bit limited due to set amount of ammunition and they can't accelerate to the exact same speed. But, this cannon can fling each round at speeds that you would still gawk at, makes thick armor plating seem like paper, I'll tell you."

I was shocked to hear what this cannon was supposed to be able to do, it was amazing! But then, the scientists here are pretty good at impressing others and so Carlos has done for me. Faced my friend and bowed, "Once again Carlos, you have left me in awe by the work you and your colleagues do. The only thing that I see left, is I would like a rifle of some sort to work with for mid-range combat," I replied.

Carlos smiled at me, "The Aegis's rifle should work fine in that respect, it's working just fine unlike the suit itself and it should clip in to your suit's holster for its beam rifle."

"Thank you very much now, where's the exit?" I asked him, bowing as I said my thanks.

Carlos went over to another control console, "Glad to oblige you Tyler, should also mention that the backpack system which the cannons are attached to, has its own battery that you can use for it and weapon use. As for the exit," alarms sounded and the hundred-meter diameter circular shutter that allows ground level access began opening. Carlos gestured towards the opening shutter, "That fit your idea of an exit?"

I nodded in reply, before nodding my head, thanking my friend once more and getting into my mobile suit. After activating the Shadow's OS, I noted that the system was running better than it had been, meaning the scientist here had streamlined it as I had been slowly doing while traveling on the Archangel. I grabbed the Aegis's 60mm high-energy beam rifle and clipped it into the holster on the right hip of my suit. Granted, it's not as good or as powerful as the rifle the Shadow came with, but it's better than nothing. I then moved into position to receive the weapon pack that Carlos had shown me. After that, there was a jerk as my machine moved forward toward the large opening shutter. By the time I came to launching position, I had checked over the changes that had been made and was happy with them. I took off and flew out of Teswa, activating the mirage colloid shortly after leaving the lab and headed towards the area where I believe the Archangel could be.

Nearly two hours pass by as I flew towards the southeastern part of the Equatorial Union, to an area called the Inda Sea. This sea was between the islands that once made up Indonesia before the reconstruction war. The only sounds were the humming of systems running inside the cockpit and my steady breathing. On the way, I came across two Federation Dolphes-class sea escort vessels, protecting a merchant vessel that was sailing towards Shira.

The Dolphes-class, is the main stream naval vessel type that the Human Federation uses on the seas of earth. They have a length of 190 meters, and is modeled along a similar framework of the Orb Union's Aegis class or rather it was made around the same time and with unofficial collaboration. However, there are two major differences, that being armaments and the raised runway on the front half of the ship for launching Federation Fighters. For armaments, Dolphes-class have sixteen missile launchers normally loaded with anti-ship missiles, along with two tri barrel 40cm turrets and the main 125 mm long range cannon. The two turrets were on either side of the ship behind the center, whereas the long-range cannon is under the runway and can be brought up when the runway parts for the cannon's use. For defense, there are four CIWS gatling turrets at back, front and both sides, along with four counter measure missile launchers. Dolphes-class carry two fighters usually at any given time to be launched.

From the captain of one of the Dolphes vessel, I learned that the rumors of 'pirate activity' were true and not just that, the 'pirates' were using a ZAFT Vosgulov-class submarine and GINNs to raid passing ships. I thanked them for the information and continued onward, making sure I contacted the current patrol to inform them of what I intended to do, where I was heading. The patrol said they would move in that direction. I kept flying, entering the Inda Sea, going on for somewhere between fifteen to twenty-minutes, before I spotted something off ahead of me. To get a better picture, I brought out the LRT scope and used it to get a better look at what was going on ahead of me.

The view I got, wasn't comforting to me at all! Granted, I saw the Archangel, which I'm very pleased to see again after more than a week of being separated from it. But, the four ZAFT GINNs heading at the Alliance vessel was not nice in my view. The lead GINN was an assault type and had a standard load out for the type of GINN. That included two gatling guns on the shoulders missile pods on its legs and a couple of grenade launchers as I recall. One of the other three GINNs was blue… one of the WASP aquatic type of suit, can't say I know the exact armaments it tends to have. The other two were standard ZAFT GINN mobile suits with assault machine guns in hand and no other optional equipment.

I don't doubt that Kira and Lacus could handle the GINNs, but after seeing only two… aircraft launch out from the Archangel as I got closer, something felt off. The aircraft were the two that the 8th orbital fleet had given the Archangel, I hadn't really looked too closely at them while I had been on board, so I don't know much about them. The point of my observation, two aircraft versing four GINNs… the odds are in serious favor of the GINNs. So, the question, why haven't the Strike or the Asuka launched out to the field? Not waiting to see if the two mobile suits would launch, I put my foot down, making the Shadow zoom forward towards the developing fight.

If I wanted to get the GINNs to pay attention to me rather than the Archangel and its defenders, then I needed to aim for a target that those pilots couldn't afford to ignore. Their ship would fit that requirement in my view. So, I used the LRT scope paired with the detection system the Shadow had, tapped into the ZAFT communication, not to listen, but to track the signal to where the ship was positioned. I was satisfied when I received an outline of where the signals the GINN pilots were using to talk to their commander, now showed me where the Vosgulov-class sub was.

Next, I brought out the LAS cannon, letting the two halves of the long barrel connect and the circular coils started to warm up. Had to let the accelerator coils get running so they could chuck the ammo hard and at ridiculous speeds in the direction I pointed the cannon in. While I was waiting for the weapon to be ready to use, I kept closing the distance between the battle and myself. As I got closer, I had to hand it to the… oh what were those craft called? Oh yes, Skygraspers I believe it was. The ones piloting, which are like Mu and Krystal, were doing pretty dang good and not being hit by the attacking GINNs.

At the time I could see the fight clearly with my naked eye, without using the Shadow's scope, the LAS cannon became ready to fire. I pointed the cannon to where the ZAFT sub was and let loose a round that was accompanied with a noticeable recoil from the weapon itself. The shot struck the water less than two seconds later and punched a hole in the submarine. The shot was powerful enough to cause water to be thrown upward with explosive force, proving that I hadn't missed my mark. A small hatch opened on the bottom of the back section of the LAS and the shell from the ammunition, which was a good foot in length and a little over seven inches in diameter was ejected. Vents on the sides of the back section let out heat and steam to cool down the cannon to prevent the accelerator coils from overheating and burning out. Well, quite the 185mm cannon this beast is that Carlos and his fellow scientist made, the acceleration the ammunition goes under, makes a real point with weaponry. I had the cannon swing back to its storage position on the side of the backpack, but still had the barrel connected as one long piece.

Movement in the field of my peripheral vision caught my attention, and upon looking, I saw that one of the standard GINNs was baring down on one of the skygraspers. As I've come to have some respect for both Mu La Flaga and Krystal McAlester as they are the most likely to be flying those aircraft, they will not die while I can do something about it! Plus, I was now in range to make use of the Igelstellungs in my suit's head and the Aegis's beam rifle I had to work with. I positioned the Shadow's head to have the Igelstellungs level on the closest GINN and began peppering the opposing mobile suit as I kept moving forward. The effect was immediate and the one I wanted, the GINN stopped pursuing the aircraft blocking the spray of bullets and searching for the source of them.

It didn't take long for the GINN to raise its machine gun and began to fire in my direction, trying to hone in on my location. In response, I switched off the mirage colloid and activated my unit's phase shift armor, also of course changing the color of the Shadow by doing so. Now that the GINN could see my mobile suit, it rushed at me. I had the hidden beam saber flip out the hip storage compartment that was set in the right hip of the Shadow and grabbed it. I ignited the saber and slashed upward, cutting off the right arm of the GINN cleanly, before I used my suit's right leg to kick my opponent away from me a short distance.

The GINN I disarmed kept backing off from me however, the other standard GINNs moved to attack me in place of the retreating mobile suit. I retrieved the Aegis's beam rifle, raised it and started shooting back at the GINN, while evading the vast majority of the bullets from my opponent, a few did hit, yet the phase shift armor prevented damage from being incurred. It became clear that the high-energy beam rifle I had was more effective than the GINN's machine gun and the ZAFT pilot seemed to quickly realize the fact as well. They backed off from me and went off to work somewhere else and avoid me.

An object shot out from the Archangel, and when I glanced over, I saw the Strike had just launched and was equipped with the Aile Striker pack. Although, it was now four verses four now, it still wasn't fair, for on 'our side' the four was made up of two mobile suits and two aircraft. Whereas the opposing side had four mobile suits, though one was damaged by me already. Oh well, make do with what you get, as is one of the mottos I tend to follow.

Back to my first goal, getting the attention of this 'pirate force' off the Archangel, best done by targeting their ship. So, I brought out the LAS cannon to firing position, and it was ready to be used again as I had let it cool off. The accelerators got back up to their previous speed while the cannon had been stored, and so, I loaded a shell into the cannon itself. The LRT scope popped out of the Shadow's head once again and I tracked the ZAFT communications from the GINNs back to their submarine and located where they were. I took aim for the front right side, which I'm fairly sure is one of the catapults for mobile suits, then pulled the trigger. I felt the recoil, and saw the splash where the ammo had entered the water, followed by visible tower of water as the shot punctured the submarine's hull and the pressure difference cause an explosive like force. It was very satisfaction to watch the results of the cannon's damage.

Yet, the sub didn't surface, which would make this battle a tad easier and this frustrated me a bit. However, fate and opportunity were both smiling on me today! For, I spotted two Federation fighters coming towards the battle field, followed by a Dolphes-class. And by what my sensors were telling me, those fighters were carrying a payload, likely a cluster of depth charges each! Opened the communication channel to the fighter pilots, "Delta pilots, if you're looking for the troublesome pirate sub, it's at red 13 Delta," I said.

My reply came quick, " _Thank you for the location sir,"_ came a male voice.

I watched as two cylindrical objects appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Twenty meters above the water, the cylinders came apart and several smaller ovals things dropped and spread out before hitting the water. Five seconds later multiple towers of water erupted, disturbing the surface as the depth charges detonated, probably close to that ZAFT submarine. Less than a minute later, the top of the Vosgulov-class submarine came into view as the vessel surfaced.

A loud boom was heard and a large splash was seen close to the sub… the Dolphes-class had come into firing range I see. Then a message came over all channels, " _Attention unidentified ZAFT vessel, your presence is a violation of Silas border agreement. You are being seen as rouge forces that has been attacking commercial ships to steal cargo and fulfill self-interests. Victoria and Carpentaria have made it clear that no ZAFT forces would be around this area. Recall your mobile suits and leave immediately or you will be fired upon,_ " said the one I assume is the captain of one of the two Dophes-class that were approaching.

So then, what will these people do? Well, they didn't really listen to the warning they were given. Next thing I know, I witnessed the Strike fending off one of the standard GINNs. And I wasn't about to let Lacus die since I can do something to prevent that plus, Sakura would do HORRIBLE things to me, if I stood by and did nothing while her little sister died. Most importantly, Lacus is my friend, I don't allow friends to die on me while I'm still in anyway able! I stored the Aegis's rifle and then brought out the other weapon I had yet to use in this skirmish, the "Titus" compact positron blaster cannon.

I pointed the triple barreled gun at the undamaged standard GINN, and then heard the hum of the weapon charging. A few seconds later I pulled the trigger for the weapon and a crimson beam outlined with white light shot from the combined output of the three barrels. The beam slammed into the GINN and ripped through the machine, disintegrating it and leaving nothing. …An example of why you shouldn't underestimate the effects of positron energy, it's dangerous stuff!

The rest of the remaining 'pirates', which was the assault type GINN and the one-armed standard GINN along with the submarine began retreating. The Aquatic GINN had been taken down by Lacus in the Strike while I'd been fighting elsewhere on this battlefield. With things settled, I breathed out a sigh of relief, turned around to see both the skygraspers flying in to land in the Archangel's catapults. I shut off the phase shift armor, and piloted the Shadow to line up with the Archangel's right leg's catapult. Noting the Strike was doing the same on the left slightly ahead of me.

I landed on board the ship and came to stand in the area for loading and unloading optional equipment. It took the mechanic that was manning the console a minute to start removing the equipment currently on my mobile suit, though the 60mm high-energy beam rifle stayed clipped in the Shadow's holster. After the backpack was taken off, I turned the Shadow to the airtight shutters to open so that I could enter the hanger. A good sixty seconds went by, before the shutters opened, I had started wondering what was taking so long. But still, once the shutters were open, I moved forward, yet I didn't miss the stares I was receiving as I maneuvered my machine into the dock it hadn't stood in for over a week.

Once in the dock and locked in, I'd the forward screen retract and the the cockpit's hatch open, before I climbed out of the cockpit. When I glanced around, I noticed that the familiar hanger hadn't changed much while I had been away from the ship. My feet touched the catwalk, before I walked over to the ladder to descend down to the main hanger floor. Once I'd gotten to the floor, the silence forced me to look around to realize that all the mechanics and others in the hanger were staring… no, gaping at me would be more accurate. I can't say why they're gazing at me like I'm some kind of ghost or something, "Uh… why is everyone staring at me like I've come back from the dead? I mean, I was questioning myself if I would make it in time for a bit, but it feels more like I'm a stranger here or something," I said.

I still got further silence at my inquire about everyone's reaction, until something that was grey, blue and pink rushed at me, crashing into me. The next thing I registered, I was being embraced by someone… with pink hair, meaning it was Lacus as Sakura is back… at my place. I smiled in response, "Good to see you too Lacus," I greeted.

Lacus's action acted as a trigger for others in the hanger, Mu and Krystal came forward with many of the mechanics behind them. I was quickly surrounded by people and was being asked question after question, from where I had been to what had happened to me after being separated from the ship. Mu and Krystal took the next few minutes to get all here under control and to give me some space, taking charge and everything. During that time, Kira got to be in front of me and for a moment all around the two of us seemed to disappear. "Tye… I'm so-" Kira began, however, I cut him off, "You have nothing to be sorry about Kira. You did exactly what I knew you would and it's why I sent you back to the Archangel," I replied.

Kira put out a hand, to which I stared at with a look that said, 'really?', moved forward and brought Kira into a hug rather than shaking his hand. I'll not just take a hand shake from one of my best friends, it's not enough! The world came back and made itself known to Kira and I, as the mechanics and chief Murdoch went off doing work, giving us space. Mu and Krystal stayed by Lacus, Kira and myself as the crowd broke apart. Kira and I separated, and I faced the two mobile armor pilots. "Must say Tyler, you really got me out of a jam out there," said Mu.

I waved a hand in dismissal, "It's on the house, don't worry about it. I'm just glad I got here in time to make a difference," I returned.

After a short chat, I parted ways with Lacus and Kira for the time being and followed Mu and Krystal as they took me to talk to the captain. The meeting with both Captain Murrue Ramius as well as vice captain Natarle Badgiruel, was… interesting, to say the least. Both women of course asked me where I'd ended out after getting through reentry, which I told the truth of coming down around the Republic along with a general summary of getting time to recover.

The discussion soon turned to the need for the Archangel to resupply, and I was reminded of my 'assignment' still being left undone. The need for this ship to resupply, provided me with a potential opportunity to have the chance to complete my mission. So, that in mind, I made the suggestion that the ship make its course to Shira in the Republic as they could get both resupplied and repaired. Plus, it was clear to me from the few crew members that I'd seen, that they needed time to rest, relax to begin recuperating from the stress that had piled up. That could also be done around Shira with little effort involved on anyone's part.

Murrue appeared very much interested in the idea, which was a good mark for me, yet Natarle was quite a bit less enthused in going to Shira. Her argument was that the Archangel needed to get to Earth Alliance HQ JOSH-A at Alaska as soon as possible. In her view, I wouldn't doubt that the Archangel and her mission was not pubic knowledge yet. So, the less that the Archangel is seen along with the Strike, the better, or something like that. Now, I'll give the woman good marks on being a dutiful officer and soldier, and being determined to uphold the mission she's assigned. And while that's all well and good, you can easily drive those under your command into the ground and that's just abusive, such shouldn't be done often, if at all!

On my end, I needed time and an opportunity to either extract the mobile suit data or find a way to degrade or destroy the data to the point that it can't be used at all. I didn't say anything about my task, nor the existence or presence of the data in the system of the Archangel. I'm of the mind that none on board know of the data being in the systems of the Archangel up to this point. Whether any of the officers that had died at Heliopolis, I couldn't say for sure, I would assume the captain and probably the vice-captain knew, but other than that, I don't know. Nor do the two women sitting in front of me seem to know that what they're carrying is likely one of the major reasons that they're a target to others and not sunk by their "allies".

The debate or argument, whichever you wish to call it, evolved into lasting for almost two hours, in the end I managed to convince even Natarle that stopping for supplies, maintenance and for the crew to get time to wind down. By the information that I had gleamed in this conversation, supplies on the ship were running thin, morale among the crew wasn't really low, but it wasn't high by any means. Most people were being spread thin or worse, doing multiple duties, and it was taking a toll.

What I didn't voice or add, was those on the Archangel would very unlikely receive a warm welcome at Alaska. If they did, would probably more a sham than anything else, with the information I've been looking over in the last week. Sure ZAFT had been trying to take the ship down, but with the events that the Archangel had been involved in, made the ship unpopular with the Alliance lately. The data embedded in the vessel's systems is valuable enough to the Alliance that the Archangel wasn't taken care of already. That data is so much more valuable than this ship in the eyes of the leaders of the Earth Forces along with the crew of this vessel, it's bad. I can personally guarantee that when Earth Forces military leaders learn that the pilots of 'their' mobile suits have been Coordinators, if they didn't know already, then it wouldn't or hadn't gone over well with the majority of them, more an insult were I to guess. Then, when you take into account that the Earth Forces are losing in the war against ZAFT, they're getting desperate for a means to change the current standing it makes a twisted logical bit of sense.

The talk lasted for so long, it had gotten tedious to me, but to be polite I didn't say that and just listened for the most part. I left the office and made my way to the mess hall, hadn't had any food since the lite lunch I had at home and I was getting hungry! As I approached the mess, the sound of voices talking was heard and I identified them to belong to Kira, Lacus, Miriallia and Sai. I decided to have a kick and make a more extravagant entrance into the mess hall than I would normally make. So, I stood in front of the door, took a deep breath in, pressed the button to open the door. The door slid open, had a smile on my face, hands on my hips "I'mmmm Baaaack!" I stated with firm confidence.

The heads of all in the hall turned to me, seconds later, Lacus was giggling, Kira was snickering, meanwhile Sai and Miriallia gaped at me. I walked over to the kitchen, grabbed a tray of food, thanked the cooks and then sat down at the table that my friends were at, looking towards Lacus and Kira. "Sorry for going off and leaving you two, but apparently, the captain wanted to chat… and it dragged on for a while. Anyways, hope you all don't mind me joining you for dinner, haven't had anything to eat to since an early lunch today and that was light," I said with a smile.

At that point, Sai and Miriallia came out of the gaping stooper, Miriallia came around the table so fast, I swear that she had just about teleported somehow. I then, found myself being hugged tightly by Miriallia, "Tye, you big idiot, disappearing and worrying us so much!" She said to me in a somewhat broken voice, with tears falling if the wet feeling on the back of my shirt was anything to go by.

To say Miriallia's reaction was unexpected to me, didn't quite say my feeling about what the girl was doing in response to my sudden disappearance and absence. Miriallia wasn't mean to me or anything, but would often chide me about 'shirking work' as she put it… I didn't think she would care this much. All I could think to do, was to gently pat the brunette's left shoulder, "My apologies for pulling the disappearing act Miriallia. I knew doing reentry was a possibility, but never planned to do the idea, just found myself pushed into that position that I was forced to do," I answered.

It took a few minutes for Miriallia to let go and calm down. It was nice to know that my absence had been noticed, it felt nice. Also good to know that everyone is okay, I'd been kind of worried about my friends here on the Archangel since having to separated from them. Dinner was a fairly boisterous event, Tolle and Kuzzey weren't there because apparently, they were on duty since the friends that Kira and I shared from Heliopolis had enlisted. But anyways, it's fun to dine with good company, that's for sure.

After the meal, I found out that the quarters that I'd been inhabiting before being separated from the ship and its crew, were unused. Heck, even my things were still in the room as I had left them, so no real reason to changed rooms as this will likely be for one night anyway. However, I was certainly looking forward to a decent, good night sleep, since I hadn't gotten such for nearly a week! It's all due to a certain pink-haired woman who keeps sneaking into my bed every night no matter how many times I tell her not to do it. I was going through my things, to check that nothing had been rummaged through and taken… I doubt it happened, but better to make sure. It was while I was doing this, that a knock came at the door to my quarters, I turned, curious as to who would be coming to see me at this time.

Went to the door and to my surprise, Kira and Lacus were standing on the other side of the sliding door. "Uh, hey you two, to what do I owe the pleasure of the visit?" I asked.

I gestured for both of my friends to come in, and they did. Kira and Lacus sat on the couch, while I went to the bed. The three of us spent the next hour catching up on what had happened over the last week period. Apparently, both of them had spent time in the infirmary, just as I had put in time in a hospital, it's kind of a given after experiencing the heat that the atmosphere has without ablative gel. The question of what I had been doing did come up and in reality, I hadn't been doing much of interest or of note. …I might have left out my current issue with Sakura, mostly because of the respect I have for Lacus and I don't want to paint a picture of her older sister, who she regards highly. What Sakura had been doing around me over the last week could break that image Lacus has of her older sister.

After the catch-up session, the two left and I would assume returned to their quarters… if they haven't moved to sharing one room by this point, I'll be surprised. But then, with the way they're going with their relationship, it will happen eventually I bet. I headed to bed, very happy that I wouldn't have to worry about someone slipping into my bed tonight! It'll probably be the first night of decent sleep since the first night out of the hospital.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

On the Navigation Bridge, Natarle was in charge as Murrue was getting some rest after pulling close to a thirteen-hour shift, including the fight in the middle of it. Things had been quiet since the encounter with ZAFT forces, but for Natarle, her mind was wondering back to the conversation between Murrue, Mu and herself with Tyler. Learning of the young man had come down in territory of the Federation had been appreciated along with the two Alliance shuttles with the refugees on board them. Yet, when the talk had turned to what needed to happen next, Natarle was and still felt conflicted. The point of needing to resupply was something that even she couldn't deny without outright lying. However, the Archangel's mission was to still get to Earth Alliance HQ at JOSH-A in Alaska and that was the top priority.

So, when Tyler had suggested that they stop by Shira, the Republic of East Asia's capital city, it had caused pause to the captain and for Natarle herself. Natarle had heard about the Republic's capital city, it was one of the "premium vacation destinations" for many. And Natarle had been there once when she was a young girl, though she didn't remember a lot other than it had been time she had spent with her father before he had been killed. And it wasn't that she had something against the Federation or any of its member nations. So, stopping in Shira wasn't what was bothering Natarle, it was other things that were encroaching in.

Even though Tyler's reasoning had made sense, for the crew did need rest and to relax, Natarle could see the signs of that. But, as the Archangel's mission was secret or supposed to be and was of the utmost importance, to stop in a non-Alliance port could be a disaster. However, as there were few Alliance ports along the way to JOSH-A, there was little option. But even that, was not the reason that had Natarle wanting to get to JOSH-A as quickly as possible. It was more what hadn't been said that took that responsibility.

The way that Tyler had presented the idea was sound, but there was something more to it, she just couldn't place what was being left unsaid by the young Coordinator. He knew something he was choosing not to say, Natarle was almost sure about that, even though Tyler had the admirable military discipline he showed, she had seen that much. Yet, what it was that he knew but didn't say, she could only guess. Nonetheless, it clearly troubled Tyler, that sign was brief but it had been there.

Natarle couldn't stop the sigh that escaped her at the thoughts going through her mind, which Arnold who was in the pilot's chair noticed. "Ma'am, are you doing okay?" He asked.

The woman looked up, "Yes, I'm fine, just thinking upon recent events and wondering why they have happened the way they did," she replied.

Arnold nodded in agreement, but before he could speak, the door to the lift opened and Tyler stepped onto the bridge, "Good, uh well, it isn't exactly morning just yet as sunrise hasn't happened, but you get the idea of the greeting," he said.

Natarle stared at the young Coordinator, "What are you doing up here so early?" She questioned.

Tyler smiled, "Well, as it happens, I'm going to be leaving as I should take back my mobile suit to get the work being done on it finished. However, I wanted to at least say that I'm leaving because apparently, the disappearing I was forced into wasn't taken well when it occurred up in orbit. We'll meet back up later, so no need to worry. Plus, wanted to give a piece of advice before I go," he stated.

"And that is?" Asked Natarle curiously.

Tyler's face became serious, "When you come into dock at Shira, I can guarantee that there will be a group that will inspection the ship before you'll be permitted to disembark," he began.

"Why would that be the case McGregor?" Interrupted Natarle somewhat irritated.

"I'll tell you if you would let me finish Natarle. As I was saying, there will be an inspection team coming onboard, please don't take it or their possible attitudes personally. The Archangel doesn't have identity codes and so isn't in the Earth Alliance registry and that does make a small difference. Mostly it's because, it wouldn't be the first time during this war that an unregistered ship from either ZAFT or the Alliance have cause serious problems. So, this is taken seriously due to previous incidents, that being said, my recommendation is to cooperate with those who come on board. It will best help you and move things along a lot faster if you do Ensign Badgiruel," Tyler finished.

Natarle sighed, not exactly liking what Tyler warned of, but it wouldn't surprise her if such situations as Tyler had implied had happened. And unlike what had occurred at Artemis, there was warning beforehand, which was different. "Very well, your advice is noted," she returned.

Tyler nodded and then left the Bridge, Pal turned around in his seat, "At least we have some warning about what will come. We didn't with what went down at Artemis," he commented.

Meanwhile, Tyler headed toward the hanger, stopping by his quarters to grab his things. When he got to the hanger itself, he found the large room to be empty of people, not that such mattered to Tyler. Instead, he made his way to one of the consoles for launching mobile suits, and got down to the business of setting up a delayed launching sequence. This presented a few challenges, the first being the delay itself without having someone manning the console. Tyler fixed that with a few creative commands, then the second issue, was the need to equip the backpack he had come with. Like the first problem, it was corrected through some creative commands, which left the final conundrum of then initiating the actual launching sequence. He managed to take care of all of that in a little over five minutes and then execute the set of commands.

Once that was started, Tyler snatched his bag and ran over to the Shadow, using the zip-line to get to the Cockpit. He had just settled into the seat, when the dock catwalks and scaffolding began retracting. Tyler closed the hatch, having the forward display coming into place with the OS activating in time to see the Shadow passing the airtight shutters into the main catapult. The equipment was attached to the mobile suit and then Tyler waited for the linear catapult to shift into the position to launch a mobile suit.

Back on the bridge, Pal reported the event of the Shadow's launch, and those on the bridge watched as the black mobile suit flew out of the Archangel. The machine soon afterward vanished from view, leaving its direction for travel unknown to others.

For the next two hours, the ships escorting the Archangel, silently kept moving forward to their destination. But, when the view of a city came, those on the navigation bridge couldn't help but smile in a bit of relief. The city they were coming to, Shira the capital of the Republic of East Asia, represented a much-needed rest bit for them. The Alliance vessel was brought to one of the larger dry docks and they came into it. Natarle along with most of the officers on the Archangel, had to keep themselves calm as their vessel was being locked into the dock itself. This included cranes on either side attaching structures to parts of the Archangel mostly around the weapons, as well as a type of gangway being brought to one of the outside airlocks.

Murrue and the officers that hadn't heard Tyler's advice began to be apprehensive as the watched what was going on. However, Natarle spoke up in the attempt to ease the developing tension, "By what Tyler said before leaving, there would be a group coming onboard to inspect things, due to the fact that we're unregistered and the Federation has had trouble with such ships," she said.

As if her statement had been a signal, a few minutes later, the lift doors opened and seven people came onto the bridge. Six of them were in combat outfits that the Federation tended to use, the one man that wasn't in the combat uniform, was wearing the less formal uniform of the Federation military. The man in the Federation non-combat uniform was slightly in the lead, looked to Murrue, "I assume you're the captain or the current commanding officer of this vessel?" He inquired in a serious tone.

Murrue nodded, then the man continued, "Very well then, tell your crew to step back from their stations captain." He commanded curtly.

"What in the world for?" Demanded Murrue.

Yet, Natarle interrupted her, "Everyone, step away from your stations for the moment please."

The rest of the bridge crew hesitated for a moment, but did as Natarle had said. Once they had, the six other soldiers moved forward and began to tap out commands on the consoles. Murrue gazed back at the man who was likely the leader of these soldiers, "What is the purpose of this?" She asked in a calmer tone than before.

The man stared back at both Murrue and Natarle, "Your cooperation is appreciated, we are locking down the systems of this vessel. A precautionary measure that's fairly common now, they will be unlocked when you are ready to depart from here. Once the lockdown is finished, you may disembark from this ship, please have identification ready to display." He said, slightly inclining his head.

Murrue slumped into her chair, this wasn't as bad as what happened at Artemis, but it still felt similar. True, there weren't guns being pointed at them, but still, was giving another the benefit of the doubt not something that was done anymore? These were her thought as this 'lockdown procedure' continued.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Coastline of the Republic

I flew the Shadow along the coast, heading back towards Teswa to return the Shadow to the lab to have the maintenance finished. It took me close to an hour to reach the 'valley' that the huge shutter in the ceiling of Teswa. I contacted the central control room, and they opened the shutter and I maneuvered down into Teswa and into the MS development floor. Carlos wasn't in his office, so I assumed that he had gone home since I left yesterday and hadn't come in yet. I thanked the scientist that was on duty, before I exited the laboratory and caught the train back to Shira.

The ride on the train lasted for twenty minutes or so, then it arrived at the northern station, where I got off. Exited the station and quickly found my car, buckled in with the five-point harness before starting the car. From the station, I headed to the docks… at a non-slow pace, but not fast enough to be noticed… around any sensors at least. Since it's early morning, there's a lot less of a chance for me being stopped for any reason, so I wasn't worried about local authorities pulling me over. So, where the journey from the northern transit station to the docks in the south normally takes around thirty minutes with less traffic, I did it in a little over fifteen minutes. I won't deny that I was going faster than I should by what is posted however, I won't say by how much thank you!

I entered the dock yard Shira had and could see that the Archangel had come into the docking area already, though doubt anyone has disembarked just yet. A thought came to mind of something I could do while I waited and I pulled over next to where the management building for the docks is and got out of my car. I found and spoke to the chief in charge and delivered a proposition for an interesting show and a chance for me to have a lot of fun that I don't normally get to do.

The idea was simple in its explanation overall, the workers at the docks would get to watch as I would get to put the petal to the metal with my car. Once I hit the open stretch of the docks that happened to be in the view of the Archangel, I would begin to drift and go as long as I could. My goal was to lay down as much skid marks from the tires and get as much distance as possible. I have a thing for drifting in my car, a wonderful thrill and hobby of mine… which my mother very much frowns down upon. The issue tends to be… I get little opportunity to do drifting, let alone with permission from anyone to do this, so I do it whenever I get the chance.

The chief was apprehensive, though the rest of the workers seemed rather interested in watching me do what I suggested. I then put down a challenge of making seventy-five-yard skid marks or farther, or I would clean the skid marks off the pavement… by myself. When I laid that on the table, the chief nodded and agreed to the idea. The agreement set, I headed back to my car and noticed that the workers were making a wide path for me to drift down. I couldn't help the smile spreading across my face at the prospect of getting to drift with my car as it had been well over a year since I'd done the activity.

I drove my car back a good distance and came on to a straight length that would allow me to build up the speed before drifting. The feeling of excitement and adrenaline pumping as I took a deep breath in before focusing on what I was about to do registered. I rolled both the driver side window and the passenger side down, as I love the feeling of the wind in my hair when I drift. The sight of a green flag being waved wildly by one of the workers a ways down the 'track', in response, I put my foot down to the floor and my car shot forward. The engine roared as I gained speed, shifted the transmission up through the gears with the lever under the steering wheel with my left hand. My right hand was holding the emergency break, ready to pull it to get my car to begin drifting.

I kept building up speed until I reached the open area that the main administration build for the docks is, then I yanked on the emergency break hard. The tires started squealing as they lost most if not just about all traction as momentum took over the motion of the automotive machine I was in. At the same time, I turned the wheel to get my car to turn ninety degrees to being drifting down the open stretch of pavement. Keeping a tight grip on the steering wheel with one hand and the other had a hold on the emergency break, I throttling it to keep the drift going and yet be in control of it.

The screeching of the tires continued, as my car stayed in the controlled skid I had put it in, sailing sideways across the pavement. After the first twenty yards, I couldn't hold the excitement or rushing joy I was experiencing any longer, "WHAAAA WHOOOO!"

The shout was long and loud, and said my current feelings better than words could for me. Continued to sail down the open space, in control of the drifting skid as I went, intending to hold this for as long as possible. I caught a glimpse of the gawking stares from those observing me and the skill I have drifting a car, my car in particular. That brought a satisfied smile to my face! My drifting skid lasted for almost sixty seconds, which included the last bit where I had to jerk the wheel hard before entering a turn, still drifting.

When I came to a stop, I leaned out of my side's window and glanced back at the results of my 'drifting high'. To say that I'm proud of how far I had been able to drift/skid, wouldn't be accurate to state. I was elated at seeing the long black, tire width lines that were clear against the pavement, more so watching two dock workers beginning to measure the length of the said skids. Once they finished they went over to the chief and reported the info, before the man made his way over to me, "Must say McGregor, you did an impressive performance," he began.

I smirked, "Really? What's my distance then?" I posed.

The man stared at me, "Eighty-nine yards… meaning you won the wager agreed upon." He said calmly.

Eighty-nine yards… that's a new personal best, OH YEAH! "Thank you for the opportunity to give such a performance Chief." I said before moving my car forward towards where the Archangel was docked.

I noticed that people were already on the gangway disembarking from the Alliance vessel, probably started while I was having a ball drifting. I came over and brake a short distance in front of the ship and turned off my car, unbuckled my seat belt. The car door opened out and upward before I hauled myself out of my car and glancing at the people coming off the ship. Of course, I was searching for my friends, the kind of person I am. I took a seat on the hood of my car as I scanned the crowd and after a period, I spotted Kira, with Lacus behind him coming down the ramp.

I waved to him and he saw me. The others from Heliopolis were quick to follow, and the looks I got from some of the people from the Archangel were amusing. However, Tolle was the one who spoke his mind first, "Tye, where did you get that car?!" He asked in amazement.

I chuckled, "This beautiful machine, is mine Tolle, I own it and drive it, and doing so is awesome," I returned in a happy tone.

Then, I caught sight of the ship officers were coming in our direction, to which I stood up, "Welcome to the capitol of the Republic, Shira all… of… you," I greeted them, but trailed off before finishing the greeting.

What stopped me mid-sentence, was the Archangel officers' expression of glum and unhappiness, "Um, what's with the glum feel in the air?" I inquired.

Sai came up and whispered into my ear, "They didn't much like those who came onboard to lockdown the ship."

I sighed in understanding while nodding, "Look, like I said before, don't take the inspection team's attitude or manners personally. One of the prices of peace is ongoing vigilance… should you not believe me, I can get any of you copies of the reports about some of the situations that have happened that makes it necessary." I replied.

My explanation didn't seem to go over very well or so their reactions said to me. Attempting to help to get the glum feeling that was in the air, I began talking about how while being here, the Archangel would be repaired and resupplied. Best thing, the mechanics of the Archangel wouldn't have to kill themselves to do this, in fact, they would get a well-deserved break! However, that didn't help dispel the negative feel either, if anything it made things more awkward.

To prevent myself from being further embarrassed by trying to help the situation, I instead turned to doing something else. Since it's morning, I figured that it was time to do breakfast and so when I asked those I consider friends if they were interested in the meal, they were quick to agree it was. So… the eight of us left the officers to their wallowing, and divided ourselves into two groups to go and fetch supplies for making breakfast. For I can guarantee that I don't have enough food to make a meal for the eight of us and those staying at my place in my refrigerator at home.

The first group was made up of Sai, Tolle, Kuzzey and Miriallia, they would be getting cooking stuff, which I listed to them. Once I told them where to get the said stuff, they borrowed one of the vehicles from the Archangel and headed off. That left Kira, Lacus, Flay and myself to get the other things we would need for breakfast. Thankfully, my car has backseats, supposedly they didn't in the past. The ladies rode in the back while Kira took the passenger seat, and I of course, was in the driver seat as I should be. With all that set, off we went to a small grocery store that I like and it's open pretty much twenty-four hours.

After my got the supplies we would need, like eggs and other perishable items like that, we piled back into my car and I drove back to my place. Was planning to make pancakes, as the recipe isn't a terribly hard one and can be cooked in big batches. On the way back to my house, spotted the jeep from the docks, meaning that Sai and those with him were done and they followed me. I went directly into the house while the others began bringing the cooking supplies inside. Found out that Lisa and Athrun were awake, didn't see Sakura… and I wasn't interested in dealing with her shenanigans, especially with my friends here to witness it. Were any of those from Heliopolis or Lacus and Kira to see what Sakura does around me… the embarrassment I would be forced to face, would be horrific!

Anyways, after everything was in, Lisa and I got down to making pancakes, though I did get a glimpse of Lacus talking to Athrun. I had mentioned that he was a friend of mine, and the others had accepted that. Really, only Kira and Lacus knew who he was and the significance of him being here or what he had done. But I know that Kira and Lacus wouldn't hold what had happened against him. With two of us whipping up the pancakes, it didn't take a great deal of time for Lisa and myself to have the first two batches of pancakes ready to eat.

Tolle was the first to say how good the food was tasting, which everyone else agreed. Things got a bit more amusing in my view, when the Archangel officers came by, likely to check on us. Mu was the first to get himself some pancakes and Krystal slapped him upside the head due to his poor show of manners. That was before she got some food herself and was shoveling it in with about as much gusto as Mu. I did have a good healthy laugh at the scene between the two pilots as did pretty much everyone else.

Yet, then a message came, telling everyone from the Archangel would be staying while their ship was getting maintenance and resupply. My friend did say their farewells before they headed out to the house they would be in. When my friends exited and went to the place they were assigned, Athrun, Lisa and I began to clean up the dishes. The houses they and the rest of the crew of the Archangel were being given to stay at were down the road, but still had been nice to have them over for breakfast. Yes, I had woken up earlier than I would done normally, but it had been the first night I hadn't had to worry about another sneaking into my bed. It'd been a nice quiet morning thus far… speaking of which, where was the woman that insisted on cuddling me at night? I haven't seen her yet this morning, that's a tad odd for her, and that makes me worried.

The reason I was wondering what was going on with the pink-haired woman, isn't because I dislike her or anything like that. I would just prefer that she didn't chase me and pursue me like a stalker would, for it doesn't fit her well. So, not knowing where Sakura was gave opportunity for her to catch me off-guard and trap me. Better to know where your opponent is so that you know from which direction attacks come from.

While I was contemplating, I failed to notice another enter the room, until a pair of arms wrapped around my chest. I got over my surprise and I managed to free myself and make some distance from the one who had been embracing me, to see it was Sakura. I was glad to see the woman was at least dressed decently, since she rarely is when she sneaks into my bed. I became very worried when I noted the predatory expression she had, "Tyler, you didn't return last night and said nothing about that," Sakura paused for a moment, before she gained a wide smile that was CREEPY! "Now I'll have my fill of hugging you!"

Just as Sakura finished her statement, she lunged at me, to which I dodged out of the way as quickly as I could. The woman was back on her feet in a flash and I knew that she wasn't going to let me get away, unless I put forth a LOT of effort. So, I bolted for the front door without hesitation and I could hear Sakura behind me in pursuit. I reached the front door, ripped it open before racing through it and slamming the door shut and then putting all of my weight against the door to stop it from opening. There came a bang from the other side of the door, but I kept it closed, I was breathing hard and was trying to calm down from the near thing of Sakura catching me for a cuddle session and who knows how long that would last!

"Tye? What are you doing out here, and are you okay?" came the voice of Kira.

I swung my head over to the source of the voice and saw that Kira and Lacus were strolling over towards me, both looked worried about me. I forced a smile, "Oh, I'm fine you two, no need to concern yourselves about me, just needed some fresh air, that's all." I said to get them to wave off me being out here.

However, my mistake of stepping away from the front door came back to haunt me really fast. For as Kira and Lacus turned away from me, there was a creak from my right. That sound made me fully aware of the consequences of my error of stepping away from the door, and I knew it was FAR too late for me to get away. There was just enough time for me to grimace as I felt two hands grab me and then yank me back towards my house's interior. A scream escaped me as I was dragged back inside… though I can't say if that did anything really. The second I was back inside my house, Sakura hugged me in every way she could, with her arms, legs and even rubbed her cheek against mine, leaving me with no escape. Not to say I didn't try as hard as I could to get out of the woman's clutches, but my efforts were to no avail.

My plight worsened in my view, when Sakura ceased caressing her cheek against mine and forced my face to be in front of hers. As she got closer, I did everything I could think of to stop what was happening, but nothing I did achieved what I wanted. No, what occurred was Sakura proceeded to kiss me, humming happily as she did so… this woman would be the death of me!

Yet, even as Sakura continued to lock her lips to my own, the sound of the door opening came to my ears. Something pink just barely came into my view, and an idea came to my mind. If what I'm seeing is Lacus, she might be able to hold Sakura's attention long enough to get her off of me. So, when Sakura pulled back for a moment, I took the chance to enact my plan, "Sakura, guess what, your little sister Lacus is behind you." I said in an even voice, though I didn't feel that way at all.

Sakura stared at me for a moment, perhaps trying to detect if I was lying to get out of her clutches. But after a short period, she looked around behind her, "Ah Lacus, it's nice to see you," Sakura said, before she let go and got off me, going to where I assumed Lacus was.

I slumped flat to the floor, breathing in long deep breaths to help calm myself from having to experience Sakura's affections. The woman's actions towards me were taking a serious toll of me and it was not helping me in anyway, with any types of health. The next thing I knew, Kira and Athrun were above me looking down, Kira was looking more as if he was trying to understand what he had seen. Meanwhile, Athrun was giving me an expression of pity as this was a development that had been going for more than a week. I smiled weakly, "It's been a long while since I've seen you both together like this, doesn't make what I just went through entirely worth it. However, still is nice to see you two together. Now, you mind helping me up and to one of the pieces of furniture please," I requested.

Both Kira and Athrun grabbed an arm and pulled me upward and helped me to the couch. I glancing over to where the two women who were now happily hugging one another, but then they haven't seen each other for who knows how long I would bet. Well, have no idea what's going to come next, but the point is those I consider friends are still alive and that means things are going well for the time being.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **Hope you are all liking the changes that are being made. There has been time and effort put into them.**

 **OIS-X209 Shadow**

 **Kale Artillery pack**

(So, I based this pack on the Blaster Impulse's backpack)

"Titus" 300mm compact positron beam rifle (right cannon)

The primary weapon of the Launcher Strike is the powerful "Agni" 320mm hyper impulse beam cannon. At its introduction, it was one of the most powerful mobile suit mounted weapon and is capable of blasting a hole through a colony wall. It is mounted on the left side of the backpack via an arm unit, and held under the left shoulder when in use.

Linear Accelerator Shot Cannon

Mounted underneath the main body, the Moebius Zero is equipped with the same linear gun used in the TS-MA2 Moebius. Although it is weaker than beam weaponry, it is still a powerful weapon, as demonstrated when one shot of it was capable of penetrating the hull of a Nazca-class destroyer.

Federation Sea Cutter

 **Technical Specs**

Classification: Sea Escort Vessel

Overall Length: 190m

MS Capacity: 2

MS Catapult: 1

 **General Data**

Manufacturer: Human Federation

Operator: Human Federation

Crew Compliment: 150

Machines carried: Delta Flier

 **Standard Armaments**

125cm long range cannon

the long range cannon is under the runway and can be brought up when the runway parts for the cannon's use.

16 x Missile Launchers

Normally loaded with anti-ship missiles

2 x 40cm tri-barreled turrets

The two turrets were on either side of the ship behind the center

4 x 50mm Multi-Barreled CIWS

8 in the front, 4 on top and 4 on the bottom, 4 in the back.

 **Capabilities**

Has a raised runway on the front half of the ship for launching Federation Fighters.


	13. Phase 13: The Portrait of Betrayal

**A/n**

 **Chapter 13 revised edition.**

* * *

Phase 13: The Portrait of Betrayal

March 6th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

Northern Housing District, Shira, the Republic

One look, told me that Lacus and Sakura had become busy catching up, between the chatting they were doing and the hugging that occurred. Decided that it would be better and easier to leave the two alone to do what they are. Turned back to my two best friends as at least in my view, we had catching up of our own to do. "So, then you two," I started, breaking the ice if you will. "It's been some years since the three of us have been around each other, let alone in the same room. Don't doubt we have a story to tell, know I do at least."

The last time we'd seen each other, had been just before we parted from the prep school at Copernicus City after all. Yes, I'd been seeing Kira pretty much almost every day for the majority of the past year at Heliopolis. But Athrun hadn't been there and his presence had been missed. Both Kira and Athrun nodded in agreement to my statement, in fact, Athrun began with what he had been doing the last five or so years.

Athrun talked about how, once he returned to the PLANTs, his father Patrick Zala had been… well, grieving over the death of his wife I wouldn't doubt. My recollections of my younger days of when I would see Athrun's father was with his mother, Patrick Zala was actually a decent guy. Athrun's mother Lenore Zala, had been assisting my father with his research and work, apparently, she had taken a heavy interest in the applications. In fact, if memory serves me right, it had been Lenore who had convinced Patrick to meet with my father and listen to the vision he had.

Anyway, back to Athrun's tale before getting sidetracked by how I met and knew Patrick Zala, Athrun was informed of his arranged engagement to Lacus. She had been in her career in singing as a pop idol at the time. My blue haired friend, being the nice and kind hearted person that he is, gave or rather built Lacus a present, that being Haro. Athrun has always had a talent for robotics, has practiced the skill of building robots even during prep school days. Actually, Lacus had apparently liked Haro so much, that Athrun had built her a number of them in response to her happiness with the first.

A few years later, Athrun had then enrolled in the ZAFT military, partially due to the insistence of his father and partially because of the loss of his mother in the Bloody Valentine Tragedy. I could understand the feeling, I would be lying if I said the memories of the deaths of my dad and sister didn't play a part in my decision to join the Federation military. Athrun continued by going into a summary of his first tour of duty with Commander Hersey. Never met the man and have only heard mention of the name, so I can't say much about the ZAFT officer. Then of course, a year later, Athrun was assigned to Rau Le Creuset along with his fellow pilots.

His befriending of Nicol Amalfi and Rusty Mackenzie, clearly helped Athrun. Both had a good influence and their views by what Athrun said, were nowhere near as radical as a number of those within ZAFT. Then came the subject of what went down at Heliopolis, and though I knew the basics from the chat Athrun and I had days earlier. He did voice that he had doubts about the rumors that had been intercepted by ZAFT intelligence. But, when Athrun and his team had seen the prototype mobile suits, he had figured that the reports were accurate. Yet, once Athrun had viewed the reaction of the citizens of the colony, the doubts had returned in force.

The death of Rusty had hit Athrun hard, even if it hadn't been his fault that his comrade got shot by an Earth Force's officer. Athrun had to leave the body of his newly made friend behind and board the Aegis. After joining up with another comrade, which was Miguel, the had been about to capture the Strike, that was until Kira and I showed up coming out of the factory. In the end, Heliopolis had collapsed, but the chain of events that led to that was out of the control of any of us.

Then with the pursuit of the Archangel by Le Creuset after the meeting with the council, Athrun had been forced to encounter Kira again and me as well. If that wasn't bad enough, Athrun and his fellow pilots on the team had then lost to Kira, Lacus and myself, not once, but twice and the second time was much worse than the first. The second battle, which was the one before the Archangel met up with the Earth Force's 8th Orbital fleet… well, I'll just say that going against a mobile suit pilot who is in SEED mode, just sucks. You might as well say that the odds are stacked VERY heavily against you, especially if the pilot knows how to use their abilities from SEED factor at a fair level or better… like myself for instance.

Granted, neither Kira or Lacus realized they'd gone into SEED mode or even had the SEED factor by their questions after the fight. However, there's no way around the point that Athrun and the other ZAFT pilots with him had their rears handed to them on a shiny platter! Yes, I did contribute to the result, but my skills come through experience and wit. Still, Kira and Lacus had sent two out of the four packing and running.

And to make things worse, which really wasn't needed, then being put under the command of Sakura, one of the more feared commanders in ZAFT had to make up the 'icing on the cake'. I don't doubt that she picked apart what went wrong with the battle before the meeting up the Alliance fleet. Criticism, even if it's constructive and could help you improve, can really hurt, and were I to guess, Sakura hadn't put the criticism nicely at all, taking into account her mannerisms that she has with other people besides her family or me. After the battle above Earth, Athrun along with Sakura, Lisa and myself had descended down to the Republic.

With Athrun having gotten to the present with what had been going on with him, means that it's someone else's turn and when I say someone else, I mean Kira or myself of course. Well, I looked over at Kira and he gave me an expression to say that he would go next. I was good with that, as I had things to tell them I haven't told them yet, maybe a little to Athrun as I've mentioned I'm in the Federation military.

Kira started by saying how he had returned to Earth, specifically back to the Orb Union where his adopted parents were living at the time. His life had been less eventful as Athrun's and mine have been the last five or so years. Kira and his family moved around a bit and ended out at Heliopolis where he enrolled at the technical college. Lacus had somehow kept up on where Kira had been living through most of the five years, for she visited him from time to time.

At Heliopolis, he had met those who were now friends to Kira and I, not all at the same time, but still. Interestingly, when Kira had met Sai, I believe Sai was kind of intimidated by Kira, while my friend's naïveté left him blissfully ignorant. Sai is really smart, even I have seen the signs of that, he can even come close to being able to do some of the things Kira can. But the two had become friends after Sai realized Kira isn't one to boast or realize the things he does can be seen as incredible to some people. Although Kira didn't mention it… I think because Lacus was in the room, he'd had a bit of an infatuation with the redhead Flay, though I think its passed. Personally, I think Kira is better off with Lacus, but I stay out of the romance of others as a personal rule.

Kira had then been put through being forced to defend the Archangel from those who wished to take or destroy the ship. With his kind and gentle heart… Killing another just isn't in him and so he has a very hard time doing that to someone else. Athrun and I have come to understand and have been trained to fight in combat, Kira hasn't fully yet. To make things harder for my friend, when the Archangel reached Artemis, things had gone not just south, but REALLY far south. By what Kira said, head honcho's words about betraying other Coordinators and being an asset to the Earth Alliance gad affected him. Thankfully, Lacus had noticed and had been with him and was able to help comfort him. Kira finished by summarizing the journey to Earth and some brief details about his recovery after going through reentry.

That left the last to give their story in this catch-up session to me. The issue for me, there were things I can talk about and then, there are things I can't tell or discuss with them. It comes with some of the missions I've been sent out on, which are classified for a couple of reasons. Anyways, I began by telling the two about coming back home to the republic, glazed over the year or so that I took to pull myself together and cope with my sister and dad dying in the Bloody Valentine. Being idol hadn't done good for me and it had been quite clear very quickly to me, so I started looking at doing something with my time. My search led me to the Human Federation military as it seemed like I could find what I felt I was seeking at the time.

My first year officially as a soldier in the Federation military, had been a hectic one. Basic training was tough, but I made it through, hadn't liked the officer I was under, as I swear that they had something against me and went out of their way to make my life hell. Once, I started working within the military, I had quickly climbed the ranks from my performance. I'd shown talents for sabotage, espionage and information acquisition and my abilities with piloting impressed a number of people despite my young age. Let's just say that within the first year, the Earth Alliance had become very displeased with the 'secret information' that had been acquired by myself and others without their knowledge and delivered to Federation High Command. There were other things that I did that are not seen nicely by the Alliance, but that's how it goes sometimes. They'd put in time and resources into finding out who I was, yet they still haven't found out really who I am.

I did tell Kira about the assignment at Heliopolis and the reasons for me being there, yet also said that I enjoyed the time I was able to spend with him and his friends. Wished I could tell Kira about what I'm supposed to do about the mobile suit data in the Archangel's systems, for I don't doubt he would understand the reasons the leaders of the Federation had for giving me the assignment they had. However, with how things stand right now, it's better that I don't for the time being. I'll tell Kira later and explain why I didn't say anything to him at this point… I sure he would understand the my rational behind the actions.

As the catch-up session was finished, the discussion turned to more recent events. Kira started this by asking what reasons ZAFT could've had to attack Heliopolis. Athrun visibly grimaced at the question, "Well Kira, reports from ZAFT intelligence had acquired enough evidence to say that the Earth Forces were developing mobile suits there. ZAFT military command didn't want to take the chance of that being true and do nothing about it," Athrun explained.

"What you didn't know then Zala," came Sakura's voice and the three of us turned to face her, "Was that Le Creuset's orders were to quietly investigate the validity of the reports. Not to send ZAFT forces into the colony and risk doing damage to the colony structure and start a political mess. He made that call on his own, and he will face the consequences for that decision."

That made me wonder something, and I voiced my thoughts, "Okay Sakura, if what you say is true, then answer me this. Does ZAFT Admiral Treize know of the reputation that Rau Le Creuset has earned for himself over the years of the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT?"

Sakura sighed, "You're referring to Creuset's habit of going in guns blazing first and make excuses about his reasons later I assume?" she posed.

I nodded, "Yes indeed, that's what I'm referring to."

"Yes, Lanus is well aware of Le Creuset's habitual behavior and to answer your unsaid question, he wasn't the one that assigned Creuset, it was the National Defense Committee," Sakura added.

That information caught me off guard, for it implied that the National Defense Committee was going around the unofficial head of ZAFT's military. That was a worrisome idea for not just ZAFT , but for the Federation, and the Alliance as well. "I see, then riddle me this, aren't ZAFT military command and the National Defense Committee supposed to be on the same team working for the goal of protecting the PLANTs and its citizens? Or has that view changed these days?" I inquired.

Lacus was the one to answer the question, "The two groups are supposed to be working together Tye. The National Defense Committee's purpose is to help the armed forces to have what they need and make sure others don't limit them to the point soldiers can't do their job, but," she said, trailing off at the end.

So then, apparently, the committee is over stepping their position's responsibilities these days. That's an interesting fact to find out… wonder what Federation High command would think about this, if they don't already know. The two ladies went back to the catching up again and for a little bit, all I could do was stare. It was strange to see Sakura acting so… normal! My gaze flicked to Athrun and then to Kira who were both staring as I had, "Give the two a bit of a break, who knows when the last time was that they saw one another and got to spend some time together." I said quietly.

Both Kira and Athrun looked away from the two females, "Suppose you're right Tye" remarked Athrun.

"Yeah, I agree with that" Kira said.

Even with that being said, the scene was still so awkward that I couldn't stop myself from saying one more thing, "Still, is it just me that thinks it's just plain weird that one of the most feared ZAFT pilots and commanders is the same woman we're seeing hug Lacus like she hasn't a care in the world and is only a loving sister?"

There was a moment silence between the three of us, "It isn't just you Tye," whispered Athrun.

Kira hummed in agreement, "Yeah agreed, sorry for ever doubting you Tyler when you were telling me about Sakura," he said to me apologetically.

It was then I heard a knock at the door and knowing that Lisa was 'getting ready for the day', it's my job to mind the door… and it's my front door anyways. Rose from the couch and headed to the door, opening it when I got there and found a surprise waiting for me. On my front steps was Luke and Alan waiting for me, "Luke… Alan… wasn't expecting you coming by just yet." I greeted.

Yes, Lisa had said that both Luke and Alan would join the two of us soon enough, but I hadn't expected them to descend and travel to the Republic in a week or so. I stepped aside to let my two other teammates inside with their things they had with them. Asked them if they'd had breakfast yet, which they said they had. Caught sight of Sakura and Lacus heading out the door, with Athrun and Kira bringing up the rear, leaving me with my teammates. I told both Alan and Luke to use the room at the end of the hall, since Sakura doesn't really use it anyway. She's pretty much moved herself into my room, without permission from me. When I did make mention of the predicament with the pink-haired woman, Luke broke down, fell to the floor rolling around laughing hysterically. Thankfully, Alan didn't have the same reactions, just told me he felt sorry for my situation, but saying how much of a gentleman I was proving myself to be.

Lisa joined us by the time Alan and I managed to calm Luke down and stop him from laughing. Luke and Alan brought Lisa and I up to speed with what was going on with them. They had come down in the Euros Coalition and from there come to the Republic of East Asia to meet up with us. However, both mentioned that tension was building within the Federation as the fighting was becoming worse between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. That was expected, but not the magnitude that it was already. There were even rumors among the Federation Military that the Admiralty were discussing the need of full mobilization of the space forces and bring those on Earth to full alert. For such to be even considered, worried me for it hasn't needed to happen yet during this war, even if this was rumor.

Still, with Alan and Luke here, maybe we can complete our mission and hopefully buy some time in this situation that was getting more volatile. The fear of the Earth Forces getting mobile suits was real and seen as a serious threat. The expectation is that they will be used to gain territory for the Earth Alliance and that the war will become much worse. With the current leadership of the Alliance, it was not just a real possibility by being planned for. With the number of members of the leadership that were also member or shared the views as one of the anti-Coordinator groups, you would have to be really dim to not see that presented problems. Their expected territory expansion, would included the member nations of the Human Federation as much as ZAFT's territory.

I don't know what reason the Alliance would state or use as an excuse, but honestly, I doubt they would have any logical justification. After all, the fact that there'd been a number of Naturals that made up over a sixth of the population of Junius Seven, hadn't stopped a nuke being shot at it. That had been followed by covering up any evidence against their claims and denied loudly any they couldn't have dismiss. So, attacking neutral nations that won't do as they're told by violent, hate-blinded idiots, isn't wrong to them.

It was just after finishing catching up with my teammates, a thought popped into my head that I should probably take care of. The Archangel is getting repairs done and is being resupplied and will be for a few days. The crew would've been told this, but I doubt they were informed that the mobile suits would be taken from the Archangel and sent to Teswa for work. The complaint I foresee, is that while the machines are there, none of the Archangel's crew will get to see or access them while they are at Teswa. The wisdom being due to agreements and a treaty or two, no Earth Alliance, Earth Forces or ZAFT personnel are allowed in or around Federation R&D facilities without express permission and are accompanied while they're there.

Recalling that, I stood up and told my teammates that I needed to take care of something, before I headed out looking for the captain of the Archangel, Murrue Ramius. I just hope that the acting captain of the Archangel doesn't overreact or snap at me for arranging the favor by getting the mobile suits over to Teswa to get work done. If anything, it wasn't the easiest thing to arranged, even with the connections at Teswa, but I had managed it. However, I'm expecting from Natarle at least, complaining and me sticking my nose where it shouldn't be, she seems determined to find fault with me when she can a good portion of the time.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Murrue gathered the officers in the house that had been provided for them to stay while in the Republic. There was a need to discuss what was to be done going forward and with the time to do so, might as well, right? Once the officers were gathered in the sitting room in the house the meeting was being held in, Murrue began the meeting, "Thank you for coming everyone, I called this meeting to discuss what we should do going forward," she said to the room at large.

Natarle nodded and stood up, "Currently, the Archangel is being resupplied as well as undergoing needed repairs at the dry dock here. We'll see how the progress is going tomorrow, but the estimated time for the work was said to be two to three days," she iterated.

"It's nice of the Republic to assist us in repairs and resupply," commented Mu. "One of the few times that we've gotten help like this since the start of this journey."

"I don't know about anyone else, but this is my first time coming to the Republic of East Asia. I have always heard it is a beautiful place and is open to any to come in, as long as you follow the rules of course," remarked Krystal. "I can see why it's a frequented vacation destination with many people."

Chief Murdoch shrugged, "Sure, it's nice to relax and have someone else do the repairs and resupply, but what about the other equipment that's on the ship? Will they do that too or will that be up to my boys and I, if it's our job, then we should start as soon as we can," he asked.

"If you're referring to the mobile suits chief, I do believe I've an answer," said a voice from the doorway of the room.

Everyone in the room turned and saw Tyler McGregor leaning against the doorframe. A feeling of surprise and shock filled the air as seeing the young man as none had seen him enter or even heard the front door open. Mu was the first to regain use of his voice, "Man oh man Tyler, you have a talent for popping up out of nowhere."

Tyler shrugged, "Walked in the front door like anyone else would, not my fault no one was listening or paying attention," he replied.

"You said something about the mobile suits, didn't you Tyler?" inquired Krystal.

"Yes, I did, happen to remember a detail I should've mentioned earlier but forgot to, my apologies," Tyler said evenly, then turned to Chief Murdoch. "Before the Archangel arrived, I thought it would be nice to arrange things so that you, your engineers and mechanics could have a real break and not have to worry. So, put in a good word with some people I know and managed to get an arrangement for the Asuka and the Strike to have full repairs done, free of charge. That being said, you need not worry about those machines, they'll be in good order when the work is done, if not running better than they were," Tyler stated.

Natarle glared at Tyler, annoyed with the teen and how he was once again, overstepping bounds of authority and responsibility. "Where and with whom did you get to agree to work on mobile suits that you have no right to say anything about?" she snapped back.

There was silence for a long moment, all but Tyler and Natarle were quiet as was now customary when these two butted heads as they did from time to time. Tyler held his gaze on Natarle for a moment, then sighed, "Good golly, I do a good deed for someone and get snapped at for it. I was trying to remove an amount of work from those who had more than most would expect them to be able to handle, that's all." He commented before sighing again, "And technically Natarle, the Asuka isn't yours or the Earth Alliance's either and Kira will be fine with the arrangement when I inform him. Secondly, haven't you been stressing the mechanics too much lately? Why not give them a break and stop driving them into the ground with all that you demand from them? Then to answer your question of whom and where, the two mobile suits were sent to the Teswa R&D complex and those there will be doing the work."

There were a few gasps at the mention of one of the most well-known Human Federation development facilities in the world. "But how did you even manage to arrange such a thing?" questioned Murrue.

"Have some friends who work at Teswa and through them my request was accepted," replied Tyler.

"I wouldn't doubt that the scientists at the place are very good at what they do, but they're seeing machines that they've never encountered before. So, how would they be able to help with the little time there is?" asked Krystal.

The others in the room nodded at the question. Sure, most of them had heard of Teswa, it was famous after all, even if no one knew where it was or what development was exactly done there. But, prototype mobile suits being worked on would have its own set of issues? They would have to figure out the machines first before working on them, wouldn't they? The confused looks seemed to register to Tyler and he spoke up again, "The scientists are good at what they do true, but what you don't know, is they have complete schematics for both the Strike and the Asuka. That in mind, they already know what needs to be where and what not about both machines."

"And how would they have schematics on the mobile suits?!" demanded Natarle.

Tyler gave the woman a deadpanned look, "You know Natarle, you asking that gives me an opportunity to say some things I've wanted to tell you. First, do realize how often you set yourself up for the hits from previous actions? Second, were you aware that the Alliance personnel which had been working at Morgenroete, were beyond extremely lax when it comes to security, both physical and digital? I could say more yet, you haven't been interested in listening to me about that subject especially. Well guess what, while at Heliopolis, full schematics were acquired for all five prototype mobile suits along with the Archangel's blueprints and those were sent to Federation High Command, and from there to Teswa. As for the Asuka, Orb engineers supplied what was needed, they'd no problem with doing so as I've been told," he lectured.

Natarle was about to retort, yet Murrue spoke over her, "If you have the schematics for all the prototype mobile suits, could we have copies of them? It would really help in our mission a great deal Tyler. The Earth Forces could possibly bring the war to a close a lot sooner."

The young man shrugged with indifference, "It's not my call honestly, but I'll save you the trouble of finding out who's it is and going to them to ask. The answer you would get from them… is going to be no," Tyler said simply.

"But why," asked Arnold Neumann.

Tyler turned to the man, "For a few reasons that I can think of, none of them you will like or agree with I assume, but that's how it is. The major reason would be the leaders of the Earth Alliance haven't been friendly to others lately nor trustworthy, were I to guess," Tyler returned.

"What do you mean 'haven't been friendly or trustworthy' lately?" inquired Mu.

"I take it that you've been in space for most of the last year Mu? Kind of like I've been as well, for this idea has become a sizable amount worse over the last year," Tyler began. "The leaders of the Earth Alliance, especially those of the Atlantic Federation, nothing personally against any of you from there, but they've been… putting pressure on the member nations of the Federation to not just help the Alliance but also leave the Federation and join the Alliance instead. There have also been a small number of incidents in member nations that have caused issues that have been linked back to the Alliance, to name a few things" Tyler stated.

The member of the Archangel crew, were rather shocked by what Tyler had said about the Alliance. But he continued, "Then, with the agreements of that came from the Morpheus convention decades ago. The Earth Alliance and the groups that make it up are not to threaten or force nations that are a part of ZAFT or the Human Federation into joining the Alliance for expansion, self-interest or both. However, as of late, those in the Alliance have been… bullying other nations more insistently and don't take no as an answer, which is pretty much doing exactly what they Alliance has agreed not to."

Tyler then turned towards the front door, "I just thought you should know, should anyone start panicking when they don't see the mobile suits on the Archangel. I thought it was the nice thing to do," he said and then left.

There was silence for a little while after Tyler left, until Natarle spoke her mind, "Sometimes, I can't figure if Mr. McGregor is trying to help or hinder."

"Well, it certainly not a bad thing for the two mobile suits being repaired at a place like Teswa," commented Krystal.

Murrue cut over the two women, "Back to what we do next, our goal is still to reach Alliance HQ at JOSH-A Alaska." She said to get all back on track.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The day passed and when I woke up the next morning, found that Sakura was as she'd been almost every morning this last week, in my bed. I'd given up trying to get her to stop, for she'd made it clear that she had no intention of stopping the action. I mean, she's been chasing me for a few years now, and my refusals hadn't slowed her down, doubt me continuing to tell her no will do any more than it had already. Noted that Sakura was once again… wearing very questionable clothing, which got me to get myself out of Sakura's hold and get myself ready for the day.

When I reached the kitchen, found that I wasn't the only one up already, even if the sun was just rising. The rest of my team was also up and were making breakfast. After the meal, I began the conversation on the mission that we still had assigned to the four of us. I laid the information out I had come across earlier while waiting for info on where the Archangel had been. The data said that those at the JOSH-A base, were preparing for when the Archangel would arrive. Their techs and mechanics would no doubt be ready to extract the mobile suit data the second the ship docked. Then from there, the data would be sent to factories for mass production of mobile suits, the only issue that I see at this point is the OS. The Alliance needs a Natural-use OS and there hasn't been any evidence from the information network the Federation uses that they have come up with one. But, for the Alliance to have mobile suit plans is dangerous enough to worry, for there was always the chance that someone could write one for the Alliance unknowingly.

So, the solution I had been considering, was to sabotage the data. We couldn't remove the data as the crew would be blamed for the action and suffer the consequences. That left altering the data in such a way to not be noticed until later. The best opportunity to do that would be while the Archangel is here in the docks of Shira. As long as the data is unusable and or unreadable by the time the vessel reaches Alaska, things should hopefully work out for the time being. The plan I was thinking of was to get a virus to do the needed job, would be calling Carlos to see if anyone he knew was developing something that would fit the bill that was required to do the task.

Lisa, Luke and Alan were on board with the plan I gave and so began divvying out the jobs to pull this off. Luke and Alan would go down to the docks area to gather what information they could so that we can do this as quietly as possible. Meanwhile, Lisa would acquire supplies such as clothing to pull off this task. I would see if I can get a virus from Teswa that could make the data unusable. Plans changed a bit when Sakura and Athrun came into the room and Athrun did admit that they'd been listening to the planning session. Instead of telling them to leave, decided to involve them as that would work out better for this. So, Sakura would help Lisa in supply acquisition and Athrun would assist me in getting the means to make the Alliance mobile suit data inert.

We broke up into three pairs and went to work on our tasks, Alan and Luke headed out, taking the rented car they had and headed to the docks. Lisa and Sakura caught a ride into town to shop for the things we would need. I made the call to Carlos and found out that he believed that he had a colleague that might have what I was asking for. After hanging up, I made one more quick call to get a temporary pass for Athrun to be able to enter Teswa. Then Athrun and I piled into my car and drove to the train station in the north and boarded the train to Teswa.

 **-Line Break-**

Teswa Research & Development complex

Athrun and I arrived at Teswa station in good time. I expected the process of getting through security to take a bit longer than it normally takes. After all, someone like Athrun won't be let in due to policy, but as Athrun has permission, he'll get in. So, after Athrun and I got through the checkpoint, we were escorted to Carlos's office, where my friend was waiting for us by the look of it. I nodded to my 'geeky scientist' friend, "Hey Carlos, how goes things here?" I asked.

Carlos sighed, "Well, I'm thankful we finished your suit's work along with the X-303 Aegis before the two other mobile suits arrived very early this morning. Still, you'll not hear complaining about the two machines coming here, has been very exciting to get a closer look at the X-105 Strike as well as Orb's prototype model. Orb's chief engineer Erica Simmons was rather pleased to hear the 'Asuka Astray Frame' was here, apparently it was thought to be lost during the collapse of Heliopolis. Also, was interested in the one piloting it when I began telling her about the OS that we got a view of on both machines. The systems are quite something, even I have to say that," he answered me, then he glanced over at Athrun, "And who is this?"

I smiled, "This is one of my best friends Athrun Zala, he's also the current pilot of the Aegis. And if you could keep quiet about it, I can tell you who it was that wrote the OS for the Asuka AND the Strike."

Carlos's eyes widened, "You know who wrote that OS?! Of course I wouldn't say anything about it, just curious as to who was able to grasp the workings of machines like these mobile suit is all," he replied.

Drew a little closer to Carlos, "The one who is responsible, is my other best friend Kira Yamato. He's a wiz when it comes to programming, wrote his own OS where I based mine off the Federation's OS model and framework. Kira is around the same age as Athrun here," I returned.

I could see Carlos was about to inquire further, but I cut him off, "Listen Carlos, we're kind of in a hurry today. You said that you knew someone that could assist in the task of corrupting data that I need to have done. Could we please see this colleague of yours and see if they have what we need?" I asked.

My friend nodded and gestured for Athrun and me to follow him and we did. Carlos led us to a different section of Teswa and into a moderately sized laboratory. This lab was clearly meant for computer research of some sort from the equipment in this room. Carlos called over one of the people who happened to be a female and she came over to where the three of us were standing. The woman was of average height, around mid-five foot. She had medium length blonde hair that ended at her jawline level. Her figure was pretty normal to me, not too thin or too wide, healthy overall. She had brown eyes and high cheek bones. Of course, she was wearing the customary white lab coat with a blue shirt under the coat.

"Tyler, this is my colleague Doctor Heide Strum. She is one of the senior developers in our system research department." Carlos introduced, before turning to the woman, "Heide, this is a friend of mine, Tyler McGregor."

The woman identified as Dr. Strum looked at me, "I see, nice to meet you Mr. McGregor," she said shaking my hand, "I assume there's a reason that you're here other than introductions."

I nodded and smile a little as a phrase that my dad often said came to mind, "Indeed I am Dr. Strum, hoping you can help me with a difficult task I'm trying to accomplish. I wouldn't be here if that wasn't the case, as much as it is interesting to see the people here. My dad would always tell me, 'to get a job done, focus on doing what moves you closer to completion not digression'," I couldn't help by say one of my dad's chants in the sing song voice he would use when he would say it to Lana or me. Hey, I've learned many a life's lesson with my dad singing them over and over.

Carlos snickered at hearing the line, he had met my dad and by what he said, took a class from him. So, he could have heard quite a few of dad's quirky musings as he would use them in class as well as out of it. Dr. Strum was staring at me, "That phrase is one I've heard a number of times, one of my professors used to say it, who was your father?" she asked.

Oh my, perhaps she's a former student of my dad's, he had a number of them since he taught on Earth in the Republic, before he transferred to Junius Seven. "My dad was Lance Blass," I said calmly.

Dr. Strum gaped at me, "You're Professor Blass's son?" I nodded in reply, the woman then bowed to me, "You look kind of like your father, Mr. McGregor. I would guess you've your reasons for going by a different last name than Blass, likely political because of your mother?" she inquired.

I nodded again, "You would be right Dr. Strum, don't want my mother to have to pay for the things I do." I replied, then I gained a serious expression. "So then Dr. Strum, I need something that can make a collection of data unusable and if possible unreadable as well. Can you help me with such a task?"

The woman put a hand to her chin, "That depends, can you be more precise on what you want to happen to this 'data' you speak of?" she inquired.

To answer that question, I went into detail of the task I needed to get done. First, the mobile suit data is almost definitely encrypted and could be fragmented in pieces to avoid being detected by anyone. Second, the data is buried deep in the Archangel's systems, so deep in fact that even the crew has no idea it's there. I had gone searching for something that didn't belong and so, with my knowledge of the Archangel, I had found the data, but it had taken days of work. And this task requires that the data either be destroyed to the point that it can't be used in any way or it's unreadable so none of the data can be viewed or heck, all three would be fine as well. Dr. Strum took a bit of time to think about what I'd asked of her, though, she did give me an answer eventually, "There's something in this lab that could do what you're asking. It's not fully tested for application, but I don't see why it can be done," she said.

Then she led us to the other side of the room and brought us to stand in front of a set of consoles that were separated from the rest. Dr. Strum began lecturing us on what this set of consoles were setup for, which was for the testing of a 'program' she called "Xeno". This program could do almost anything according to the good doctor, good and bad. The reason that was the case, was this program followed the set of instructions it was given and would do what it needed to complete the list. This program could even self-modify to complete the job, could do its task unnoticed and undetected if it was told to, or it could make lots of chaos as it went. Last but not least, it could do the task assigned and clean up leaving no evidence it had been there, before it finds a means to transmit itself back to where it's told to go.

Just by what I'd been hearing, this little program sounds like it would do wonderfully for what I needed. It was almost like it was made for this task, it fit the bill that well! "Quite the program Dr. Strum, is there any way I could borrow it to complete the job I'm doing?"

"What kind of data are you interested in making unusable, out of curiosity?" she questioned.

I had a straight face before I answered, "Earth Forces mobile suit data, so it's rather important that it doesn't get to them in usable condition in any shape or form. The data is being transported to the JOSH-A base, but I have access to its transport for a little while longer."

Dr. Strum nodded to me, "That should be possible and knowing that it'll be going against Earth Alliance security beforehand, makes it a little simpler task to program the instructions for Xeno," she replied.

Athrun and I waited as the scientist did the preparation work for this program, though Carlos made use of our presence by asking specifics of our mobile suits, so we weren't idle. Those working on mobile suits were asking us question after question about the four suits here. By the time Athrun and I were let go by the mobile suit developers, Xeno was ready to be the means of taking care of the pesky and threatening mobile suit data. We were given the Xeno program in the form of data sticks to insert into the Archangel which I pocketed. Then, Athrun and I headed back to my place to see how the others did in their parts of this job.

Athrun and I arrived back at my house to find Lisa and Sakura were already there, meaning that we were just waiting for Alan and Luke to returned. The two women told us that those from the Archangel had gone into town for the day, which works out great for me and those helping me. We still needed to put together what we've done, making a much more detailed plan and then enacting the said plan, the sooner the better!

Alan and Luke came back around half an hour after Athrun and I got back from Teswa. We all sat down at the table to have our meeting, Alan and Luke kicked us off with what they had observed at the docks. The workers had been doing the needed maintenance on the Alliance vessel, both inside and out had patterns in their movements. The very good point was the number of comings and goings of works made getting onto the Archangel far easier and less likely to be noticed by anyone later. Both my teammates had chatted with the head of the workers at the docks and had managed to get him to agree to look the other way to us sneaking onto the ship.

Lisa and Sakura added to that with the supplies they got for us, three worker outfits, with hats and equipment. So, whoever would go to sneak onto the Archangel would look like a dock worker and wouldn't be recognized if anyone goes back through video records. In this, every possibility of how any of us could be traced or caught has to be covered as best as we can. Which is where Athrun and I came in and gave a summary of what we picked up at the Teswa complex. The Xeno program fit the needs of this task better the longer I looked at it and I'm confident the program is up to doing.

The next thing I did was bring out a small image projector and brought up the schematics of the Archangel. I went through the basic layout so that whoever did go to deliver the program knew where they would need to go and not look out of place. Then I pointed out the best places that would be insertion points for the virus. The first of course, would be on the bridge and is also the most obvious place to look. So, taking into account that point, the plan is to get the program in at three or six different places in the Archangel's on board systems. That way, at least one copy should be able to settle in and start corrupting the data that's the target.

When the planning meeting came to a close, I heard cars coming past and so the six of us around the table quickly cleaned up the supplies. Hid the stuff that wouldn't be good if it were seen, such as the data sticks or the worker's outfits. Then we made it look like we were preparing for dinner and hadn't been planning sabotage. Kira along with Lacus and the rest of my friends from Heliopolis came over for dinner.

The six of us staying at my house turned in early for the night. That of course meant Sakura got into my bed, but like I said, I've given up telling her off, she won't listen to me. It was especially true this night, since tomorrow was to be the day that either the mission from Federation High Command will be completed or botched. I have a record of accomplishing the missions I'm given, usually with distinction, I have no intention of letting that change!

Morning came as it always does and the surprising thing was that we were all awake at a decent hour, even Sakura and she wasn't an early riser from past experience. At breakfast, it was decided that I would be the one leading those who would insert the program into the Archangel, with Sakura and Luke coming with me. That left Lisa as the leader of the second group that would be the distractors of the crew of the Alliance vessel, which would be her, Athrun and Alan.

My team took the rental car that Luke and Alan had, then we headed to the docks, parking at the end opposite of the Archangel itself. The three of us put on the worker outfits, after which we made our way to the Alliance vessel. Each of us had two data sticks along with two specific spots we were to load the virus into the system from. Luke would be going to the hanger and use one of the consoles down there, he would also do the same to access point in the infirmary. Sakura would take a place in the mess hall, and a particular maintenance corridor before she exited, the maintenance corridor is the one that could also be found kind of like the bridge. Speaking of the bridge, I would take that access point and the other would be in a one set of officer quarters, which ironically, happen to be the ones I occupied while on the Archangel.

Once the view of the white ship came into our sight, Luke spotted a group of workers that were on their way to the Archangel. They would work well for cover and avoid suspicion of the three of us. We kept our heads down and the caps covering part of our faces as we fell into line with the dock workers. It was clear they had been working long shifts, none of them gave us a second look or even seemed to notice our presence at all. This made getting on board the Archangel easy and once on the ship we blended in with the other workers. Once on board, we separating from one another and following other workers to get to the parts of the ship we needed to get smoothly.

I reached the bridge and was still with two other workers, to keep blending in and followed the example of the other two and moved over to a console and began to do work on it. The station I sat at was the Electronic Warfare station in the CIC, though any of the stations in the CIC would work for what I was here to do. While the other two workers were working on two of the stations above me, I stealthily put in one of the two data sticks into an access port and began inputting the commands to load the payload. It took a few minutes for Xeonia to be put in the system, but as no alarms went off and no warning came up, I took that as things were going according to plan. That meant that the program itself hadn't registered as a threat or problem to the system itself, which was what I hoped would happen. Even after I dropped off my "package", I made it look like I was doing maintenance on the system and console for around fifteen minutes. Then there was movement from one of the other two and I followed the move and left the bridge. Next, I headed to the quarters that had been mine and slipped in. I was thankful that I'd 'disabled' the camera in this room pretty much the day I started living in these quarters, so I didn't need to worry about being watched.

After I finished the uploading both copies of Xeno, I discreetly left the Archangel and went to the point where Sakura, Luke and I agreed we would meet up after we were done. I was the first there, but then, I knew exactly where to go and the paths use and not be noticed by anyone else. Sakura was the next to show up to the meeting place and she said that she had uploaded both sticks of the virus to the points that she was assigned. Luke appeared a little while later and he had also uploaded both copies of the program he had. That meant that all six copies were in the system and already starting their tasks of hunting down the mobile suit data and making it unusable and hopefully unreadable.

So, to say I was feeling fairly smug as the mission that my team and I had been doing for the last month or so, was accomplished, was accurate. At least, a great deal of stress had come off my shoulder now that the mobile suit data was taken care of. However, that feeling lessened a bit when Lisa, Athrun and Alan returned. Lisa told me that she believed some of the crew of the Archangel were giving signs of being suspicious of Athrun and there had been questions of those of us that weren't there. Lisa said that there had definitely been questions about Sakura and not just where she was, but some about who she was and how she had gotten here.

Hearing that, worries me quite a bit, none of them except Kira and Lacus know that Sakura is one of the most feared pilot and commander ZAFT has got. But, I know that I'm not the only one who knows that things would be bad if certain situations occurred. One of those would come if Sakura were to be next to Lacus, the resemblance between the two would be extremely hard to miss. Hypothetically speaking, if that happened, then Lacus's identity would be brought into question and that would go badly.

With the suspicions of Athrun, by what Murrue Ramius said, it was likely Athrun who she shot in the leg back at the factory on Heliopolis. If the woman discovered that fact, then the next point that would come up would be him piloting one of the stolen mobile suits, that would be a very dangerous situation. And yet, there was still much more that hasn't been stated or said.

Much of what could happen, would easily incriminate me, and I have a hard time seeing Natarle letting that slide with anyone, least of all me. I mean, it was bad enough that they weren't happy that the Strike and Asuka were being worked on at Teswa and they couldn't go and check. Were the officers of the Archangel also to find out that the Aegis is there too, I will get really flak for that. Then, when they hear they won't be getting that machine back, they won't be happy at all… and all of that unhappiness and what comes with it, will be directed at me!

I'm starting to think it would be better if Athrun and Sakura leave the Republic, the sooner in fact, the better it would be, and the Aegis along with them. The risk of them being discovered by the Archangel's crew was growing and there would be serious consequences if something bad happened to either of them. Sakura… well, I think it's more how many would it require taking her down, for it would be a lot more than one! She's also the daughter of the current PLANTs Supreme Council Chairman, again not someone you want to do things to. Plus, with her being on good terms with the unofficial head of the ZAFT military… doubt would add anything good to the mix. Then Athrun, that was even somehow a tad worse should he be captured or killed. His father is the chair of the National Defense Committee and that's a position of great influence. And with what Patrick Zala's views were as of late, see Athrun getting hurt or killed only being used as incentive to shout a call to arms and kill a lot more people on earth and in space.

Neither set of results are appealing and certainly not both! So, I took the time in the even to go to the Military command center here in the Republic to make a call. The said call was to the ZAFT base Carpentaria in the Oceanic Union to hopefully arrange a transport and get Athrun and Sakura out. My mood wasn't very good as I made this call, the one I connected to or rather the commander on duty made my mood a good deal worse as it was someone I knew and I wasn't fond of at all! I found myself staring at the masked face of Rau Le Creuset and I couldn't help the grumble that escaped me, "Why does fate have to be so cruel as to screw me over by force me to see your face again Le Creuset?"

" _My my McGregor, this is a very unexpected surprise, to what do I owe the pleasure of chatting with you this time?"_ asked the man that had been a thorn in my side for the last month.

I calmed myself and refocused, "You mind listening for a moment Creuset, I'm calling for a reason and it's not to see or talk to you. I'm calling to ask for a transport to come to Shira from Carpentaria to do a pick up," I said evenly.

" _And why would you request that McGregor?_ " Asked Le Creuset.

A thought came into my mind and I smiled a little, "Cause Creuset, as much as I would enjoy seeing the Black Zephyr give you a beating, followed by the whipping of your life, which both would be epic I have no doubt, I don't have the free time to witness such a wonderful show." I said and it was neat to see the parts of Creuset's face I could view pale.

" _What is that supposed to mean McGregor?"_ he shot back.

"The transport is for her and one of your pilots, Athrun Zala. They happened to descend with me and landed in the Republic. However, at the moment, things have developed that makes it an unwise idea for them to stick around. That clear enough Creuset?" I returned.

" _Yes, indeed it is McGregor. I'll arrange for a transport to be there by midnight,"_ he replied.

"Make sure it can carry two mobile suits, the Aegis and the CGUE will be going with them," I added, to which the masked man agreed.

The call ended mercifully as I didn't want to talk to the man as I'd developing issues with him, but the transportation had been successfully arranged and that's what counted. I headed back to my place and told Sakura and Athrun to get their things together to be ready to leave for they would tonight. Then I called Carlos as I knew he would work late today, and asked him to send the Aegis to the airfield by midnight for its departure. He said he would do so, and I started making preparations to get my friend and another friend's sister out of a developing problem. Lisa, Luke and Alan would attempt to prevent others from interfering, probably won't be able to do so for long. However, I was beginning to accept that this would likely be the night I get ratted out and seen as a 'traitor' to the crew of the Archangel. I wasn't looking forward to the rap I would get after I did what I was about to, but as things stand, this is the best I choice I can make.

When it was 11:30, Athrun, Sakura and I got into my car and left as quietly as possible towards the airfield. Don't believe I managed to get away without notice, yet I can't say how long it would take for others to follow. I drove above the posted speed limit as I was becoming stressed at the current circumstances. Upon arriving at the airfield, the sight of a ZAFT transport was a welcome one to me, for it meant Creuset had done what he said he would. I parked the car off to the side and the three of us got out. The Aegis was being loaded onto the craft and as we approached it someone ran towards Athrun, "Athrun, you're okay thank goodness," said the person.

"Nicol?!" replied Athrun in surprise.

So then, it was Athrun's friend and the pilot of the Blitz, I remember meeting him on the Nazca-class. The green haired young man glanced at me and he seemed to recognize me, "You, Tyler McGregor wasn't it? We meet again," he said to me.

"Yes, indeed it's me. I felt that I had to get Athrun and Miss Clyne to safety as somethings have developed that could put them at risk, so here they are." I remarked with a small smile.

It wasn't long before both the Aegis and CGUE were loaded onto the transport and it was time to say goodbye to my friend for the time being. Sakura looked at me one last time, blew me a kiss and got on the transport. I shivered at the gesture and shook my head to clear it and found Athrun looking at me with desperation, "Tye… come with me. You've completed your mission and don't have to stay around to take the fall should any find out," he said.

I appreciated the thought from Athrun, kind hearted as he is still, but I knew what I was getting into when I accepted the assignment. And I still had things to tell Kira anyways, "Thanks Athrun, the thought is well received my friend," the sound of a car approaching caught my attention and I knew I was out of time in this. "But, I'll have to respectfully decline the offer. Our friend Kira still needs a bit of help and I can provide that. Yes, I'll probably if not pretty much guaranteed to take an amount of rap and crap from what went down today, but that's how it goes sometimes. I knew I would face that at some point, so hope to see you sometime soon in the future Athrun," I said before jogging to my car.

I watched the transport closing the back hatch, just as I saw one of the rented vans pulling up a distance behind the ZAFT transport. And I would bet they got a view of the Aegis before the hatch sealed and the craft moved into launching position for the runway. The transport launched and even saw that Murrue Ramius, Natarle Badgiruel glance my way as I started my car and began driving back towards my place. I'd been well-aware I would face consequences for what had just happened, but I didn't regret my actions at all.

The trip home was silent and tension building, I wasn't followed closely by what I could see. So when I pulled into the garage and shut off my car, I took a deep breath before exiting and entering my house. As the coming events were unavoidable, I went to the living room and prepared myself for the storm that would be rushing my way very soon. The rest of my team were with me and sat down to wait for those that would come to arrive. I'd known from the second that I decided that I would go back to the Archangel, that the chance of an accusation of betrayal would come at some point. If it was just dealing with the officers of the vessel, then this would be fine, not a cake walk by any means, but not like I feel it will be with the path taken to get here. What made this hard for me…? I would have to face my friends from Heliopolis, and the first part of this they would hear, would paint me very badly and the facts that could help me defend myself are ones I can't go into much detail at this time. My orders require that I don't say anything about the exact objective of my team's mission, nor its reasons seen for its necessity.

It wasn't much more than five-minute wait, before my front door was forced in and broken down by Alliance soldiers rushing in. Next few moments, my team and I found ourselves staring down barrels of multiple guns being pointed at us. Even though this was expected, it wasn't nice to have guns pointed at you in your own home! Still, I didn't flinch, just settled into an attitude of indifference, complete with deadpanned expression on my face. I simply gazed back at the men who had broken into my house, "You mind lowering those guns boys, before you do something that you'll regret for the rest of your lives. I would hate to see you all throwing away your career for such foolish actions as having an itchy trigger fingers, if not for worse," I said flatly with no emotion in my voice.

If they pull the triggers, they would be tried for their actions and it wouldn't be by the rules of the Alliance. There would be none in the Earth Alliance would be able to say anything in their defense, if they would at all, which I doubt. Their trial would be fair, it's just the evidence against them would be made up of everything they've done good and bad, and judgement would fall from there. The Federation information network isn't something to be underestimated or taken lightly, if you do something stupid, odds are that there are records about it somewhere. And shooting someone isn't something you want brought against you, not unless you have a down right good reason for doing the action.

"Don't listen to him," commanded the voice of Natarle Badgiruel just before she stepped into the room.

My eyes slowly… almost lazily, flicked over to her, my expression remained unchanged, "Do I really need to iterate just what you all would face if you were to shoot any of us Natarle Badgiruel? Do keep in mind where you are at this current time, then use the logic that you have in your brain to see how this would go for you. This isn't territory of the Earth Forces nor the Alliance, so they are not in charge and don't make the rules here. You've shown that you aren't as dim as some Earth Forces officers can be, so exercise that brain you have," I returned.

Murrue and Mu came into the room at that point, "Natarle stop this, it's not the way to do this," said Murrue.

"It's good to see at least one person still has some common sense in their head. I've done the curtesy of not disappearing and hell, I've even waited for you to come here." I stated calmly and clearly, "And what do I receive for the manners and niceties that I present? You respond by showing poor manners in the form of breaking in to property that doesn't belong to you, don't have any inclination to talk with me without pointing guns at in my direction. At first meetings, I would have assumed this type of thing was a running theme with all of you, seen by the messes you leave in your wake," I said evenly, but my words hit hard. But I didn't stop there, "I would hope you've enough respect to do better and at least use the intelligence we have as human beings to talk first, I've come to expect that bare minimum from all of you." I scanned the people in my place now, "Yet, you're acting more like members of Blue Cosmos, whose mentality is, 'shoot and kill first, ask questions later if you're forced to by someone else'. Don't demean yourselves to lowlifes like they are, you've all shown yourselves to be much better than that."

It took a few minutes before the guns were lowered and the tension went down a small margin. Murrue's gaze locked on to me, "Well then Tyler, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked me.

I spotted my friends around the doorway to the living room and so I sighed, "That really depends on what you're referring to," I replied, "I can say a lot of different things about myself, though some I'm not allowed to say in current company. Although, as you serve in a military force, I would think that you know how that kind of idea works."

Natarle gained a look of anger, "Would that include assisting ZAFT forces with the theft at Heliopolis!" she nearly shouted.

I'd known that an accusation of some sort, that would have me assisting ZAFT would come my way. I put a finger to my ear and twisted it to help clear my ear from the near bellow I'd just gotten, "You don't have to yell you know, I've great hearing that I would like to keep for the years I see coming for my life. Still, that's quite an accusation, considering I didn't assist ZAFT forces at Heliopolis, nor the Alliance forces that weren't supposed to be there in the first place either, thank you. The event earlier tonight that you happened to see the tail end of and base your information off of, was me helping a friend and another leave. Honestly, I was playing the peacemaker and taking care of issues before they came up, I prefer to be proactive when I can be. Although admittedly, said friend just happens to have one of the stolen Alliance mobile suits, but one point doesn't affect or have to do with the other in this," I replied calmly.

"That mobile suit being the X303 Aegis," questioned Murrue.

I didn't see any reason to deny what they had seen at this point, so I shrugged, "Yeah, what's your point?" I asked.

Natarle banged her fist down onto the coffee table in the room and for a second, I though it cracked the furniture, but I didn't see any sign that the hit had. "And still, you helped that thief get away?!" she demanded.

My expression or rather lack thereof, would appear to be carved out of stone by this point as it didn't change at all, even though I wasn't at all amused or appreciating what was being implied. Natarle was calling Athrun a thief and my best friend wasn't one, he'd been ordered to do what he did and had serious doubts about the actions. "Would you please refrain from damaging or breaking the furniture here, a portion does belong to me, but not all of it. And as I said before, I helped one who's a friend to me and he isn't a thief any more than any of you are. As for the Aegis, it may have been yours before, but it's not so anymore… get over it and move on," I shot back.

Natarle wasn't please with my reply, to put it mildly, "And when were you going to mention that the Aegis was here?!" She demanded.

I exhaled and rolled my eyes, "None of you ever asked about whether I came down with anyone else, so that's your problem. And before you ask the question in whatever demeaning way you would, the reason I didn't say anything about my friend and what he's done, is exactly what's happening here. You're blowing up about things that are in the past and can't be changed," I said and frowned slightly. "Did it ever once occur to you, that maybe some of those who took the Alliance's prototype mobile suits, didn't entirely agree with what their orders were. Or have you never been given orders that you have some sort of issue with, because if so, you need to get out more."

This argument, had pretty much morphed into a debate between Natarle and me, everyone else was staying out of it. "So then," growled Natarle, "Did you come back to the Archangel just to sabotage it and stop our mission?! Is that what you did when you walked around the ship. Playing nice to gain our trust to steal data for the Human Federation?!"

I was silent, the claim wasn't one that I had expected to be put in that particular way, and so, it caught me off guard. The Earth Alliance didn't have data that was worth stealing, nor that I'd taken in the way that Natarle implied. And though I was quite talented in the art of sabotage, I had done none of that to the Archangel. Heck, there had been suggestions from some of the higher ups of the Federation military to just destroy the Archangel and be done with the matter. Admittedly, it had been a serious possibility considered and I could have had an easy time. All I would've had to do was simply get my friends off and let the Archangel get destroyed in one of the battles it had gotten into.

That's right, I could've let ZAFT do the work for me, and it'd run through my mind, more than once. Hell, there had been a golden opportunity to do just that during the battle above the atmosphere, I would've finished the assignment and that would have solved so many standing issues. But, I hadn't had a good feeling about standing by and letting that happen, and so had stood my ground and couldn't accept that. I'd insisted on taking the non-easy way out to complete the mission, claiming that I could achieve the objectives and not destroy the ship. Hence, why the current situation is unfair to me as it is ironic, what's worse, I've no answer for the accusations that I can say right now. It's true that I had in a way been looking for a chance to do a bit of sabotage, but it was to a specific target and none of the crew knew about it. My mission had been to prevent mobile suit data from reaching the Alliance by whatever means necessary after all.

Yet, choosing the hard way with me wishing for none to die with the mobile suit data, to be accused of doing harm when I'd been doing the opposite. However, what I did already earlier today had taken care of things and finished the mission. Nevertheless, what I'd done wasn't the kind of sabotage that Natarle was inferring, and yet, to those in the Alliance including most in the room, there's no difference between the two. I'd been trying to do what I'd been assigned and keep those onboard the Archangel still be alive at the end. Still, here I was, being suspected and accused of going about destroying the Archangel when I'd been doing my best to prevent that. Nonetheless, I could say nothing about the orders I'd been under right now and that would be pretty much the only way I could clear myself, there within lies the irony of this situation.

"Nothing to say for yourself, Tyler McGregor?!" posed Natarle.

With the corner that I'm been shoved into, even if I told the truth, I doubt any would believe it. Hell, there was unlikely a single thing I could say in my defense that would help me not look like the enemy to those here, they had made up their minds. I even though I knew this was a fair possibility that I would face something like this, it wasn't pleasant to face it at all.

Lisa step forward, yet I put up a hand to stop her, this was for me to face and counter. I would've no one else defend me in this as I'd done the work to get here, "No, Ensign Badgiruel, in your view, it's clear that no matter what I say now, you will see me as nothing else but a traitor period. I could tell you several things, and not a single point would change your mind, no matter how much irrefutable evidence I and/or others can provide you to show what I say is true. So, it's a waste of my time and pretty much all here. Whatever I say, you would twist into an attack against me," I returned calmly, before I let out a tired sigh. "Honestly, it's like having to deal with any given member of Blue Cosmos I've been forced to deal with before now."

Some within the group accusing me, flinched at me comparing them to the Anti-Coordinator Organization Blue Cosmos. Yet, I continued, "They've always had their justification to try and kill people like me since I'm a Coordinator and that's all that's needed to say that I deserve to be condemned and executed. And here, I was beginning to think that all of you were different than them and a good portion of the others within the Alliance. But apparently, I was wrong, suppose it's one of those, you live and you learn lessons."

Natarle ignored my comparison of the crew of the Archangel being like Blue Cosmos and just took my reply as conformation that her accusations were right and that I was a traitor. "One could say the same of you," she returned.

I shrugged, "If you wish to keep moving forward with your eyes shut, you go right ahead. Have fun finding out how long that works out for you," I retorted.

My attention shifted off Natarle, who I wasn't really paying attention to any more, since she had her view of me and only if she were to see how twisted the Earth Alliance's politics and military have become, would that view change. Her reply only went to prove my point that I couldn't change her view, she took an insult into an attack on me. My gaze landed on those I thought of as friends from Heliopolis and if was like being stabbed in the heart. And it's mostly because I couldn't tell them what I had really done and why, which would explain a lot of things.

It was not too long after my final defense, that people began filtering out of the house. It took most of what I'd in me to keep my expressionless air of indifference up, especially after the looks from my friends. The expressions of pain and shock hurt me more than anything else from having to face those I'd come to think as good people recently. I'd known the chance of me being caught doing what I was assigned to do, was there and if it happened my friends would be seeing a picture of me betraying them. What did the extra kick to me, I'd been doing the opposite of putting the Archangel in danger, I've been protecting those on the Archangel, from the danger they can't see, or they refuse to acknowledge. And I'm being blamed for things I haven't done and wouldn't do just because I helped those here and Athrun along with Sakura, from clashing.

After the crew of the Archangel left the room, there was no sound other than the noise of the appliances in the house along with the breathing of the occupants. Yet, as time kept moving forward, my mask of complete emotionless indifference began cracking and was on its way to shattering. The first sign of this, was the tears which started flowing with almost no notice from myself, until Luke spoke up. "Uh mate, you doing alright?"

I looked over at him, opened my mouth, but my voice didn't come out like I was instructing it to do. That's when I realized there was something happening that doesn't normally with me, I even touched a hand to my throat. It took me a couple of seconds, breathing in and out before I tried again to speak and succeeded, "Wrong Luke?" I questioned, "I'm doing peachy! The mission is done and now… now we'll hopefully get some well-deserved R&R. So, what could possibly… be wrong?"

My voice started breaking halfway through my reply, and that I did hear myself, but waved it off as stress building up affecting me. Alan was the next to speak his mind, "Tyler friend, you're crying" he said.

At Alan's comment, I was about to ask him what the heck he was talking about, for I don't cry, haven't for years! But, when I touched a hand to my face, I found that my teammate was absolutely right, I was crying, and I couldn't stop the tears that just kept coming. As this fact sunk into my mind, my head lowered, so my teammates wouldn't have to see me like this. It hurt to have to comprehend, the reasons that this was affecting me. I can handle a bloody battlefield, don't like that type of thing, but I can get through that kind of thing in fairly marginal shape. Yet this, to have friends give me looks and expressions of pain and shock of betrayal… it cut directly to my heart better than anything really had for a long time!

My breathing became noticeably ragged and my face contorted with some of the first true pain I'd shown in close to five years. Silence hung in the air, only to be broken by Lisa, "Tyler, we can help you, we're here for you," she said quietly, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I brought up my head, the tears flowing down my face faster than before, "Why," I uttered, before my voice caught in my throat. I swallowed and tried again, "Why does this… hurt so much? Why does this pain feel like… what I felt when I fully understood my dad and little sister were killed and were gone forever?"

My voice wavered, but I couldn't help it by this point. The horrible aching in my heart hurt so much and past pain only added to the feeling. Yet, I'd been trying to help those I think of as friends and protect them as well, which normally gives the opposite feeling. I admit, I don't show a great deal of real emotions much anymore, not since the Bloody Valentine incident. It's how I learned to cope with the loss that came with the destruction of Junius Seven for me. But, this… it crashed past the well-developed front I put up that had me showing what looks like real feelings.

"Tyler, old boy, you've been trying your best, that is all any of us can do," remarked Alan.

I know Alan and what the others have said is right, yet still, I'd vowed to myself, that I would do everything within my power and capabilities to not have to feel the pain of loss like I had back when Dad and Lana had been killed. And yet, even drowning in the pain I was, there was still impending danger for the crew of the Archangel ahead, was no doubt in my mind about that with what I knew about the leadership of the Earth Forces and the Earth Alliance. My friends did their best to help me calm down enough to be able to start dealing with this. It took a bit of time, but I was able to calm down to the point that I could think clearly enough to be of sound mind and push past the crushing pain. It would be best to just layout what stressed me so and I knew it, my mom has always said so and she's right.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The crew of the Archangel, gathered in one of the houses that'd been provide for them to stay in while the ship was being resupplied and repair. The mood in the place was a mix of gloom and feelings of betrayal hung over the group. The silence that was filling the air served to increase the emotions all had. Yet, after a little while, Mu's voice broke the silence, "Man oh man, the current feel around here is just awkward," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "But still, who would have thought that Tyler would do such things, I still have a hard time seeing Tyler being malicious like this."

"Indeed, he didn't seem the kind of person to help ZAFT, especially after how hard he defended the Archangel. I just feel there has to be something else, but I can't see what more there could be to this," remarked Krystal.

There was another moment of silence hung in the air, but then Kira hit a wall with a fist, "How can any of you accuse Tyler of betrayal?! He hasn't done anything wrong!" he shouted angrily.

Kira was more than just frustrated, he was angry, and Kira didn't get angry easily. But, having to listen to Natarle paint Tyler as a criminal was wrong and infuriating. One of his best friend was being seen and labeled as a bad and horrible person that tricks people, and for what? For helping out their other best friend that they share along with Lacus's older sister get back to ZAFT territory to prevent issues coming up between them and the crew of the Archangel.

Yet, that was apparently enough, for Natarle to also accuse that Tyler had been attempting to sabotage the Archangel as well. It was as ridiculous as it was frustrating to Kira more than anything had been before! If there was something Kira knew about his friend Tyler McGregor, then it would be that he didn't do anything he did without a viable reason and he didn't like hurting people if there was a way to avoid it. Tyler had clearly shown to Kira himself, that the destruction of the Archangel wasn't his goal at all. He had defended the Archangel far too hard for that to be his objective. And whatever his real job was to do, it was causing him grief enough, that he was going out of his way to do what he was at cost to himself.

"Kira is right! Tyler has been helping by working for the best interest of us all! How can any of you accuse him of being a traitor with everything he's done for all of us?!" piped up Lacus with feeling.

Natarle stepped forward, "I can understand that this will be hard to accept, but the fact of the matter is, Tyler helped out the enemy. He has taken your trust along with all of ours and used it to pull a fast one over us all. It's more surprising that he would do such to you two," commented Natarle gesturing at Kira and Lacus, "but apparently, loyalty means little to Mr. McGregor."

That was the final straw for Kira, to hear someone say that Tyler had little to no loyalty to his friends, that was one of the lowest blows and Kira wouldn't let that stand without challenge! "YOU'RE WRONG! TYLER ISN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL!" bellowed Kira, to the shock of everyone else. Kira then kept going, but his volume was less than a full bellow or shout, "You're just pinning the blame on him for everything that's been going badly, you have no proof of wrongdoing or that Tyler had anything to do with anything! Clearly, you haven't taken the time to get to know Tyler at all!"

Kira, after yelling the line turned towards the door of the house and stormed out, slamming the door after himself. No one spoke after Kira's outburst, most there couldn't come up with anything to say after hearing the young Coordinator's defense of his friend. It was again Mu that found use of his voice, "Got to give the kid credit, he's loyal to his friend."

"Their friendship is more than strong enough for them to trust one another to not accept such claims, unless they come as a confession from the other personally," Lacus remarked, then she too left the room, but not the house.

Meanwhile, Kira was stomping outside to vent his anger at hearing the insults and accusations against Tyler. It had hurt to have to listen to Tyler be seen in the picture that had been given by Miss Badgiruel. Kira, without thinking had been walking towards Tyler's place, and upon noticing this, he thought it would be nice and good of him to tell Tyler that at least Kira himself, did not see him as a traitor in any way. However, as Kira approached the house, he heard voices from within the place and what he heard stopped him where he was.

The sound that had frozen Kira where it was, the sound of Tyler speaking in a way he hadn't for a long time, five years in fact. The tone and wavering in Tyler's voice shocked and hurt Kira, much like it had, when Athrun and himself had found Tyler curled up in his dorm room at the lunar prep academy.

"Tyler, old boy, you've been trying your best, that is all any of us can do," remarked a male voice, it had one of the accents that was found in the Euros Coalition.

A few minutes passed, before Tyler began speaking again, "Being cursed isn't what hurts, I've unfortunately gotten used to that by now. But… the expressions of shock and pain from my friends… it won't stop playing through my mind, it just hurts and aches so much."

Kira felt for Tyler, he wanted to rush in and comfort him, much like he had just after Junius Seven had been destroyed. But Tyler didn't stop talking for long, "And if that's not enough, then there's how I've been trying to handle finishing our assignment AND have the Archangel still be in one piece with her crew alive and kicking. Yet, it's like no matter what I do, they're still going to be screwed and because the crew of the Archangel are decent people, makes it worse," Tyler said.

"You say the crew of the Archangel are decent people, would you say that of its second in command, Natarle Badgiruel?" Asked a feminine voice, likely of the female companion Tyler had at his place.

There was a snort from Tyler, "Natarle Badgiruel is a tight reared officer and a royal tight a**, far more so than your average tight reared one true, but at heart she's not a bad person. She can and normally is strict as hell, but think that comes from something else, family perhaps, I can't say. That woman, nor any of the other members of the crew of the Archangel deserve to die and that's what is ahead of them."

Kira listened harder at hearing the last sentence that Tyler said, for it didn't bode well for anyone. "Heck, even if I had told them what those at the head of the OMNI Enforcer and the Earth Alliance view the Archangel and her crew, they wouldn't believe me. They don't 'appreciate' what the Archangel has done at Heliopolis or afterwards as those events have already come back to bite the Alliance in the butt, specifically the Atlantic Federation in more ways than one. They have been distancing themselves and denying any involvement with the events and doing so loudly to everyone else. Those rebuttals do include the existence of prototype mobile suits and that the Archangel had been built at Heliopolis, which is ironic in several ways," Tyler kept going.

What Tyler had said had given an interesting perspective, for it said a lot about the Earth Alliance. "Honestly, the only real reason the Alliance hasn't sent out forces to sink the Archangel, which would solve some of their problems, is what the Archangel carries. Sure they deny the existence of prototype mobile suits, but they still want the results of the work that was done at Morgenroete. The data the Archangel has on board, is far more valuable to the Alliance, much more than the ship or her crew are," Tyler explained.

"You're right mate, but what does that have to do with what's ahead of the Archangel?" Asked a different male voice that had an accent that Kira wasn't familiar with.

"It has quite a bit to do with the idea Luke," Tyler replied. "I would be amazed if the Archangel and her crew receive anything, but a harsh welcome should they make it to JOSH-A. The crew have and are being made into scapegoats for the Alliance to get out of recent events. They definitely won't be happy when they find the data they want so much is now unusable and the blame for that will fall on the crew of the Archangel. But back to the main point, as the Earth Alliance is all about control, they will separate those they believe can still be controlled and keep them. Meanwhile, the rest there is no intention of keeping around, will be sent to die on some kind of suicide mission. Honestly, it's frustrating that good people are gotten rid of regardless of their value and skill!"

There was a pause, then Tyler picked up where he left off, "What haunts me the most, is what will happen if Kira and Lacus are still on the Archangel when or if it gets to JOSH-A."

Kira strained his ears to hear what was going to be said after Tyler had said his name and Lacus's. "Kira I fear, he'll be quietly assassinated and then his body disposed of in such a way that few will ask further and for those that do, will either be silenced or just killed. And yet, Lacus will face worse than that, especially once those there figure out who she is. For her, being the daughter of the chairman of the PLANTs Supreme Council, she will be used as a hostage. The majority of the Earth Alliance's leadership wouldn't hesitate in do something as low as use a hostage to get what they want. Hell, they will threaten to hurt Lacus in a heartbeat to get Siegel Clyne to cave into their demands. Not like the man could give into the threats, for it would conflict with the best interest of the citizens of the PLANTs," Tyler iterated.

Pain came to Kira's heart hearing what Tyler believed would happen to Kira himself and more to what could happen to Lacus. But, Tyler kept going, "I understand the reasons Federation High Command has for not wanting the Earth Alliance to have mobile suits. I agree that if the Alliance were to have mobile suit, they will use them against the Federation, starting with the member nations first. Heck, the message my mother received from the Atlantic Federation is a prime example of how the Alliance is run now. Their 'urge' to assist them in the war against ZAFT, I'm more surprised that they just didn't outright say 'mankind's enemy' like some of them do anyways. Then the suggestions they gave were disgusting, they were telling us to demean Coordinators to less than human."

What was being said and implied shocked Kira a good amount, it was a lot to take in. The way the Earth Alliance was painted, was different than those on the Archangel talked about it, but some of the news reports fit what Tyler had described. "Yet, with the virus already doing the job of corrupting the data, part of the standing problem is being handled now," Tyler finished.

There was solid silence after that, Kira backed away from where he had been listening to Tyler speaking, and he didn't think anyone in the house had noticed him. What he had heard… it'd made sense and had filled in the holes in the reasons why Tyler had done what he had. But, to hear his best friend breakdown like that… Kira hadn't heard Tyler talk in a voice like that since Athrun and Kira himself, had found Tyler in his room at the lunar prep academy on the day Junius Seven had been attacked. It'd hurt to hear Tyler talking like that again. Kira had want so badly to rush in and do his best to comfort his friend who was clearly in pain… that sounded like he'd been keeping inside. The urge had strengthened as the conversation had kept going.

Kira quickly made his way back to the place where he hoped that the crew from the Archangel would still be. To his good fortune, the majority of the people from the ship were still there, not talking much though. When Kira came in Lacus was the first to get up and go over to him, for her she wanted to check that he was okay. After all, Kira had left in a rather angry mood and that was rather unusual for one with a temperament like Kira had.

"Good to see you've cooled off Kira, you were pretty mad when you went out the door." remarked Mu, glancing in Kira's direction.

The young Coordinator nodded and looked a tad embarrassed that he had lost his cool like he had. But then, Kira remembered that he was coming back to tell everyone about what he had heard. The information would prove that Tyler isn't a traitor like he was being painted as, "Listen, while I was out walking, I heard Tyler talking and by what I heard, he is as I've said, been working for the best interest of the whole crew," stated Kira firmly.

There was silence at Kira's claim, yet Krystal then spoke up, "Well, what is this information you heard? I for one, would certainly like to hear it as I've a hard time seeing Tyler as a traitor, doesn't seem the type to do that kind of thing," she said.

Kira began going through what he had overheard, starting with the part about how those in leadership positions in the Atlantic Federation denied any involvement in what the Archangel had gone through or caused. About how the ones that the crew of the Archangel considered their superiors, said there was no prototype mobile suits built or designed at Heliopolis and the Archangel hadn't been created at the colony.

Much of the crew appeared shocked and many were appalled at the information Kira was telling them, but Kira kept going. Telling them that Tyler believed the Earth Forces had very likely considered sending others to destroy the Archangel, but had decided against that action. The reason being that there was special and valuable data on the ship somewhere that the Earth Alliance wanted badly. Tyler hadn't mentioned where or what that data exactly was, but to those he had been speaking to, seemed like they all already knew about it. From what Kira could figure, it had something to do with mobile suits, though he didn't say that.

Next, Kira told those listening about what was said about the type of reception would be waiting for them at Earth Alliance Headquarters at JOSH-A. It had sounded like more than a guess as to what Tyler believed what would occur, as if he had evidence of some kind. The details that Kira heard, from the crew being separated into the two groups of who they wished to keep and those they didn't, to shouldered those they didn't keep with the blame of what had happened essentially using them as scapegoats. Kira left out what had been said would happen to Lacus and himself apart from the others as he didn't want to tell Lacus and everyone else would then question why Lacus would be used as a hostage against the PLANTs.

Finally, Kira had laid out what had been said about Tyler's mission and why the leaders of the Federation Military viewed of the Earth Alliance getting mobile suits as a serious problem. The position and viewpoint wasn't all that hard to understand, for it was based on the assumption that the Earth Forces would attack the Federation and with recent events, it was possible that such could happen. So with that in mind, in order to protect their citizens, they had sent a group to do what they could to prevent the Earth Alliance from getting access to mobile suits. It's why Kira himself thought that the 'data' had something to do with mobile suits, mostly from what Tyler said later on.

However, Kira left out the mentioning of some sort of virus or program that was 'taking care of' the data. By what Tyler had said, it didn't sound like it would hurt the ship itself just do something to the data mentioned. If Kira had mentioned something about the program, then it was likely that someone would use the fact to say Tyler was a traitor again. Still, Kira did mention of the document that Tyler had said had come to the Republic leadership. He knew that would mean that Tyler's mother would be the one to have received this document… whatever it was. It had been as much as what Tyler had said, as the way he had said it, which had made it clear that the content wasn't nice.

Once finished, Kira waited for the reaction of those who had been listening, for at least in his own mind, Kira had proven that Tyler wasn't they enemy at all. Natarle was the first to react, "Quite the story, I'll admit that Kira. Still, there's no proof that any of this information is true, Mr. McGregor could just be making all of it up to cover himself and that's just as likely," she said flatly.

Lacus got in front of Kira and kept him back, before he could snap back at Natarle, for he was mad again as what he said was being waved off. Mu however, hummed in thought, "I don't know, from what Kira said, Tyler is either well informed or really good at picturing how people can act. And honestly, from what I've seen, I'm more inclined to go with the former rather than the latter. I mean, some of that information is pretty specific and it makes me wonder." The man put a finger to his chin and began to pace, "I mean, the denial from leaders of the Atlantic Federation, that sounds like what most politics I've been around do, deny what makes them look bad. Although what has my attention is the 'reception' that's supposed to be waiting for us at Alaska."

Krystal nodded in agreement, "So it caught your attention as well Mu? The reception sounded rather worrisome specific and makes me really more than just curious too," she commented.

"That point alone says Mr. McGregor doesn't know what he's talking about. It's utter nonsense," reasoned Natarle.

Mu stared at Natarle, "Really? Would it be the same kind of utter nonsense that he told you about ZAFT with the battle with the 8th fleet before he went out? That turned out to be rather on the money as I recall," Mu challenged.

Natarle was at a loss for words at that reply from Mu, for she couldn't think of an answer to it. "There's no reason to debate this right now, we depart tomorrow on route to Alaska. Everyone is to go and get sleep, be on the ship at 0800 hours," commanded Murrue, ending the argument.

People began exiting the room, heading to the beds they had, until all that remained was Kira, his friends from Heliopolis and Lacus. Sai was the first to speak, "Kira, after hearing what you said… I don't know what exactly to think. Tyler helping that ZAFT pilot is hard to dispute."

"To Tyler, the one that he helped wasn't a ZAFT pilot, but one of his two best friends by the name of Athrun Zala. And the other was," Lacus said before pausing while glancing at Kira who was nodding, "she is my sister Sakura Clyne."

Everyone was staring at Lacus, "You said the name Clyne right?" asked Tolle. "But your name is Don isn't it Lacus?"

Lacus looked down at the floor, "No, it actually isn't guys, and it's my fault that you think it is," said Kira. All attention shifted to Kira, "With Lacus's last name being so well-known, it seemed a really bad idea to have anyone else know what it was," he said in explanation.

"But why is it such a big thing for you to have the last name Clyne Lacus? I mean, it's not like you're related to the one with the Clyne name in the government of the PLANTs right," returned Miriallia.

Lacus sighed, "Actually… the one you're referring to is named Siegel Clyne and he's my father. His job and position is that of the chairman of the PLANTs Supreme Council and my sister is one of the best ace pilots and commanding officers that the ZAFT military has. And then, my career being an idol singer does contribute to the issue." She replied.

Kira frowned, remembering what Tyler had said would happen to his friend Lacus should she reach the Earth Alliance Headquarters. Lacus took note of Kira's expression, "Kira, are you okay?" She asked.

Kira focused on where the voice came from and realized that Lacus was right in front of him, looking worried. "Oh well," he muttered.

Lacus didn't let Kira not tell her what was troubling him, and it didn't take Kira seemed to realize that she wouldn't. He exhaled heavily, "Tyler said that you and I Lacus, would be facing something a bit different were we to go to Alaska. He believed I would be killed in such a way that most if any would know about it happening." Kira paused as he didn't like what Tyler had describe for what awaited Lacus at all, though he believed he was right. "He said that you would be used as a hostage against the PLANTs and wouldn't be let go."

Everyone minus Lacus gained a horrified expression, however, the pink haired girl herself nodded in sad acceptance. "Yes, I would imagine it would be as Tye says it would. Sakura also said not to trust the leaders of the Earth Alliance and it would fit with that," she remarked.

From that point on, their other friends believed as Kira and Lacus did, that Tyler was no traitor, but a friend doing the best he could to help and protect them. After that, the separated to the beds to get at least a little sleep before tomorrow.

The next day dawned and the crew boarding the Archangel was a solemn affair. It was easy to see that not all of the crew believe as Natarle did that Tyler had been tricking them the whole time. The Alliance vessel's departure was quiet, but not unnoticed by anyone. Tyler had gotten up early and witnessed the ship leaving the dock and shortly the port itself. As he watched, he silently wished his friends safe travels, but his worries didn't leave him.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **And that's where I'll leave off for this chapter. A lot of material covered in this chapter and I tried to not ramble, but I wanted to get to the point where the Archangel was heading out to setup for the next chapter. My reasons as to why… I'll keep to myself until the next chapter. Please take the time to write a review or PM me and tell me what you think or to ask questions. Can't promise that I'll answer every question, but I will try to answer the ones I can.**


	14. Phase 14: Sacrifice

**A/n**

 **Know it's been some time since I wrote for this story and I wouldn't doubt that some are 'not happy' with me for taking as long as I have for this chapter. I apologize for the delay in this, had a case of writer's block on sections of this chapter, it happens unfortunately. Anyways, like before, I don't own nothing from the Gundam universe, just my musings and characters. Enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

Phase 14: Sacrifice

March 13th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

East Side of Northern Housing District, Shira, the Republic

My mood was low as it had been the two days that had passed since the Archangel departed to, I would assume Alaska as that had been their original destination. I'd reported the completion of the mission my team and I had been assigned, but that's about all I did. The mobile suit data would be unreadable and unusable by the time it got to Earth Alliance HQ. The worries I had about some of those on the Archangel hadn't left me, haunted me more than left me alone, especially for Kira and Lacus. With little to nothing to do, I'd been hanging around my house, moping honestly and I couldn't seem to get out of doing so.

As is normal routine procedure with the Federation military, my teammates and myself were being given R&R time now that the mission was done, a way of those at high command saying thanks for a job well done. We hadn't gotten much of that after Heliopolis, but circumstances had been rather precarious back at that time. Nonetheless, with the time I now had, it was only dragging my current mood down since the Archangel left since it only fed my stress and nightmares. Despite this, was given a surprise in the form of my mother coming to visit me, which was unexpected as she still has work, a government to keep running, a country to managed overall. And still, she takes time to come and see me… she hasn't changed much from when I was younger.

I just sat across from her not saying anything, for I couldn't really think of what I could say for my current behavior. It felt like a long period of time before my mother spoke, "You seem in rather a low mood for the last few days, any particular reason why Tyler?" She asked.

As blunt as ever, I exhaled before I gave my mom a short summary of what had happened since Heliopolis, for the events that led up to what occurred three nights ago played a part. My mom listened to my tale, didn't interrupt me as I went over the chain of events. Once I finished, I was silent, waiting for her thoughts, "Seems you like usual, have gotten yourself into a precarious position once again for the sake of helping others. You are so much like your father in such things," my mother said while putting a hand to her temple.

I smiled with an expression that was a mix of nervousness and foolishly waving off the compliment, "Always strive to be the same kind of man that dad was," I replied.

My mother pinned me with a serious gaze and I out of habit, snapped to attention, "And do your regret any of your actions in these events Tyler?" She asked flatly.

I brought up my head and looked my mother straight in the eyes, "Absolutely not, I regret nothing of what I did in any of these events," I returned firmly.

She nodded at my response, "Then all you can do is move forward," was her remark.

Mulling over what my mother said, I knew she had a very good point and I couldn't deny it without outright lying. She was correct, all that could be done was move forward from here, but the question is how do I do that.

After the visit from my mother, which had work as a kind of pep talk for me, I had gotten down to seeing what I could do in the current circumstances. I did this by trying to find out what the Archangel was doing, and through that, hopefully know the condition 'my friends' were in. In around a week, things took a turn that I'd known could happen, but have been hoping wouldn't come to pass. By the information I'd seen from the Information Network, the Archangel was on the way to the Orb Union. The problem, is that a certain ZAFT Commander is still dead set on hunting down the Alliance vessel like he had at Heliopolis with the intent to sink the ship and all onboard. This time however, Le Creuset wasn't lead the force technically, but there was a force from Carpentaria and don't doubt he had influence in this development. Things further became complicated with the fact that, said ZAFT force with its current course and speed, would intercept the Archangel before they reach the Orb Union.

Now I had an internal and moral issue among the problems I was beset with. There was a best friend of mine on both sides of this developing conflict and they would be put in the position to fight one another. Those who are in command on both sides would attack the other and defend themselves. That requires their pilots to do what they could to take each other down and that ends horrid from my view. So, the question I'm tearing myself up about, which do I help… Kira or Athrun? Siding with either of them, I would automatically labeled an enemy to the other side. Where I would normally not side with the Earth Forces due my past experience with them, the Archangel isn't the same to me. Then I can't agree with the views with Le Creuset as he's a warmonger and I don't like those at all.

So, I can't see a way for me to do anything to change thing in this where I don't lose in some way! …But, if I do nothing, I couldn't live with myself if one or both died and I'd stayed on the sidelines and done nothing. So, even if I'm still stuck in a lose lose situation, I have to try to do something about this! This probably will bite me in the rear later… possibly to a horrible extent, yet that won't deter me. With my decision made, I rushed to my car and headed out towards the train station in the north. From there, I went to Teswa R&D to get the Shadow, so that I could head out. However, thinking as I traveled towards the development complex, the ZAFT force would easily outnumber what the Archangel has along with myself being there. So, better to prepare and equip what I can to help in the battle that was ahead. That being said, I made sure that I requested equipping the 'Kale' Artillery pack, which Carlos was fine with.

Once that was done, I flew out from Teswa and out towards the Orb Union and hopefully the Archangel. Along the way, I came across a fleet of five Federation ships going in the same direction, which made me wonder what was going on. The next thing I knew, there were three Federation fighters coming up from behind me. To my surprise, the fighters were flown by my teammates, who had followed me. Apparently, Lisa had figured out what I'd intended to do and the others had come with her when she had come after me. Not that I would complain as I was about to do something that can be seen as pretty stupid, better to have help to minimize risks that will be there. We came land on the lead ship which was a 'Lapis' carrier class of ship of the Federation Military's Naval Forces.

The 'Lapis' carrier, has a length of 275 meters from stem to stern and was shaped as a long rectangle with rounded corners. The forward half was for launching fighters or mobile suits with a main runway and two separate catapults on either side of the runway. The back half had helipads for rescue operations to be sent out and behind those was the command bridge tower. The ship doesn't have as many armaments as a Sea Cutter possesses, but with the ship being able to hold ten to fourteen fighters or suits if they squeeze in, the armaments aren't necessarily needed. The 'Lapis-class' is pretty much the leading ships of the ocean fleet of the Federation's earthbound naval forces.

Once the four of us landed on the ship, we went to the captain and found out the fleet was heading towards the Orb Union, due to information that a ZAFT force had been heading that way from Carpentaria. Although I already knew that, to have conformation of it didn't sit well with me at all. ZAFT's action was taking a large risk making this move as the Orb Union is a member nation of the Human Federation, that's a fact and one by this point that ZAFT can't really deny any longer. And with the Ordea non-aggression treaty that ZAFT has with the Federation, technically this action could be seen as an act of aggression against the Human Federation itself, which could be taken as an act of war in the extreme stance. ZAFT is already fighting against the Earth Alliance, even a child can see it is a dumb idea to take on another who can actually take you on and win.

So, I was left to pondering two things, do these orders come from those leading the ZAFT military, or is Le Creuset doing this without others knowing and hoping that he doesn't get caught. Second, let's say ZAFT does what they want, the point is their actions will be seen and it is a violation of a major standing treaty. There's no way Le Creuset will convince any in the Federation that this was justified and the PLANTs Supreme Counsel won't be able to cover him like they did for Heliopolis. The weird thing… Creuset should already know all of this, he has proven that tactically speaking, isn't an idiot. So, why make and take such a serious gamble, all for an obsession?

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel, close to the Marshall Islands of the Orb Union

The mood onboard the ship for the last week had been the lowest it had been since the outset from Heliopolis. The majority of the crew's morale had been dragged down by recent events, not only from Tyler McGregor's actions and absence, but the tension that came from other things. Kira and the volunteers from Heliopolis stood together. That didn't change no matter what was said to them about Tyler, they didn't believe Tyler had done anything wrong at all. Most didn't challenge any of them, less after the first day. Although, Natarle was one that kept up her voice that Tyler was a traitor yet, after the second day of this, Murrue put her foot down and made it stop.

Even with the insults against Tyler stopping, it didn't change the gloomy feel and mood that was over the ship. The team of mechanics seemed to agree more with Kira and those from Heliopolis when it came to Tyler, though they didn't voice it. The officers tended to side with Natarle, but kept the silence about it. Mu and Krystal attempted to smooth things over between all aboard, yet there wasn't much progress.

Murrue and the other commanding officers came to the consensus that stopping in the Orb Union to obtain supplies before going on to Alaska. Most of the officers, just hoped for uneventful travel to JOSH-A after everything that had happened up till now. However, with how ZAFT had been going after up to this point, the likelihood of having a peaceful journey ahead was very low.

Less than a day out from the mainland of Orb however, that hope of quiet peace was taken away. It was done by a ZAFT force closing in on the Alliance vessel from the south which would infer that they were from Carpentaria in the Oceanic Union which ZAFT controlled. Between the ZAFT mobile suits, and the view of the other four prototype Alliance machines produced at Morgenroete, things were looking grim. The odds definitely weren't in the defenders of the Archangel's favor, with those being at least 3 to 1. Especially as they were now one mobile suit and pilot down from previous encounters with ZAFT.

Of course, battle stations were sounded and everyone were at their stations for what was coming. Krystal stayed on the bridge and was at on a console, while Mu, Kira and Lacus went to the hanger, making the odds worse than assumed before. The three launched out to face the ZAFT forces coming towards them, wondering how they could get through this battle okay.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Western Pacific Ocean, southern tropic longitude

As my stress level were on the rise, which it would probably be more accurate to say those levels were skyrocketing, so did my imagination. My mind was being supplied with images that I didn't like at all and wouldn't see if I could do anything about it! It had come to the point that I just wasn't willing to wait any longer and I'd launched from the carrier, going ahead of the interception fleet that had been sent out from the Republic. The breaking point had come when the Information Network had confirmed the size of ZAFT force that were pursuing the Archangel and their approximate location.

Ten minutes later, I had gotten close enough to have the sight of explosions and fighting ahead, meaning the battle had started already. A short period after that came into my view, I came into firing range of the battle and that came with the view of the participants involved in this shindig that shouldn't be happening. On the ZAFT side of this, there were three WASP type GINNs that were equipped for underwater operations, an assault type GINN, and two regular GINNs. There were two GINNs that I haven't seen before, probably new variations of the GINN model, clearly for areal recon. And then, there were of course, the machines from the Alliance's GAT series were present… all four of them in fact. The mobile suit force infers that there are at least three subs or more to carry that many mobile suits.

Looking at the other side of this conflict, there was of course the Archangel flying above the ocean. Archangel had proven to me that it's not a bad warship, but it's certainly not meant for serious solo assault. So, one against three or more opposing vessels, the white ship is at a serious disadvantage. Spotted one skygrasper with the Strike's 'Launcher configuration' equipment, the Strike with the Aile equipment and the Asuka out and defending the Archangel against ZAFT. Curious that the Archangel's full fighting strength isn't being sent out right now… wonder why that is, since this situation was already bad without crippling yourself further.

Well… a fine mess if ever I seen one, not the worst battlefield setup I've had to see, certainly not the neatest either. This won't be pretty, but the fields of war rarely are to begin with anyways. So why is it, that people like me are the one which end out cleaning up stuff like this?! I hate operations of this kind, extremely stupid and possibly suicidal and I avoid those the best I can, but it's far too late for that now!

I focused on the task at hand and felt myself enter SEED mode, which would make this fight a great deal more manageable. Being able to predict where you opponents are going to be almost all of the time, would help cancel out the unfair numbers. I threw the throttle forward and put the petal down, zooming forward, beam rifle in my suit's right hand, shield on the left with railgun and beam saber ready to use. The LAS cannon's barrel was connected in its full length and the acceleration coils were warming up. The Shadow's mirage colloid was active as it was just after launching from the carrier, so none had noticed me approaching the skirmish.

I brought out the hidden scope the Shadow has both inside the cockpit and the right side of my machine's head. Then I began scanning for my first target and my crosshairs came to stop on one of the three WASP type GINNs with aquatic equipment. Raising my beam rifle, I aimed at the GINN and fired, nailing the GINN and it shortly exploded. The second suit of the same type definitely took note of its fellow being shot and destroyed, for it was looking around for the source of the shot. At the same time, the GINN was moving off of its original course, but without thinking, I adjusted my aim and fired again, destroying the second GINN.

My gaze flicked over in the direction that the ZAFT mobile suits had been flying in from, since that would be where their ships would likely be. And as it happens, it was at that point that the Shadow intercepted communications and through that, I was able to locate where each of the three ZAFT submarines were. Bringing out the LAS cannon to firing position, since the accelerator coils were running at the level they needed to be. I aimed at the ship that was the farthest to the right and was about to fire, but didn't just yet due to seeing a GINN close to where I was aiming. One of the two normal GINNs was just about to pass in front of the ship I was shooting for.

So, I waited for moment before pulling the trigger, and the projectile went through the GINN, entering the water and punched a hole in the submarine, as was evident from the uprising of water from the underwater explosion. I believe that would be call, 'two for the price of one' in this instance, doesn't feel nice to do that, but that's how battlefields are. The shell from the LAS cannon ejected from the back of the weapon and fell to the water and I had the cannon swing back to the backpack, while I looked for my next opponent.

Upon turning, I got a view of the Strike fending off the Buster and the Blitz at the same time and admittedly, Lacus was doing pretty good when you consider she's taking on two opponents at once. Sakura had taught her little sister well if she can hold her own against not one, but two trained ZAFT pilots. I flew forward, pointing my shield and its railgun at the Blitz and let loose a few rounds. The Blitz moved out of the way of the first shot, while dodging Lacus, but the second volley struck the suit in the back of the torso section of the machine.

I deactivated my mirage colloid and switched the Shadow's phase shift armor on as I kept closing the distance. The Blitz recovered in time to spot me a couple of seconds before I reached him, my beam saber in my shield ignited. I slashed downward and slammed down on the Blitz who was using their shield to block. Nicol, who was piloting the Blitz, was pushed down by the force I struck him with and seeing no reason to be nice in this circumstance, I pushed my advantage. I used my suit's thrusters to surge forward slowly and force the Blitz away from the Strike, it's to help Lacus. Once I made the distance I saw as enough, I forced the Blitz backward when I backed up and then quickly rammed into it.

However, before I could make sure the Blitz kept going away from the battle, I had to dodge incoming fire. Upon glancing over where the shots were coming from, I saw that the Buster was the one shooting at me… and had gotten its high-energy beam rifle back and could use its combination ability, which I had taken out previously. Its weapons were in the long-range sniper rifle configuration currently and the beams were zipping past me. Yet, Lacus drew back the Buster's attention to her and so the other suit was forced to cease firing at me. I faced-off the Blitz again, noting the mobile suit was pointing its left arm at me, which had the penetrating spear like projectile on it named the Gleipnir.

In response, I brought out the Titus positron rifle to counter what I expected would come my way and I wasn't disappointed. My suit's twin sent its Gleipnir rocketing at me while I settled my positron rifle in an off line so that I didn't hit the Blitz. After what Athrun had said about Nicol Amalfi and the good he had been for my friend, I have even less desire to kill him, and I don't think I could face Athrun if I did. I pulled the trigger of my positron rifle and a second later, a crimson beam shot out and engulfed the incoming projectile. The Gleipnir vanished, losing out to my positron rifle. My opponent moved out of the way so that the affects from the positron beam that didn't strike him.

Then I noticed that the Asuka and the Duel fighting, Kira was wining for the moment, so I trusted that Kira would be fine for a bit longer. I stored the Titus, and just as I had, an alarm in my cockpit started going off due to the approach of the other standard GINN and the assault GINN. I dodged the standard GINN, but saw that I couldn't evade the assault type's coming attack as I was now. So, I toggled a control, which triggered a muffled boom followed by a jerk as the Kale Artillery disconnected from my suit and dropped below. Then I shot downward and to the side to dodge the assault's attack, coming to end out behind the ZAFT suit. I ignited my beam saber and made a horizontal sweep and separated the GINN's legs from the rest of it. Then I punched the GINN forward while I pointed my shield down and unloaded a round from the railgun into the flight system the GINN had been standing on and using that's known as a Guul. With a hole from my railgun, the flight winged system dropped a little before it disappeared in two explosions.

The Blitz moved forward and caught what was left of the assault type GINN by the hand as it fell towards the sea below. While they did, I switched over to using the mirage colloid, vanishing from sight before the ZAFT suits recovered. The suits needed to draw back from me or risk taking major damage to themselves. However, as I scanned the field, something in my outer field of vision drew my attention. A red line to my left, gained my notice and glancing that way, I saw the Aegis diving at the Archangel. The 'red line' was a multi-phased beam from the Aegis and said beam did hit the Archangel on its port side. By the explosion, one of the 'Valiant' railguns the Alliance vessel had was disabled and the smoke coming from the same side didn't bode well for continuing flight for the ship.

There was a flash to my right and when I turned, saw that Lacus had scored a good clean hit on the Buster, and the enemy suit fell, crashing on one of the islands below. Kira finished his dance with the Duel and sent the machine on its way back to the ship it came from. Yet, the Aegis went over to the Asuka and began a match with it and this fight worried me. After tapping into the communication between the two, which when I listened for a period of time, my worry increased.

" _Kira, stop being stubborn!"_ said the voice of Athrun.

" _Stubborn? You're the one being stubborn, just leave the Archangel alone!"_ replied Kira

What an issue there is here and I'm the one who knows the full picture, where my two friends only have a portion. Athrun knew things about the Alliance ship that Kira did not, and I had been the one that had told him those things. So, I made an effort in knocking the distance off between me and my two best friends, who were close to being at each other's throats. The argument, by what I was gleaming, Athrun was attempting to get Kira to understand that the Earth Forces were using him. Meanwhile, Kira was saying that Athrun wasn't even taking the chance to listen and see that not all people are untrustworthy.

" _Come on Kira, stop this, it doesn't have to happen this way!"_ snapped Athrun in frustration.

Athrun came down, a beam saber ready, aiming for the Asuka, but Kira moved out of the way and managed to dance out of the range of the Aegis sabers. The two kept attacking one another, neither landing a good hit for they blocked each other. Problem with this is, as the fight continued, the argument grew more heated for in my view, little valid reason as I kept getting closer to where they both were. Athrun was clearly becoming fed up with Kira not listening to 'common sense and reason'. Kira was irritated that Athrun was suspecting everyone on the Archangel of being evil and needs to be stopped. Both had valid points in this argument, those from the Earth Forces were taking advantage of Kira, but not in the way they usually do with Coordinators. Kira had a point in that, Athrun was going more towards his father's way of seeing things and suspecting all from the Earth Alliance. Things took a bad turn and in more ways than one… just hope I can get between them before one does something they regret.

" _KIRA!"_ Shouted Athrun.

" _I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!"_ Shot back Kira.

I'd cut down more than half the distance that had originally separated me and my two friends by this time. But then, I saw that the second of the two skygraspers was slightly ahead of me and shot at the Aegis, trying to help the Asuka. In response to being shot at, the mobile suit threw its shield like a Frisbee in the direction of the aircraft. I put the 'petals' to the floor and rocketed to get myself between the skygrasper and the flying projectile coming at it. I was aware that I couldn't divert the spinning shield from its path by deflecting to a different one, the remaining option was to take it and stop it dead. To do that, I raised the Shadow's shield and shortly felt the impact from the Aegis's shield with the kinetic force it had. The projectile penetrated the Shadow's shield, specifically puncturing into the firing chamber of the railgun in my shield.

An alarm instantly started going off, warning me that the railgun was overloading and that the weapon would explode very soon. So, I detached Shadow's shield and it became visible a second after coming from my suit. It fell towards the water below, but just before the shield struck the water, it was blasted apart as the railgun exploded. At this point, I switched from mirage colloid to use phase shift armor and glanced over at the skygrasper that was now turning back to the Archangel. Over the radio, Tolle thanked me for saving him, before he headed back to the Archangel since he needed resupply. Rather surprised that Tolle was in one of the skygraspers in the first place more than anything.

Yet, I turned back to the fight between the Asuka and the Aegis, which was still going strong and that was the last thing I wanted to be happening! However, now all I had to work with to stop the two, was my beam rifle, a beam saber and the Igelstellungs in the Shadow's head. Those aren't the tools that are best suited for the task that I was doing, but that's what I got.

" _How dare you… you could've killed Tolle ATHRUN!"_ bellowed Kira.

Both mobile suits clashed together, pressing forward against one another, neither giving or gaining on the other. But then, Kira made an upward slash with his beam saber and sliced off the left arm of the Aegis. I'd almost reached where they were, yet my fear of what could possibly happen wouldn't leave me.

" _That's not… you've also gotten close to… Why won't you listen! If it's what it takes, then I'm gonna… KILL YOU!"_ Challenged Athrun.

The Aegis shot forward and cut off the left arm, shield included with it of the Asuka and then after twisting around behind Kira and Athrun got a hit on the Asuka's flight system backpack. However, Kira got Athrun back by taking the top of the Aegis's head, which would cut the number of cameras Athrun has to use down.

But by that time, I was finally in range of the two mobile suits and rushed forward towards them to stop my two best friends from killing each other before it was too late. Their argument has gone pass the point I had been worried of … it wouldn't end well for any of us if there was no intersession! Upon reaching the two, the Aegis leapt backward while I went for the Asuka to get between the two and put an end to this. Yet, I noticed the Aegis quickly rocketed forward at the Asuka. However, I managed to push the Asuka out of the path of attack and then felt a heavy impact as the Aegis hit my mobile suit. That was quickly followed by three nearly simultaneous hits coming, two from below on either side and one above on my left.

The impacts shook me around and once I'd brought my head up, saw that the Aegis was right in front of me in its mobile armor attack mode configuration. As I got a bit of a longer look, realized the mobile suit was fully and firmly latched onto my suit. My eyes widened as the mobile suit's multi-phased cannon charged up, but it never fired. The Aegis's phase shift began dissipating as I watched, meaning the Aegis didn't have the power to use the cannon. I tried moving controls, in the effort to get the Aegis off me, but nothing I did was able to detach the other mobile suit, no matter how much my mobile suit struggled. Then the sight of something red exiting from the cockpit of the Aegis grabbed my attention, and I saw that it was Athrun getting away from the Aegis. A second later, dawning understanding hit me, and I realized that the Aegis had been set to self-destruct and with me in its grasp!

The next second, multiple alarms began going off loudly, blaring warnings of imminent danger as I comprehended what was soon to happen, but I knew it was too late for me to get out. With the Aegis where it was, I couldn't get out with the time I likely had left and even if I could, then I wouldn't make the distance to not be within the influence of the coming explosion. I stopped struggling as I came to accept what was about to happen to me, since I was stuck. It was odd, the feeling of acceptance that washed over me as time seemed to slow down, my end closing in on me. The thought that I'd at least managed to stop my two best friends from killing one another comforted me a margin, I couldn't have lived with myself if that had happened and I did nothing. I felt a small smile come to my face, "Sorry mom, I couldn't sit by and let them try and kill each other," I said to myself. "Be seeing you soon, dad… Lana," I'd barely uttered this when a blinding light quickly filled my whole vision as the explosion occurred.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

For Athrun, as the battle between himself and the mobile suit called the 'Asuka', it became clear that this battle, normal tactics wouldn't work. Kira was winning slowly but surely and Athrun couldn't really dispute that. Athrun knew he couldn't win this as things were going thus far, to win this fight, it would require a more direct method. Athrun managed to get a hit on the opposing mobile suit and take off the right arm with the shield, along with damaging the flight backpack even with an arm missing. However, a split second later Kira countered by swing a beam saber upward and cut off the upper antenna of the Aegis's head, limiting visibility with less cameras. Athrun manipulated the controls and leapt backward and away from Kira. Then Athrun used the Aegis's thrusters to rush forward, with the intent of latching onto the Asuka.

There was some motion ahead, but Athrun adjusted his course and crashed into the Asuka and clung to it with the Aegis's three remaining limbs. He attempted to fire the multi-phased beam cannon, but an alarm went off, denoting that there wasn't enough power to do so. With that option not working, Athrun brought out the timer and keypad that was connected to the explosive charge in this mobile suit to destroy it. He input the code and set the timer for two minutes and began the detonator's countdown, before he unbuckled the seat restraints. Athrun opened the cockpit of the Aegis and quickly got out of the mobile suit **,** using the thrusters on the backpack of his pilot suit to get to the ground safely.

The second his feet touched the ground, Athrun began sprinting away from the mobile suit that had been his for close to two months. After a little over a minute of making distance from the 'bomb' his suit was now, Athrun turned to look at the scene about to happen. Yet, what Athrun saw wasn't what he had expected at all in his wildest imagination. His friend, Kira Yamato's suit the Asuka wasn't in the hold of the Aegis as it should have been, instead, the Blitz's twin the Shadow was what the Aegis was latched on to. The Shadow was struggling and clearly trying to get the Aegis off of it. At seeing this, Athrun felt terror and dread at the picture of the Shadow where it was, and he began sprinting back towards the two mobile suits.

What would the Shadow even be doing here?! Tyler had stayed behind back in the Republic, so the Shadow shouldn't be here at all! Athrun only got a short distance back in the direction of the two mobile suits when the explosive charge went off. A blinding light surrounded both mobile suits and Athrun was forced to come to a halt as the concussive force from the explosion shot out from the epicenter. Athrun put a hand in front of his eyes to prevent them from being stunned and felt his body sliding back from the two mobile suits.

" **TYLER!"** yelled Athrun with all his might, before he was taken off his feet and sent flying from the blast.

Athrun bounced along the ground a few times before he managed to grab ahold of something and keep himself from flying farther back. The effects of the mobile suit explosion lasted near a minute and it was accompanied with crashes and bangs of objects hitting the ground and other parts of the environment. Yet, as the light died down and the sounds of objects crashing to the ground came to a stop, Athrun brought his head up and froze at the sight he had. Debris was spread everywhere, which was made up of pieces of the Aegis as well as the Shadow. But, both mobile suits were destroyed and the possibilities of any surviving such a blast was slim to none.

An empty feeling filled Athrun as he just stared at the field littered with scraps of metal. The sounds of people approaching didn't even register with Athrun, until a person grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. What the person said wasn't even heard by Athrun, he was in too much shock, though he understood he was being identified as a ZAFT soldier. He managed to take in that the group of people were in Orb Union military uniforms, but other than that, Athrun was in shock to the point that his surroundings didn't reach him. A blonde-haired girl around his own age came to the front, "You there, what happened here?" She demanded.

Athrun understood the question, but he couldn't respond. Images of the Shadow being destroy along with memories of Tyler were going through his head. As that was occurring, Athrun's eyes rolled upward and he fell to the ground, having been embraced by unconsciousness, and thrown into nightmares that now haunted him.

 **-Line Break-**

Kira kept his sight on the Aegis backing off, readings said that not only had the Asuka lost an arm from being cut off. The flight system that gave the mobile suit a fair advantage in a fight, had taken damage, which made it lose some of its punch. However, in exchange, Kira had cut off one of the Aegis's arms and sliced the antenna of the head off. Still, the argument with Athrun was irking Kira the most in this. Athrun wasn't listening at all, he was just pinning blame on others. He kept say that those on the Archangel were using him and didn't care what happened to Kira himself. He was wrong, the crew of the ship wouldn't do that to him or anyone else.

Athrun suddenly shot forward and Kira prepared himself to deflect the Aegis's charge at him. Yet, something hit the Asuka from the side and Kira was thrown off balance and so, it took a moment to regain his bearings and right the suit. Landing the Asuka on the ground and sliding a bit before stopping, Kira looked up but, he was quickly met with a wall of white light. The light was accompanied with a forceful wind that pushed the Asuka back a bit. Objects flew past Kira, bringing up the Asuka's remaining hand to try to improve clarity of the cameras' display. He managed to dodge the incoming objects which was made up of rocks and metal, but some did still strike the mobile suit.

When whatever was happening died down, Kira looked around to take stock of what could have happened to cause the light and flying things. Some of the stuff had struck the Asuka, yet the phase shift armor had prevented notable damage. However, a sight on the left caused Kira to freeze… on his left, on the ground was unmistakably, was the head that had belonged to Tyler's mobile suit, the 'Shadow'. Yet, half of the 'face', appeared to be melted revealing internal circuitry and components. The left eye was damaged badly among other differences from what it should have been stood out for some reason, all clear signs of serious damage.

It felt surreal as Kira stared at the piece of his friend's machine, left his mind with a storm of thoughts. How could the Shadow have been here?! Tyler had stayed back in the Republic of East Asia, hadn't he? And if he was here, then he had to be hurt if parts of his suit had come off!

Kira moved the Asuka to the place he had been before being pushed and the sight didn't help push away the growing fears. Debris was spread far and wide, a portion was obviously from the Aegis… and others were from the Shadow. Kira was stunned by the destruction that was in front of him… and the realization that his friend Tyler was gone and wouldn't be coming back, began sinking in.

Pain, the likes of which, Kira hadn't felt before started to fill him. Memories of Tyler and all the times that he had been there for Kira and Athrun flashed through his mind. Tyler had always gone out of his way to help those he considered friends and… had even made the ultimate sacrifice for Kira himself. Kira's voice was failing him as time kept moving forward and the pain continued to grow.

Kira vaguely heard the orders coming over the radio for him to come back to the Archangel, but he did as he was told. The pain, still remained and brought a numb feeling to Kira as he flew back towards the Archangel. The trip back to the Archangel, gave Kira the time to understand fully that Tyler had taken the attack that was meant for himself. Athrun had tried to use the Aegis to kill him, and if not for Tyler, then Kira would very likely be the one gone instead.

The silence hung over Kira as he came into the hanger, he did see that the Strike was back in its dock and that was at least one good thing. It didn't help the pain go away, but it did take off the edge a little bit. If both Lacus and Tyler had been… Kira didn't think he could handle losing both of them, it was heart wrenching to lose Tyler. Upon exiting his mobile suit, Kira came down via the zip line, helmet still in place and connected to his pilot suit, which hid the tears that were being held back somewhat.

Lacus came over to him and held his hand, and only then did Kira realize that he was trembling. Kira's female friend took off his helmet and her expression of worry deepened at the pain she could clearly see in her friend's face. "Kira… what's wrong? What happened?" She uttered, fear beginning to run through her at the answer that could come.

Kira met her gaze, but when he opened his mouth, nothing came out of it. He shook his head a little, and then tried again, "He… he saved me," Kira muttered in a strained and quiet voice.

Lacus didn't understand what Kira was talking about, but it was obviously hurting him… whatever had occurred. "Who saved you Kira?" She asked, not understanding.

"He came out of nowhere… and then he pushed me out of the way," Kira continued as if he hadn't heard Lacus at all. Yet, the tone of his voice showed more pain as he kept going, "He took the attack that was meant for me…"

Kira trailed off, an eerie quiet had fallen over the hanger, those there listening to Kira as he was talking very differently than he normally did. Mu had gotten closer to where Kira and Lacus were, but said nothing, just watched the two. Lacus gripped Kira's shoulder, "Who are you talking about Kira?" She insisted.

However, once more, Kira didn't seem to hear her, "It's… it's my fault," Kira said, his voice breaking as he spoke. Many in the hanger were looking at Kira, seriously worried about him. Lacus still held Kira's shoulder, shaking him a little, trying to get him to tell her what he was speaking of. Kira then, in the loudest he had spoken since returning, "It's all my fault that Tyler," but Kira's voice caught in his throat.

Lacus froze at hearing Tyler's name, fear and panic swelling up in her at what was being implied. Yet, Mu then spoke up, "Tyler? But isn't he back in the Republic?"

That line brought out a reaction in Kira, he was shaking, and his head had fallen so none could see his face, but pain was evident. Lacus felt feelings of shock coming on, but managed to speak, "Kira, Tyler is fine, he isn't here so," she began in an even voice that wavered slightly.

Kira's head snapped back up, tears were freely flowing from the corners of his eyes, a twisted, pained expression marring his face, "No! He was here, and because of me, he's gone and won't be coming back!" Lacus gained a look of horrified shock on her face, but Kira kept going, "Tyler is dead, he sacrificed himself to save me!" He bellowed, then Kira sunk to his knees, quiet sobs starting to rack him after shouting.

As what Kira had yelled started to sink in to those in the hanger, a feeling of horror and pain filled the whole room. Lacus felt tears begin to stream from her eyes, "No… that can't be," she uttered, before she dropped to the floor next to Kira and broke down crying. To her, Kira's reactions were more than enough to say what he said wasn't a lie at all, but truly, Tyler McGregor, their friend had been killed and was gone forever.

Most of the mechanics were muttering in disbelief, including Chief Murdoch, "McGregor was defeated? I didn't think any of us would see the day that would happen," he whispered somberly.

Mu punched a fist into the nearest scaffolding, "Damn it! Why does it always have to be the young who could help change things for the better that die on the battlefield?!" He shouted in anger.

It took some time for those in the hanger to digest the information and for them to calm down. Lacus had somehow moved into an embrace with Kira and he had held her as they had both shed tears for their fallen friend. It was around then that Kira noticed that the Buster was standing in a mobile suit dock, damaged but still there. "What is the Buster doing here?" Asked Kira.

Chief Murdoch glanced over at Kira, "Oh that, the Lieutenant here, scored a hit on the suit, exchanged the 'Agni' cannon for the hit, but still. Just after the Archangel crashed down, the Buster did was disabled. The ZAFT pilot then popped out of the cockpit and surrendered, he was placed in the brig as far as I've heard," he replied.

 **-Line Break-**

Olofat, Orb Union

Athrun Zala woke up in a bed, a quick glance around the room told him that he was in a hospital somewhere. Yet, his gaze locked onto a blonde girl, who was sitting in a chair next to the bed. She was the same one that had been with the group that had found him after the explosion of the Aegis… and the Shadow. Memories of that event flooded in his mind and a fresh wave of guilt and pain came over him.

"Finally awake then are you? Perhaps now you can tell me what happened out on the battlefield that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place," she said evenly.

"Where am I?" Asked Athrun.

The blonde appeared somewhat irritated at her inquiry not being answered, "You're in a hospital in the Orb Union on the mainland." She returned.

Athrun exhaled, "I see," he muttered.

The blonde girl pinned him with a stare, "Who are you and what happened out there," she demanded in a slightly louder voice.

"My name is Athrun Zala, I'm a pilot in the ZAFT military," he said.

"I'm Cagalli Yula Athha," she introduced herself.

Athrun was a tad stunned that the girl next to the bed he was in, happened to be the so called 'Princess of Orb' as her father, Uzumi Nara Athha was seen to be the leader of the Orb Union. As Cagalli kept gazing at him, Athrun decided it would be in his best interest to do as she had asked and tell her what had happened on the battlefield. So, he began by giving a 'short' summary of the battle that had occurred. He kept his voice flat and even as he spoke, yet Athrun noted that Cagalli had some type of interest in the Archangel and those involved with the ship.

However, when he got to the point in the battle when Athrun himself had been fighting Kira, his voice stopped and caught in his throat. He forced himself to keep going, but felt the tears start streaming from his eyes as he spoke of the Shadow being destroyed… because of his own actions. Athrun felt the weight of guilt, that it was his fault that his friend Tyler was dead now, the pain coursing through him made sure he didn't forget that fact.

It was being shaken, that got Athrun out of blaming himself and focus back on Cagalli, "What happened to Kira Yamato?!" She demanded.

Athrun was taken aback by the question, for until now, he hadn't thought about Kira, "I don't know what happened to him. I would guess that he returned to the Earth Alliance vessel, the Archangel. Still completely blind to the fact that he's being used and that the Earth Alliance is going to do horrible things to him sometime in the near future," muttered Athrun angrily.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The news of Tyler's actions and ultimate fate, spread like wildfire throughout the Archangel. The Heliopolis volunteers took the news by far the hardest of those among those on the ship. Miriallia broke down crying when she heard Tyler had been killed and was inconsolable. Tolle was quiet, which was different for him as he was talkative most of the time he was awake and not on duty with Natarle. Sai and Kuzzey said nothing, but it was clear that they felt the loss of their friend like the others did. Even the officers of the vessel were melancholy at the news of one who had traveled on board the ship. Natarle Badgiruel was no exception to this, she too showed signs of regret, perhaps of her accusation of Tyler McGregor. For him to be on the battlefield and fighting against ZAFT and protecting the Archangel like he had before, showed that he didn't wish ill on the ship and hadn't betrayed them as she claimed.

It took around three days for the repairs to be done well enough to get the Archangel in the air for a length of time to get it to the water. From there they headed to the closest port where more serious work to get the ship back in working order could be done. The arrival of the Archangel in the Orb Union was a quiet and solemn affair. Orb's government had permitted the Archangel to dock so that the ship could be resupplied and get repairs done that came from the most recent combat they had seen.

While in Orb, Kira took the time to contact his parents, for he was worried about what Tyler had said about what would likely happen to Lacus were she to go to Alaska. Kira had taken the time that it had taken to come from the battlefield, to do his best to convince Lacus to leave the Archangel. Many of their friends also had been telling Lacus that she should leave the Archangel while it was in Orb. Lacus finally agreed with their pleas, and when Kira's parents came by to see Kira, she left when they did. The farewells where sad ones, but they had all come to know that it would happened sometime before JOSH-A after finding out her true identity.

The Asuka was also taken off the Archangel while it was in the Orb Union as it needed serious repairs and the mechanics were unable to fix what was needed. So Morgenroete agreed to take the Asuka and do the repairs, the suit would be ready when they passed by Orb again.

Gloom hung over the Alliance vessel as it left the last neutral port on the journey to Alaska heavily. The number aboard that were starting to question the value of the Archangel's mission was growing. Even with the officers, Natarle chief among them, saying their mission was critical to the Earth Alliance. The continual silence from those who they were working for didn't sway the ill thoughts that were coming to them and what answers could await them at Earth Alliance Headquarters in JOSH-A, Alaska.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **This readers, is of course what's known as a cliffhanger… and I'm aware that many either dislike with a passion or find fascinating. To each their own I say! I leave off where I do for a good reason, it fits wonderful to transition into where the next starts and it leaves you to wonder. I'll attempt to write the next chapter in a shorter period of time than this took me, I promise. School is taking up lots of time and work takes up what's left most of the time I have left, tis life. As Always, please some of you take the time, write a review and tell me what you thought, good or bad. Thank you for reading and peace out until next time!**

 **Mechanical Specs**

Lapis-class

 **Technical Specs**

Classification: Sea Carrier

Overall Length: 275m

MS Capacity: 12

MS Catapult: 2

 **General Data**

Manufacturer: Human Federation

Operator: Human Federation

Crew Compliment: 200

Machines carried: Delta Flier

 **Standard Armaments**

16 x Missile Launchers

Normally loaded with anti-ship missiles

6 x 50mm Multi-Barreled CIWS

 **Capabilities**

The back half had helipads for rescue operations to be sent out and behind those was the command bridge tower.


	15. Phase 15: Recovery

**A/n**

 **There was really on some grammar corrections in this chapter, I liked how this chapter flowed as it was. So, I'm keeping it the way it is. Anyways, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 15: Recovery

March 21th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Marshall Islands, Orb Territory

The battle between the Archangel and ZAFT forces came into the view of the Federation fleet, and it looked messy from a distance off, not a good sign or omen. An explosion that occurred along the shoreline of one of the Orb Union islands only added to the event and the feeling of foreboding of those within viewing distance of it. The Federation fleet commander ordered Fighters to launch out to clear the ZAFT forces that remained in the area. At the same time, ZAFT submarines were told bluntly, that should they not leave immediately, then it would be seen as a treaty violation and they would be fired upon… and the Federation Military had earned the reputation of having impeccable aim very well. The ZAFT forces didn't waste time and quickly left the area after that, motivated to keep going with Federation fighters flying over them and ship guns pointed in their direction.

Lisa, Alan and Luke were assigned to join the search operation to assess the situation that the conflict between the Earth Forces and ZAFT had produced. The three however, were also keeping an eye out for the Shadow as there had been no word at all from the machine or its pilot. And Tyler had left around ten minutes before they had gotten here, so it was hard to think that something bad had happened in that amount of time.

Lisa was beginning to wonder seriously what had happened the longer the search went on. Tyler was certainly not an amateur pilot, far from it, he was ranked in the top ten pilots within the Human Federation. Most didn't have a clue that he was that good, though it was mostly due to how well he did when he used his SEED factor. Lisa was fairly sure that Tyler would have used that ability in this instance, lives of his friends were at stake after all. Then there was the explosion on the shoreline earlier, little was known about what had caused that and with the size of the blast, it would take a sizable charge to produce that. The only thing that Lisa could think up that would have enough explosive power, would be the charge that was built into the Alliance prototypes.

It was as Lisa flew along the shoreline where the explosion had happened, that she got her first view of the results of the event. Debris was spread over a large distance and seemed to be made up of metal and rock. The bigger pieces told the story better and helped view the picture of what had happened. Clearly, there had been a battle between different mobile suits here, two by the amount of debris and shrapnel. As Lisa spotted a few of the larger chunks, she moved her fighter closer and came to land on the ground near the wreckage to get a closer view.

Once she had landed, Lisa opened the cockpit and hopped out, sliding down to the wing and then from there to the ground. When on firm ground, she started running towards the debris to get a closer look at the piece of metal scattered along the beach. Lisa when she got closer and could see that she hadn't been imagining things, the wreckage was indeed made up of two mobile suits, one of them being the Shadow. The sound of voices drew Lisa's attention and she glanced over in the direction that they were coming from. She saw a number of children a distance away, watching her and whispering to each other. Some of children were trying to hide and others weren't attempting to do so at all. As they could have witnessed some of the battle, Lisa approached them, "Did any of you see what happened here?" she asked.

"Yes, we did happen to hear and witness some of this horrible battle that took place," replied a male voice.

Lisa turned and focused on a man that appeared behind the kids, and when he had, many of the children flocked to him. He was around average height, had with black hair was wearing a long sleeve jacket with a tan shirt underneath. His eyes were closed and a few of the children were guiding him forward, so Lisa assumed that the man was blind. She removed her helmet before continuing, "My name is Lisa Malto, I'm a pilot of the Federation Military, I'm here inspecting what happened here. Can any of you give me a summary of the events that occurred please?"

The man nodded, "I'm known as Reverend Malchio. As to what happened, we heard the sounds of the battle going on. I kept the children inside, felt it would be safer to do for them. But then, there was a loud boom and a bright light by what the children said. After that, silence then began to settle over the area. We came out then, hoping to understand what unfolded out here," he answered.

"Reverend Malchi," called a child's voice. All there looked in the way that the voice had come, "There's a big mound over here… it has flat sides, not like rocks have and I think there's something inside it," the child went on.

Lisa, the children and Reverend Malchio went over to where the child that had spoken was. Lisa instantly saw that the 'mound' the child had been referring to was as far as she could tell, a good portion of the torso section of the Shadow or what was left of it, which was a surprising amount, the cockpit itself was mostly intact. The outer plating of the mobile suit's midsection was gone, but the framework was still there. The components of the machine were still around where they were supposed to be, not necessarily where they had been placed during the construction. A number of those components were melted and unrecognizable, also forming a layer of melted material between the inside of the cockpit and the outside world. Lisa moved forward climbed up and hoisted herself to the front of the machine, which was facing upward and began scanning with a critical eye.

The damage was extensive true, but the cockpit surviving an explosion that had been witnessed, was a miracle in itself. It was through some of the gaps in the metal and the other melted material, Lisa could see something… reaching into one of the larger gaps, she touched an arm. She breathed a sigh of relief, she realized her hand was touching Tyler's however, as Lisa checked his pulse, worry and fear reasserted themselves as his pulse was very faint! Quickly tapping out a command on her wrist panel, Lisa got into contact with the flagship of the Federation fleet, "This is Lieutenant Malto, I need a medical Evac asap at my location! I have a Federation pilot in critical condition," she stated in a calm manner that she didn't feel herself, so it took her effort to keep calm as she was.

There was a conformation from the other end, which left Lisa to wait for the helicopter that would come and hopefully get Tyler out of what's left of the torso of his mobile suit. Reverend Malchio began gathering and calming down the children who were either excited or scared at the moment. Soon the sound of an approaching helicopter was audible, shortly after that, the sight of the helicopter getting closer was seen by all there.

The second the helicopter's skids were less than a foot from the ground, people in the craft began jumping out and rushing towards the remains of the Shadow's torso. Reverend Malchio had the children stay out of the way of the rescuers, as did Lisa. Two of the men were hefting plasma cutting tools and began slicing away the metal that was between the outside and Tyler. It took around twenty minutes to get into the cockpit area, but once they reached it, Tyler was brought out and lowered slowly to the stretcher waiting on the ground. Lisa was shocked and horrified at seeing that around half of Tyler's pilot suit still remained on his body if not less and some of that was melted to his skin. While what parts of Tyler's body that had been exposed, were burned and were a terrible sight to witness.

"It appears that your colleague came off rather the worse in this, my condolences to you Miss Malto," said Reverend Malchio.

One of the medics from the rescue team came over and informed Lisa that Tyler would be flown to Orb to stabilize his condition, which wasn't good obviously even if he was alive, that fact was quite something in itself. Malchio then suggested that Tyler be sent to the PLANTs to recover after being stabilized as there was less chaos happening currently and so, it would hopefully help speed along his recovery. He even offered to arrange with someone that he knew there to help out, to which Lisa agreed.

The Federation medical helicopter took off and had flow from the scenes of battle to the Orb Union mainland. Tyler McGregor was taken to the emergency room right after the helicopter had landed as his condition was precarious at best. Lisa, Alan and Luke flew to the Orb mainland once they were able and the cleanup from the battle the Archangel had with ZAFT forces was done. Yet, even when they arrived, Tyler was still in surgery and so his teammates weren't allowed to see him until he was done.

Hours went by, before news of Tyler finally came, yet there was little good news brought. Tyler's condition had been stabilized for the time being however, he was far from okay. He had injuries all over his body, the burns had been fixed as best as it was possible, though that was only one of the many problems Tyler faced now. He had lost an amount of blood, which had been replaced already with two blood transfusions. Tyler was also still unconscious and there was no estimation as to when he would possible wake up… if he did at all. The doctors' prognosis wasn't comforting at all to Tyler's teammates. Lisa informed Alan and Luke that she along with Tyler would be going to the PLANTs, to hopefully give him time to recover. However, both Luke and Alan were to keep their eyes open and keep out of trouble while she and Tyler were gone. They acknowledged they would do their best to keep watch, before they all parted ways.

Tyler was prepared for transport with portable life support hooked to him, before he and Lisa traveled to the shuttle port. Once Tyler was loaded on the shuttlecraft, Lisa got onboard and shortly after that after gathering a few things, the craft launched into the skies, starting its journey towards the PLANTs. Lisa hadn't planned to return to the PLANTs after she had left them, even though they had once been home for her. But, if going there gave Tyler a better chance to live and recover, then she would go back and even would risk crossing paths with her former male parent if that was necessary.

 **-Line Break-**

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

Close to two days had gone by since Reverend Malchio had contacted Siegel Clyne with an odd request. Siegel hadn't at that time seen an issue with agreeing to helping the man, Reverend Malchio had been very helpful in the past and so Siegel had been willing to assist him. However, it had been an hour later when his daughter Lacus had contacted him, saying she was coming back to the PLANTs, Siegel found himself in a difficult predicament. He hadn't seen his youngest daughter since she had gone to visit her friend Kira Yamato who had been living at the Orb Union's resource colony Heliopolis, before it had collapsed.

Then there was a message from his eldest daughter Sakura a couple of days earlier from Carpentaria. She had said that she was fine and that would likely return back into space before too long. The message had left a good deal of unanswered questions with Siegel and had caused him to seriously wonder what was going on. The last he'd known, Sakura had been sent out by Lanus Treize to handle a threat from the Earth Alliance, the man had never mentioned exactly what the treat was though. Yet, Siegel had some time ago, stopped stressing over what Sakura did within the ZAFT Military, she had proven she could handle herself. That didn't stop him from worrying about her, but that was all he could do these days.

It was painful to see the growing distance developing between both his daughters and himself as of late. Sakura… well, Siegel had seen that this war had affected her in harsh ways and talking would not help much. She had lost friends and comrades that she would likely never get fully over losing. However, with Lacus… he had hoped she would stay at least somewhat close as she had always done with him since his wife's death. Siegel knew he was partially to blame as he was so busy with being the Supreme Council Chairman, so he couldn't say he had tried his best completely, he could've done more.

Now, he was at the main docks of the colony, waiting for a 'pair' that Reverend Malchio had said would come and Siegel himself was to meet. Yet, as Lacus was also due to arrive within the next hour or two as well… rearrangements had been made. Siegel had asked Lanus for help, asking for someone that he could borrow the services of and one that Lanus himself trusted. The issue of who Siegel could trust, was becoming one that was appearing a lot more than it used to be and it worried him. The person that had been recommended by Lanus, was named Andrew Waltfeld or the 'Desert Tiger' as the title he earned for the work he did in the African Community on Earth. When Siegel had met the man, he had seemed a decent and honest fellow, along with the woman that had accompanied him, her name had been Aisha as he recalled. They had both agreed to meet up with Lacus and make sure she got to the Clyne residence.

Siegel was brought out of his thoughts when the announcement of a shuttle from the Orb Union docking came. He moved forward in the boarding and observation lounge and looked down on the dock, where a shuttle was now coming into, wondering who it was that Malchio sent here and why. Siegel watched as the boarding tunnel connected to the shuttle and he waited for whomever would come off the craft. Reverend Malchio had said that one would be a young woman around the same age as Sakura along with a general description. But other than that, not much else had been said in explanation, only that this request was of the utmost importance. It was odd, and it made Siegel wonder what this was about, especially when there had been little details given about the pair and pretty much none about the other.

It was the sight of a young woman that fit the right age range and description which Siegel had been given exiting the boarding tunnel, looking around the lounge. She was a few inches shorter than Sakura was, possessed straight black hair that fell to just above her waist. Her eyes were a neutral green and gave Siegel had a small feeling of familiarity, though he couldn't place why, so dismissed it. The young woman was wearing a white wrap/surplice type dress with an off-white reefer coat with a hood. The inside of the coat appeared to be lined with aqua-green frill lace while the coat was embroidered with black velvet. Her hands were covered with gloves that had white palms and wrists while the fingers were black. Lastly, she had black tights with a decorative green garter with white ruffles on her left thigh.

Siegel, assuming that this young woman was one of the pair mentioned to him, so he moved forward towards her, "Excuse me Miss," he greeted.

The young woman turned to Siegel and her eye brows rose, "I was told by Reverend Malchio that I would be meeting with someone that I had very likely heard of, but I never expected it would be the Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council." She replied, before she inclined her head in greeting, "My name is Lisa Malto, Chairman Clyne, it's nice to meet you in person. I have heard much about you before now, you're supposed to be quite the peacemaker and politician."

Before Siegel could say more, specifically ask what she meant by the last line she had said, when a doctor with an assistant came out of the boarding tunnel, the assistant pushing a gurney. Strapped onto the gurney was a young man in his late teens, with wires and tubes connected to him. The monitors showing the young man's vitals, but other than that, there was no movement from the man other than the slow rise and fall of his chest. Siegel glanced over the young man with a worried expression however, that look changed to shock and horror as he recognized the young man was Tyler McGregor. Even with the oxygen mask over his face and the bandages covering him, Siegel could see enough to know that it was the young man that Sakura had shown so much interest in.

If his eldest daughter were to see the young man like this, Siegel couldn't say whether she would demand and seek vengeance upon whoever was responsible for putting Tyler in this condition, or fall into some kind of depression. Sakura could go either way in this, Siegel had seen both types of reactions from his oldest child.

As Siegel began take more in of Tyler's condition, horror grew further within him with seeing how serious things were. Tyler wasn't only being given oxygen, but also seemed to be receiving fluids and by one of the empty bags, had gotten at least one blood transfusion while traveling here, perhaps more. Bandages covered the majority of his body and around his upper torso there were splotches of red that were visible. How Tyler had come to be in this condition he was in now, Siegel couldn't begin to guess, but it seriously worried him, "How did he end out like this?" asked Siegel Clyne.

Lisa shook her head in response, "This isn't the place or the time to talk about the events that occurred. I will give you an explanation, but not here."

Siegel agreed to this and led Lisa and Tyler along with those transporting him outside of the port. From there, the group headed to the Clyne residence, where Tyler was settled into an empty room that could be locked for privacy. After settling Tyler in, the two medical professionals bowed, before leaving the house.

Siegel led Lisa to a sitting room, where she began the explanation of how Tyler had ended out in such a critically injured state. Lisa gave a summary of the battle that had happened on the outer reaches of the Orb Union's territory. As Siegel listen to the description of the battle that had occurred, he became confused as well as irritated. There had been nothing about any of this event within the recent council meetings, no reports from the National Defense Committee, which for an event like the one being described, there should have been. There had certainly been nothing brought up in the last meeting he'd had with Lanus, which suggested that Lanus might have not known about this, for Siegel knew Lanus would never approve something like the battle on the outskirts of Orb.

That these events happened at all, violated a major standing treaty that the PLANTs and ZAFT had with the Human Federation and that could end really badly. Those in the military leadership knew full well, the Federation Military rarely ignored trespasses and certainly didn't wave off such blatant violations of treaties and agreement. So, the question that was left, who was responsible for this and how were they getting around the notice of the ZAFT's leadership's notice. Siegel knew he would be inquiring further into this, for this was a dangerous development in many ways!

The story became sadder still, when Lisa spoke of the explosion that Tyler had been in, even if she hadn't seen it herself. Hearing of Tyler's thoughts before he had gone into the battle, especially about Kira Yamato and Athrun Zala possibly fighting one another to the death. Knowing that those two were friends with Tyler, from the few times he had talked with the them, for friends to be force to fight was still very sad. It pained Siegel Clyne to listen to this heart-wrenching tale that this war and the hatred that had brought, had come to pass.

Meanwhile, at the same time that Siegel was learning of what had befallen Tyler, the shuttle that Lacus took from Orb to the PLANTs docking at Aprilius one. However, she barely noticed the passing of time during the trip home. With recent events weighing her down, her mood was low and so returning home didn't feel nice like it usually did. She felt hollow and empty to the things of the world around her. She had been attempting to deal with Tyler's… death, but she wasn't doing well at all. The sorrow gripping her was so painful, it was so hard for her to ignore the pain it brought her. Nonetheless, oddly her father wasn't at the docks to meet her like he normally tried to be, instead, a man and a woman she'd never met before were waiting for her.

The man was just under six-feet in height, had short brown hair with full sideburns. His purple eyes stood out as the color was rare and was the predominate feature of his ruff hewn face. He appeared to be in his early thirties and had fairly tan skin. His ZAFT uniform was a dark tan color, had short sleeves, making Lacus believe it was the desert variation for the military uniform. Meanwhile, the woman was a head shorter than the man, having long dark blue hair flowing down her back with an orange streak on either side of her face. She had dark green eyes and looked to be around the same age as the man. She was wearing a tight fitting blue body suit that left her shoulders and collar area exposed.

The two introduced themselves as Andrew Waltfeld and his partner Aisha. Said that they had been asked by her father to meet her as something had come up, due to that, he couldn't come himself. The two escorted her back to her family's residence, where her father greeted her. After her father had greeted her though, Lacus couldn't hold back her feelings of sadness and began crying. With how Tyler's death had affected her, the pain that she had been holding in came pouring out of her. Lacus sobbed as she told her father of what had happened around the Orb Union.

She had barely finished the tale of woe, when she noticed something different, there was a woman passing by the sitting room and Lacus wasn't aware of there being any new staff recently. It was enough to catch her attention, even with her sorrow flowing fresh within her. The woman had only paused momentarily in the hallway, before she kept going down the corridor. But Lacus had seen her for long enough to realize that she had seen the woman before and recently. It had been around the Republic, for the woman had been staying at Tyler's house, yet Lacus couldn't figure out why she would be here at this time. "You, I saw you back in the Republic, but what are you doing here?" asked Lacus, clearly confused.

The woman stopped and looked at Lacus, "First, my name is Lisa Malto. As for what I'm doing here, not that it's really your concern right now, I'm looking after a friend who was injured," Lisa answered, before continuing on her way.

Lacus rose and went after Lisa, catching up halfway down the hallway. "What do you mean looking after a friend? Why here of all places?" Lacus pestered.

Lisa stopped outside a door of one of the guest rooms and turned, facing Lacus, "You are quite persistent Lacus Clyne, or do you prefer Lacus Don?" She questioned.

Lacus was seriously taken aback at being addressed by the name Don, for she didn't use it around the PLANTs, only outside of them. "How do you know that name?" She asked slowly.

"The answer to all your stated questions are on the other side of this door," Lisa said pointing to the door she was next to. "However, I give you a warning and that I recommend you listen to as well as heed, you will not like what you see in there. I can see that you're in a great deal of pain right now, it's quite obvious for any looking at you. What you would see in there, will bring you different pain than you are in already, perhaps cause worse than you feel now."

The woman opened the door and entered the room, leaving Lacus access to the door and giving her the choice to not listen to the warning. Lacus paused for a period wondering what Lisa Malto had meant with what she'd said, but then put a hand on the knob and opened the door. Upon entering the room, Lacus found it was dark, Lisa was on the left side of the room, but what drew attention was something at the other end of the room, which looked like a bed of some sort. There were screens surrounding the bed and they showed reading of the sorts you tend to see in hospitals.

None of what she saw made sense to Lacus yet, nor did it answer any of her questions of the woman Lisa Malto. Hoping to learn more, Lacus drew closer to the bed and the closer she got, the more detail she could see. There was definitely someone in the bed and they were hooked to tubes and wires. However, it was when Lacus's gaze settled on the bed's occupant's face, that she stopped. Lacus had the sensation of her heart being squeezed hard, but the stabbing feeling she had been experiencing since leaving Earth, was lifted. For, the one in the bed was Tyler McGregor, her friend and after scanning the screens, it seemed he was still alive! But, as she kept gazing at him and the information on the screens, the pain returned in full force as it was apparent, that Tyler was far from okay in anyway.

Lacus then began notice all the bandages that Tyler was wrapped with, along with what was more specifically connected to him. The sight of evidence of burns on Tyler's face that were still a long way from healing, brought fresh tears began flowing from her eyes. "Lacus, he is alive," said the voice of her father. She turned to look at him coming up behind her, "Admittedly, he doesn't look good much at all right now, but given time to recover, he should get better."

 **-Line Break-**

Lisa continued to watch over Tyler as the days went by and there was still no sign of him waking up. Although, Lisa didn't show the worry she felt about Tyler, that didn't mean she didn't care about what happened to him. Even if she had only met him close to two years ago, Tyler had really given a different impression back then. He had come off much more cold and unfeeling than he was now. Granted, Tyler puts up a 'mask' around others so they didn't see how he really was, he had put off a cold and unfeeling air when she had met him back at that time with no visible reason to do so.

It was only later that Lisa had learned that the reason that Tyler tended to distance himself from others, was due to the loss of most of his family in the Bloody Valentine Incident. However, recently she had seen that there were those that Tyler didn't do that as much around. His friends from Heliopolis were good examples of the idea, for he acted differently than he would others. Lisa believed that the 'mask' was Tyler's way of coping with the loss of most of his family in the Bloody Valentine Incident, but she couldn't be sure.

She had been surprised when on the particular mission against the Earth Alliance she had met Tyler, that a teen had been assigned to the team. Yet, Tyler had proven that he could go the distance that any of the other members of the team could. Yet, over the time Lisa had gotten to know Tyler, it had become clear that he had a good heart, but there was pain that hadn't been faced yet.

To pass the time, Lisa had checked in on the Federation's Information Network and looked through the PLANTs media data. She came across an article about how a number of the committees for the PLANTs' Supreme Council were meeting here currently. That meant there was a possibility that some of Lisa's former family could be here on Aprilius One, since Legislator Minti was here at Aprilius One. Lisa didn't really have much of a desire to see the man that had been her father, not after the fight that had occurred just before Lisa had left the PLANTs. That had been followed by the man disowning her after Lisa walked out and decided to join the Federation Military.

However, Lisa felt that it would be nice to see her mother Sally Minti in person and perhaps her younger brother Matt, were he here as well, along with her little sister Cynthia. Memories of having to say goodbye to those she had left years ago came back to Lisa's mind. Lisa had been between eighteen and and nineteen, while her siblings had been ten and four. Her mother hadn't taken her leaving well at all or how her father had been acting back at that time. While her brother hadn't voiced his feelings in front of their father, likely to not get into trouble with the man. Lisa's younger sister had been more scared of what was happening than anything else. Considering the pros and cons of a meeting with her mother, Lisa was left thinking hard about whether she should do so or not.

After a few minutes of deliberation, Lisa decided that with this being a rare opportunity, which hadn't come up in years, there was no reason not to. Lisa was here and her mother very likely was too, it would be a shame not to try and see her. In fact, it was the first time that Lisa had been close to the same place as any of her former family in over two years. The last time Lisa had come close to any of them, it had been Legislator Minti, though she hadn't crossed paths with him directly. The issue had always been that with Legislator Minti around, the rest of her family was forced into silence as the man kept the results of her leaving as they were.

With her mind made up, Lisa took out the personal communication device that she had with her. Inputting the last number that Lisa knew of her mother had, hoping that hadn't change, then put the device to her ear and waited. She heard two ring tones, then there was a voice on the other end of the connection, _"Hello, this is Sally, who may I ask is calling?"_ Asked a feminine voice.

The voice was that of Lisa's mother and though she had spoken to her weeks ago, it still was nice to hear her voice. "Hi mom, I'm sorry for calling you out of the blue like this," Lisa greeted.

" _Lisa?! No no, it's fine so, what's your reason for calling, it is rather rare that you to do so,"_ she inquired.

Lisa hesitated for a moment, feeling pain at realizing that her mother was right that it was rare for her to call, mostly due to Legislator Minti. The wedge that had been driven between Lisa and her family was evident, but still wasn't nice. "Well um, I noticed that the media mentioned that there were meetings of the Supreme Council committees and when I checked, I saw that… Legislator Minti was among those who were at Aprilius One. Knowing that, I thought that since I happen to also be on Aprilius One at the moment… well, I was thinking that we could possibly meet and maybe catch up. It's been a while since we've been in the same place, so," Lisa trailed off.

The response was immediate, _"That would be great! I would really like to do that Lisa, it would be wonderful to see you again… you didn't leave under the best of circumstances,"_ said Sally sadly.

Both Lisa and her mother discussed where they could meet up at, and settled on a small café that was in the central commercial district of the colony. Lisa got off the com-device and prepared to leave, but went to check on Tyler before she went out. Tyler was still in the bed he had been laid on after arriving at the Clyne residence, nothing had really changed yet with him.

It was because of Tyler that Lisa had considered calling her mother and meeting her she realized. After watching Tyler and how much he valued family, it had brought back memories of fonder times for Lisa. She hoped that Tyler would wake up, but at the same time she wanted to be here when such happened when it did.

Siegel Clyne, as her host, had given Lisa permission to use one of the vehicles should the need arise while she was at the residence. So, she borrowed a car and drove down to the commercial center of the colony where the café that she would meet up with her mother was. Lisa found the small outdoor food and drink shop that was the agreed meeting place and after glancing around, found that she had likely beaten her mother here.

Lisa picked a table and ordered a drink while she waited for her mother, a feeling of slight nervousness flowing over her. It had been over four years since she had seen her mother, pretty much the day she had left her former home was the last time. And Lisa had been rather mad at her father as he had been adamant in not listening to what she had to say and was stating what she would be doing with her life. In fact, the last thing he had said, was should Lisa go through the door, she'd better not bother coming back as she wouldn't be family any more, nor welcomed. Hadn't been the best way to leave her family on, but her father had been stubborn and unwilling to even try seeing things as Lisa herself saw them, only control her life.

"Lisa?" said a familiar older female voice.

Twisting around in the chair she occupied, Lisa saw her mother a short distance away. Her mother looked fairly similar to Lisa herself in appearance though older looking, but her hair color was a dark brown with some greying and her eyes were hazel. Lisa rose and took a couple of steps towards her mother, but the older woman closed the distance before Lisa could and embraced her. Lisa returned the gesture after a moment had passed. "It's really good to see you Lisa," said Sally Minti

"You too mother," Lisa returned, "Sorry that it has been so long since we've seen each other."

Sally Minti shook her head, tears still flowing, "No, it's fine Lisa. Being able to see you right now is enough."

The two stayed in the hug, until the came a different voice, "Matt, why is mom crying while hugging that other lady?" Ask a girlish voice.

Both Lisa and Sally looked over to where the question had come from, seeing a young man in his late teens with a hand on the shoulder of a nine or ten-year-old girl. "Cindy… mother is crying because she is happy, and that 'other lady' is actually our older sister Lisa," said the young man, whose name was Matthew Minti, while the girl was Cynthia Minti.

The young man and girl came over to the table when Sally beckoned them to. Matthew embraced his older sister as he hadn't seen for years and Lisa returned the hug. And it was at this point that Lisa was happy that she had decided to meet with her mother and gotten the opportunity to see her family again. More so, when they all began catching up with what had happened over the last four years.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Marshall Islands Area

The view of the battle ahead between the Archangel and ZAFT forces wasn't pretty and not one I wished to see. On the ZAFT side of this, there were three WASP type GINNs that were equipped for underwater operations, an assault type GINN leading them and two regular GINNs. There were two GINNs that I haven't seen before, probably new variations of the GINN model, obviously for areal recon. Then, there were the four suits that seem to not be able to leave the Archangel alone, the Alliance's GAT series, all four of them in fact. With the mobile suit force, my guess is that there are at least three subs or more to carry that many mobile suits.

Looking to the other side of this conflict, you have the Archangel flying above the ocean. Sturdy ship it is, and the Archangel has proven that a few times already, but it's certainly not meant for this kind of thing. Could see one skygrasper with the Strike's 'Launcher configuration' equipment, the Strike with the Aile equipment and the Asuka out with an anti-ship sword with it, defending the Archangel against ZAFT.

I focused on the task before me and felt the onset of SEED mode, which would help in this. Threw the throttle forward to their stops and put the petal down, zooming forward. The beam rifle in my suit's right hand, shield on the left with railgun and beam saber ready to use. The LAS cannon's barrel was connected in its full length and the acceleration coils were warming up. The Shadow's mirage colloid was active, so none had noticed me approaching the skirmish in progress.

To start, I brought out the hidden scope the Shadow has and began scanning for my first target and my crosshairs came to stop on one of the two WASP type GINNs with aquatic equipment. Raising my beam rifle, I aimed at the GINN and fired, nailing the GINN and it shortly exploded. The second suit of the same type definitely took note of its fellow being shot and destroyed, for it was looking around for the source of the shot. At the same time, the GINN was moving off of its original course, but without thinking, I adjusted my aim and fired again, destroying the second GINN.

After taking care of them, my attention was drawn to two particular machines clashing, those being the Asuka and the Aegis. I moved towards where the two were fighting, in order to stop them from hurting each other. As I made it halfway there, the Asuka was rushing towards the Aegis, anti-ship sword swinging in an arc towards its opponent. The Aegis didn't move out of the oncoming sword, yet, just before the Asuka made contact with the Aegis, the Blitz appeared seemingly out of nowhere. The Blitz shoved the Aegis out of the way and… the Asuka's sword cleaved into the torso of the Blitz. Time seemed to stop for a moment, the image of the anti-ship sword shallowly digging into the cockpit, then the the long blade continued in its arc through the Blitz and the mobile suit vanished in a large explosion.

A moment later a voice cried out in pain over the com-channel, _"_ _ **NICOL!**_ _"_ yelled the voice of Athrun.

My eyes widened at what had just happened and I gained a sick feeling in my stomach. How could that have just happened?! It somehow didn't feel right, like it was out of place, I don't know how else to explain it. An object coming from the Archangel caught my attention, and when I looked, it was the second skygrasper. However, shortly after the aircraft launched, the Buster managed to get a shot on the Archangel and the ship crashed along the shoreline of the closest island.

" _Kira… how could you… you killed Nicol!"_ said Athrun in a voice that was a mix of anger and pain.

My attention shifted back to my two best friends duking it out, the Aegis sped forward and attacked with its beam sabers, yet Kira dodged the strike and got behind Athrun. Then Kira swung his own beam saber at the Aegis, though he missed.

" _KIRA!"_ shouted Athrun in anger.

I tried to speed up my approach, but I was going all out!

" _Kira!"_ Came the voice of Tolle.

The skygrasper shot at the Aegis, and Athrun threw the Aegis's shield at the aircraft like a Frisbee. I watched in what felt like torturous slow motion as the shield sailed and crashed into the cockpit of the skygrasper.

A sharp pain spread in my heart at the sight, more so when I heard Kira, _"_ _ **TOLLE!**_ _"_

The feeling of shock at having to witness the death of a friend hurt horrendously as it spread through me! Images and flashes of memories that involved Tolle went through my mind, the good time and the less nice times.

" _Athrun… you… you killed Tolle… I'll DESTROY YOU!"_ bellowed Kira.

I was getting closer to where my two best friends were fighting, hoping that I could somehow make it between them in time.

Kira shot forward, _"_ _ **ATHRUN!**_ _"_ he screamed.

The Asuka moved forward and cut off the Aegis's left arm cleanly like a hot knife through butter.

Athrun pushed the Asuka back, _"I'm gonna… KILL YOU!"_ he shot back.

Then the Aegis sliced off the Asuka's left arm, shield included, before spinning around and landing a blow on the Asuka's flight system. Kira didn't let Athrun get away with that scott-free, took the Aegis's head in exchange. The Aegis leapt back from the Asuka and into the air, before shooting forward and latching onto the mobile suit while in MA attack mode. I was so close to where they were, when I witnessed a massive explosion engulf the Asuka and the Aegis, which forced the Shadow backward.

" **ATHRUN, KIRA! NOOOO!** " I yelled in the deepest pain.

My eyes snapped open and I found I was looking at an unknown ceiling. My breathing was faster than usual, my heart was racing. I sat up slowly as pain shot through me as I rose, I took in more of the room between the horrible throbs of pain, though it didn't help me figure out where I was. But… there was also a feeling of something being out of place, yet it wasn't triggered by any part of this room I saw. The emotion shifted into a mix of fear, desperation and panic, which are rare feelings for me to have all at once. Noted that I was hooked into medical machines and equipment to help with life support along with being wrapped in lots of bandages, seeing this further baffled me. I tried to remember what could happened that would put me in a position to require these machines to be connected to me.

Images started flashing through my mind… horrific ones of having to witness… my two best friends killing each other. They hadn't been the only ones that had… been killed, there had been a number of people that had. The pictures I was recalling sent me reeling and fell out of the bed I was in. Pain wracked me as I hit the floor and all I could do for a short period was writhe and thrash around in response to the increasing magnitude of the waves of pain. The length of time that the pain overrode my physical sense, was beyond my comprehension, the aspect of the passage of time was lost to me right now. However, once I was able to regain control of my body, I made an effort to get to my feet, managing to do so after a bit. Yet I had to use one of the poles that a liquid bag that was connected to the IV in my left arm to rise up. When I was on my feet, shakily but still on my feet, I shook my head to try to rid it of the terrible images that were playing in my head. What they depicted couldn't have happened, Athrun and Kira wouldn't do that to each other!

My lack of balance caused me to stagger towards my left still gripping the metal pole, feeling really tired, but the feelings of fear desperation and panic were growing, not disappearing. These feelings didn't make sense to me, I could think of nothing that would cause them. A glint caught my attention and raising my head, I found there was a mirror on the wall. Upon glancing at the mirror, hoping to see something that would explain what was going on right now, but I froze with what I saw. My eyes… there weren't like they're supposed to be, the pupils were pinpricks, exactly like they are when I activate my SEED factor.

At seeing this, I stumbled back a couple of paces and toppled to the floor, confusion being added to the mix of my current emotions. I vaguely remember going into SEED mode when I went into battle trying to stop the ZAFT forces from sinking the Archangel, but that event isn't clear in the memory I was recalling at the moment. Conflicting images were swirling around my mind and I couldn't fully tell which was right and which was wrong. The reason I was attempting to remember what had occurred, was… I've a condition which knowing the facts would either provide an explanation or be dismissed. The condition can be triggered by going into SEED mode and being in it for an extended period of time. Said condition was a very bad and can easily be potentially dangerous to possible being lethal, especially with the more time that passes.

I rose back to my feet, using the bed for support, before I took out the IV and disconnected the other cables and tubes. I then exited the room I woke up in and came into the hallway and saw no one or even a sign of there being anyone here recently. I turned to the left, made my way slowly down the hallway, looking for something that would tell me that there was someone here or had been here. Finding a person might help the current chaos that I was swimming in, and right now, I'll take whatever I can get.

I glanced into the rooms I passed, found furniture and signs of habitation, but still no people. The lack of other people was putting me on edge more and more as I moved forward, adding to the growing desperation, fear and panic medley. The other factor that was starting to take hold on me, I was starting to hear whispers, nothing defined, but it was definitely affect me. Things for me took a turn for the worse, when I opened the third door and the sight I viewed got me to stop dead!

The room was in a messy state, metal beams broken and in unnatural positions, couple of fires smoldering around the room. Although, what held my attention was something that caused me so many feelings internally. At the other end of the room, debris lying around them… was… Lana, my little sister. My logical sense and mind shouted at me that the scene before me wasn't right or real in any way, yet my physical senses denied that and gave convincing evidence to the contrary.

I backed away and fell to the ground, clutched my head with both my hands, curling into the fetal position. Lana's voice came to my ears, her screaming at me to help her pounding in my head. The pain washed over me, not helping in anyway as tears coming from my eyes, while I muttered that what was happening wasn't real, I stayed where I was. In my mind, I was pretty sure what was 'occurring', was in reality a hallucination, but… it felt so real my ability to see the difference between what is real and what's not, was coming into serious question! So, I was beginning to believe my condition was coming into play for the second time in my life as it felt so similar to the first time.

Lana's screams for help filled my ears, when suddenly, I was picked up and slapped hard across the face. My little sister's cries for help faded and when I opened my eyes, and when my eyes focused, I saw Lisa was grasping the clothing I was in holding me up. Her slap hurt, but it had helped to clear my head, which was sorely needed with the state I was in currently. Managed to slow my breathing a bit before I showed my gratitude, "Thanks Lisa, really needed that… I'm out of it right now and it isn't nice at all," I said.

Lisa set me down on my feet and it took a moment for me to establish my sense of balance as I was still so disoriented. Yet, just as I was establishing my balance again, something hit me and stole said balance out from under me, causing me to fall painfully to the floor. The something had pink coloration and if my ears were telling me right, it was crying. I sat up and upon further inspection, I realized that the 'something' was in fact, my friend Lacus. It makes me wonder what's she doing here… and where is here was exactly? Even with Lacus clinging to my front, I managed to look back at Lisa, hoping that she could provide the answers to my questions, "Okay Lisa, where are we and how long have I been out?" I asked her.

"We are at the Clyne residence on the PLANT colony Aprilius One and you've been unconscious for close to three weeks after somehow surviving the destruction of your mobile suit around the Marshall Island areas in Orb territory," Lisa replied to me.

…I've been out for close to three weeks?! I guess that's more preferable than being dead, though things could still be better in my opinion. It would explain why I feel worse than crap and I'm dead tired… no dead puns intended. Suppose it would be best to see how thing things are and see where I stand, then priority number one, get my condition manageable! "Any changes I should be aware of Lisa?" I asked.

She shook her head, before my attention was drawn back to the fact that Lacus was still embracing me, even after I sat up. "Um… Lacus, not that I mind the hug from you or anything, but it's kind of getting a little awkward and I can't say how long my bodily health," I said. Lacus didn't let go of me, to which I sighed, "Okay, never mind then, could we take this to the kitchen then please? I would kind of like to do something about what I'm dealing with right now before it strikes me again," I continued.

Lisa helped me in getting to the kitchen of this place, and when I looked around, spotted the food that had what would help with managing my current condition somewhat. What I really needed what a dose of a drug known as Letaium serum, that's the stuff that was developed for this type of brain condition along with a couple of others. The problem is, it's not something any doctor has access to or even knows what Letaium serum is. Lacus was still right next to me, still appearing very worried about me.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself Tye," came a voice to my left.

I turned my head to the left and there stood Athrun, with a cynical look on his face, which doesn't fit him well at all. "Of course he is Athrun, I mean, look at the reward he gets to do after playing the hero," came the voice of Kira, who appeared next to him.

I tried to shut it out, as my two best friends started berating me and saying how much a hypocrite I was. Then I felt something hard slam into my gut, which got Athrun and Kira to vanish from where they were. I sunk to the floor, since I lost my ability to stand, then I looked up, seeing that Lisa was the one that had punched me in the breadbasket. Lacus was chiding her, even though she was helping me, won't look like it, but Lisa was helping me I assure you.

"What is going on here?" Asked a male voice.

Slowly… very slowly, I raised my head to view the other doorway in this room and Siegel Clyne of all people was standing there. I certainly hope that doesn't mean that Sakura is around too, I need her antics about as much as I need repetitive kicks to the head right now. However, Siegel appeared very surprised at seeing me, probably since I was in a bed the last time he had sight of me. Yet, is would be the most likely to be able to help me in change my current predicament that this condition brings. "Siege, I know that what I'm about to ask for will not make sense, but I need you to just trust me for now." I got out, shutting out the pain and the hallucinations that were starting up again. Siegel nodded slowly as I continued, "I need you to contact a doctor and request a dose of a drug called Letaium. It will help me the most right now, the sooner I get that the better."

Siegel went off to hopeful do what I had asked, while Lisa and Lacus assisted me to the sitting room next store and to a sofa. As I was laid down, Lacus kept looking at me, "Tye, what's happening to you?" She asked.

I winced as a wave of pain came down on me and I had to grit my teeth until the pain died down enough for me to focus. "What you're seeing is… something I've dealt with once already, a rare condition," I replied.

Siegel entered the room as I continued my explanation of one of the things I don't talk about to others. "It's called Recoyal Syndrome, can't say how it comes about for I don't know, but it has rather particular triggers that can be identified and its symptoms can be as well. Even in the medical community, it's not widely known. The main symptom is hallucinations, but there's more to it than just seeing things."

"What do you mean more than just seeing things?" Asked Lacus.

But, I was having great difficulty ignoring the effects of my condition and I was forced to put my hands over my ear as the voices of the hallucinations got louder and refused to be dismissed. Lisa, no doubt seeing that I wouldn't be able to finish the explanation, she took it up where I left off. "When Tyler says there's more to it than just seeing things, he means that what he's seeing goes beyond 'ordinary' hallucinations. For those experiencing them, what they see can sometimes more convincing that reality is. It can become, an argument between their physical senses and logical mind, telling them the illusion is real, even if their mind is saying the opposite. It's not at all uncommon for those who experience Recoyal Syndrome to… lose their mind or commit suicide during the first episode of this condition if they don't get treated. In fact, Tyler is one of those few who managed to make it through the first episode and not end out 'broken'. The doctors who did see how Tyler was acting were very shocked that he kept it together, the vast majority don't."

I was having problems keeping things together or know what was really going on around me. The things I was seeing and hearing, were screaming at me, what was being shouted at me wasn't nice at all to have to hear. Pain, emotional, mental and physical were starting to take a toll on me and I just wanted it to end. My thoughts were careening down a slippery slope and the 'people' in the room were spinning and swirling around me. Next thing I knew, the feeling of something holding me down came and then there was a short stabbing pain on the back of my neck. After a slightly cold sensation started spreading through me, the voices and their owners, began to decrease in volume and began going away.

Fifteen minutes after the needed drug had been administered, I felt the symptoms of the Recoyal Syndrome fully fading. It was wonderful to have those negative feelings go away, it had seriously stressed me and had been like my heart being stabbed repeatedly. This experience wasn't as bad as the first time, but wasn't all that much better though. I believe I was taken to the room I had started out in, for when I woke up fully, that's where I found myself. Lisa did say that Siegel was hoping that I would listen to a request when I was awake, which got me curious as to what kind of 'request' this could be.

So, I hobbled to the sitting room as I'm still not in good health and found Siegel, Lacus and the doctor waiting for me. I went over and thanked the male doctor for the service that he had provided me. He said it was no trouble and rather, was interested to meet someone that had the condition I did, since it was so rare. The doctor left after making his goodbyes and I sat down and looked to Siegel and Lacus, "So, what is this request that you have that you believe I can help with?" I asked.

"Well Tyler, no doubt you noticed that the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance is getting worse for more than just those fighting in it." Posed Siegel, to which I nodded as I'd indeed seen who things had been getting worse as time went on, for all. Siegel continued, "Since the discovery of the Earth Forces prototypes, scientists within the Integrated Design Bureau have been taking what they have been getting from them and applying them to new projects."

Siegel slid a datapad over to me, and I picked it up and looked at the data on it, to say I quickly fell into a state of shock and respect, would be an understatement. What was on the datapad, was technical specs of two mobile suits developed by ZAFT's Integrated Design Bureau, which is pretty much their top R&D group as Siegel said.

The first of the two suits was named the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. The machine wasn't one to scoffed at, it was impressive for a couple of reasons. It was clearly designed for assault and taking on multiple opponents at the same time. Some of the equipment of note, it had phase-shift armor for part of its defense like the Earth Alliance's GAT series did. It also had a system made in a wing apparatus that gave this unit very good mobility. The armaments combined with the multi lock-on system would be a harsh combination for any that go against this suit. But, the biggest two things that caught my eye, were a piece of equipment called a Neutron Jammer Canceller, which name says that N-jammers won't do much if anything to this mobile suit. The other equipment, worked with the Neutron Jammer Canceller, was the Nuclear Fission Reactor that powered this machine.

This mobile suit's armaments, were like this machine's other equipment, quite something to read about. The unit had two plasma cannons, stored in the wings if I'm seeing right, along with two railguns on the hips, those weapons could pound enemy machines and start to cut down their numbers. The Freedom had two beam sabers for close range combat and two CIWS 76mm guns to intercept incoming projectiles and pepper close enemy machines. Lastly, this mobile suit had a beam rifle of a similar caliber as the Shadow had and a decent sized shield that was laminated with anti-beam coding. Overall, looking at this mobile suit schematic worried me for several reasons. First and foremost, if this thing were destroyed, it becomes a nuclear bomb and could be seen as a kind of delivery system! Another problem, with how things are turning out to be, it's not matter of if ZAFT would use this suit and the other against the Human Federation and the Federation Military, but rather when I feel.

I switched over to the other mobile suit's schematic, and I found there was some of the same equipment as the "Freedom" had. This machine was named the ZGMF-X09A Justice Gundam, and also was clearly designed for assault in mind. This unit also had a nuclear reactor and Neutron Jammer Canceller, along with phase-shift armor. Like the Freedom, the Justice possessed a multi lock-on system that complimented its weapon load out. The real difference, was a piece of equipment called the Fatum-00, which appeared to be a winged flight system that was attached to the back of this suit.

In the armament department, the Justice had two beam sabers like the Freedom did however, the Justice could combine them into one twin-edged weapon. Another offensive option this unit had, was a type of beam boomerang that were stored in the shoulders of the suit. It had four CIWS guns instead of two as the Freedom had, and were mounted in the head. The Fatum-00 had the majority of the suit's weapons mounted to it, such as the two main rapid-fire beam cannons. Then there was two turret machine guns, which could swivel and then the other two machine guns which were fixed and appeared to be more for interception. Finally, the Justice had a beam rifle that was like the Freedom's and also a similar shield that was laminated with anti-beam coding. Like the Freedom, this mobile suit and its possible applications worried me as there were so many.

After slightly more than five minutes of me studying the schematics, I put down the datapad and looked at Siegel, "From a professional standpoint, I have to admit, both are impressive mobile suits Siegel, quite the achievement for ZAFT," I said dryly.

Lacus had an expression of worry and confusion, "Tye, you don't sound happy," she said.

I glanced over at my pink haired friend, "From a personal position Lacus, I'm not pleased. ZAFT has made very dangerous weapons with these mobile suits. I don't know if one should call them mobile suits or consider them mobile weapons of mass destructions. They could be used as portable nuclear bombs that can be delivered to wherever one wants and do lots of damage before exploding," I replied. I turned back to Siegel, "So, correct me if I'm wrong, but I've the impression that showing me this isn't something others would agree with in any way. That said, what is it you want me to do?"

Siegel pinned me with his stare, "I would like you to pilot one of them out and away from the colony," he stated calmly.

An expression of surprise spread over my face, "I highly doubt those in charge of those two machines along with those they report to, are going to let me take one Siegel," I remarked.

The man agreed with my remark, "Indeed, yet still, I feel you have the best chance of succeeding at this," He answered.

I wasn't against this idea, but being able to foresee the consequences that would come should I succeed didn't sit well. I wanted to know if both Siegel and Lacus understood what doing what was suggested would mean for them. "You two understand what will happen to you if this succeeds right?" I questioned, very worried about both of these people, for they were good people that don't deserve what they would face. "You'll be branded as traitors and would probably be hunted down to either spend the rest of your life in prison or executed, depending how nice the one in charge is feeling."

Siegel nodded sadly in understanding and Lacus's face fell, showing they did know what they would face. "It is unlikely that Patrick Zala will be very understanding or forgiving with me or Lacus, especially with how he acts these days," Siegel stated.

It was the truth, Patrick Zala, Athrun's father, was becoming the one who controlled the PLANTs Supreme Council and through that position, gained a lot of influence within ZAFT overall. Yes, officially Siegel still is the chairman of the Supreme Council, but less of the other members of the council are listening to him. The only saving grace for ZAFT right now that I saw, was that Athrun's father doesn't control the ZAFT military completely, that's still done by Admiral Lanus Trays and he's supposed to be a reasonable man.

I exhaled, "I'm still willing to help in this, but… it doesn't feel right that you two should have to face treatment like that. You're both good people… even Sakura is at heart I believe, so… this just feels wrong," I admitted, then sighed. "Well then Siegel, in exchange, would you help Lisa get out of the colony with the least amount of notice please."

The man agreed to my request for Lisa and the discussion turned to the detail of the planned theft of one of the mobile suits. I chose to go for the Freedom, not because it I intend to use it for it doesn't fit my piloting style, but I think Kira would do wonderfully with it. Apparently, there was a pair that would help Lacus and I enter the facility that the mobile suits were stored in. the man was named Andrew Waltfeld, and I've heard of him along with reading reports about conflicts he was involved with in the African region and that information said he was tactically minded to a degree, more than I am. I retired to bed once the conversation was over, to rest up for what would go down tomorrow.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I'll be ending the chapter here, YEAH my character isn't dead, but then I'm not one who kills off my own characters. Anyways, I know that in the respect of cannon of Gundam Seed Kira is the one that goes to the PLANTs, but I'm doing it differently. Please, some take the time to write a review and tell me what you think, ask questions, tell me I need to fix things, whatever you think. Peace out until next time!**


	16. Phase 16: Returning Home

**A/n**

 **And so, here is chapter 16 of Gundam Seed: the Federation. Other than my usual disclaimer of owning nothing by my characters and musings, I got nothing else to state or say. So then, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 16: Return Home

April 30th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Baltic Sea, Near Norton Sound

It had been around three weeks after leaving the Orb Union, the Archangel had made its way towards o its intended destination. Now in the Bering Sea, the Archangel was in the company of Earth Forces seaborne vessels traveling in a northeasterly direction. The eventual destination was in the in the deep bay known as Norton Sound, where the Alliance's Earth based headquarters were located. The JOSH-A base or the **JO** int **S** upreme **H** eadquarters – **A** laska as it's full name was, though it tends to be pronounced Joshua was the headquarters for the Earth Forces after the Alliance lost the Victoria Base in the African Community. The base itself, was large and underground, designed to be able to withstand attacks, assaults or anything that had been through at it so far, up to a nuclear attack. As such, the base has heavy fortifications in place and was accessible by a series of hidden gates which were also heavily defended.

The feelings present on the white ship weren't ones of relief as it would have been weeks earlier. Where it had been feelings of looking forward to completing the mission, it was now one of apprehension and worry. The officers including Murrue herself, wondered what would happen next. Whereas the Heliopolis students were recalling the words Kira had said Tyler had believed would likely happen at this place and those thoughts had been popping up in their minds more frequently the closer they'd come to Alaska. Thus far, Tyler's predictions about the what the Earth Forces and in extension, the Earth Alliance would do, hadn't been completely wrong, far more right than not. He hadn't always been 100% right, but Tyler had always gotten parts correct and the overall general idea.

As the Archangel came into view of Norton sound and entered the bay. At the other end, the sight of the wide waterfall hid the main gate into the base didn't change the feelings that hung over the crew. The Archangel headed for the waterfall and went under it, which on the other side was the main gate opening for the Archangel. Arnold followed the direction he received from the base's control center and maneuvered the ship into the designated dock.

As the Archangel was docking, the senior Earth Forces officers of the base were meeting together to discuss what had arrived in their laps. "The Archangel, I never thought it would actually make it here after what it has faced since Heliopolis," said one of the commanders around the table.

"You think maybe Halberton's force of will protected the ship?" posed another commander a tad jokingly.

At the head of the conference table, William Sutherland, the most senior officer in the room holding the rank of captain, hadn't been paying much attention to the conversation. He was looking over personnel files, specifically the one on the pilot, Kira Yamato. He'd skimmed over the two other files that had been on the other two pilots who were no longer onboard the Archangel. The girl, Lacus Don had held little interest in his view. True, she had the same first name of idol daughter of the leader of the PLANTs, but the likelihood that she was the same girl was laughable. Her Coordinator parents probably liked the name, the thinking of Coordinators rarely make sense. And then of course, most importantly, she was one of those abominable Coordinators herself. Yet, other than that, there was nothing else of interest or of note.

The other pilot, Tyler McGregor, had been a Federation Military pilot and there were records with the Earth Alliance on him. Sutherland himself, believed that those who were a part of the Human Federation and its military were no better than the PLANTs or ZAFT. The Federation Military was made up of a mix of Naturals and Coordinators, or rather traitors and horrible mistakes after all! Then, the Federation had ignored the requests of assistance in the fight against ZAFT, even though their 'member nations' were made up of nations of Earth. They claimed neutrality as an excuse to not be involved in the fight against mankind's enemy and enjoying the peace that others paid with blood and lives to enjoy. Sutherland hadn't a problem at all that he had died outside of Orb, good riddance to bad rubbish. Plus, it saved the trouble of having others take care of the young man and Sutherland was fine with that, less work to see to.

Captain Sutherland put down the datapad he had been looking at and focused back on the others gathered around the table, "No, Halberton had little to do with this, other than buying the vessel an opportunity. It is the remaining young Coordinator, along with two others that are the real reason that the Archangel is here now," he said.

All the other officers went silent at that remark, before the commander next to Sutherland spoke, "Captain Sutherland, none of us can deny that Coordinators have… unusual abilities, but let us look at the facts. It is true that records state that the mobile suits and their pilots played a part, but they are not solely responsible. The Archangel-class design has now been proven formidable and so has of course been approved to be put into production. Yet, by what information that has been acquired, two out of the three Coordinators aren't on board any longer. One was killed in action during the battle that the Archangel was in against ZAFT outside of Orb by the reports. And by what I've read, that one was the most dangerous of the three Coordinators that became involved in these series of events. The female vanished during the stopover in Orb for the ship to make repairs and there has been no other information on her since. A rather fortunate that those two vanished, even if it was different way, the fact still is that two of them have been dealt with," the commander stated.

"That just leaves the younger male Coordinator and that's easily dealt with," said the first officer that had spoken about the Archangel.

Sutherland raised a hand to his chin in thought, "That is correct, still the GAT series will make up our main fighting force going forward against ZAFT to victory. Technicians will begin the data extraction as soon as the Archangel docks, with the five complete blueprints of the GAT series, mass production can start. That being said, we can't allow people know that the Strike was operated by a Coordinator child, no matter which one of the three it was doing it," He commented derisively.

"Captain, what of the other two mobile suits that the Archangel carried? The winged one of course is assumed to belong to the Orb Union originally and then through them the Federation military now. But, what of the black one, what is known about that one?" asked Sutherland's neighboring commander.

"There is little information on the third mobile suit, it seemed very similar to the X207 Blitz, but there's little creditable information other than that. So, it is likely a fluke that appeared, who knows where it came from or who's responsible for its creation, it doesn't matter now. Nonetheless, with all three machines being piloted by Coordinators… it's like glaring evidence of our own inferiority to them," snapped the second officer that had joked about Halberton.

Sutherland picked up the datapad again and switched over to seeing the specs on the Alliance's six newest additions to the GAT mobile suit series. The six machines each had specialties and strengths, the GAT-X251 Sinister and the GAT-X252 Forbidden were fast and meant for assault. The GAT-X333 Bandit and a very similar suit the GAT-X370 Raider, both could transport other suits and were also armed for assault. Then, the GAT-X130 Raptor and the GAT-131 Calamity were the heaviest armed of the six, both wielded artillery. "All the technology from the GAT series have already been transferred and further developed. And this time, it's we who will benefit from it," Sutherland remarked.

"Sir, what have you told Azrael?" asked the first officer.

Sutherland put down the datapad again and scanned those who sat at the table, "I told him that we would take the necessary steps to address the standing issues and fix all the problems that have come up recently. What has happened in the recent months has all been a rather unfortunate chain of events… just like what will happen here," he replied.

There was muttering of understanding and agreement around the table, "All of what will happen and what we do, will be for the preservation of our blue and pure world," Captain Sutherland said with finality.

Meanwhile, once the docking procedure for the Archangel was done, contact was made with the bridge from the base's control center. _"A message from the joint operations room to the Archangel of the 8_ _th_ _Orbital fleet, the following is from Captain William Sutherland. We commend you on your achievements in making it to JOSH-A through so many difficulties and hardships. We will be debriefing you upon your experience at a later time, so all are to standby aboard the ship until further orders are received"_ said the Alliance officer.

Murrue was a little surprised, "Standby on the ship? Is that what you said?" She asked.

" _Correct, with all this talk about an impending attack on Panama, things are hectic around here. Just sit back and relax for now captain,"_ answered the Alliance officer.

The com-link disconnected and those on the bridge were left to wonder what was going on within the Alliance. The orders to standby were odd with how far the Archangel had come and how important the mission they had been on had been considered. For Murrue and Natarle, they were both thinking about the report they would soon be turning in or presenting to their superiors. The rest of the crew were just wanting to know what would happen next to the ship and them.

Mu and Krystal especially felt that there was more going on then was seen or said. The words that Kira had been convinced that Tyler had said was coming back to their minds. Apparently, the teen had mentioned that there wouldn't be a good reception for them. There had been some specifics, something about some type of data somewhere on the Archangel, which those here were interested in. Then, separation of the crew, dividing them up into two groups, those the higher ups wanted to keep and those they didn't. The second group, would've the blame for most of what had gone down since Heliopolis thrust upon them.

Added to that, Mu and Krystal worried about what would become of the kids from Heliopolis who had been volunteering. They hadn't started as soldiers and still really weren't, just helped operate the Archangel. However, as they had 'enlisted' they could be judge like any other soldier in the Earth Forces. Kira specifically, as a Coordinator, he would receive far harsher treatment than other crew members, and Tyler had mentioned something to that effect Mu and Krystal were sure, even if Kira hadn't said anything. Just thinking about the possibilities, made it somewhat easier to see why Tyler had the views of the Earth Alliance and Earth Forces he did. With the actions over the last few years that had come to light, the Earth Alliance hadn't earned the nicest reputation for themselves. Even Mu and Krystal had seen some of the signs that things had been changing subtly, and neither liked the shifts.

To top it all off, the last collection of things that Tyler had claimed were crazy, yet could make sense in a twisted sort of way. The Human Federation and its military, viewed the Alliance getting the ability to produce and use mobile suits as a threatening and horrible thing. That was because, the Federation believed their member nations would be threatened and attacked by the Earth Forces using mobile suits. It was a crazy assumption, were the Alliance to commit such an action, then the consequences would very likely put the Earth Alliance in the position of having to fight not only ZAFT, but the Federation at the same time. It had been a long-standing fear of the top brass and it was no secret even if the Alliance Cabinet had differing views. The Earth Forces higher ups didn't want to face attacks from both sides at the same time, tactically, it was a disaster of cataclysmic proportions waiting to happen.

The war against ZAFT was already harsh enough, since ZAFT had the upper hand currently, even if none in the Earth Alliance wanted to admit it. With what had been seen from the Federation, none wanted to test or see the full strength of the Federation. The few times that a sizable amount of force was shown by the Federation's military, the Earth Forces space fleets had taken heavy damages and losses. The fact that the full military power and size of the Federation military was unknown didn't help any either.

According to Kira, Tyler with the help of others, had been assigned to make the 'data', whatever and wherever it was, inert. If that task had been done, the Archangel hadn't suffered any problems on the journey to JOSH-A for it. In fact, there had been nothing out of the ordinary happening, the feeling of apprehension had been growing. The claim about some sort of message from the Atlantic Federation that the Republic's leadership received and it not being nice at all was not helpful. Without further information about the message, there was no real understanding that any could have, of what the message entailed. However, if Tyler had a problem with it, there had to be a reason for that, for the teen had shown that he didn't do what he did without a reason. Yet, all had to wait, to see what would happen to them, both individually and as a crew.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

The morning came, and I began it like I had nearly all of them for the last week now, I woke up slowly and after a self-assessment, can't say I felt much better, physically or morally from the events that had come my way recently. What I was about to be a part of, wasn't a small or trivial thing for one to get involved in, and that's putting it mildly. Do I see it as a problem? The answer to the question, was yes and no for a few reasons that came to mind. First, the results of this, no matter if the task itself goes good or bad, would affect more than just me and I tend to have personal issues with that kind of thing. I don't care as much about what happens to me as I can look after myself, but when I screw someone else with my actions… that doesn't sit well with me! Second difficulty, my current condition, both my physical and mental health aren't in tip top shape or really in close what I consider normal, mostly the physical.

I'm still wrapped in plenty-o-bandages around much of my body, and there are still some I can't take off, or I risk bleeding more than I can really afford to lose. I've already had, by what I've been told, a couple of blood transfusions since I've been out, so I've lost a good amount of blood. Still, with my stubborn will driving me forward to help those I see as people that are important to me, there's no way that I would or will be idle during the events happening. Even if someone were to tie or chain me down to a bed, which any would have to do at a bare minimum to slow me down. Then after they did, I'll do everything that I can to get out and do what I see as necessary, even if it kills me!

Siegel had already gone off somewhere by the time I had woken up, I assume to do whatever he was responsible for in this theft of a mobile suit, he hadn't said what his part would be. The sense of urgency in this stunt shot up after a call had come for Siegel last night. From what I had overheard from the conversation between Siegel and a woman whose voice I didn't recognize, I felt more apprehensive myself. Apparently, there was tension rising, due to what, I can't say precisely. What I could say, was something was being planned by some in the military, and I believe Patrick Zala was definitely involved in it. More so when it was mentioned that Siegel was no longer the chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, which had to have happened recently. Now, Patrick Zala is the one that's filling that position, while Siegel was a 'consultant' or something like that. Back to the 'operation', the name 'Spit break' was said, but that didn't mean anything to me. Since I've no access to the Federation's information network, there is little way to confirm or dismiss fact or fiction.

But, I get the feeling that something big is either going down or soon going to be soon and I'm feeling very unprepared! I didn't get the time to do much preparation as I the time of doing the job I'd been asked to do came this current morning. Lacus was my 'escort' and companion for the trip to where the ZGMF-X10A Freedom was being kept, since that was the machine I settled on taking. My personal guess would be we're going to the facility that the Integrated Design Bureau built the unit or some sort of secure storage facility on Aprilius One. When the two of us exited the house, found a black nondescript car waiting for us… with two ZAFT uniformed men standing at attention as we approached. It almost felt like I'm going to some sort of court-martial as the accused, I know that I'm not, but that's how serious the tension in the air was.

Lacus and I slid into the car and the 'guards' got in on either side of us and then the car began moving. The feel of the air, quickly made me even more uncomfortable that I had been to start with and I'm not feeling comfortable with my injuries in the process of healing like they are! Although, I did make an attempt to break the high-strung silence, "So Lacus, I'm not saying I don't understand the need to be cautious in this, for I do. But uh, is this 'escort'," I said gesturing at the uniformed soldiers, "really necessary?"

I turned my head to the male and female uniformed soldier, "No offense intended towards either of you," I said.

The pink-haired girl nodded to me, "Indeed, stealing a mobile suit is a dangerous thing to begin with Tye, but the one that you'll be taking, is even more so as it's one of two prototypes," she answered.

I inclined my head up and down slowly, "Okay, I got that. Still, one other question then," I stated, and Lacus kept looking at me, so I went on. "Do you know if there's a rift developing between the ZAFT and the National Defense Committee? I ask that, because from what I have heard, the military leader of ZAFT Admiral Treize, wouldn't support what happened back around Orb. Nor would he be offensively minded without very good reason, and just because one's enemy has developed a new weapon doesn't qualify."

Lacus frowned and looked away, "I don't know about that. What you say about Lanus Treize is true, he has always been one to keep what's best for the PLANTs in his mind when he makes decisions. Whereas Patrick Zala…" she trailed off.

I also gained a frown, "isn't doing the same as Admiral Treize. Yes, I've noticed that Athrun's father has changed and now is… well, hell-bent on killing Naturals and getting revenge, using what happened with Junius Seven as a justification. That of course, doesn't mean it makes having to see the idea play out is any nicer, easier or right."

There was a short period of silence that filled the car, before I spoke again, "There was mention of meeting up with others, can I get any more information about that?"

Lacus just smiled at me, "You'll find out soon enough Tye," was her reply.

I folded my arms and leaned back against the seat, closed my eyes and began going through the possibilities that could be coming. It took around fifteen minutes for the car to reach its destination, where the soldiers got out first and scanned the area. After they had, they signaled us to exit the car, the one on my side even helped me out of the car.

Upon looking around and saw that we were at a military complex, I say that as there were strong looking fences surrounding the area Lacus and I were in now. Plus, as I looked ahead, recalling the overall PLANT type colonies design, it was clear that we were very close to the central control area and core system of the colony were located. I followed the soldiers and Lacus as we entered the nearest structure to where the car had been parked. Once inside, I began to think that something odd and off as there was no one, but the four of us that had entered. But then, another group of people came into the 'reception area', in the lead was a man who had the appearance and air of authority.

The guy was tall than me by a small margin, possessed short brown hair with full sideburns. His purple eyes held me for a moment since it was a color that I don't see often and honestly, with the rest of his ruff hewn face, it was the most noticeable feature he had around there. The guy looked to be in his early thirties, can't say exactly with his tan skin. The ZAFT uniform he wore, appeared to closely match the desert variation of the ZAFT uniform, mostly seen around the African community. That got me to assume that he was Andrew Waltfeld as Siegel mentioned he would be working with us.

My attention shifted to the woman to the guy's right and she stood just behind him. She was slightly shorter than me, making her close to a head shorter than the guy. She had long dark blue hair flowing down her back… with some sort of orange streak on either side of her face. Her eyes were dark green, while she had a much smoother face than the guy had. The woman did look to be somewhere close to the same age as the man, who with as close she was staying, they probably were in an intimate relationship. She wore a tight fitting blue body suit that left her shoulders and collar area exposed.

"Miss Clyne, it's nice to see you again," the guy greeted Lacus, before he glanced over to me. "Although, you're new to me youngster, the name's Andrew Waltfeld. …By the way, do you drink coffee?"

I gazed back at the man, for he wasn't close to how I imaged he would be by the things that I've heard and read about him. His tactics used in the African community are good plus, and I'd heard about this guy from a colleague that had known him. Supposedly, Waltfeld was good at getting results, but doesn't necessarily do things by 'the book', such tends to be popular with those under your command, not so much with the higher ups. The other random fact about this guy, he's some kind of coffee connoisseur, what that actually means… I haven't the faintest idea. But with his last question, told me that this guy may have a hard time to focus, I don't know. The woman moved forward and lightly slapped Waltfeld's shoulder, "Andrew, behave yourself," she chided and then turned to me, "My name is Aisha, so what's yours?"

I shook my head and focused, "My name is Tyler McGregor, I assume that you two are the ones we are to meet up with." When Waltfeld nodded to me, I continued, "admittedly, I've heard of you, even that you have some sort of interest with coffee and that you make a heck of a cup of the stuff."

Waltfeld stared at me with interest, "Heard of me have you youngster? Who was telling you about me?" He asked.

"A colleague of mine told me things, has the name of Gream, it ring any bells," I posed.

Waltfeld's eyes widened at the name, which told me that he did know the name that most don't, at least his real name… but, that's a story that's not mine to tell and now's not the time for it. Anyways, introductions quickly came to an end as there was work to be done and time wasn't on our side. The majority of the complex, didn't have artificial gravity in place, so we were floating through the corridors. As we advanced forward, Aisha did mention something along the lines that there would be less personnel on duty with the 'job' that she had done before meeting up with Lacus and I.

One of the soldiers took me to a locker room, where I, with hesitation, put on a ZAFT red pilot suit, for the preparation of the task I was about to do. I did catch the wince of the one that had brought me to the room when they caught sight of all the bandages that I was wrapped in. And once I had gotten the suit on and buckled shut, I grabbed the pilot helmet and the soldier and I headed back to the rest of the group. They had been making sure the way forward was clear and that none were aware of what we were doing.

We finally came to double doors, where all but Lacus and I went through the doors and I go my first real view of the mobile suit I was going to be taking. The two of us stopped close to the doors as to not be seen by the cameras in this room, which I spotted a number of them. Now, the specs had been something to look over, yet seeing the unit in person is different, for it is quite an amazing machine. It was as I stared at the suit, that the reality of what I was going to do and what would come because of it sunk in. I turned to my pink haired friend, "Are you sure about this Lacus?" I asked, still very worried about what would come after I left with this mobile suit.

"Yes, I am, the Freedom will be safer in your hands or whomever you give it to, I have faith that you will make sure of that," Lacus replied.

It's nice to be trusted like this, especially with a mobile suit like this one in front of me, and it sounded like Lacus suspected that I would be giving this suit to someone else. It wasn't wrong, for this suit, impressive as it is, doesn't fit my piloting style, would work better for Kira I think. But still, that's not the question I'm posing, "That's not exactly what I meant Lacus. I was asking are you sure it's fine that I do this and both you and your father take the fall for it," I posed.

Lacus nodded but also frowned, "Yes, my father and I have come to terms with that and are ready for what will come. However, this is necessary," she replied. Lacus then met my gaze and gave me a smile, "Now, this is where we part for now Tyler."

This feels so very wrong to me, I'm leaving a friend to take a fall for something I'm going to do. All I could think to do was gaze at Lacus with a serious expression and tell her what was on my mind. I placed my hands on her shoulders, "Listen to me Lacus, I promise you here and now, I will come back here and help you and your father leave the PLANTs and get away from the persecution you'll face. I don't know how, but I will do just that, no matter what is required to do so," I vowed.

My friend smiled genuinely at my promise, "Then neither of us have to worry about what will come, though there's no doubt that we both will. I'll look forward to seeing you again and so, my strength goes with you, since I can't at this time," she said.

Then, Lacus moved forward, hugged me before she kissed my cheek, which I hadn't expected in the slightest. Lacus had made it plain in my view that she had a strong liking for Kira, even if said best friend was pretty clueless to her interest in him. So, I'm having a hard time figuring out why she was doing what she was. "Lacus… you're nice and all, but I don't see you as more than a friend. Plus, I do believe your older sister would very much disapprove of you and me, for the simple reason that she wants that position," I was reasoning.

I heard Lacus giggled a bit, "It's meant to be my way of sending my thoughts and feeling with you, for Kira and yourself Tyler," she replied.

Lacus moved away and went back through the doors, while I slid the helmet on and locked it to the pilot suit I was wearing. I pushed off the floor and began floating towards the Freedom, but turned back to see Lacus waving at me. I waved back at Lacus, before I shifted my body forward again, using the catwalk railing to maintain my speed forward towards the mobile suit. I spotted what I'm pretty sure is one of the security cameras above the mobile suit and saw a red dot, and I had a thought. Now, were my mother to be one of those who would view what this camera see later, wouldn't consider what I was. But, since the ones that I believe will be seeing this, will be those currently in charge of ZAFT, I say what the hell. I do have some choice things I want to get across to them with what they're doing lately… why heck not go for it?!

I brought myself to a stop halfway to the Freedom, made sure I was smack dab in the center of the camera's view and gave a wave to start my 'message'. Then, I pointed at the camera with one hand and well… with the other, I gave them 'the finger'! That's right, I was telling those who would be viewing this to go f**k the hell off for what they've been doing! And if they go screw themselves like I'm suggesting they do, someone should record it for future generations to see what total idiots they are. …Like I said, wouldn't consider doing this if my mother were to view this recording, I know better than to pull this kind of thing for her to see. There's that and I don't want to figure out what she would do, wouldn't be pretty know that much. Plus, as none would identify me with what was recorded anyways, works out with the attention on me and off of Lacus and Siegel and that was better to me! Thank goodness for helmets obscuring the face, it makes things much better!

After showing off for the camera, I resumed my course to the mobile suit, floating over to the pilot seat that was visible below and in front of the head unit. I moved into the seat and buckled myself in, before I quickly found the switch to close the cockpit once I toggled it, which then started the pilot seat lowering down into the cockpit. A bulkhead ahead of me moved towards me and covered the upper part of the cockpit area, enclosing me into the space and away from the outside.

I glanced around to take in my surroundings, there were the two flight control sticks, one on either side of me within easy reach of my hands. The main throttle control was on the left below the flight control and then on the right there was a board of switches. Had actuators under both of my feet and testing a bit, felt them respond nicely. In front of me, was the main controls other than the optical displays on the right, left and forward for showing me what's outside. It was made of a central circular sensor screen, with status readings for the onboard systems on either side and switches below them. There were two video screens above, for communication with others I would assume. I could also see what looked kind of like an extra screen behind the main console, best guess would be that it has something to do with the multi-lock on feature this suit is supposed to have.

Once I finished studying the layout of the cockpit and its controls, I got down to bringing the OS online. Watched as the system came up and I was kind of surprised as the system was different than what I'm used to seeing.

 **MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**

 **G** eneration  
 **U** nsubdued  
 **N** uclear  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule  
 **G.U.N.D.A.M. Complex  
_Series AVTC-T1 Freedom LA-SE3P_**

 **Z.A.F.T.**

It was interesting that even though it had the same acronym as the Alliance's prototypes' OS, but it gives a different feel to what the purpose of this system the creators had for it. The rest of the mobile suit's systems, followed as the operating system booted up and at a nice speed too. When the system was fully up, I pressed the switch to activate the phase shift armor for this suit. The system readouts, indicated that everything was up and running, made sure to check the reactor's status and the program that ran it. I mean, I'm sitting a few meters from a nuclear reactor, that's dangerous! So, I wanted to know that it's working as it should before I leave in this machine!

Upon seeing that everything was working as it should to the best of my knowledge, I gripped the flight control for my right hand and held the throttle with my left. I'd all the thrusters on the suit to start warming up, in preparation for launch and felt a slight hum in response. I looked above my current position and saw that the first door to the launching tunnel out of the colony began opening. I took a deep breath and then exhaled, "Right then, let's do this," I muttered to myself, focusing in on the stunt I was pulling.

After a couple of the airlocks had opened, alarms began blaring as the tunnel lengthened with each airlock opening. The alarms were also accompanied with a voice over the speaker system, _"Seal all the airlocks! Notify headquarters! Emergency Response Units, scramble!"_

Honestly, I'm surprised that it took this long for those who are supposed to be watching to notice that something was happening on their watch. Although, now if I recall right, the woman with Waltfeld, Aisha, did say something about slipping those who were scheduled to be watching something, so that they wouldn't be up to it. Anyways, there came a voice over the com-channel, " _Identify yourself! Shut the suit down immediately!"_ was what was demanded.

I simply switched off the communication system for the Freedom, so I wouldn't need to listen to whomever it was in the control room telling me what to do. I had no intension to listen anyways, so why should I have to hear their chatter? I put the petal to the metal and floored both actuators and the twin thrusters housed in the wing system of this machine and provide the majority of this mobile suit's propulsion, began to burn. The Freedom leapt upward with my input and I zoomed through the tunnel without any of the airlocks shutting on me.

Upon exiting the tunnel, I found that I was on the Earth side of the colony and I adjusted my course to go to Earth. I flew right passed two GINNs that were probably patrolling, and shortly after I did, they began chasing me. I activating the wings of the Freedom, which were, as I had suspected, the main part of the high mobility system this unit is equipped with… and boy, did it make a difference! So, when the GINNs started firing their assault rifles at me, I evaded the shots easily. Then weapon fire came from ahead of me, glancing in that directions, I spotted two more GINNs. I rocketed forward, drew one of the beam sabers and cut off their mobile suits' heads and weapon holding arms. The ZAFT pilots left me alone after I did that as I flew away from the PLANTs and towards Earth.

Now, Lisa had mentioned to me before leaving, that there would be a Federation vessel for me to meet up with and it would be in my best interest to go to the ship. She even gave me the location of said meeting place, which was along the way to Earth. My friend then had simply given me a hug… rare thing for her and even rarer for me to receive, and then said she would see me later.

So then, around thirty minutes later, I reached the place and found, of all ships, the Donnen. I hadn't thought I would see the ship again in the near future… seems I was wrong. So, I signaled the Donnen and identified myself, before beginning my approach to the ship's upper linear catapult. The catapult opened for me and I came onboard the Donnen and once locked onto the elevator, I descended down into the hanger.

After the Freedom was moved into a dock, I exited the mobile suit and headed through the ship to pay my respects to Captain Shepard. Had learned the last time I was onboard, it wouldn't be wise to cross the woman, and so I don't intend to. When I got to the bridge, I was surprised to see Lisa there, but I shook my head and faced Shepard, "Captain Shepard, hadn't expected to have the good fortune to come onboard your ship so soon. I hope that we can be civil and nice to each other for the journey to Earth ma'am. Still, thank you for the ride," I greeted.

Captain Shepard nodded at me, "Indeed Commander McGregor, was rather surprised to hear that we would be meeting up with you. Must say, expected to see you in a ZAFT pilot suit even less, assume that it has something to do with the mobile suit you came in with?" she posed.

I gave an affirmative, "That's right captain, can't say more than that right now, sorry," I answered.

The woman didn't ask further upon the subject of the Freedom, which was appreciated, for I couldn't say more without revealing what Siegel and Lacus had done. I left the bridge, Lisa not too far behind me, while going down the corridors, we caught up on what the other had been doing. Lisa did give an amusing reaction when I told her what I did for the camera in the mobile suit bay.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

JOSH-A Base

The mood aboard the Archangel had fallen lower than they had been upon reaching the base. Granted, they had reached their destination of Earth Forces' HQ, but now they were reminded of several things. For the Heliopolis students, it served to have them remember that not only were two of their friends not there, Lacus had gone home and Tyler… was gone. But it also brought back to mind Tyler's warnings about what he thought would happen should they reach Alaska.

Miriallia seemed to be taking Tyler's death only a little less hard than Kira had been, and she had been showing her pain more outwardly. Yet, all of them had been showing signs of the pain they felt at the loss of their friend. Miriallia was off duty as was Tolle and he was doing his best to comfort Miriallia as they headed to the Mess Hall.

After they had finished their meals, Tolle suggested that Miriallia get some medication so that she could get some sleep. They reached the infirmary, but the doctor was out at that time, yet the room wasn't empty as they found out. "So, how long with I be left to lie here doc?" asked a male voice.

Both Tolle and Miriallia looked over to the bed and saw the young pilot that was around their own age that had been in the Buster. Tolle was apprehensive at seeing the ZAFT pilot again, the last time had been just a glance and most had been in shock at hearing about Tyler's fate. Miriallia on the other hand, gained a look of rage and she slowly moved forward. While she did, the ZAFT pilot smirked a bit, "Well, didn't expect visitors, you two look like you were just at a funeral. So, a friend of yours decide to be stupid by going out and getting killed or something?" he remarked.

That line acted as a trigger, Miriallia grabbed a scalpel and attempted to stab the ZAFT pilot, though she missed plunging the sharp knife into the bed he was laying on. Tolle hooked his arms under Miriallia's arms and held her back and prevented her from making a second try at stabbing the guy. The pilot was looking at the two like they were crazy, Miriallia began screeching, "Why… Why does he have to be here when others aren't?! Tyler's gone, so WHY DOES HE HAVE TO BE HERE INSTEAD?!"

The door to the infirmary opened again then, Kira and Flay came into the room, taking a moment to take in the scene. Miriallia stopped struggling, dropped the scalpel and sunk to the floor sobbing, "Why do good people who are protecting others die?"

There was a click and all in the room looked to Flay who was now holding a gun and was pointed at the ZAFT pilot. Kira quickly put himself between the gun and the one that it was pointed at. Flay looked shocked, "But Kira, why? It's because of those like him," Flay reasoned, jabbed a finger at the pilot, "That your friend is dead… why are you stopping me?"

Kira shook his head, "It wouldn't change anything… nor would it bring Tyler back. It isn't worth it in this and… Tyler wouldn't have wanted it to happen." Kira said softly, obviously in pain.

The door to the infirmary slid open and a couple of the bridge officers came in with doctor Graham, "What is going on in here?" the doctor asked.

The incident was brought under control and cleaned up, with the ZAFT pilot being escorted to one of the brig cells. However, that wasn't the end of the situation entirely, for as the report to the superiors looming ahead, thought of what needed to be said come to many of the officers' minds. This strained the relationship between Murrue and Natarle a margin as Natarle thought the situation was handled sloppily.

"It was a mistake leaving him in sickbay for so long," reasoned Natarle.

Murrue grunted acknowledgement to the statement, for she knew it was true, the prisoner they had on the Archangel shouldn't have been left in sickbay. Natarle continued, "And then there was the fact that he was briefly left unattended."

"Indeed, is there a point you're trying to make Natarle?" Murrue asked tiredly.

"Firearms management was lax among other things. There is no other option to report this incident along with the rest of what happened on board this ship," Natarle stated.

Murrue said nothing in response, yet Natarle didn't want to come off as critical of Murrue Ramius. "Captain," she said, and Murrue turned to face her. "Please try to understand, I'm not saying that you are unfit or failed as an officer, for I feel that you have done an admirable job with the circumstance that we've been under. I am merely attempting to point out the vital importance of maintaining order and structure. That shouldn't change due to field promotions or emergency situations."

Murrue nodded, "I understand the idea, the principle of it anyway."

"The military must be regulated, such requires soldiers that follow orders given by their superiors and commanding officers that can see the bigger picture and then make the appropriate decisions. Otherwise, the ship cannot fulfill its mission and be victorious, or survive in battle," Natarle said.

"There are some of us Natarle that know that, but still have great difficulty doing that," Murrue replied. Natarle was taken aback at the reply, yet Murrue kept going, "Lieutenant, I'm fully aware that I'm not suited for the position I am in."

"I wasn't trying to imply that captain," Natarle started.

Murrue however, cut over her, "It's fine Natarle, I know such to be the truth. I know a lot has come between us throughout this journey, but still, I am truly gratefully for your help and insights Natarle. I have no doubt, that when you become a commander of a ship Natarle, you will do very well, above most if not all expectations," Murrue stated, before parting ways with Natarle

Later that day, the officers of the Archangel, commissioned and non-commissioned, were called to their 'debriefing'. They were escorted to a large room where there were chairs in the center and a raised stage in front of the chairs. The whole crew stood as the higher ranked officers came in, before they took seats in the center of the room that was used for inquiries. It had been said that they were here to answer questions about the events that had transpired since the Archangel launched. However, with three high ranking Earth Forces officers, the foremost being the officer in charge one with the rank of Captain by the insignia on his uniform. Murrue assumed the man was William Sutherland, she had heard that he was strict and was known to have a dislike of Coordinators. There were other officers on the sides of the room, Murrue assumed for recording this 'inquiry'.

"I'm Captain Sutherland of the general staff, and you're all here to answer questions to help in the understanding of what has happened to bring you to JOSH-A. This meeting will be held according to the regulation of a court martial, and so the proceedings will have the same rules applying. All of you can be seated," stated Sutherland in a serious tone.

The question and answer session began with the chain of events that occurred at Heliopolis. Yet, special attention was given to Kira, Lacus and Tyler, their involvement and actions during the events. Their genetic orientation was brought into question, the show of their abilities as Coordinators with the two unexpected mobile suits. What had followed and had led up to the collapse of the colony was spelled out and not in a nice way. It was more put in such a way that implied the crew of the Archangel had been derelict in their duties.

Mu and Krystal started to get out of the chairs, but stopped when Murrue gestured for them to stay where they were. Both did, yet clearly with serious disagreement to what was being said and implied. Sutherland then began to iterate the response of the Human Federation to the collapse of Heliopolis. For the crew of the Archangel, it was difficult to not stand and say that none of them had known about the Orb Union being a part of the Human Federation, but they stayed in their seats.

The Federation had very quickly after the collapse of the colony, began investigating what had happened, was normal and expected of them. However, when those from the Federation had gone to the leaders of the Atlantic Federation and then the Earth Forces, demanding details of activities at Heliopolis, it hadn't gone over well. There had been no questions about what or if things had happened in the colony, it was to confirm details of what had been going on. It had put higher ups in a very uncomfortable and tight position to be sure.

After the Federation's response was gone through, Sutherland looked at the Archangel's crew, "Even though you knew those three were Coordinators, you still did nothing about it, what do you have to say to justify that action?!" He asked harshly.

Murrue stood up slowly, with dignity in her posture, "Sir, if it wasn't for all three of those teenagers, we wouldn't be in this room answering this inquiry," she said in steady tone of voice

Her reply wasn't the response the officers had wanted, "If it weren't for them, Heliopolis might not have collapsed." Sutherland shot back.

Mu was shaking with anger with this who questioning session, yet Krystal spoke up before he could say what was going through his mind. "Captain Sutherland, you said at the start of this, that this inquiry would be held to the rules of a court martial tribunal. With that in mind sir, are you speaking of just the facts, without letting your personal opinion or views affecting how this inquiry will proceed? For you know what will happen if you let your judgement be affected by either your opinion or views," She asked clearly, leaving no question as to what she was requesting.

Captain Sutherland, glared at Krystal, before he took a moment to calm down and sat back down in his chair. "I was only saying that things could be different, were these teenagers not Coordinators, that's all." He remarked.

"Whether it could have been different or not, isn't the point captain. We're here to confirm and clarify the facts of the events that have happened." Mu said, keeping his anger in check with effort.

"You seemed displeased Lieutenant, any particular reason why? And remember, what you say does go on the official record," Sutherland returned.

Mu gritted his teeth, "Yes sir, there's a reason for me being displeased. You've been saying, implying and accusing our volunteer pilots of doing wrong. You clearly haven't taken even one opportunity to talk to any who know them. They are kids like any you would meet anywhere you care to mention. They were thinking more about what they were going to do in the evening other than schoolwork, not piloting mobile suits to fight for their lives when this all happened." Mu stated.

"Lieutenant, you're forgetting that our enemies in this war are Coordinators like those three 'teenagers' are. It is because of the miraculous abilities they possess that make it such an important point, they may have been children and civilians. But nevertheless, they were still Coordinators and did what they have!" spat Captain Sutherland, then he paused and calmed himself. "The facts were right in front of you, and yet you failed to recognize them. It is their existence that has thrown this world into chaos!"

Mu felt seriously irked by this, "You're twisting the truth! We were only…" he started.

Sutherland cut over Mu before he could go further, "Only what Lieutenant?"

Mu was at a loss of what to say, but then Krystal spoke up for him, "We were completing our mission to the best of our abilities sir! So, if you intend to accuse us of wrongdoing, then define the crime that the facts indicate we've committed, or end this ridiculous show and cease telling us your personal hatred of Coordinators, Captain Sutherland. Adhere to the rule that are set for a court martial tribunal and stop lecturing us of the view you share with Blue Cosmos. Or by the rules you stated this would go by, this 'inquiry, it's records and the information that has come with it, including your accusations will be dropped," she stated.

The other two Earth Forces officers gained expressions of anger, yet Sutherland smiled a bit, "Come now, relax. I'm not saying that you are to blame for everything that's transpired. In fact, I believe that you did quite well getting through some difficult situations. However, when the Archangel arrived here, only one machine from the GAT series was on board. So, tell me, how can those who gave their lives for all of you to get here now rest in peace? We have no other choice but to make things as clear as possible as to the results and whom was responsible for them. And in a manner, that satisfies everyone," he commented.

The questioning continued, and it didn't get any easier for the crew of the Archangel. For the reaming that was used against the three pilots that had protected the ship from being destroyed continued. However, out of the three, Tyler was implied to be worse than Kira or Lacus, especially his connections with the Federation military. The facts of Tyler's rank and other facts that Murrue, Natarle, Mu and Krystal had heard from Tyler himself were stated.

Yet, in the middle of the session, an officer came in and whispered something to Captain Sutherland. Whatever was said, wasn't something Sutherland wanted or liked hearing as his expression of rage made plain. Shortly after that, some accusations of negligence on the part of the crew came up for reasons that none of the crew of the Archangel could understand. Mu and Krystal recalled Kira having mentioned data on the Archangel and that Tyler along with others had done something to make it unusable. But there was no way to confirm or deny if that was the case in this situation.

The whole inquiry, lasted for around three hours, it was three hours of having to listen to slander for the crew of the Archangel. The only thing that wasn't slander was the rank promotions that were presented to some of the officers. But finally, it came to an end, "This concludes our hearing, thank you all for your cooperation in answering the questions to clarify events. We'll be in touch with you concerning the next mission of the Archangel soon. All of you are to return to your ship, expect Commander Mu La Flaga, Commander Krystal McAlester, Lieutenant Natarle Badgiruel and crew member Flay Allster and are to standby and wait for further orders," ordered Sutherland

All the crew was confused at what had been said, "Sir, what about us then, since we're not going back to the Archangel?" Mu asked.

"I have orders to have you four transferred. Report to the personnel office tomorrow morning at 0800 hours, that's all," replied Captain Sutherland.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

In Orbit Above Earth

It took nearly twelve hours to reach Earth, I could have probably done the journey faster in the Freedom. However, as Lisa remind me… both physically and vocally, I needed time to recover still. Really, were I to listen to a doctor with my condition, I would still be in bed for weeks more at a bare minimum. I doubt there is the time for that, am surer of that ever since I overheard Siegel talking about the 'spitbreak' operation that ZAFT was doing… whatever it was. But, I was stubborn enough to keep going and will do so until I make sure my friends aboard the Archangel is okay.

Once in orbit above Earth, Lisa in a Delta Fighter and I in the Freedom left the Donnen and descended to Earth's surface at a much less steeper entry angle than we had last time, to end out around the Republic. The destination in mind was the Teswa R&D complex, for a few reasons in my mind. The first, it's best that Federation scientist know that ZAFT has made a way around the N-jammers that was a collaborative effort between the Human Federation and ZAFT. Second, to start coming up with a way to possibly counter a mobile suit like the Freedom or the other one I hadn't stolen, the Justice. And then third, a more personal reason, I want to ask Carlos if I can get a mobile suit to work with, like very soon.

Lisa and I landed in Teswa, my friend shifting the fighter that she was in, into its mobile suit mode. It's how the Federation keeps the fact that the military has mobile suits, they're built as fighters and can transform from one to the other and vice versa. The Freedom did get a good amount of attention, but that's to be expected as this is one of ZAFT's newest mobile suits.

My exit from the cockpit and descent with the zip line, was difficult for me, due to my injuries of course, but my effort going into ignore the pain running in me was making simple tasks much harder. I stumbled a few steps when my feet were on the ground and I let go of the zip line, but I managed to catch myself after the missteps. Lisa came over to where I was and looked me over, "Tyler, doubt I need to say it, but you're not looking good," she remarked.

I attempted to scoff at the comment, but I ended out coughing and hacking painfully instead. There had been a few pieces of shrapnel I'd taken to my chest and two of them had caused lung injuries that are still healing. Those are among the worst injuries I'm still having problems dealing with, I'm still healing while pushing myself as hard as I am currently.

The Freedom was quickly put through the process of inspection and I observed those doing the work. Then I spotted my friend Carlos coming over to where I was being somewhat supported by Lisa. "Tyler, hadn't expected to see you so soon again, not after seeing the report about what happened around the outskirts of Orb." He greeted, then twisted to look at the Freedom, "Dare I ask where this machine came from or how you came to fly it?"

I winced slightly, "Um… would rather not get into detail of how I was piloting it, the mobile suit was entrusted to me." I replied.

Carlos nodded, understanding my requested for not inquiring for more information. It was then I decided to ask Carlos for a favor, "Say Carlos, I've a favor to ask… it's pretty big," I started.

My friend gestured for me to go on, so I did, "Well, was wishing and hoping that all of you here had a mobile suit somewhere around that I could work with. One that has a decent arsenal, has fair mobility or preferably better, you know the style I have by this point I would hope Carlos."

I'm praying that there's something here to use, the Freedom is neat and everything, but that suit, nor the other one I saw specs on, really fit my fighting style well enough. The Freedom looked to fit Kira's way of piloting, the other mobile suit, the Justice… can't really say at this point. I gained a good amount of optimism Carlos took a moment to think, then smiled a bit, "Well, it's interesting that you should ask that, for as it happens, some of us here have been working on a mobile suit. It's not completely finished, still needs some fine tuning as well as one more piece of equipment, which due to what you brought can be finished," He said.

"Okay, no need to keep me in suspense, how about showing the mobile suit Carlos," I suggested.

Carlos led Lisa and I to a different area of the mobile suit development floor and come to stand in front of quite a machine. It stood at close to nineteen meters tall and was grey overall in color. The head appeared to be kind of like the Justice's, the resemblance was quite something in fact. It looked to have a similar frame shape in the torso and midsection as both ZAFT mobile suits had, ever had beam sabers stored where they did. There were vents on either side of the torso as the Freedom and the Justice do. Also, there were vents on the front of the shoulders along with short wings that stuck out at the end of either shoulder cover. On the front of hips, there were raised sections on either side of the center, what they are for, I haven't a clue yet. The legs did have more robust vents above the ankles and beside them on the outside were short wings and thrusters. Behind this mobile suit, was two long guns or cannons and a pair of long wings.

I saw that there was a shield attached to the left arm and it was red, kind of shorter than a good portion of shields I've seen. There looked to be something built under the center of the shield, don't know what it is or its purpose. In the right hand was a good-sized rifle, which was about the same length as the Shadow's rifle. The forward half of the rifle was rectangular in shape and had a handle on the left side I assume for stabilizing the weapon during firing. And its forward half of the barrel seemed to have a straight line down it, I don't know why.

After taking in my observations of the machine, I looked to my friend, waiting for him to explain some more details on this machine. For my first impressions were high from what I was seeing, caused me to be excited to know more. Carlos shortly after I glanced at him, did as I silently implied, "This Tyler, is the HFS-Z201 Aurora mobile suit. It's a prototype machine that is transformable much like the Delta Fighter model, though it's designed with fighting and assaulting multiple opponents in mind. There's a standard Federation cockpit with panoramic display in the upper torso. This unit is equipped with a type of phase shift armor, but it's an improved version from what the Earth Forces developed for their GAT prototype series, which we call Phase Shift Type Sigma. In the wings and around different points in the suit, there is the High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver system, it gives a notable advantage in combat."

Carlos took a breath and continued, "Then, there is the rapid target acquisition system, makes decreasing your opponent's forces short work as the accuracy is quite impressive. Of course, there is a camouflage system, which is called the Phantom Stealth system in this machine. It's an improvement of the Specter Optical Camouflage field. Then the last system of note onboard this machine will be a neutron jammer canceller. And I don't doubt you could guess by that piece of equipment what is the power source of this mobile suit," he said.

I nodded solemnly, as I knew what was in this mobile suit and powered it, "It has some sort of nuclear reactor, correct Carlos?" I posed.

My friend nodded, "Indeed, you are right Tyler. This mobile suit needed the power that a nuclear reactor can provide, especially with its flight mode being able to maintain supersonic flight for a decent period."

That last part caught my attention, a machine being able to go supersonic is one thing, being able to maintain that for a time is something else. "Okay, you're impressing me well so far Carlos, what kind of arsenal does this suit have?" I asked.

"Well, the head is mounted with two 50mm CIWS guns that are fire-linked and are loaded with anti-phase shift rounds," Carlos said, but the last bit went over my head a bit.

"Anti what now?" I inquired.

"Anti-phase shift rounds Tyler, ammunition that is designed to be very effective against phase shift armor system. It will cause impact shock to the cockpit and forces power draw for the armor system to increase a good amount," Carlos returned, before he continued listing the weapon and offensive equipment this suit had. "Then, there are the two beam sabers on either side of the lower torso over the legs. Those blades can be used individually, or can be combined into a double-bladed configuration called the "Duel Halberd". You have the MX2351 'Imperious Deflector' shield on the left arm, which has a built-in Homura Energy Deflection system, which is similar to the Alliance's Geschmeidig Panzer, a recent development of the Alliance's."

Carlos pointed to the front skirts, specifically to the raised parts, "Mounted on the front skirt, are duel micro-missile launchers, two pairs on both sides, though they're only usable during flight mode. And like the micro-missile launchers, there's a pair of 90mm vulcan guns mounted on both sides of the forward flight array that is in use during flight mode. And then we have the high-energy beam rifle, which can be stored on the rear skirt, and the barrel of the rifle can split open horizontally for a constant beam barrage. Finally, there's two "Lunarious" plasma cannons mounted on rails that are on the back of the suit."

To say that I was in awe would be an understatement! This mobile suit was incredible AND it fit my fighting and piloting style near perfectly by what I could tell. I don't think that I could've asked for a closer match that this machine, the 'Aurora', especially with the Shadow in pieces now. I turned to face Carlos again, "So then Carlos, last question, are there any potential pilots for this unit yet, for I'm real interested in being in the cockpit of this mobile suit," I stated firmly.

My friend put a hand on his chin, "Really, that's a shame, had something for you here, but apparently, you aren't interested in taking it." He said.

I paused at that line, and thought about whether I should take the bait… Okay, why not, I'll bite. "You still have my attention Carlos, what is it that you 'have for me' here?" I asked.

Carlos led me off, Lisa had gone off somewhere else, don't know where right now, but she can look after herself just as much as I can for myself the vast majority of the time. The two of us came to stand in front of a sight I never thought I would see again, the OIS-X209 Shadow mobile suit. Of course, it wasn't the original machine, since that had been destroyed by the self-destruction of the Aegis. I gaped a bit at the unit, while Carlos smiled, "We built a second suit, just in case you survived the explosion of your first unit, plus, I'm of the mind of why leave a good set of blueprints around to collect dust and not use them when you can. So, it's up to you how this machine will be used, do with it what you want," he said.

Carlos left me standing in front of the mobile suit that was the same as the one that had served me well and walked away. I stood there thinking what to do next, for I knew that I had to get to JOSH-A asap, no questions about that. After a few minutes, Lisa reappeared beside me, "To think that Teswa built a second mobile suit of the same make as your previous one," she commented.

I faced my female friend, "See you been busy, care to share what you've been doing?" I inquired.

Lisa nodded, "I was looking into what has been going on while we were gone and found out that Luke and Alan have been transferred to the Euros Coalition while we were gone. Also, all the member nations are in the process of tightening their borders and defenses. Likely due to the Earth Alliance appearing to be on edge and the Earth Forces are more active than they have been before during this war. Unease is spreading and doing so fast, it's very troubling, more so when you consider what the Earth Forces may do in the future."

None of that comforted me, more the opposite, for that had me worrying about the Republic that's home for me. Yes, I had read and seen the threats that the Earth Alliance had sent of the Republic's government and I had disliked each and every one of them. But, this series of events is a large step in a dangerous direction for the world and humanity as a whole. However, I really would like to deliver the Freedom to Kira as soon as possible and with the Shadow here, then two mobile suits could go and the more the better in my opinion. "Lisa, what would you think about piloting the Shadow here and coming me with me to JOSH-A?" I suggested.

She thought for a moment, and then acknowledged my idea, "That sounds reasonable, you shouldn't go alone and that's before taking your current condition which is far from normal for you," Lisa agreed.

Within the passing hour, the inspection of the Freedom was completed as the people here got what they needed. Plus, they did some fine tuning to the machine, to which I won't say no as one of the things they adjusted ended out making the nuclear reactor safer in my opinion. The other thing that was added to the Freedom, was a sonic flight frame as we were in a hurry and time was of the essence! The Shadow was equipped with a wing system and minor adjustments were made to the OS to fit Lisa's preferences. I'd taken the time to get some rest as my mind may be willing, but my body is much less so since the explosion I had been in. Yet, once everything was ready, Lisa and I launched out with the Freedom and the Shadow, heading for JOSH-A base.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

JOSH-A Base

Those that were being transferred to other places away from Earth Alliance HQ, had lined up to board submarines. Mu was going to be sent to a training academy for new pilots, while Krystal would be going to another ship to be their pilot. Natarle would be sent to Lunar HQ for her assignment while Flay would go to Earth Alliance territory on Earth, Atlantic Federation areas, but no specifics on where yet. Mu and Krystal did cross paths with Natarle once more down in the docking area and they did say their farewells.

Just as the boarding process started, Mu's suspicions got the better of him and he slipped off and began to look around the base. He told Flay that he had forgotten something, and that he would quickly go and get it. As Mu was glancing around trying to figure out what was going on, his worries increased, for everything that had been going on lately raised flags in Mu's mind and to ignore such feelings wasn't wise he knew. He was making his way to the control room to get some answers about what was going on, even if he had to go around the chain of command to get those answers. There was something going on here that wasn't being said and Mu felt whatever it was, happened to be critical. Those were Mu's thoughts, when alarms began going off, "What the hell?" he muttered to himself.

The mobile armor pilot wasn't by any means the only one to wonder what was going on when the alarms started sounding. Murrue, who was on the bridge of the Archangel, trying to think of a way to get the opportunity for the crew to have shore leave when the alarms began sounding. The com-link was connected and Murrue found herself looking at the image of Captain Sutherland, "Captain Sutherland, what's going on?!" she asked.

" _All defense forces are to launch at once and commence interception,"_ stated Sutherland. _"They Tricked us, at the last minute, ZAFT switched the target from Panama, to here at JOSH-A"_

Meanwhile, Mu picked up his pace and broke into a run the rest of the distance to the control room and just outside the room, he encountered another, the first since he had begun looking around. "Krystal? Assume you're looking for answers too?" Mu posed.

Krystal nodded, "Yes, there's something very wrong going on here, but I don't know what it is. I haven't met anyone at all, when there should be people operating things, yet there's been no one."

He agreed, "Yeah, same with me, there's something screwed up here…" he stopped as a feeling he'd had in several the battle on the way here registered. He twisted towards the door to the control room, "No way, he's here too?"

"Mu? What is it?" Asked Krystal.

Mu reached for the gun he had picked up as he had been searching the base, "Le Creuset, he's here, I'm getting the same feeling as before when I was around him," He replied.

Krystal grabbed the gun she had on her hip, acquired the same way Mu had gotten his. Then there came a trembling and shaking as the sounds of fighting began to be heard. Both mobile armor pilots got on either side of the door to the control room, but as they looked inside, a gun shot came their direction.

"Well well, Mu La Flaga, we seem to have a horrible habit of crossing paths with each other, don't we?" called Le Creuset.

Mu grimaced, "What are you doing here Le Creuset?!"

Krystal shot back at the Mask man, who was heading for a door on the other side of the room, "Why Mu, you think I would miss such a show as this? But if you're still here, then it means that your usefulness along with your companion's, the Earth Alliance seems to not need you anymore. Oh, how the mighty have fallen," replied Le Creuset before he disappeared.

Both Mu and Krystal scanned the control room, guns at the ready, but both relaxed a bit when they saw they were alone. The two started glancing over the consoles, taking in the information and a couple of things became clear. ZAFT was attacking the Earth Forces' HQ, there was far more of them than there were defenders and there was no one actively in charge in a situation that such was needed! It was as Mu came across one console and saw the display that horror filled him as did rage. He waved Krystal over and let her see what he had, and she had a similar reaction as Mu himself did. On the screen of the console the image showed a large array of dishes that were hooked to power. By the information listed, every dish was set to emit microwave radiation and heat in mass, multiplied by each dish when they were turned on. The array of emitters, were they to activate all at once, would turn a ten-kilometer diameter area into a blast furnace in a matter of seconds. All that would be left as evidence, would be a crater and charred debris from what had been in range!

Mu trembled in fury at realizing just what had been planned to happen here. Krystal gasped at seeing the data, "No, this… this is almost like Endymion all over again, the only difference is that we know it's coming," She muttered in a mix of shock and anger.

The two looked at each other, and they both knew that they couldn't stay where they were, not with what they had learned. Mu was out of the door first, closely followed by Krystal, both of them sprinting down the corridors of the base. Once they got out of the main base and out into the underground city area, they found a working jeep. Mu jumped into the driver seat and Krystal slid into the passage seat. The car started, before Mu put the petal to the floor and they sped off towards the closest aircraft hangar. Mu showed his driving skill as the roof of the underground cavern began falling and he swerved to avoid being hit.

They reached the hanger in around ten minutes, both hoping that the Archangel was still flying as they had both become fond of the ship and its crew. The hanger was in a state of chaos, Mu and Krystal told any that they came across to run and get away from the base, before they each found a fighter craft and took off and entered the battlefield.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Northern Pacific Ocean, Close to Norton Sound

Hours after leaving Teswa R&D, Lisa and I were flying at a high altitude so as most if any wouldn't notice us flying. As we had traveled, I'd the time to think about recent events, especially with some access to the Federation Information Network. ZAFT activity had said that they were planning a massive assault on the Earth Alliance, two targets had been suspected; JOSH-A or Panama around the spaceport and the mass driver. Both places made tactical sense as a target, JOSH-A is the main headquarters of the Earth Forces after they lost Victoria. Or honestly, after Sakura had turned around the battle the Alliance and ZAFT had been in, ending in victory with ZAFT and an extremely embarrassing loss for the Earth Forces for Victoria. If JOSH-A were lost, chaos would ensue with leadership of the Earth Forces in disarray. Yet, Panama also had great value as a target, for if the Earth Alliance lost Panama and its mass driver, their supply line to space comes to a near grinding halt as that's the only mass driver they have to work with.

Then the same day I took the Freedom, an informant had acquired information that the target had thought to be Panama, was suddenly changed to JOSH-A at the last minute. However, there had been evidence that information had been leaked to the Alliance, no confirmation of the idea, but with an operation of this size… there are very dangerous consequences with leaked info. If there had been information leaked to the Earth Forces about the real target of ZAFT, then I wouldn't doubt they would take advantage of that, in what way I can't begin to guess. I'd suspect that those in the crew of the Archangel would be divided into those the Alliance want to keep and those they don't care about and that would put them in danger.

My attention was brought back to what was ahead as the signs of battle became visible as Lisa and I kept going forward. Moments after taking in the battlefield setup, even with the distance we were still from it, this didn't look good at all! ZAFT by what I could tell, had likely had forces drop through the atmosphere, while others had probably come from Carpentaria. Their numbers were far more than the defending Earth Forces, by more than ten to one. So, ZAFT is throwing most of what they got at this operation? The leader of the ZAFT military has never seemed to be the one to do this type of thing. So then, how did Patrick Zala get around Treize?

From my view, this battle was senseless killing to justify the views of those they follow, this won't end war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. And if the Earth Forces had known about this attack and had prepared something, then I fear it'll likely going to eliminate a good portion of ZAFT's fighting force. Past records with the Earth Alliance says, don't assume that they are above committing horrible things, for they're not. There are countless examples from this war of that fact, and 'sacrificing' allied forces have happened in much of those. So, were I to guess, what defending forces that are left delaying ZAFT forces, are likely Eurasian forces. The relations between Eurasia and the Atlantic Federation hadn't been good for a while now. And should the Atlantic Federation get rid of unwanted 'competition', they'll see it as a bonus in the end.

After a minute and a half, I'd seen enough, I disengaged the flight frame and ejected of the mobile suit. Once the Freedom was clear of the flight frame, I began the descent downward towards the battlefield. I was looking for the Archangel, for I had yet to see it on the field. Once I 'officially' came onto the battlefield, I did spot the white vessel I was here to find, and she wasn't doing very well. There were Earth Forces fighters attempting to shoot down the ZAFT mobile suits, but their efforts weren't making much a difference.

As I approached the Archangel, I watched as one fighter plane, smoke coming out of one of its engines, pull off a landing onto one of the Archangel's catapults that had a hole in it. The Strike was on the upper deck, doing its best to fend off the opposing mobile suits that were coming at the Archangel. But, there were too many other machines attacking, for Kira, who I'm betting is piloting the Strike.

It was then, while Kira was being kept busy, I saw a GINN come to be directly in front of the Archangel's bridge and pointed its beam rifle at the bridge. I wasn't about to let that happen, I zoomed down using the Freedom's speed, shot the GINN's weapon with my beam rifle and then drew a beam saber as I kept going. I sliced off the suit's head, left arm and continued down and clipped the front end of the Guul lifter off. Then I flipped and sent a kick into the GINN, sending it flying away in one direction and its lifter in a different direction both away from the Archangel. Put myself to be in front of the Archangel, shield at the ready and held my position, for I would not be moved!

I connected the com-line to the Archangel, but left out the video, might as well make this amusing with all I'd gone through in the last month and a half or so. With how the situation is right now, the mood needs some real lightening and how! "I've got to say, you lot have a habit of getting yourselves into harsh situations… the parties you go to without me, I swear, you need to consider a change in how you get your kicks," I said.

I don't doubt there would have been a response, but the Duel was flying at me and firing its rifle, which I blocked with my shield. I would've shooed the blue suit away, but I was beaten to the punch, as Lisa swooped down from above and… she took a leaf out of my book and used the Shadow's shield to deliver an amazing impact. One would think that I was the one driving the Shadow with a technique like that, as well as getting some payback on the Duel for what went down in orbit between us.

Returning my attention to the battle at hand, I decided that it would move things along, were I to switch on the video piece for the com-link and so I did. The image of Murrue Ramius in the center and Mu La Flaga on her right popped up on the top left com-screen. "Quite the party being thrown here. My question is who sent the invite to ZAFT, because I doubt they're here and they should be out here experiencing the results of their work," I remarked.

" _Tyler?_ " questioned Murrue.

I nodded while I shifted the Freedom's shield to block another incoming bolt, "Yep, were you expecting someone else? Man, I bust my butt off along with an array of other things to get here, so it would be nice to receive something more than shock for once you know," I replied.

" _Tyler, with the explosion that you were in, it's miracle that you're still alive,_ " Mu said flatly.

Admittedly, Mu had a point, the Grim Reaper's attempt at taking my life had been close, "I suppose you have a point Mu, but catch-up will have to wait until later, work before play and everything," I returned, before I gained a serious tone. "So then, it would be best that the Archangel leave this field. Yet, I've a hunch that retreating to the Earth Alliance base isn't a wise idea, because the leaders of the Earth Forces nor the Alliance are above doing horrid things to get what they want. Anyone care to disagree at this point?" I posed.

Mu instantly gained an angry frown… so then, whatever had been set up was especially nasty… don't know if I want to ask what's in store for those here if nothing changes. "I take it that you know what I'm referring to, even if I don't know what's exactly set up yet, correct Mu?"

Mu La Flaga nodded, " _The top brass planned this whole scenario; ZAFT attacking here, the remaining defending forces, all of it. We're just the bait for this trap,_ " he muttered angrily.

Murrue took up the explanation from there, " _There's a Cyclops system set up under the base. We had no idea about it, then this battle started,_ " the woman trailed off and I fumed.

It wasn't the means chosen that irked me the most in this. No, it was that those who planned this whole situation out, saw absolutely nothing wrong with this idea at all! What's worse, the Earth Alliance will use this event to bolster their cause in some way, likely twisting the truth to do it. For them to use a Cyclops system, that's not all that surprising really, they used the idea before to great effect at the battle of Endymion, so why not do it again. I let out an audible sigh, "Yes, I can see there being that kind of setup, leaders of the Earth Forces don't see anything too low to commit these days. Very well then, move forward and make distance from the base, don't stop for any reason," I stated, before terminating the com-link.

The Archangel began moving forward and though it seems like a lost cause, I feel the need to warn the ZAFT forces in the vain hope that they will listen. Should they listen to me, casualties will be cut down a good amount and that works best for all. I deployed the Freedom's wings, fully activating the mobile suit's high mobility system and started forward. "Attention all ZAFT Forces, this is Federation Commander Tyler McGregor, this battle is a setup by the Earth Forces. They have laid a trap to kill as many of us as they can in the form of a Cyclops system underneath the JOSH-A base. Recall your forces and fallback immediately, save as many as you can. I repeat, there's a Cyclops system under the Alliance base meant to kill as many of us here as possible, fallback and retreat immediately," I transmitted over all com-channels.

There was a slight hesitation by some of the ZAFT forces, but most kept going not believing my warning. I needed a way to convince them I was telling the truth about the Cyclops system, then it came to me. With the JOSH-A base about to be destroyed, I can pretty much guarantee that Federation technicians would be collecting all data in the base's mainframes… for investigation later, unbeknownst to the Alliance. If I could get something that showed the Cyclops system, then I could then get it to the one in charge of the ZAFT forces and they could do as I suggested. I connected and logged into the Federation Information Network, and by my good luck, I came upon a file that fit the bill I had.

So, with the proof I required, I needed to find whom to send it to, that's when I saw the Blitz and perhaps were it to go to Nicol Amalfi could get this to the one that could make a difference. I input the com-system signal for the Blitz and opened a secured channel, "Nicol Amalfi, Athrun Zala said you're a reasonable person and look at facts before making a judgment. What I'm about to send you, proves that what I said about the Alliance having a Cyclops system under their HQ is correct. I hope you can get it to whoever can save as many lives as possible, because time is against us all," I stated, then transmitted the data.

While I waited to see what would happen, I defended the Archangel as it kept moving forward. To help things move along faster, I brought out both railguns and plasma cannons to the firing positions. The screen behind the main sensor display I had noted before, popped up and the sensor detection screen switched over to that display and targets began being locked in. Once the ZAFT units in range were locked in, I began unloading the four cannons along with the beam rifle at them, aiming away from the suits' cockpits.

My heart felt lighter as the majority of ZAFT's forces started moving away from JOSH-A. The could be moving away quicker, but some progress is better than none at all and I'll take anything I could get right now. It was as around half of the ZAFT force was drawing back from the base, that things went really bad. Heat readings appeared from under the Alliance base suddenly and spread fast outward spherically from its starting point from the beneath the base.

The Archangel's engines increased their output to their maximum, pretty much all on the battlefield that could were trying to get away from the growing radiation wave. The microwave radiation blinded all rear optic cameras, but one doesn't need to be a genius to guess what's happening back that way! As I moved forward a bit ahead of the Archangel, I saw a damaged GINN's guul flyer fail and the suit start falling. I grabbed its good arm and kept the machine from falling downward and behind… into the microwave blast furnace the Cyclops system was producing.

What was left of the defending Earth Forces, around seventy percent didn't make out of the Cyclops system's range and so were disintegrated in the blast. Whereas ZAFT, lost some, but nowhere near what they would have if they had continued pressing forward into JOSH-A's interior. There were casualties on both sides, no question in that, but it could have been so much worse! The course of the ZAFT forces, would get them to Carpentaria, the Archangel was a distance behind me as we were heading south. I spotted a clear area of land, maneuvered for it, placing the GINN down, before I landed the Freedom close by.

Shortly after landing, I exited the cockpit and used the zip-line to descend to the ground, getting off slowly so I didn't collapse. Once I got my bearings back in order, I made my way over to the ZAFT pilot, who had gotten out of his own cockpit, removing my helmet as I went. However, the pilot had sunk to the ground and was laying there, looking at the sky. "You're the one who saved me?" he asked.

"Yes, I did," I answered.

"Why did you do so, it would have been better if you had let me die," he said before coughing.

I took a deep breath, "I believe that everyone deserves the chance to live, no matter if they're a Coordinator or Natural, soldier or civilian." I paused, seeing that the soldier wasn't doing well at all, and would likely not make it through this. "Tell me, you have family?"

The man nodded painfully, "Then if you wish for them to hear a message, then tell me and I'll make sure they get it, I swear," I promised.

The man did tell me a message, then after that, it took a few minutes for the ZAFT pilot to die, clearly in pain the whole time. When I had retrieved his ID, I found where I would need to deliver the final message that the man had given to me. I was unhappy that the man I had tried to save, in the end had died. I didn't know him, but that's not the point to me. My belief is that all should have the chance at living a life of their choosing, none deserve death just because of what they are.

I felt a hand on my shoulder, and when I turned, saw that Lisa was behind me, "Are you going to be alright Tyler?" she asked me.

I grimaced, "This… this event shouldn't have happened… those who orchestrated this scenario… they will face justice for this crime! So, for the time being, I'll manage Lisa," I replied.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **That's where I'll leave off with this chapter. The full reunion with the Archangel crew and Tyler will come in the next chapter, which I feel will be some time away. School is eating up time, for those who have done and are doing school, assume that you understand to what I'm referring. Anyways, as usual… even though I kind of wish I didn't see the need to do this, some of you please take the time to write a review. Don't care if it's short, long or if you're just telling me to stop writing crap. Input is valuable and everyone is entitled to their opinion. See you all next time, until then, peace out!**

 **Model Number:** HFS-Z201  
 **Code Name:** Aurora Gundam  
 **Unit Type:** prototype transformable assault mobile suit  
 **Manufacturer:** Teswa R &D  
 **Operator:** Federation Military  
 **First Deployment:** March 71 CE  
 **Accommodations:** pilot only, in panoramic cockpit in torso

 **Dimensions:** overall height 18.71 meters  
 **Weight:** 78.27 tons  
 **Power Plant:** ultracompact nuclear fission reactor  
 **Armor Material:** Phase Shift Armor  
 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Neutron Jammer Canceller**

As with the other four ZGMF-X series of Gundam units produced in that time period, the Freedom is equipped with a Neutron Jammer Canceller, which counters the effects of the ubiquitous Neutron Jammers and allows these suits to be powered by nuclear reactors. This gives them almost limitless combat endurance, even with Phase Shift armor activated.

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma**

A new variation of Phase Shift Armor, developed by Teswa R&D after they got data on Phase Shift Armor from the Alliance's G Project. It works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas.

 **High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver system (HiMAMs)**

Similar to the HiMAMs, the system gives higher maneuverability. Gives a great advantage in flight mode, but also in MS mode and is better suited for aerial dogfighting.

 **Rapid Target Lock system**

Similar to the Multi-lock on system the X10A Freedom has, but instead of locking onto multiple targets to shoot them all at the same time. This system does singular target shooting but will switches to the next target in milliseconds

 **Phantom Stealth system**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Aurora has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M. Intrigue** , the Federation's system for working with a nuclear reactor.

 **MOBILE SUIT NEX OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nsubdued  
 **N** uclear  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Intrigue**  
 **_Series GN125-O6 NR 02-13756_**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed Armament:**

 **MMI-GAU26 50mm CIWS guns**

A pair of the CIWS are built into both sides of the Aurora's head. They're fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

" **Lunarious" Plasma Cannons**

The "Lunarious" Plasma Cannon is the Aurora's main long-range weapon and are close to comparable to the _Archangel's_ "Lohengrin" when firing at maximum output. The Aurora has two of these cannons which are mounted on the backpack section on the inside of the wings and they can swing forward to be used in MS mode. While in Flight mode, both cannons are set forward and center of the just under the flight sensor array. The pilot can also choose how much power the cannons uses per shot, at full power the forward half of the barrel splits open for a wider beam.

 **MA-M978 "Vajra II" beam sabers**

The Aurora is equipped with two "Vajra" Beam Sabers, which are stored in recharge racks in compartments on top of both hips when not in use. The two beam sabers can be combined into a double-bladed beam saber, much like the Freedom and the Justice can do with their beam sabers in the form known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd' however, the Aurora's is called the "Dual Corseque".

 **MMI-MML262 duel micro-missile launchers**

There are two launching tubes in the upper section of both front skirts of the Aurora. Each tube has a supply of three micro missiles before needing to be resupplied. They are only operable in the Aurora's flight mode.

 **MKII-GAU27 90mm vulcan guns**

GAU27 vulcan gun is a rapid-fire gun that is much like machine guns or CIWS and use ammunition that is 90mm caliber. The Aurora has two of these mounted in the outside on both sides of the forward flight sensor array and are only operable in the Aurora's flight mode.

 **Handheld Armament:**

 **MX2351 "Imperious Deflection " shield**

The "Imperious Deflection" shield is the main defensive tool other than the Phase Shift Armor system. The shield is covered with Anti-Beam Coating and it's also built with "Homura" Deflection Shielding system, which is made up of network of emitters that's in the center of the shield. The emitter is covered when not in use and when activated, the shield expands in vertical length and four fins pop out making an X shape with the emitter in the center of it.

 **MA-BAR77/S2 high energy beam rifle**

The beam rifle is the main offensive weapons of the Aurora has, and the only multi-range versitile weapon it has and can be stored on rear skirt armor when not in use and in flight mode, the rifle is positioned on the right of the right Plasma cannon. The rifle has two different modes, the rifle mode and stream mode. In rifle mode, it works like a standard beam rifle would, while in Stream mode, the forward half of the barrel can split open horizontally for a constant beam that can be used for cutting or penetration.


	17. Phase 17: Calm Before a Coming Storm

**A/n**

 **And here's chapter 17… earlier than I thought it would come, especially with school racing towards the end of the semester for me. This is not so action packed as the last one, but it balances out those kinds of chapters and helps advance the plotline. Honestly, this chapter sets the stage for the next one which will be somewhat more action packed and fast paced. Anyways, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 17: Calm Before a Coming Storm

May 8th 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

Southern Area of Norton Sound

It was hard to swallow as it was always to have someone die in front of me, this was no different from the times before. To me it has never mattered whether one was a Natural or a Coordinator, with the Alliance, ZAFT or the Federation, no human being deserves to die. My attention was shifted as I saw the Strike coming to land close by my own position. I figured that when the knowledge of my continuing existing came out and friends knew it, they would come flocking to me. Kira was proving the point, but I see nothing wrong with that, for I wanted to see one of the two best friend I have that I was forced to leave.

I tried to make my way over to the Strike, but my body at that point had enough of my forced orders to it and refused to listen anymore. With my body revolting against me, I quickly found myself falling towards the ground. However, Lisa caught me and sat me down on a rock where I took some time to get over the pain that was flowing through me, giving me a number of sharp reminders of how far I still had to go on the road to full recovery. Noted that Lisa was giving me a look she has multiple times since I had woken up after my mobile suit's destruction. It was her way of saying that I was pushing too hard and to back off without words. I know she's right, but I won't admit that out loud unless I've no other choice, yet it doesn't make the idea any less true.

Thankfully, the waves of pain were dying down as Kira had gotten to the ground and was coming over to where I was. When Kira was just about to me, I stood slowly on my feet and found they held me upright, meaning that my body was listening to my brain for the time being, no guarantee how long that will last. Kira's greeting to me was to come right up and hug me. Normally, I would be all for that… yet, with my present state of health, it didn't feel as nice or good as it usually would. "Tyler, thank goodness you're alive, I thought I'd never see you again!" said Kira while he embraced me.

I ignored the pain that I felt and patted Kira on the shoulder, "I'm sorry for making you worry Kira. I didn't plan what happened in any way, so I was blindsided good, and it's taken time to shake off the aftermath and really, I'm still in that process."

Kira let me go, then Lisa smacked my shoulder, which increased the stabbing and burning sensation I was experiencing enough that I couldn't hold in the pained grunt that escaped me. "You should, still be taking things slow and easy, but then rarely do you listen to the advice of others Tyler," remarked Lisa.

I turned stiffly and attempted to glare at Lisa, yet only managed to give her a weak glower, "Do you mind not making the pain harder to ignore Lisa, it's difficult enough for me as it is, don't add to it please, the painkillers are doing more than they're meant to already. And I do listen to the advice of others, I just don't see reason to follow said advice, in this case, doctors recommend more time that can't be afforded in my view," I replied.

After replying to Lisa, I shifted myself back to facing Kira, who was looking at the Freedom to my right, "So then Tye, what's the story with this machine and where did it come from?" he asked me.

"Well, as it happens, this mobile suit came into my possession due to a chain of events that I would rather no state or discuss at this time, but I'll tell you later. The story with it, would be that I'm bringing it to you as I think it fits your piloting style far more than mine. Plus, I've an interest in a unit that I saw recently and hope to work with it in future, but not the point right now," I answered.

I noticed out of the corner of my eye, that the rest of the crew of the Archangel was coming in our direction with the Archangel behind them. Kira began to go towards them and with Lisa's help, I also walked in that direction, a tad slower than Kira was. But, think I should be cut some slack as I'm still in poor shape where overall health is concerned right now. Still, a quick glance over of those there, told me that there were a few not here, I can't say why that's the case, but hopefully I would find out later. Once close enough, I couldn't keep my mouth shut any longer, "I was worried for a bit, but still made it here in time it seems," I greeted.

"Tyler? …Are you really standing here alive?" uttered Murrue in slight disbelief.

I gave a deadpanned expression to her, "Well, as you can see for yourself, the Grim Reaper's last attempt to take a swing at me failed, did get close enough for me not to feel comfort about it, but still, a swing and a miss," I answered flatly.

I was very thankful when none of the crew actually hugged me like Kira had, my friend's embrace had hurt a sizable margin and I don't see it being good adding to the problems that I already am managing right now. However, it was clear that I'd been missed and that all were glad I was back among them and that was… it was kind of odd for me, yet felt nice. I took some time to regain order and make myself heard as I didn't really have the energy to shout loudly. "I don't doubt that you got lots of questions and I wouldn't say no to catching-up with what's been going on with all of you," I said to direct the subject to a more organized model.

Murrue nodded to me, "That sounds about right," she remarked.

"So then, were you with ZAFT?" queried Mu.

I gave Mu a look that might imply that I was insulted to be asked if I had change sides… and I was a tiny bit. I was in a Federation pilot suit and had been since leaving the Donnen, "No, I was around the PLANTs for a time, but that's all. I'm still myself and a member of the Federation military, thank you very much and proud to be so," I justified with as much dignity that I could muster.

"Then, where did this machine you have come from?" questioned Krystal.

As that subject is one I don't wish to go into detail with, I cleared my throat to make sure I had everyone's attention for what I was about to say, "That's a loaded question, all I can say as an answer, is that this suit has been entrusted to me," I stated clearly.

"Okay, then what should we do about it?" asked Murrue.

"If you're referring to maintenance and resupplying it, there's no need to worry about that for the time being. This mobile suit has power to spare… uh, mostly because it has a piece of equipment called a N-Jammer Canceller," I iterated.

"A neutron jammer canceller?" uttered Mu in surprise close to shock.

Krystal was shaking her head from side to side as she was muttering, "But, how can that be?"

"So then, is that thing powered by nuclear energy?" said one of the Archangel's bridge officers that I didn't remember the name of.

"Where did you get it?" inquired Pal.

I let out a sigh as I had, in my view, I'd already answered this subject in a way to say it would not be discussed further. It seems I didn't make the point clear enough yet, "Did I not just say something along the lines that all I'll say is that it was entrusted to me? Any other inquiries about this unit will not be answered, so deal with it and move on," I said with finality, leaving no room for argument to be made.

"This kid?!" commented Mu, which I took as a compliment.

"Got to admit, not many people like him," added Krystal.

That's the way I am, don't see a reason to change that or modify my behavior, any who think otherwise, can cram it up their rear ends and shut up! Murrue was nodding, "Very well, we'll leave the mobile suit and its equipment alone, I promise that," she said, before she turned and made sure that was made clear to the rest, which I appreciated.

The next twenty minutes, were used to get the Strike, Shadow and Freedom on board the Archangel. My curiosity was prodded when I saw the Buster in a dock, for I hadn't expected to see one of the stolen machines here. It looks like a great deal has happened since I had been gone, makes me wonder how much catching up there is to do.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

Athrun came off the shuttle he had taken from Carpentaria to get back here to the PLANTs. He instantly took notice that the air was far different than the last time he had been at the PLANTs. Then, to Athrun's surprise, he was approached by his old mentor while he had been in the ZAFT military academy, Ray Yuki. Athrun saluted his mentor and the gesture was returned, "It's good to see you again back around the PLANTs Athrun," greeted Yuki.

"Thank you Commander Yuki, but what's going on to have so many worried and panicking like I've been seeing?" Athrun asked.

Yuki glance around and then drew closer to Athrun, "This isn't official yet, but it seems operation Spit break has failed."

Athrun's eyes widened at hearing that. Operation Spit break had been a big thing and was expected to help bring a quicker end to the war. The operation was to make an attack on a major base of the Earth Alliance, make a decisive blow to the Alliance itself. For it to have failed didn't bode well at all, what the reason for its failure, didn't matter much at this point. Yuki continued, "We don't have the full details yet, but preliminary reports say that somewhere around 50% of our forces were destroyed, yet we haven't been able to confirm if that's true at this time."

This was bad news to Athrun and he'd had far too much of that lately in his view, yet he now had to hear further bad news. However, the news kept coming, "There's something else as well, and this is not widely known, and it's preferred to be kept that way for now, but one of our prototype mobile suits has been stolen. And it seems, that the thief who's being considered an enemy spy, was assisted by Lacus Clyne. The National Defense Committee is in a state of panic," Yuki told him.

Athrun dropped the suitcase he had been holding from the shock at what he had just heard, "No way, that's impossible! I know her, Lacus would never do something like help an enemy spy," Athrun reason.

Yuki nodded, "Yes, it's hard to think it possible I know, but there is proof of this or she wouldn't be accused of doing such."

Athrun couldn't believe what he was hearing, even as he was going to report to the Council Chairman. Once reaching the office that his father had, Athrun entered, "Excuse me," he announced.

However, Athrun stopped as he took in the conversation that was going on, "It seems that they used a Cyclops system, an array of enormous size was found underneath the base," said one of the four officers that were in front of Patrick Zala's desk.

Patrick Zala sighed and took a moment to calm down a bit, "Where's Le Creuset?" he asked.

The officers looked at each other, "We haven't been able to make contact with him yet, all that we know is that he's somewhere safe," said the same officer as before.

"I want a detailed report from him and Treize about this," commanded Chairman Zala

At that moment, another military officer entered the room and saluted, "Eileen Canaver and some of the other council members are gathering in the meeting room sir," said the officer.

It was then that Patrick Zala noticed Athrun standing in the room, waiting for his turn to speak and report. He nodded to Athrun, "I'll be with you in a moment."

"Sir," Athrun acknowledged.

The officer that had come in and said that the members of the PLANTs Supreme Council wanted a meeting continued, "It sounds like the other members of the council are demanding an emergence session upon this current issue."

Patrick Zala put a hand to his temple, "The first thing that needs to be seen to, is to get the surviving troops to Carpentaria, it's a miracle that more weren't lost, we can't afford to lose what we still have right now," he said.

The officer showed that he understood and then left the office. Chairman Zala then focused back on the four officers in front of his desk, "I want results. What is needed is an objective analysis of this situation. Where is the Clyne family?" demanded Zala.

The lead soldier answered, "We don't know sir, by what we can tell, Clyne had an escape planned already. It may take longer to find him and his daughter than early estimates said."

Patrick Zala gained a serious expression, yet showed growing irritation, "Alert the Justice department. Eileen Canaver and other members of the council who have been with Clyne in the last few months are to be detained," he ordered.

All the officers looked apprehensive, "But… But sir, to detain active members of the Supreme Council," began the lead officer.

However, Chairman Zala interrupted the officer, "Lacus Clyne was seen consorting with a spy! And now she and her father have disappeared along with information regarding operation Spitbreak was leaked somehow! Even a child can make the connection as to how this happened. It was Clyne that betrayed us! Yet, Canaver and the other are demanding answer from me about this?! They have had their hands in this and they will pay for it. In fact, they're probably the ones hiding them, it's the only real explanation that makes sense," he reasoned at a near shout.

"Understood sir," all the soldiers said together, before leaving the room.

Athrun approached the desk as his father sat down in the chair, appearing tired and stressed. It wasn't surprising with all that was going on, but still, all that was being assumed was crazy. "Father," Athrun started.

Patrick Zala glared at his son sternly, "What did you call me?!" he asked angrily.

"Forgive my misconduct, I meant to say Chairman Zala, sir," Athrun corrected.

"Do you comprehend the magnitude of the current situation?" posed chairman Zala.

Athrun nodded, "Indeed sir, but I… it's hard to believe that Lacus would do anything like this, I can't believe that," he stated.

Patrick Zala brought up a screen and showed Athrun a security video, and Athrun saw it was clearly of a mobile suit. He spotted that one of those in the video was Lacus, but couldn't see who the other was as they had a helmet on. Lacus was waving from the doorway as the doors to the hanger closed and then, the 'spy' in a ZAFT pilot suit and helmet began heading for the mobile suit cockpit entrance. Yet, they stopped when they were half way and focused on the camera, which confused Athrun.

As the footage kept playing, Athrun witnessed the 'spy' wave at the camera, showing they clearly knew that the security camera was there and recording. Then, they used one of their hands to point at the camera and the other… Athrun's eyes widened as he saw the other hand get shown with only the middle finger pointing up and the others curled in. The spy emphasized the gesture and that it was being aimed at those who were watching the footage.

Once the video was done, the screen was covered again, Patrick Zala turned back to Athrun, "Now you see there is no doubt as to what she did. And when the identity of that spy is discovered, they will be punished severely. You may think it's not possible that Lacus Clyne is a traitor, but you see the facts for yourself."

This still made no sense to Athrun, the Lacus he had gotten to know wouldn't have done anything like he was being told or shown. She cared about the citizens of the PLANTs, there had been no question about that. So then, why would she help someone to hurt those she cared about?

"It goes without saying, but she's no longer your fiancée, the official announcement will come later. Lacus Clyne is now has been branded a traitor and is wanted for the crime of treason." Patrick Zala continued and then looked at Athrun, locking his gaze on him, "Your next mission is to recapture the stolen X10A Freedom, and if possible capture the pilot and if neither are possible, eliminate them both. Along with that, you are to also eliminate all persons and facilities that they might have come into contact with."

The orders that were being given were unlike anything Athrun had gotten before. Granted, he could understand the need to get back a stolen prototype mobile suit before the enemy gets it and has the time to reverse engineer it. But, the second part of this mission didn't sit well with Athrun at all, to have to kill everyone that the pilot could have come into contact with was harsh. It was more difficult, that the theft had happened over a week ago, so that pilot had time to go who knows where, so all the possible places and people it could've come into contact with was huge.

Yet, before Athrun could bring up the concern the Chairman continued, "Stop by the Armory and pick up the X09A Justice and then begin your mission as soon as preparations are finished. If you cannot capture the Freedom, then you are authorized to destroy it."

Athrun couldn't dismiss the issue he saw in this mission, without bringing it up, "Sir, you say everything they may have come into contact with, isn't that extreme?" asked Athrun.

"No, because those machines, the X10A Freedom and the X09A Justice, are equipped with N-Jammer Cancellers," he said.

That answer shocked Athrun, for a couple of reasons. First that the PLANTs had abandoned nuclear technology, mostly due to the Bloody Valentine Incident and the sorrow that accompanied it. Second, in a way, these two mobile suits could be seen by some as a nuclear boom deliver system. However, Athrun accepted the orders, even if he was feeling conflicted with them.

Athrun had from there traveled to the Clyne residence, in the hope that he could find answers to all the confusion that was wracking him. Those searching the structure let him in and pretty much ignored him. As Athrun glanced around the house, it felt like he was at a place that was completely unfamiliar. One room in particular puzzled Athrun, for it appeared to have been used for some sort of medical purpose and he knew of no reason for that to be here. And the room had been used recently as there was blood spread over the room.

Once Athrun had made his way to the backyard where he and Lacus had walked together during previous visits, the area was a mess. It pained Athrun to see places that he remembered in such different states. Yet, as he looked around further, Athrun found one of the ball shaped robots that he had made for Lacus that she had like so much. In fact, it was the pink one and that was her favorite. It was still active and started hopping towards an area where white flowers. Athrun chased after the robot and caught it, before glancing at the flowers and recalling that they were the same kind that had grown around the theater Lacus had first sang at. That gave him the idea that she might have gone there, and Athrun wanted answers and she seemed to be the one that would have them.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

Once on board the Archangel with the Freedom, I moved the mobile suit into an available dock. However, my injuries and other issues that had come with surviving the explosion I gained around Orb, were vying for my attention again and weren't going to let me ignore them much longer. So, when I exited the cockpit and used the zip-line to descend to the hanger floor, I didn't step down, nope, I collapsed to the floor. I laid on the hard metal deck for a moment as the pain coursed through me, making it was difficult to get back up, let me tell you. My legs didn't do what I told them to and so, it took me time to get back on them. I ended out making use of a support beam and climb up it to get myself standing upright, breathing hard as I did so. I also registered a feeling of wet warmth around my torso area, which doesn't bode well for me, likely mean that I'm bleeding again from my injuries around there.

As I was raggedly drawing breath, sweat quickly coming to my forehead, I felt someone at my left side, an arm going around me. I glanced that way, saw that Lisa was supporting me and I didn't refuse as my condition was getting the better of me rapidly. She began leading me towards the exit of the hanger slowly. Kira, seeing that I was having issues, quickly got on my right side and help support me as well. They helped get me to the Archangel's sick bay, and it felt like a lot longer way than it should be. The ship doctor, when we came in, got down to examining me and well… he started lecturing me about how foolish I was going around as injured as I am. The more of my bandages that came off, the harsher the lecture got, for I was indeed bleeding again, the worse was from the line of stitches I had over my chest on the left side, where shrapnel had punctured my left lung.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from Kira's direction, to which I didn't blame my friend. I'm still a mess and a horrible sight to look at right now and Lisa says I was much worse off before I woke up, which I can believe. The doctor replaced the bandages with fresh ones, still had the majority of my body wrapped up, then the doctor told me that I should take it easy and to let my body heal. Lisa and Kira then helped me to the quarters that were pretty much mine by this point from the times that I've popped back in and out. There, I got a set of clothes on, covered most of the signs and marks of how bad the explosion had done to me. Really, all that was visible, was my arms, a little of my neck and the bandages on my right cheek.

By this time, my stomach reminded me that it had been a lengthy period of time since I had eaten. So, I was escorted to the mess hall to remedy the issue, Kira talking about some of the things that had happened while I had been away. The food that was set down in front of me, looked and smelled better than what I've been served on other ships I've been on. To say that I wolfed down the food, would be accurate enough, didn't choke on the food, but probably got close to doing so though.

I paused in eating the meal when I the door to the mess opened, had enough time to see Miriallia and Tolle in the doorway. The next moment, Miriallia rushed over to me and hugged me tightly… hurt badly let me tell you! Pain was burning hot throughout my whole body as I was squeezed. I know that Miriallia meant well, but her gesture wasn't helping me or my health at all! Kira managed to get her to let go of me, which got the pain to dull somewhat however, I was forced to use the table to support my body and prevent myself from collapsing to the table, before I would've likely slide to the floor.

As my body trembled and shook, Tolle seemed to notice that something was off, especially when Lisa put a hand on my shoulder as my elbows hit the table. "Tye, are you uh, okay?" he asked.

I turned my head towards Tolle and forced a small smile, "I've had much better days Tolle. If the bandages don't tell you that I've had hard times recently, I don't know what would make it much clearer. But, given time, I will be good, I'm still healing right now and will for a while," I replied painfully.

Around a half an hour after getting finished my meal, I was helped to the bridge for a 'conference', probably to talk about what to do next. Once on the bridge I was 'allowed' to take one of the station seats. I think it was more those here were taking pity on me as I wasn't able to hid that my health was doing poorly. And right now, I didn't feel like refusing the offer as I was still in pain and honestly, still on the road to recovery and have a ways to go. The mechanics were working their butts off to get the Archangel back up to a creditable working standard, so none of them were here. This vessel had seen much better days, even I'd seen signs of the ware and damage that the Archangel had taken since I'd last been around her.

Yet, before the 'conference' started, Lisa got the time to introduce herself, "Hello everyone, my name is Lisa Malto. Like Tyler, I'm also a pilot of the Federation," she greeted.

Then started the meeting and the question I'd expected came, which was what happened to me of course since there had been an explosion and I had been in the middle of it. Lisa gave a brief summary of the events of finding me after the battle on the outskirts of the Orb Union. She also mentioned that she traveled with me to the PLANTs, mostly so I would have time to recover my sense as much as I could. Thankfully, Lisa said nothing said about where I had been, though it was asked. I don't know how it would be taken if the crew knew I was at the Clyne residence and Lacus was there. Then as I'd said, the Freedom was entrusted to me, I would say nothing about the plan to get it out of the PLANTs or that I had stolen it at the request of Siegel Clyne, the man has more than enough to deal with.

To say that Lisa and I got expressions of shock, awe and the like, wouldn't be wrong, but the chain of events isn't something you think you'll hear about, let alone go through. I took some time to calm down my friends as at least Miriallia had come over to me and was… crowding into my personal space. When this had occurred in the mess, it had brought pain and I would like to avoid that for the time being, but I don't want to be rude or mean.

The next part of this meeting, was the catchup on what had been happening with the Archangel, since I had been away. I got a more detailed telling of what the Earth Alliance had planned out how the battle at Alaska had gone. I'd known it had been bad and mean, just not to what extent those who had come up with the idea had put the effort. Mu did bring up the point that the Alliance top brass had likely known about Alaska being ZAFT's target before the operation they mounted had taken place. That fact told me that there was more going on behind the scenes that was being said or seen. Most of the crew here, was confused at how the Alliance could have known about ZAFT targeting Alaska, since apparently, Panama had been the suspected target by a large margin.

"But, how it could've been guess or figured, is beyond me," commented Murrue.

Krystal nodded, "That's what is nagging at me, ZAFT would have close guarded such information. So, how did any in the Earth Forces find out about it?" she posed.

"It wasn't only the Earth Forces that didn't seem to know, many if not an almost all involved didn't know of the intended target being JOSH-A. At least that's what I got from the Federation information network, so this scenario… I don't know, it seems rather extreme," I said while thinking over the idea the facts brought up.

"Yes, this all sounds like a rather elaborate setup to do, even for the Earth Alliance," Lisa remarked also with a tone that indicated she was in thought as well.

It was then, a thought came to me that filled in a good deal of the holes there were in this explanation, yet it was crazy at the same time. "Indeed it does, and me thinks that there's a dirty rat behind it, one that's playing both sides," I remarked, with a bit of frustration.

"A rat?" Asked Tolle.

A frowned formed on my face, "When I say rat Tolle, I mean someone that's appears to work for both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance. Then, they use the trust they have earned to get people killed while they enjoy knowing that they're responsible for it," I growled.

"But, why would anyone do that?" questioned Mirialla.

I shrugged… not so easy to do for me right now without pain, "I've never have figured that out, some have odd and sick hobbies they use to get their kicks, it's the best I can come with," I replied.

"Then, what do we do to move forward?" said Kira, changing the subject.

"Move forward?" inquired Murrue, confused at the question as well as I believe asking for time to think of an answer.

"Well, we haven't been able to reestablish contact with the Alliance yet, due to the N-jammers in the area," said one of the officers, the one that tended to be on the search and detection station. I think his name is Jack… T-something if I recall correctly.

The pilot, Arnold turned in his chair, "Should we make repairs in the field and then head to Panama, on our own?" He inquired.

Mu snorted at the question, "Oh, think they'll be happy to see us there? We know way too much for our own good," he said and rightly so, for he had a point.

"We're more a threat to the top brass than a help now," added Krystal, I don't think I could have put it better myself.

"They'll probably say that we disobeyed orders, abandoned the frontline and deserted while under attack," Murrue said in slight despair.

"So, even were we to return, all we would face would be a court martial," remarked Arnold.

"And that would be yet another black mark on our record," continued the one that had been the first that had asked if the Freedom was powered by nuclear energy. He has a long name, think the last was Chandra or something like that, usually assigned to one of the electronic warfare stations.

"It's becoming harder to understand who or what we're fighting for," Murrue stated in frustration.

Finally! The crew of the Archangel was seeing what the Earth Alliance is really like and not just seeing the picture they put up. They're good people and are better than the Alliance deserve having under their command. I couldn't stop myself from clapping at the revelation they were having, "At last, you all see the light," I said with relief. All looked at me, "What I'm saying, is that you're witnessing how the Earth Alliance and through them, the Earth Forces, do business while not closely watch by others."

Lisa sighed at my remark, "You could put the idea better Tyler. Unfortunately, very true though, this stunt is lower than normal, but not new in its intent," she said.

"Then," started Kira and attention shifted to him. "What do you think we should be fighting against, to end all of this?" There was silence at Kira's question, even I was at a loss for words at what Kira had put out. This was a huge step forward for Kira, for it ignored his naiveté that he's always had as long as I've known him. Kira continued, "Whatever it is, I believe that it's time we started fighting against it."

I felt the smile grow on my face, "Well said my friend! How wonderful to see you're making progress forward," I cheered.

The meeting began to break up after that, Kira and Lisa helped me back to my quarters as I needed to rest. My body was demanding that I stopped, and the growing strength of the revolt was getting worrisome. So, once on the bed, it didn't take long for me to drop off to sleep.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

As Athrun entered the theater, he heard singing, of Lacus no less, he made his way further into the theater, gun drawn and ready to use. Athrun listened to the singing, he began to recall the events that had led to his current mood. From Tyler's death to the promotion and transfer back to the PLANTs, to the rumors about Lacus and her father had helped another steal a prototype mobile suit. None of it had made sense, those were Athrun's thoughts as he came into the main theater, and located Lacus on the stage, sitting on debris. The pink robot that Athrun had been carrying since he visited the Clyne residence, jumped out from him and bounced towards the stage. "HARO, LACUS, I WON'T ACCEPT THAT!" Announce the robot.

Lacus caught the hopping pink ball in her hands, "Well hello again Mr. Pink," she greeted, before looking up at Athrun with a smile. "I was quite certain that you would be the one to find him Athrun, thank you very much."

It tore at Athrun internally, the way that Lacus spoke so calmly and like there was nothing wrong, "Why… Why did you do it Lacus?!" He demanded.

Lacus smile weakened a slight margin, "To what are you referring Athrun?" she posed.

Athrun rushed forward and leapt up onto the stage and faced Lacus, "Explain yourself, what have you done?!" He said.

Lacus's smile faded, for she knew what Athrun was referring to, she had been shown the official reports that had been produced. Like it had been expected during the planning of the getting at least one of the prototypes out, Lacus and her father were being branded traitors for their actions. "No doubt, you have already been told all about what happened by this point. Is that not the reason that you came to see me?" she questioned.

It annoyed Athrun that Lacus wasn't giving a straight answer, "Is it true… is it true that you're guilty of providing assistance to an enemy spy?" Athrun demanded. "How could you think of doing that, with all the care you've shown for those here in the PLANTs?!"

Lacus shook her head, "I have not, and will not provide assistance to anyone that would wish to bring harm to the PLANTs or Earth. So no, I did not provide assistance to an enemy spy as some are saying I have. All I've done was help get a mobile suit to where it will be used the best, and that was not here. In fact, Tyler after hearing about the situation was willing to help in the task, even if he worried about what my father and I would face," she stated.

Athrun gawked at what Lacus said, for it was impossible. She talked about Tyler as if he was still alive, but that wasn't the case. Tyler couldn't have survived the explosion that the Aegis created, with him close to the center of the blast it just couldn't happen. Was Lacus trying to confuse him? Or just cause him pain by reminding him of what he had done to one of his best friends and had been attempting to do to the other… just to follow orders. Athrun had been arguing with himself internally ever since that battle, and he hadn't been able to come up with anything to lessen the pain or guilt he felt.

Lacus continued when Athrun found himself at a loss for words, "I'm confident that Tyler will make sure that the mobile suit will be put to good use and will make the greatest difference. He wouldn't let those who would use the suit and what it has for evil intentions have access to it," she said.

"Tyler?" Athrun finally uttered. "What are you talking about Lacus? Tyler… he's gone… and it's my fault! Because of me… I'm the one who killed him! He shouldn't have been there on the battlefield, but he was… and he's dead now!"

The pink haired girl's smile returned before she spoke again, "Thankfully, you are quite wrong Athrun, Tyler is still alive."

"YOU'RE LYING!" Athrun shouted in deep emotional pain, raising his gun and pointed at Lacus, "What trick are you trying to pull now, Lacus Clyne? What you say is impossible… my friend is dead, there's no way he could still be alive."

Lacus kept smiling and it amplified the pain Athrun felt as her voice was heard again, "I thought that as well, until I learned that Tyler was brought here after being found by a friend, to help him recover. It was saddening to hear about how worried he was that you and Kira would likely kill one another. So much so, that Tyler felt the need to put his own life on the line… because he sees you and Kira as the closest people he has to family other than his mother."

Once more, Athrun found himself at a loss for words at what he was being told by Lacus. Athrun would be more than happy if what Lacus was saying about Tyler was true, but with what she was being accused of, he couldn't take what she said at face value. However, there'd been many things that weren't as Athrun had thought they were when he had gotten back to the PLANTs.

"Do you not believe what I'm telling you Athrun? I have no doubt you've seen the difference once you came back to the PLANTs after being away for the time you have. You've to have notices the changes that have taken place," Lacus remarked.

The only reply that Athrun could come up with was one word, "Lacus…"

Nevertheless, Lacus didn't let up, "What is it you believe in now? What is it you fight for? Is it for the metal you have or the orders of the current chairman of the council?" she went on.

"I… Lacus," Athrun uttered, not knowing what to say.

"If your reasons are anything like those, I fear that you will be fighting against friends again and I will be among them as well." She stated, keeping her eyes locked onto Athrun, "If we are to be enemies, then go right ahead and shoot me now and be done with it, Athrun Zala, soldier of ZAFT."

Athrun was getting more confused than he had ever been right now, all the thoughts swirling around in his head, they were contradicting each other. He didn't know what was true and what was false lately, so much made little to no sense, "I… with all that's happened… I'm so confused and… I don't know what to think," Athrun got out, tears threatening to spill from his eyes. "Nothing is like I'd thought it would be anymore… I don't know when the world became so muddled like this."

There was the sound of the doors to the theater opening and as both Lacus and Athrun glanced in that direction saw figures coming in. As they got closer to the stage, Athrun saw that the figures were men in black suits and sunglasses with guns equipped with suppressors. Athrun positioned himself in front of Lacus and faced the men, "What is this about?" he demanded.

"Our search for Miss Clyne had been going nowhere, so we have you to thank Athrun Zala. Of course, being her fiancée, you would know her best. Now then, step aside so that we can dispose of the traitor," said the leader.

Athrun didn't move, and the men pointed their guns at him, "Are you sure you want to defend the girl, you're out numbered and out gunned. I would recommend you think about your decision carefully." The leader said.

Athrun stood his ground, surer than ever that if he moved that he would regret it in the same way he regretted what happened to Tyler. He had lost enough friends already because of this war, Athrun wouldn't let more die because of foolish decisions that he made. The face-off that was about to happen, didn't as gunshots rang out. The black suited men were looking around as more gunshots sounded and some of them started to be shot.

Once the group of assassins realized that others were picking them off, they focused on their target and started shooting at Lacus. Athrun got her out of the line of fire and behind a stone slab that acted as a barrier that was blocking incoming bullets. However, all of the assassins ended out being taken out and once that was done others in ZAFT uniforms. The one that was in the lead was a woman in a blue bodysuit, "A very nice performance Miss Lacus, only wish it hadn't been interrupted. Unfortunately, it is time to go," she said.

"You're right Miss Aisha, thank you for the assistance that you and your men provided." Lacus greeted, before she turned to Athrun, "Goodbye Athrun, thank you for bringing back my dear Pink to me. As I said before, Tyler is alive and you'll find him along with Kira on Earth, likely together by this point. I recommend that you go and have a talk with them, as much for yourself as for them, they are your friends after all and they care about you as much as you care about them."

After giving her farewell, Lacus left with the soldiers and they disappeared and left Athrun there to consider what to do next. He figured that Lacus had said the best action to go with, he needed to talk to Kira and Tyler and since he was assigned to take the Justice to find where the Freedom went, it worked out to that end.

Athrun reported to the armory, suited up and ready to go. He didn't say anything as to what he intended to do on the 'mission', all that was officially said, was he was to take back or destroy the Freedom and 'handle' any that had become involved with it. The methods of how Athrun did that was up to himself, as long as it was settled in the end. Athrun entered the mobile suit and the engineers were doing the last tasks to make the unit ready. Once they were done, they moved away from the cockpit entrance and so Athrun closed the cockpit.

" _Sound the A-55 alarm,"_ said a voice over the P.A. system.

Athrun bought the system readouts on the main display in front of himself, looking them over to make sure they were acceptable. Even with the little time that he had to look over the technical specs of this machine, the ZGMF-X09A Justice and also the ZGMF-X10A Freedom, the two mobile suits were definitely the most powerful built by ZAFT so far. Yet, they were also a symbol of something that the PLANTs had abandoned shortly after the Bloody Valentine Incident, nuclear technology.

" _Radiation levels are normal. All stations have cleared takeoff,"_ Came over the radio within the Justice.

Shaking his head, Athrun focused back on the task at hand. He knew what was expected, but Athrun refused to kill those who had become involved with the Freedom unless they were to threaten the PLANTs, that would be only reason. If Tyler had taken the suit as Lacus said, then he would've been careful where he would've taken it.

" _Beginning countdown to launch, T minus 200,"_ said an operator over the radio.

The words that Lacus had said back at the theater kept coming back to Athrun. He had never thought that Tyler had seen Kira and himself as close as family. Athrun hadn't been acting like family to his friend that had been there for him as he had for Athrun himself. The thought of what Kira and Athrun fighting was doing to Tyler hadn't crossed Athrun's mind and it brought pain.

" _T minus 50, A-55 in effect. All lines connected to X09A, separation confirmed. Standby for takeoff,"_ announced the P.A. system.

Even with the storm of battling thoughts, Athrun couldn't help but mutter the names of those that were at the forefront of his mind, "Kira… Tyler…" Strong thoughts came to mind as Athrun considered things, 'What are the two of you thinking about now?'

A voice came over the radio again, continuing the countdown, _"T minus 5."_

The thought that had crossed Athrun's mind several times after accepting that what Lacus saying Tyler was alive was true. 'Tye, can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?' Athrun asked mentally.

" _May our Justice have the divine protection of the stars!"_ a voice announced over the P.A. system.

Athrun grasped the controls, "Athrun Zala, Justice, launching!" he stated, before the Justice shot up the launching tunnel and left the PLANTs.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

I woke up in my quarters slowly as I had been doing since coming back on board the Archangel, my injuries were healing. But, it was a slow process and I still had a long way to go to get back up to fighting fit again. There wasn't as much pain as the previous day, yet it wasn't much better however, every little bit that goes away helps. So, after breakfast, I got together with Kira for a more personal catch up session, as there were things I wanted to tell him that I wouldn't to others. It's mostly due to the fact that I trust Kira in ways I don't most others, he had earned that trust.

The conversation was over the time I had been away, in the PLANTs for the majority of the talk. I told him about how I stayed at the Clyne residence, though I left out the relapse of my condition. I gave a brief summary of what Siegel Clyne had asked of me, and what that meant for both he and Lacus would face afterward. Kira didn't like that both Lacus and her father would be seen as traitors just because they wanted to help things be better any more than I did. On a lighter note, Kira did say something that made me laugh as well as shiver, "Well Tye, you're lucky that Sakura didn't choose to visit home while you were there," he said.

I flinched at hearing that, the thoughts and images that came to mind weren't nice to view at all. Yes, Sakura had 'cuddled' me while she was in the Republic and I didn't like it, and the difference between then and now, is I have less ability to resist her. I laughed nervously, "Very true Kira, glad she hadn't been around there. I don't think I could've handled her worries and affections that she shows me." I felt a serious shiver run through me at thoughts of what I imagined Sakura would've done to me… and Athrun, were she to have found out that it was him that put me in my current condition. I've gotten the impression that Sakura doesn't have a high or good opinion of Athrun to begin with, no need to make it worse. So, I vow to keep the fact that Athrun got me into this condition away from her knowledge to protect my friend from her wrath, for he didn't deserve it. And knowing Athrun, he'll be beating himself up more than any punishment would do to him.

I admit, it felt very nice to get somethings off my chest with Kira, had helped my mental state very much still, there's stuff to do and sitting around wasn't helping that along. So, I went to chat with Murrue Ramius, since she was the one that commanded the vessel. Found her in the captain's cabin, and once invited inside, I didn't waste time on pleasantries, "Captain Ramius…" I began, but stopped at the look the woman gave me. The expression was one of surprise and slight shock, "Why are you looking at me like I'm going towards crazy?"

"Because, I think that's the first time that you've called me by captain and either last or first name with the title." She replied.

I shrugged, "You've earned some respect from me, not the easiest thing to do. Those who have earned my respect can tell you that, Halberton is one of those. The way you protected your crew, _ahead_ of the orders you were under, that's a mark of a good commanding officer." I returned. Murrue was somber at my remark, as I changed the topic, "So then, on a different topic, what is the plan for the Archangel going forward. For I get the impression, that going back to the Earth Forces is not an active interest by any here."

"No, I don't believe any wish to returned to the Alliance, but I don't know what to do to move forward," she said to me.

I nodded, and I thought for a moment, "Perhaps, it would do well to have time to think about the future and for that, it would do well to head for a Federation member nation. The closest ones would either be the Orb Union or the Republic, you can pick which you would rather go to." I answered.

Murrue agreed with my suggestion and so the Archangel set its course towards the Orb Union. Two weeks went by with little major events happening, though I know that this calm wouldn't last forever.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Morgenroete docking facility, Orb Union

After learning of the events that had occurred at the Alliance's JOSH-A base, close to three weeks went by, before the Archangel arrived in the territory of the Orb Union. A helicopter led the white ship to the empty dock that was made ready for the Archangel. As the former Alliance ship approached the cliff face, a section of it began opening and lowering into the water. Arnold, just before the Archangel started entering the docking area, swung the ship around a-hundred-eighty-degrees and then began backing into the place. The Archangel became submerged somewhat as it smoothly moved into the dock.

Dock scaffolding shifted to be over the ship and to connect walkways to the vessels to give ease of access to those at the dock and those on the vessel. Cagalli Yula Athha, only waited for the walkways to come into place, before she pushed through the crowd, making her way towards the Archangel. As she got to the upper deck elevator, she had to move aside as a stretcher with an injured man was pushed forward. Cagalli then took the lift downward into the ship, determined to find the boy that was her age that had left more than a week ago. It took her about five minutes, but then she spotted the one that she was looking for, walking down a hallway with another, "Kira!" Cagalli shouted.

She ran after Kira, leapt into the air and tackled him to the ground, tears coming to her eyes as Cagalli had thought she wouldn't see Kira again. Cagalli swung a fist into Kira's chest, "You're such an idiot!" she chastised.

Tyler was trembling a bit as he was trying not to laugh at the scene playing out in front of him. Kira looked up and upon realizing that he knew the girl above him, he muttered her name, "Cagalli."

"You're just… you're so…" Cagalli said in a broken voice, before the tears began flowing down her face. "I was starting to think I'd never see you again once the Archangel left for JOSH-A," she sobbed.

While this was played out, Tyler was musing to himself about how possibly Lacus could have some competition for getting Kira. The thought in fact, caused amusement to Tyler and he started quietly snickering, which in turn brought pain. Tyler ended out clutching his gut and leaning up against the wall, "Ow… it hurts to laugh, but I can't help myself."

Cagalli and Kira didn't seem to notice Tyler laughing at their expense as Cagalli kept reprimanding Kira, "How could you do that to me?!"

And Kira showing his natural naiveté, said but one word, "Sorry."

Cagalli managed to stop crying, "So then, you're really okay?" She asked.

Tyler calmed himself and cleared his throat, "Yes, Kira is indeed okay, other than his natural naiveté being as present as ever."

The blonde girl then inquired what happened at JOSH-A, and Kira did summarize the chain of events that had occurred. Cagalli fell into a state of mild shock as she was told about the scenario that the Alliance had planned.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Archangel, the chief representative of the Orb Union, Uzumi Nara Athha, was greeting the officer of the ship. "I would like to thank you for letting the Archangel dock here sir and helping us out a great deal," said Murrue as she bowed.

"Given the circumstances as they are right now, I'm sure you'll understand, if for the time being, we can't make you or your crew too welcome here. Still, all of you will be able to get some rest, and I don't doubt that has been hard to come by as of late," replied Representative Athha.

"Thank you for understanding sir," returned Murrue gratefully.

Athha nodded, "With the destruction of the Earth Alliance Headquarters at JOSH-A, the world is once more in a state of change and is shifting in a new direction. When you have rested, I'll give you the latest updates on current events, which here are very good with the access to the Human Federation Information Network and you'll see for yourselves. I believe it will give you more than enough food for thought, you might even question the reasons why you chose to wear that uniform in the first place," Athha said.

The last line that had been said, confused the officers, for they didn't understand what was being implied. Granted, what had happened at JOSH-A had been wrong and shouldn't have happened. But to question joining the Earth Forces, that was a big step, which none were quite ready to admit.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After leaving Kira with the blonde Cagalli, I had gone to the mess hall, deciding that it was time to eat lunch, Lisa had actually left me alone for the day so far, a first in a while other than the time I sleep. I was wondering who Cagalli was, for she seemed familiar somehow, couldn't place why she was familiar to me, so I filed the information away for later pondering. I glanced over at where Tolle, Miriallia, Sai and Kuzzey were and listened to some of their conversation. Kuzzey was having second thoughts of being in the military and I don't blame him for it's not for the faint of heart. I drank down the last of my water, let out a healthy belch to compliment the chef on the meal and then rose. Then took my tray back to the kitchen, "Here you are, was a (Belch) good meal," I said.

Yet, after I set down my cleared tray, I noticed that there was a full laden tray in the waiting rack. I thought for a moment, but came up with nothing as to whom it could be for, since the crew on duty would eat later and the mechanics eat when they can. It only left those of us in the mess hall currently, so why would the cook make another tray? I'd gotten to know the cook and those who help in the kitchen, they're not ones to waste food. The reason I had gotten to know the kitchen staff, would be the lesson I've learned, keep those who prepare the food happy or you're libel to get not so nice tasting food. "Hey Smith, who's the tray for? Not like you or the others to make a tray to just sit and go to waste, so what's the deal?" I asked curiously.

The cook, whose name was Smith, looked at me, "It's for the prisoner of course, we asked for one of you to take it to him," the man answered.

It's the first I've heard of such a thing, "Prisoner? When did the Archangel get one of those?" I inquired.

"Oh right, you were… gone when it happened. Well, the Buster and its pilot were brought aboard, and the ZAFT pilot has been in the brig ever since there was an incident in the sickbay," he told me.

That's news to me, I volunteered to take the tray to the 'prisoner', for if it was really the pilot of the Buster, it's one of those who had been working with Athrun. Best to know what I can to understand why things had happened the way they did. So, I carried the tray and headed to the back and lower deck of the Archangel, where the brig was located. I've never been in the room myself, didn't get into enough trouble for me to end out in there, but I knew where it was, Natarle made sure of that. I entered the room and found it to be rather dark, gave a groan of annoyance, "Would it have killed the designers to put lights in this room like they did the others?" I asked the room at large.

I walked down the row of cells, looking in them to find the 'prisoner' and found them in the last cell on the row. The guy looked to be around the same age as Kira and Athrun, had blonde hair and tan skin. He wasn't looking at me or giving any signs that he had taken notice of my presence. I set down the tray and slid through the gap in the bottom of the cell bars, "Rise and shine, meal is here," I announced.

My announcement, did get the guy to look at me, then glance down at the tray of food, before he looked up at me. He continued to stare at me and it felt awkward to me, "Is there something on my face, or is there some other reason that you're staring?" I posed.

"Who are you? I've never seen you before," he asked.

"Well, I just got back onto the ship, so not surprising that you've never seen me. Only just learned there's a tenant in the brig, honestly, I thought I would be thrown down here a time or two before now by the second in command. Anyways, my name is Tyler McGregor and I hear that you're the pilot of the Buster, is that true?" I questioned.

"Yeah, what's it to you," he asked a bit condescendingly.

I shrugged, "Nothing really, just curious as I've met Nicol Amalfi and have just kind of wonder what kind of pilots he worked with. He and Athrun mentioned something along the lines of there being a real hothead to deal with, thinking it's not you, but the Duel's pilot, would that be correct?" I remarked, shrugging as I did.

He stared at me for half a minute, "Wait, you know Athrun Zala and Nicol Amalfi?"

I nodded, "Yes I do, have known Athrun for years and met Nicol on the Vesalius around Lagrange 3 while it was in the area where Heliopolis was. It's when I brought Miguel Aiman back to the ship as it happens," I answered.

The ZAFT pilot's eyes widened, "You're the Federation pilot that Miguel mentioned?"

"Yep, that's me," I returned.

The conversation then got more open between the pilot, Dearka Elsman and myself. Apparently, while he had been on board the Archangel he had started questioning his personal views of Naturals, due in part to getting to know Miriallia a bit. Also, learned that the hotheaded pilot I'd heard about, was named Yzak Joule. Maybe he was related to the member of the PLANT's Supreme Council I'd met a while ago, Ezalia Joule, couldn't say. Had learned a good amount before I had to go, for I was asked to go to the meeting with some of Orb's leadership.

 **-Line Break-**

Government Administration Center, Orb Union

The meeting that the leaders of the Archangel were called to was held later that day, Kira and I were also invited to come. My guess as to why Kira was invited, would have something to do with Cagalli, who was introduced as Lord Athha's daughter, which explained why she was familiar. Whereas for me, I think it's Lord Uzumi Athha being courteous to me on behalf of my mother. The leader of the Orb Union, happens to be rather good friends with my mom, so I've met him several times and so he's being nice to me. Nor would this be the first time I've being around the buildings the government is run from.

You see, where my home the Republic has a governmental system of an elected congress and Prime Minister with their chosen executive cabinet, the Orb Union doesn't have the same system. Orb's system is made up an elected legislature, similar to the elected congress of the Republic, but the five chief representatives are from the five families that used to run things completely. The families by name were; Athha, Sahaku, Burktri, Lapid and Seiran, haven't met all of them… only three out of the five and not the whole family necessarily. It had been on some of the trips with my mother that I found rather boring, but had no choice in going really. Of course, met most of the Athha family, just not Cagalli until recently.

The Shakau, the adults were quiet, really the twins named Rondo Gina and Rondo Mina were in charge of the family… and they were weird, look almost exactly the same and one of them was a male and the other was a female. I question the state of their minds the longer they live, perhaps they were dropped when they were young? Finally, the Seiran family… well, they were arrogant and egotistical, don't get along with those types even when I was younger, enough said. As for the other two families, have only heard things about them, know my mother has at least met their heads, but that's all.

Anyways, Murrue, Mu, Krystal, Kira and I were led into a small room where Lord Athha was waiting with another man in an Orb military uniform. Introductions were made so that we all knew each other before the conversation began. Through that, learned that the man in uniform's name was Ledonir Kisaka. The conversation that started after the meet and greet, was pretty much a recounting of what happened at JOSH-A. I didn't like hearing in more detail what those in charge of the Earth Forces and Alliance had done.

Lord Athha didn't seem to like what he heard much more than I did, by his expression, "A Cyclops System? But, even if the details of the enemy invasion had been leaked to them, that seems a rather extreme course of action to take." He remarked.

Kisaka stepped forward, "However, you can't deny that the action did deal a heavy blow to ZAFT forces, perhaps not as much as they would've hoped originally, but still. To the people who planned this, it was all a simple and logical calculation and then, to sacrifice unwanted forces, likely is seen as a bonus to them," Kisaka iterated.

What Kisaka said is true I wouldn't doubt, but what worries me, would be what came as the results or rather, how did those in the Earth Alliance twist this event to their advantage? "Tell me Lord Uzumi, how does the Alliance say things went at JOSH-A?" I asked.

Uzumi Athha glanced my way and then gestured to the display screen on the wall to the right, "See for yourself."

All of us in the room looked to the display screen as a news report started showing, _"To the last soldier, our defense forces fought heroically. The destruction of JOSH-A and the sorrow that accompanied that loss, shall forever be marked in history, as a day of infamy. But, despite this loss, we shall never submit to them! What right do the Coordinators have to threaten the security of our skies?! The sacrifices made were immense however, we must overcome this great loss and hunt down our enemies wherever we may find them and punish them! We must gather our strength and fight against the arrogant Coordinators in order to protect the peace, the security and the future of Earth!"_

I turned away from the news report, clenching my hands into fists hard due to the anger that was coursing through me. Not only had the Alliance used the 'scenario' they planned as a morale boost, they were using it as a platform to feed the vendetta they have against Coordinators. Even if it hadn't been said directly or specifically, this news report stated the Alliance's intent to 'hunt and punish' all Coordinators, those who are Human Federation citizens were included I wouldn't doubt. And there was still more that could be extracted from the news report about the Alliance's possible future actions might be.

Mu was the first to speak up after we viewed the news report, "I can understand to an extent why this is happening, but it's still hard to swallow."

"How can what was done be twisted so much into this?" Krystal asked in mild shock.

"How can what happened at JOSH-A be turned into this?" Murrue uttered.

I sighed, before answering the question Murrue had asked, even if she wouldn't like hearing it, "Because the ones who planned what happened at JOSH-A didn't expect or plan for there to be any witnesses to argue otherwise. What Kisaka said, is likely how those in the leadership of the Earth Forces and Earth Alliance were thinking. It's not new… but, did anyone else hear what wasn't said, yet implied with what was stated in the news report? Specifically, the line 'we must hunt down our enemies wherever we may find them and punish them'?"

Kira looked confused at my inquiry, "What do you mean Tye?" my friend questioned.

I looked at Kira, wishing that I could be as ignorant as him sometimes, "The line is not referring to just those in ZAFT Kira, it also means Coordinators within the Human Federation too, I would also bet Hybrids will suffer as well." I replied.

I got some gasps from the former Earth Forces officers, yet Lord Athha spoke up, "To go along with this and with what Tyler just mentioned, the Atlantic Federation has been increasing its political pressure on the member nations of the Federation. They're saying that any nation of Earth that refuses to join the Alliance Forces, will then subsequently be deemed an enemy. Of course, the Human Federation and its member nations will not concede nor give into such threats however, but that hasn't stopped the Alliance from trying. As Orb is a member nation of the Federation, we are no exception to the Alliance's attempts."

"They just want Orb's power," Cagalli added with a tone of frustration.

Cagalli didn't understand what could result from this or that Orb wasn't the only nation the Alliance wanted the power of. "It's not just Orb that's the case, it's the same for all the member nations of the Federation." I stated.

Lord Athha cleared his throat, "No doubt you are aware, Orb like all Human Federation member nations, do not refuse entry to Coordinators or Hybrids along with Naturals. As long as they who wish to enter are willing to abide by the set laws of the state or territory they come to, they are free to enter and live where they choose. The Orb Union completely agrees with the Federation's ideal that it shouldn't matter whether one's genes have been modified, engineered or are those they are born with. It isn't a fair fact to judge upon, for one's genetic orientation doesn't make up who you are, your actions do. The only thing that labeling a person does is create friction between people and cause conflict." He continued, then Uzumi Athha pointed at his daughter Cagalli and Kira. "Cagalli is a Natural, and Kira of course, is a Coordinator. These are facts that they themselves have no control over and, so it is unfair to judge them on that."

"You're right sir," Kira agreed.

I cracked a smile, "And I might add, we're all human beings first and foremost before our genetic orientation is taken into consideration," I added.

Lord Athha nodded in agreement, "Indeed, I cannot support the policies of the Atlantic Federation or the other nations that make up the Earth Alliance. For they label every Coordinator as evil and an enemy that needs to be either completely controlled or destroyed. It's the insistent justification that is used by the Earth Forces to attack Coordinators without any other reason. It is why Orb joined the Human Federation, their view of humanity is the correct one I believe. So then, whom is really fighting whom and for what reason?" he posed.

"But sir, I understand the point that you're trying to make. Yet, excuse me for arguing, but isn't your position idealistic?" Argued Mu.

"Yes, what you say sounds nice, but truth is that Coordinators will have the tendency to look down on Naturals and Naturals will be jealous Coordinators, Hybrids will always be ostracized. It's the way it is," Krystal added to Mu's argument.

I shook my head at hearing an argument that has been around just after the existence of Coordinators and it's ridiculous. "Goodness gracious, you two need to get out more, since obviously, you've had horrid experience with the Coordinators you've been around. As to your question Lord Uzumi, it's a complicated question that has been a mission that the Federation Admiralty has been trying to find out. I believe Admiral Raine is the one who has been in charge of discovering their identities and she has been sending out members of SOLAS for around six months now and still no complete success. A number of the players have been identified, but there are still some that have covered their tracks well and so, remain unknown," I returned.

There was a bit of an awkward silence, but then Lord Uzumi broke it, "What you say commander La Flaga is true, I will admit that Orb nor any other member nation has a perfect system. But, if we accept things as they are, just because that's how things have been, then there will never be change and the human species will end out destroying itself."

"All of this is such a mess, it's hard to even understand where it began or where it will end. I can't even guess how things in the world could get worse," Mu muttered.

I exhaled heavily, "Mu, there's one thing that life can teach you, that would be that things can always be worse than they are. At this point, I can already tell you a little of how this will become even less pleasant. Tell me, do you believe that ZAFT will take the loss they have with what happened at JOSH-A and not retaliate?" I asked.

Mu appeared to be caught off guard, Krystal snickered before replying to me, "I would very much doubt that they will do nothing about the loss, so then, what would you say their response will be Tyler?"

I took a moment to think about my answer, it was clear to me what would be the best target tactically speaking for ZAFT to hit. However, with how military forces of both ZAFT and the Alliance were currently positioned, it would be a risky venture. "The answer to your question Krystal, is simpler than you might think, and Panama would be my best guess. The reason that I suspect that Panama will be ZAFT's target, is for one idea and one only, its mass driver."

Everyone in the room looked at me like I was crazy, "Panama?! Tyler, you might not be aware of it, but the majority of the Earth Alliance's military force is there now. So, ZAFT would have to be rather desperate to think about attacking Panama right now," replied Murrue.

"I'm aware that a large portion of the Earth Alliance's fighting strength is at Panama, but perhaps a different perspective would help you understand. Let me turn this around for you, let's say that the Earth Forces just took a major loss… in fact, let's go with what happened at Victoria for this. ZAFT gained a good morale boost, what would you do to change that?" I posed, but I got no answer, so I continued. "For ZAFT, taking down Panama's mass driver would have two different results. The first of those will be cutting off the major supply line to space for the Earth Alliance, that's a major blow. The second, will be a slash to the morale boost that the twisted story of what happened at JOSH-A gained."

"You paint a rather grim picture Tyler, but even should Panama lose its mass driver, then the Alliance I assume would just use a different one," Murrue reasoned.

I shrugged, "I would say you're right, if not for the point that Panama's mass driver is the only one that the Earth Alliance can use for military supply lines. Currently, of the world's six mass drivers, the Alliance controls one, ZAFT has two and the Federation possesses the other three. Can't see ZAFT letting the Earth Alliance use either Victoria or Carpentaria for obvious reasons. The Federation, has regulations set that don't allow military supplies or anything to do with the Earth Forces to use any of the Federation mass drivers and that's something that won't change, no matter the tantrums they throw." I reasoned.

"Then wouldn't ZAFT attacking Panama then put the Earth Forces in the position that they might just attack the nations that don't agree to join the Earth Alliance?" Krystal asked me.

I looked away and couldn't answer the question, even though I knew it was extremely likely that the Alliance would use the destruction of Panama to attack member nations of the Federation. It was Lord Uzumi that spoke in my place, "It is very possible that if Panama's mass driver is disable or destroyed, that the Earth Alliance would turn and demand use of the Federation's mass drivers or just take them yes." Lord Athha clenched a hand into a fist, "The world is being divide into two camps because of the Atlantic Federation, and it's wrong!"

Six days passed since the meeting without much of note occurring, I kept an eye on the Federation information network so that I could keep myself up to date on what was happening around the world. I was sure that ZAFT would strike the Alliance, to harm the momentum they had gained through the scenario at Alaska as much to damage the capabilities of the Earth Forces themselves. Panama in my mind fit that more than anywhere else, so that was where I expected they would attack.

It was on day six, which happened to be the twenty-fifth of May, that such changed. Came when I was searching the information network that I stumbled upon something I hadn't expected to see. I found myself viewing feeds of a battle happening, two things became clear very quickly, one, the landscape said that it was Panama around the space port as I saw the tracks of the mass driver. The second, what I was viewing was happening live and in real time, meaning ZAFT was attacking right now. Lisa entered my quarters at that point and asked me what I was doing. I waved her over and gestured to the feed that I was viewing, and she gasped as she realized what was being displayed.

The two of us kept watching the battle at Panama unfold, mostly from a bird's eye-view or rather a view that is from orbit, zoomed in. By what I was seeing, I believe the feed is a mix of Federation equipment viewing this and ZAFT channels. Information said that there were ZAFT Laurasia-Class vessels above Panama, waiting for something. The Alliance was putting up a good fight, couldn't deny that, but ZAFT was winning for the moment.

However, saw something and when I shifted and zoomed in on the sight and wasn't pleased at what I saw, though it didn't surprise me entirely. On the display, there was clearly mobile suits that the X105 Strike was the basis for their construction. This showed the fact that the Earth Alliance now had mobile suit, the ability to mass produce them and an OS that allowed Naturals to use them. The Earth Forces mobile suits were making a difference, but there was something off to me. That feeling increased when objects came down from space and landed in different places around the base.

As Lisa and I kept watching, ZAFT GINNs went to the objects and fitted rods into the middle, before I believe programing something in. A few minutes later, the six devices emitted a light and it became clear that they were deploying electro-magnetic energy. The field of electro-magnetic energy grew, disabling the Earth Forces suits and other equipment. But the biggest effect that the energy had, was that it ripped apart the tracks of the mass driver, thereby destroying it.

If the battle had ended there on that note, things would've been okay. Yes, lives had been lost, but there were still others that were alive and that's what counts. However, that's not what occurred, the expression that Lisa and I had from watching had been discomfort and slight disgust before, now shifted to anger and horror. The reason that was the case, was because ZAFT soldiers were now going about needlessly killing any they could find. They were slaughtering people that showed signs that they surrendered and had stopped fighting. Such were massacred without hesitation, it was so bad that I turned off the feed and brought my fist down in anger at what we had watched. "Damn it!" I growled as my fist hit the desk.

"Tyler, you know that the Alliance will stop being 'polite' now that they have lost Panama. The member nations could be targeted and soon, this is bad," she remarked, clearly worried and rightly so.

Problem with that, it's worse than Lisa says it is, "Lisa, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when they attack member nations. Now that the Earth Forces have mobile suits, they see themselves as close to invincible and will not hesitate to turn them against the Federation." I paused as anger and pain made it difficult to speak. After a bit, I regained control and continued, "And out of the member nations, the Republic will be the most likely to be struck first."

Lisa held her head in her hands, "Now that they Alliance has mobile suits, I doubt there is any place they won't go. It's so ridiculous, they get a little power and they then use it to get everything they can and claim it's their right to have and has always been so." She said.

I shook my head, "There will be an order of how things will be attacked. The Alliance will unlikely go for Carpentaria yet, with ZAFT as dug in as they are, it will take a lot of force to take it from them. Orb is strong and has well set defenses, so the Earth Forces will have to be careful or they'll suffer heavy losses. The Equatorial Union is still in a state of civil strife, but something tells me that the unrest will be put aside to defend against the Alliance taking the land. And if you've been around any of those from the Equatorial Union, you'll know that guerrilla tactics are their specialty."

Taking a breath, I thought about how to put the rest of what I wanted to get out, for myself as much as anything else. "The Euros Coalition would be last as it would take more force than the Alliance can spare to take it. Their mass driver Chronos, is the best defended facility the Human Federation has, even if the rest of the world is unaware of the fact. Federation military forces are set up around Chronos and the borders of the Coalition. There's the Koovos Weapon Testing complex on the Eurasia side of the Coalition, and any approaching from that way would be used for target practice. Most of all, the Euros Coalition has the Sentinel system to defend Chronos and that alone will exterminate Earth Forces fleets, be they sea, ground or air, that try to get to Chronos."

I used a moment to take a swig of water from a cup on the desk before I kept going, "For the Republic, there are heavy set defense along the shoreline that ships coming will hard time going against. Then of course, there's Teswa developed equipment to work with, which is one of the reasons that I feel that the Alliance will go for the Republic first. It's no secret that the Alliance have wanted Teswa for a while, and they haven't liked being told no. And lastly, the deflection barriers that were put in over the last year will definitely help out should a fight come." I paused for a moment, thinking, "The only other possible target that I can come up with, is Victoria. With how the Earth Alliance lost it to ZAFT, they want it back from them."

Was still in a foul mood from having to witness that ZAFT wasn't much different than the Earth Alliance in their intentions. I needed something else to do and occupy my attention to get it off all of the recent crap that had happened. Decided that a stroll would be a good place to start and so that's what I did, even if Lisa forced me to use a cane of all things to help me walk as needed. While I was walking, I happened to come across Miriallia and Tolle, who apparently had the same idea as I did about getting off the Archangel.

"Tye… why do you have a cane?" asked Miriallia.

Tolle gained a smirk, "This a sign that you're getting old Tye?" he snickered.

I moved over as Tolle laughed, swung the cane around and tapped the back his knees, which got Tolle to stop laughing. "Careful what you say Tolle, you see a cane used for walking, I see a whacking tool that can be used for hitting. No, my friend was insistent that I have this as I'm still recovering from the effects of the explosion I was in." I replied.

Miriallia smacked Tolle for being 'stupid', before she bowed to me, "Sorry about Tolle Tye, he can go too far sometimes without thinking." She said.

I waved off the action that Tolle had done, it's what friends do, "It's fine you two, by the way, you've seen Kira recently?" I questioned.

Both looked at each other, then glanced back at me, "Well, yeah we have. He was with us until a woman came, Commander La Flaga and McAlester were with her. She asked Kira to go with them and he did, they headed northwest from here," Tolle answered.

Northwest? That would infer they had been heading to Morgenroete Inc.'s main complex here in Orb. I thanked both my friends for the information and made my way in the direction they had indicated. When I got to the entrance of the complex and after flashing my military ID was let inside. I asked around, in the hopes that I could find out where Kira was, asking if anyone had seen two officers with one of those who work here. Through what I was told, I managed to figure out where to go and arrived at a mobile suit development facility.

Came to hear a woman speaking and I came to a stop, "Yes, we had the spare parts to fully repair and improve the Strike, and had thought after hearing what happened at Alaska, that it would be needed." Said the feminine voice.

"Well, I actually already have a mobile suit to work with, so I won't be needing it." Said Kira. "However, I'm impressed that you came up with a way to combine all the Strike's optional hardpoint mounted equipment."

…That's an interesting piece of information, even if I can't see the idea, for Morgenroete to have combined the optional equipment for the Strike, it's impressive. "Well, I'll pilot it then, if that's okay," said the voice of Cagalli.

I peeked around a corner and looked into the space that the conversation I was overhearing was coming from. And saw the Strike and saw that indeed all its optional equipment was attached to the suit. The left shoulder had the sword striker set, where the right had the launcher set. The heavy cannon was behind the left shoulder, while the anti-ship sword was behind the right with the wing set between the two.

"Sorry little lady, but you can't pilot it," said Mu.

"Why not?!" demanded Cagalli.

Mu looked at the Strike, "Because I'll be piloting it."

Well, that kind of cuts down to who I make an offer to. I had been considering what to do with the Shadow, the two choices that I saw were to either take it back with me when I go back to the Republic or to leave it with the Archangel. I was leaning to leaving the mobile suit with the Archangel. If I do that, there was clearly only two choices to who the pilot would be, and those being Mu or Krystal. Decided that it was time to make my presence known, "Well, that makes me more limited on what I was planning to offer."

All in the room looked over to the doorway where I was now. Knew all of them but the woman that wasn't Krystal. She looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties and was average height. The woman had brown medium length hair framing her dark green eyes. She was wearing the orange engineer's coat that they had for Morgenroete personnel. I stared at her and waved a hand to her, "Sorry, don't think we've been introduced Miss," I said in greeting.

The woman smiled at me and once I approached the group, she held out a hand, "My name is Erica Simmons, it's nice to make your acquaintance."

I took the hand and shook it, "Tyler McGregor, at your service." Then I looked up at the woman and made a tad closer inspection. My reason for doing so, was that I'd heard of this woman before, her name had been mentioned at Teswa. For one to be mention in a development complex like Teswa, wasn't done just because you could, it was because you did something of note in the science community, even if it wasn't public. "Must say, you're not exactly as I imagined you from the descriptions I've heard, no offense intended."

"Oh, who might have told you about me?" Erica Simmons asked.

"The name Carlos Neil ring a bell?" I asked.

Miss Simmons's face lit up, "You know Carlos?! He such a sweet man, is always caring and willing to listen, even when it's clear the subject bores him."

I nodded slowly, true, Carlos had been one of those who had mentioned this woman, but by the way she spoke, she was more than an acquaintance to Carlos. "Yeah, Carlos is a friend, and by the sound of it, you know him more than just as an acquaintance."

Erica Simmons nodded her head, "He's my brother-in-law, husband of my sister."

…Okay, that's interesting to know. I turned to Mu, "So, as I heard, you intend to pilot the Strike Mu, right?" I posed.

Mu gave me an affirmative, "Why do you ask?" Mu inquired.

I shrugged, "You see, came here to offer my Shadow mobile suit to either you or Krystal to pilot, since I'm not going to be piloting it for the time being. Planning to head back to the Republic soon with the tension as it is and to me it's not worth it to take the Shadow with me. So, I would rather the machine be put to use myself and think it would serve that purpose on the Archangel. That makes the choice for possible pilots to either you or Krystal, but since you are taking the Strike," I said, then turned to Krystal McAlester, "Then are you interested of taking the Shadow's chair? Can promise you that the machine is a great one, and I've proved that I believe."

"Yes, that would be wonderful, was beginning to think I would be stuck in a skygrasper or mobile armor." Krystal replied.

Erica Simmons chuckled, "I could install an OS for Naturals on that machine, have seen the specs for it. Carlos had been talking about that mobile suit for a time and it seemed interesting," she said.

Erica Simmons and her people got to work, and I left after saying goodbye to Kira and that we would see each other later. Then I headed back to the Archangel and began packing to head back to the Republic, for I feel that's where I'll be needed the most. Later, in the evening, Lisa and I boarded an aircraft and took off on our way to the Republic of East Asia

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I'll stop there for this chapter, for it is a good place to start the next chapter. If it isn't fairly clear by this point, there's a battle coming soon. Some of you please take the time to write a review and tell me what you think, ask questions or whatever you like. I'll state this right now, any questions regarding whom the 'rat' is will not be answered for the time being, I'll reveal that later. Well, until next time, peace out everyone!**


	18. Phase 18: Battle on the Homefront

**A/n**

 **Okay, lots to say, before I get into this chapter. First, I've taken the time and it wasn't short to go through earlier chapters, all 17 of them. I did grammar fixing, polishing and fluffing up, whatever way you want to put, there are additions throughout, mostly in chapter 12 and earlier for the additions. Chapter 15 through 17 are just minor grammar changes and nothing else really. It would be nice for some to go back and read the chapter and tell me something that says that I didn't do what I did for little to nothing. Second point, at the end of chapters that I introduced something new that wasn't a person, there are specs for it at the end of that chapter or the next. I still don't anything from the Gundam Universe, as much as I would love to own some things. All I claim is my characters, custom machines, and musings. Now enough from me, on with the tale I'm here to present!**

* * *

Phase 18: Battle on the Homefront

June 5th 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Unknown Earth Alliance base, Atlantic Federation Territory

Within an underground base of the Earth Alliance, a meeting was taking place involving the leadership of the Alliance. Small groups of people, both men and women were muttering and whispering to each other, while others waited for order to be called and the meeting to start. Once all that were supposed to be at the meeting arrived, order was called and all took their seats.

The meeting began with a review of what had occurred at JOSH-A and the success that had brought with the blow to ZAFT's fighting strength. Yet, that was shadowed over by the recent loss at Panama, especially the destruction of the mass driver that had been the supply line to space for the Earth Alliance. The Alliance only had controlled the Panama mass driver, the other five were denied to them. ZAFT had two of the worlds six mass drivers, one in Victoria after they had taken with the base from the Alliance. The second mass driver was by their Carpentaria base, and they defended it heavily from the Alliance's assaults. The other three mass drivers were under the Human Federation's control and regulation by them, enforced by their military. There was the Republic's Shen Lóng mass driver, Orb's Kaguya mass driver and the Euros Coalition's Chronos mass driver. None of the three had been accessible to the Earth Forces at any time. The Federation had been and still was adamant that no outside military force would have use of the mass drivers, period, no discussion or debate.

This left the Earth Alliance without a mass driver to supply their space forces or get more equipment up into space to fight ZAFT. That would quickly become a serious problem if nothing changed and there was no argument in that. After being shown pictures and video of the battle or rather ZAFT defeating the Alliance around the Panama Spaceport, there came angry muttering. "This is humiliating! Our success at JOSH-A is almost worthless now with the loss of Panama!" grumbled one.

"Our lunar base will quickly run out of supplies with the line from Panama cut off. How are we to launch a counter-offensive with this kind of situation?" another asked in slight worry.

"The plan to recapture Victoria is being accelerated because of the events of Panama, but taking the base back without damaging the mass driver won't be easy," remarked another man.

A younger man was sitting at the head of the table, listening to the mutterings of the others who led and represented the Earth Alliance. He had short blonde hair along with hazel colored eyes which were showing the slightest annoyance. The young man was wearing a purple dress shirt and tie along with a white suit. The Natural young man was Muruta Azrael, the current director of the anti-Coordinator organization, Blue Cosmos and he also filled the position as the head of the Alliance's Defense Department.

"What about the Federation's member nations? Has there been any reply from any of them for assistance?" inquired another man.

A few chairs down from Azrael, a man spoke up to the question, "We've repeatedly requested assistance from them, but none of their current leaders have budged at all about their policies for their mass drivers. They state that no military operations of either the Earth Alliance nor ZAFT will be permitted access to any of the three mass drivers they control. Blass and Athha in particular have been vehemently against any external military forces entering their nations if they are active or on duty in any way. But, all of the Federation's leaders are pretty much the same, they still say they want nothing to do with the activities of the Earth Alliance or the Earth Forces in relation to the war."

"Oh really?" asked Muruta Azrael, speaking for the first time for this meeting. He was tapping his fingers in frustration at what he was hearing, "Is that because the member nations of Federation are neutral?"

All around the conference table went silent and glanced to its head where Azrael was as he continued, "That's not right, now is it ladies and gentlemen? For them to have 'peace', not when all the others are fighting, risking their lives battling mankind's enemy."

There was muttering was heard at Azrael's statement, one of the other leaders made his voice heard, "Azrael, kindly do not put this in that extreme a manner, we aren't members of Blue Cosmos like you are, keep that in mind."

Azrael shrugged and waved a hand, "My apologies ladies and gentlemen, I meant no offense to any of you," he said, before refocusing on the matter at hand. "However, I simply cannot understand why you people have tolerated these nations which do this. The Federation's member nations only hide behind such foolish rhetoric and beliefs they claim to uphold. The point has been reached and surpassed in this conflict, when being neutral is a luxury that can't be afforded. All need to be in this war and choose a side."

"Whether that's true or not, all the member nations of the Human Federation are recognized as separate from the Alliance and part of the Human Federation. We have to acknowledge that."

Azrael shrugged again, not speaking his thoughts of his personal opinion of the Human Federation and its policies. "Fine, but those nations are nations of Earth, aren't they? That being said, they should then have an obligation to help the Alliance in some way, even if it isn't fighting. Is that not fair?" Azrael reasoned.

There was a mixture of reactions, from agreement to Azrael's statement to utterances of bringing the wrath of the Federation military down upon the Alliance. Azrael didn't wait for any to speak out, "If you would like, I can lead the negotiations with them and help them see the truth," he said.

A man across the table, fixed Azrael with his gaze, "What does this 'help' of yours entail? Remember, the Federation's military is strong and we're in no position to take them on at the same time as we're fighting ZAFT. A foolish mistake of impatience could spell disaster for us all."

Azrael paused for a moment, but then continued, "The priority is to acquire someone's mass driver, and as soon as possible. I say, why go for just one when we can have more?" enforcing his point.

"Granted, the need of a mass driver is important, but," started a woman.

Azrael smiled to the table at large, "You'll all be busy with the operation to retake Victoria. It would be more efficient to divide the workload between us, no? And while we're at it, we might even get the chance to test the new toys," he reasoned

"You're planning to use the new machines for this?!" said a man.

Azrael's smile, turned into a smirk, "That depends on how our 'neighbors' react in this. Out of the leaders of the Federation member nations that I've read up on, there are two in particular that have a reputation for being stubborn. So, if Ellen Blass and Uzumi Athha are even half as stubborn as they've been rumored to be, then I believe there will be the chance for some excitement. And there's no need to worry, I'll not be handling all the negotiations, I have another in mind who is good at getting results."

The man across the table that had warned Azrael before, pinned the blonde-haired man with his gaze. "Be forewarned Azrael, should your actions or whomever you are referring to cause the Federation's military to attack the Alliance, it will be on your head. Should the relationship between the Human Federation and the Alliance degrade further and demands be made for the one responsible, you will be who is given for that. Your head is the one that will roll should things go wrong and none of us here will help you in any way. Do you understand Muruta Azrael?" the man said seriously.

Muruta Azrael wasn't all that worried, but he was kind of surprised at this statement. It said that mistakes made would be on him and no one else, a rather bad risk Azrael had learned in the business world to have placed on you. "Of course I understand, I assure you, the negotiations will go fine. All you here should be worrying about is the operation to retake Victoria."

 **-Line Break-**

Central Government Administration Building, The Republic

It was early morning, and the executive cabinet, the head of the Republic's government were gathering for an emergency meeting as a message from the Earth Alliance had come. It wasn't unusual for messages to come, but this one held a different feel to it than the others before.

As Ellen Blass entered the conference room, it was clear that the contents of the what the Earth Alliance had sent was troubling to all. Ellen was quickly approached by her secretaries of State and Defense, and they began telling her of how the contents of the message had already been made public. Spreading panic was the result of the publicizing of the contents of the Alliance's message and there were efforts being made to calm the masses. How the contents of the message had gotten out was unknown, there were several different possibilities of how it could've happened. Yet, that issue would have to be seen to at a later time as there was more pressing matters to attending to.

Ellen called all the members of her executive cabinet to order and to be seated, before she took her own chair at the head of the table. "Now that we are all here and settled, we can get to the 'message' that the Atlantic Federation has sent us on behalf of the Earth Alliance," she said.

There was muttering of agreement, before Mark Lund, the Republic's Secretary of State, stood up, a page in hand and began reading. "The message from the Atlantic Federation is as follows:

 _To the Republic of East Asia,_

 _As a nation of Earth which claims to ally itself with the group called the Human Federation, who has shown itself to not have the interests of the human species at heart as shown by their actions. The Human Federation's actions are unacceptable and so, the group is denounced as an official group by the Earth Alliance as a whole._

 _In regard to the Republic, your nation is not taking into consideration the current state of current world affairs. The lack of attention of recent events and the lack of action is unacceptable and can no longer be ignored or permitted. As a fellow nation of Earth, there is an inherent responsibility assist in the protection of the world from those who would attack it and not seek to only preserve its own domestic peace. With the previous requests of cooperation with the Republic being refused and ignored in the effort to make the whole world safe from mankind's enemy and not just part of it from those who would threaten it, measures must be taken._

 _On behalf of all the member states of the Earth Alliance, we demand the following concessions from the Republic of East Asia:_

 _The immediate resignation of the current governing body of the Republic, relinquishing all its political and executive authority._

 _The total disarmament and dissolution of all its military forces._

 _Should both of these demands not be met in forty-eight hours, then the Earth Alliance has no choice, but to conclude the Republic an enemy to the Earth Alliance and a supporter of ZAFT. Should that be the case, it leaves the Alliance no other option than to confront the Republic with force in order to preserve the safety of Earth._

That is all in the message," Lund finished, then he sat down.

"This is preposterous, do they really think such threats would sway the Republic?!" Cried a cabinet member.

"Are we even sure that this message is even from the Alliance and not just the Atlantic Federation using political pressure like they do? They threaten others in their methods of bullying often enough for this not to be new," said another.

Angry mutterings and arguments began between some of the cabinet members. Ellen looked to Lund and nodded to her right-hand man, and Lund stood again, "ENOUGH, THIS CABINET WILL HAVE ORDER!" He shouted.

All in the room went quiet and looked to the head of the table, where Ellen Blass got to her feet, "Whether or not this message is from the Earth Alliance or just the Atlantic Federation, does not matter under the standing circumstances. The message that is being sent is clear, a number within the Alliance are no longer going to accept the stance of neutrality that we and the other member nations have upheld to the present."

Nicole Grace, the Secretary of Defense then spoke up, "Indeed Prime Minister, with the Alliance losin Panama, them varmints 'll be desperate to get their hands on a mass driver to reestablish their supply line to space and their Lunar base." She said in her rural drawl, "ZAFT's strike on Panama was a wise decision on their part, but that then puts the pressure on us to deal with those no-good varmints in the Alliance and Earth Forces. Then they go and blatantly insult our citizens that are Coordinators with sayin 'mankind's enemy' like them in Blue Cosmos."

"Whether ZAFT meant for this to occur or not, is irrelevant. The facts are that an Alliance force will be coming to the Republic and it will not be coming upon friendly terms," Ellen lifted the page that had the message. "These demands they are making to us, are unacceptable, if the Alliance believes that such a threat as this is all it takes to intimidate us, then they will learn how wrong they are. We will not cave in to their demands, we will not throw away our standards just because a number of the leaders of the Earth Alliance say that we are wrong, and they are right!" Gestures of agreement and support to the counters to the Alliance's threat came from those around the conference table as Ellen continued. "Most of all, we will not cower before the Earth Alliance, we will stand up and show that the Alliance isn't superior or right in forcing their views on others."

There were shouts of agreement to Ellen's answer to the Earth Alliance's threat/ultimatum. Order was restored quickly by Secretary Lund and the vote for the response began, "All those in favor of rejecting the demands from the Earth Alliance," stated Lund.

All present raised their hands, and when asked if any were opposed, none spoke up. Ellen nodded at the results, "Very well then, let us then discuss what will need to be done going forward, in order protect the welfare of our citizens."

The discussion turned to the need of evacuation of the citizen that were in Shira and other cities in the Republic that were close to the ocean. There were large bunkers underground further inland within the Republic and they would be put into use for this. It was clear as the discussion went on, that dark and hard times were coming because of the war between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT for those who didn't wish for any involvement.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Republic

The transport aircraft came to land at Shira's airfield later that night, though it wasn't exactly comforting to return home like it normally was. No, the tense air was felt the second that Lisa and I stepped off the plane. And let me tell you, I haven't fell this tense of an air since the nuclear strike made on Junius Seven! Normally, there was an uplifting feel when I came around the Republic, or at least I'm able to relax a bit. But, there was definitely an air of impending trouble and horrible things.

Lisa and I were approached just after we exited the aircraft and then were escorted to the Republic's military command center. The ride there was quiet, the city was empty and silent. When we got to military command, the complex was abuzz with activity, could see people rushing around from place to place with either worry or bordering panic clear. Lisa and I were brought to General Maxwell, who was in the main tactical control room. We saluted him, which he returned, "Commander McGregor, Lieutenant Malto, heard that you would be showing up, good to have you here. No doubt that you have gotten the impression of what's going on," he greeted.

I nodded, "Indeed sir, dare I ask what the Alliance has gone and done to have everyone on edge like this?" I questioned.

General Maxwell picked up a page and handed it to me, "See for yourself."

I took the page and scanned the contents and what I saw infuriated me greatly! Once I was finished, I handed the page to Lisa, yet my hand was shaking with the fury that was coursing through me. The message that my mother had received a few weeks ago had carried the impression of a request. In this, there was none of that, this was a demand/threat to the Republic directly. I faced General Maxwell, "How long ago did that 'message' get sent to us?" I queried.

Maxwell frowned, "Almost thirty-six hours ago."

That didn't leave much time, only twelve-hours before the Earth Forces would come here and do whatever the hell they pleased. It's no secret that there are those in the Alliance who didn't like the Federation's stance of neutrality, dearly wanted to bring around a reign of terror on the Federation citizens and abuse the power the Federation had. General Maxwell continued, "However, evacuations of the citizens further inland have already started and are progressing well right now. They should be finished by the time that the deadline comes."

That sounds right, my mother would move the citizens more inland for their safety. She has always put the good of the citizens first… it's one of the reasons she keeps getting reelected as Prime Minister of the Republic. The people know what they're getting with my mom and they appreciate how she runs the government as she's been doing it for sixteen years as of this year and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future.

My mother, being the kind of woman she was, wouldn't give into the demands from the Earth Alliance, she has a reputation for being stubborn. The weird thing is, those in the Alliance leadership know she won't agree to such ridiculous things. She's made the standing of the Republic clear, that like the rest of the Human Federation, we will not throw away our beliefs or views to get the Earth Alliance off our backs! No matter the methods that are used to attempt to intimidate us, we will not give in and let those in the Earth Alliance or the Earth Force have their ways with us. It's why she's called the "Dragon of the Republic" by those in the PLANT's leadership as well as the Alliance's. So, for any of the leadership of the Alliance to send the 'ultimatum', is more to send a message, rather than give the opportunity to opt out.

I focused back on General Maxwell, "What can we do to help sir?" I requested.

"Your orders are to go over to Teswa R&D, both of you have been selected as licensed pilots to use recently developed mobile suits. Make your preparation and head to the complex. There are only twelve hours remaining until the Earth Alliance come into range, time is of the essence, so do not waste it on frivolous things," was Maxwell's reply.

Both Lisa and I acknowledged the orders we are being given, before we left military command. We managed to get a meal and catch a bit of sleep, along our way toward Teswa R&D. I also had the time to review what the Republic had going for itself. The Earth Forces would likely strike Shira first, before trying to go inland from there. With Shira located where it was, it was the best place to make land fall. A good portion of the shoreline of the Republic, is made up of cliffs, dense jungle and other terrain that make coming up to shore very difficult. It's become like that beginning not too long after the reconstruction war's end. The two major goals that the Alliance has of course, are the Republic mass driver "Shen Lóng" and the Teswa R&D complex once they find it. There's little that would stop them going for those two goals, unless they're beaten back!

I wouldn't doubt that the coming Alliance forces will be expecting some defense to slow them down. What they don't know is that there are more than just some defensive measures. Along the shores of Shira alone, there was a decent number of 'guns', hidden underground that can be raised up to be used. There are three "Grandous" 300cm high-energy beam double barrel cannons, which can rotate within a 180-degree range. Then there are six "Blarin" duel barrel turrets that are a margin less powerful than the Grandous, but still pack a punch. Last but not least in the shoreline defense, M15 "Lapua" 60cm triple cannon and there are quite a few of them, in between the larger guns.

The other part of the defense systems that the Republic, is made up of a deflection field system, invented and developed by Teswa R&D. It's my understanding the system is based upon the Lightwave Barrier like what Artemis had, though it's been overhauled and made more practical. There's a couple of networks of emitters around some places, like the mass driver, Teswa and some of the large bunkers that will be protecting the Republic's citizens.

All of those are the fixed defenses that the Republic has in place, there's still the defending forces to take into account, which I doubt the Earth Forces are thinking about much. With their capabilities to mass produce mobile suits obtained recently, the Earth Alliance think they're invincible with them and can do anything they please. The great number of fighter pilots, are ready to defend the nation and can use mobile suits which all the Delta fighters can become or die trying if that's needed. So, the Earth Forces that were coming here, will be in for a shocking surprise that has been prepared for years.

Nonetheless, for the Earth Alliance to attack a member nation of the Federation… this is a gutsy decision to make and one not to be decided lightly. Such an action violates three standing treaties, which had kept the Federation military from taking out Alliance forces and bases for just making threats. The Earth Alliance had been trying to avoid taking on ZAFT and the Human Federation at the same time, yet this action coming could end out bringing war to them from the Federation. So, the question is why do something that could so clearly screw you over royally? I personally think that some in the leadership of the Earth Alliance have marbles missing from their heads, but this even doesn't make much sense. Anyways, the Federation military has been preparing for this event for years, and all the preparation will pay off in spades!

Two hours passed by, when Lisa and I arrived at the Teswa R&D complex, and the tension that was building with the coming clash with the Alliance. The whole complex, like military command was abuzz of activity, with people running to and fro, showing signs of stress. Lisa and I were soon escorted to the development floor for mobile suits where Carlos was. My friend was delegating tasks to other workers, and upon glancing around, saw multiple mobile suits being I assumed, adjusted for use. I even spotted the machine I was praying to get to use, the HFS-Z201 Aurora and I hope that's the one I get to work with, if given the choice, I'll choose it!

Once Carlos finished handing out the assignments, he came over to Lisa and me. "Tyler, Lieutenant Malto, hadn't expected to see you here yet, but since you're here, perhaps there's cause for a bit more optimism," he greeted.

I nodded, "Hope so Carlos, now, we have been told that there are some newly developed mobile suits here that need some pilots. Lisa and I are here to fill at least two of those spots, so what have you got for us?" I asked.

Carlos smiled at me, "Well, for you Tyler, you'll get your wish, since you'll be piloting the HFS-Z201 Aurora. As for you companion there are a few options," my friend said.

I just about jumped up into the air at hearing that I would get to pilot the Aurora as I'd hoped, and I would have if not for the seriousness of the situation and my health is still marginal to a degree. However, I didn't get the chance as Carlos led us over to one of the suit docks, in the particular dock was a machine I've never seen.

The suit was close to the same height as the Aurora, though I would say just a tiny margin shorter. Mostly since the head antenna was more like the Freedom's, where the Aurora is closer to what ZAFT's X09A Justice's antenna. I couldn't begin to guess how much the machine weighs, but doubt it's light by any means, most mobile suits weigh seventy tons at a bare minimum, usually more. The machine was grey, much like the Alliance prototypes and the Shadow are when their phase shift armor is down. The pieces of note would include, the backpack system and then a part in front of the shoulders.

The parts in front of the shoulders, looked to be some kind of targeting scopes, housed in what appeared to be moveable sections in front of the shoulders. With what I could see of the backpack system, there was a wing apparatus on either side of the backpack with hinges connected two-thirds of the way up the wings. There also were two boosters built into the wings. Two cannons, which were made up of duel barrels by what I could see and they were positioned above and behind the head of the suit and were connected to the backpack.

It was at that point, Carlos began giving the rundown of the specs of this machine, "This is the HFS-Z151 Athena, developed for precision striking of an opposing force, but can also hold its own against multiple enemies. It comes with a standard cockpit, located in the torso with a good restraint system to keep the pilot safe from the G-forces that this machine can handle, including atmospheric ascent and descent. The power plant, is a new compact battery, that's actually made of two synced battery units that have an experimental recharge function, but it's still slow on that, yet it's still being fine-tuned."

Carlos paused and took a breath, "One of the newer features, comes in the form of the armor system which is based on the phase shift armor system that the Earth Alliance prototypes had. We call it Phase Shift type Sigma or PS-S, and where it uses voltage for the defense, type Sigma is different. This version distributes power to where it is needed most, rather than just sending the same amount of power everywhere, while maintaining a minimum level overall. Thus, the drain on power that phase shift makes can be cut down by a good margin and doesn't waste needlessly. It's the same armor system that the Aurora has to work with."

Well, I'm fairly impressed so far with this machine, those here at Teswa R&D had been busy and their work would be helpful! Carlos kept going, "Then, also like the Aurora, Athena also has a HiMAM system for aerial combat. It also has the Phantom Stealth System like the Aurora does yet, the feature that trumps the Aurora, comes in when this machine works with a group, which comes in the form of the Grapple Carrying system. The system allows for the Athena, in flight mode to carry and deliver a mobile suit or various payloads to the battlefield, even while flying by."

That last piece of equipment, the carrying system… that had potential! Being able to deliver different payloads, including mobile suits, that could change the flow of a battle. "For armaments, there are a pair of CIWS guns in both sides the head, codenamed 'StingRay'. There's one beam saber stored on the back of the hips. Then we have the M2M3 75mm machine guns, one mounted on the undersides of the forearms," said Carlos, still having both Lisa and I in silent awe of the machine he was telling us about. "You've got a pair of M2 vulcan guns mounted on the long nose section that's on the backpack, though they're only useable in flight mode. Then on the wing booster sections, there are two missile swarm pods, named 'Locus'. They're loaded with eight missiles each pod, so more bang for your buck as the saying goes. The last of the fixed armaments, would be the two 'Gauss' 90mm twin railguns and they pack serious punch with the impact they have."

This suit has quite the arsenal to work with! Still, I'm glad that I'm getting to pilot the Aurora, but this machine is nice too. And Carlos had inferred that this mobile suit had other armaments that weren't fixed that he hasn't told us about. "For optional armaments that are carried, there are two of them. The first, would be the MA-M25 'Halzer' beam lance, it's holstered along the back to the left of the center of the suit. The lance collapses down into half its length when it's not in use. Then the second, is two "Spatter-fire" 85mm rapid-fire railgun rifles. They are usable in both flight mode and mobile suit mode, in flight mode the are held by the hands and turned sideways," finished Carlos.

Then my friend turned to Lisa, "You can be the pilot for this suit Miss, or I can show you the others that we have," he posed.

Lisa was about to give her answer to the offer of using the Athena mobile suit, when another voice was heard, "I must say, quite a well-made machine, and I've seen some good ones before," a tenor male voice said.

All of us turned to see a man coming up to where we were, for me I was more surprised at who it was as I knew the guy. He had blonde short to medium length hair and green eyes, standing at almost six feet. Was the kind of man that had good charisma and came off as an easy-going guy, yet that's not entirely true. Carlos and Lisa had confused expressions on their faces, but this guy isn't what you would expect from what he's done. I just shook my head, "You know Graham, it's normally considered good manners to introduce yourself to people you haven't met before. Not everyone knows who you are by just looking at you… hard as that may be to believe for you."

'Graham' gave me a look of mock shock, "Not heard of me? Tyler, you do come up with some good jokes from time to time. Why some say you have little sense of humor, I'll never know," Graham said, but then he paused, viewing the confusion that remained on Lisa's and Carlos's faces. He then bowed to them both, "My apologies for my lack of manners, I'm named Graham Aker."

I sighed, "This guy here, is a former ZAFT pilot, but he isn't your run of the mill pilot, he is one of the best ones," I added.

Graham chuckled, "Now Tyler stop, you're embarrassing me, yes, it's true that I'm no regular pilot, but I just took the time to polish my skills."

I rolled my eyes at Graham, before I looked back at Carlos and Lisa, "You wouldn't think it of this guy, I'm well-aware, but he is the pilot known as 'the Comet'," I continued.

Lisa's eyes widened at my statement, "You're saying that this man," she questioned, pointing at Graham, "Is ZAFT's champion of champions, their ace of aces?"

Graham smiled, "Indeed I am dear lady, though I prefer the title of 'the defender of the people' personally, now that's something I aspire to live up to."

I exhaled before I spoke again, "Graham, what are you doing here? If you haven't noticed, there's a lot going on."

Graham faced me and gaining a serious look that I wouldn't expect from him, "I'm through sitting on the sidelines, it's time for the defender of the people, Graham Aker, to take up the task of fighting for those who can't, to protect those who can't do so themselves. Whether it is on the side of ZAFT, the Alliance or the Federation, doesn't matter to me. I'll stand and fight for those who wish to live in peace and do not want this war and I will fight those who are intent on continuing these pointless battles!"

"Well, we could use a pilot with such skills," remarked Carlos.

My friend led us to another dock and a second mobile suit, which I didn't recognize. The suit was grey like the last one was, and I suspected that it would change color upon the phase shift activating. Looked to be about the same height as the Athena, but also appeared to be able to shift into a different mode by some of the parts that I saw. Like the Athena, this machine had a 'backpack' system equipped. There was a pair of wings on either side on the outside of the backpack. The upper wing was half the size of the one below it and the lower wing had a length from the elbow of the suit's arm down to just about the knee.

For weapon, that I could see four barrels, two over the shoulders and one down the center line of the back of the suit, perhaps part of the nose section of its alternative mode. The last weapon was a long rifle that was held in the machine's right hand.

"This is the HFS-Z127 Thanatos, an assault type mobile suit. Like the Athena, it's equipped with a compact duel synced battery with the recharging function. It also has PS-S armor as part of the suit's defense. Thanatos has a HiMAMs and grapple carrying system built in as well as a Phantom stealth system," iterated Carlos.

"In the area of armaments, Thanatos has a fair arsenal. First, the pair of 115mm 'Howles' railguns which sit over the shoulders and are part of the backpack. Along the center of the backpack, is the "Shano" plasma cannon, which has the highest firepower other than the optional rifle. You'll find two beam sabers, stored in compartments along the outside of the forearms, they'll shoot out to the hands from there. There are CIWS guns in the head on either side just below the optical sensor cameras, which are M85 40mm and are loaded with anti-phase shift rounds." Carlos said, pausing to take a breath, "There also are MMS-GUA 'Spitfire' 65mm vulcan guns, only usable in flight mode and are mounted in the nose section. And finally, on the outside of the shoulders, the Wing Shields, can add to the effectiveness of the HiMAMs and are coated with anti-beam coating. There is only one handheld armament, which is the SR23 'Barret' 250mm long-ranged beam rifle. The weapon can also be used as a sniper rifle or a short to medium-range rifle as well."

After Carlos got done giving the rundown on the Thanatos suit, Graham said it would work for him, but honestly, doubt it would have mattered what kind of mobile suit he used. With the skills which he has, the coming Earth Forces are going to have losses a good deal worse than if Graham wasn't going out to the battlefield.

Carlos did mention that for the other four 'licensed' pilots that were either here or on their way, there were two mobile suits that were specialized for ground combat. And the other two suits that were waiting for pilots, were meant for underwater battle.

As it was explained, the two land mobile suits, rather than having a flight mode, had a mode that made them look and handle similar to ZAFT's BuCUE model machine. One of the suits had ranged weapons and even had a system that mimicked a good sniping scope. Whereas the other was for artillery and could get through armor better than others. They both had PS-S and the Phantom Stealth system and the duel synced batteries.

Then with the water/underwater mobile suits, like the ground suits, had a different mode that wasn't a flight mode, but as they're for underwater combat, their alternative mode is a submersible. As that's the case, there is little in the department of beam weapons, but rather railguns and other projectiles that are effective underwater. One of the machines apparently has an experimental thermal beam weapon to work with, maybe beams that can be use underwater aren't that far away. Like the other suits here, they had the PS-S armor, but they had a system that had the ability to scramble an enemy's sonar and make them blind in that. Carlos called it "Ghost" I believe.

I just hope that these machines will help enough to get the Alliance forces to go away before the damage to the Republic piles and/or people get hurt.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Spengler-class Lawdon, Pacific Ocean

Upon the Flag ship that the head of the Earth Forces 1st seaborne fleet traveling towards the Republic, the mood was somber yet tense. On the bridge, the captain of the vessel was looking over the latest information that had been acquired on the Republic ad what was happening there. But in reality, the man was avoiding giving attention to the woman that was sitting on the bridge staring out the forward windows.

The woman in the chair next to the captain's own, was close to five feet and three-quarters of a foot in height. She had neutral brown hair, unbound and straight, that went down to her waist. Her eyes were blue and fit her smooth pretty face that was framed by her hair. The woman was fit, no fat could be seen and her figure and was one that many women would love to have. She was wearing a black tank-top with a white lab coat over it, along with black dress pants. Her name was Mina Moss, a Natural-type human and a brilliant scientist that wouldn't normally be found on a military ship.

If one just went by her appearance, she was in her prime and would be popular with most of the men on the ship. However, due to Dr. Moss's reputation, none dared approached her as the stories about her scared almost all the Earth Forces personnel on the ship and it was more she terrified them spitless! She wasn't only a member of the Atlantic Federation who was known by name like Muruta Azrael. The stories about Mina Moss, painted her as a devil and crazy woman that might torture those who ticked her off in the most horrible ways! The few officers that had spoken with her, found her to be cold and unsympathetic and gave off an extremely unfriendly air.

The reason this woman was here at all, was that Director Muruta Azrael had sent her and the others that came with her and apparently, they were her responsibility. Those others were three girls that were that ranged to being in their late teens to early twenties. There had already been one incident while Dr. Moss had been on the ship, it had started when one of the doctors had tried to do something to one of the girls. Said doctor had gotten a scalpel in the shoulder and they had said that Dr. Moss had done it. The woman had not denied that, only said that the doctor had been interfering with things that were none of their concern and said she would aim for a more painful place should it happen again.

At the moment, Dr. Moss was simply staring out the window, but in actuality, she was internally fuming at how the current situation was going. She'd been planning to do work in the lab she was the head for and led, known as Lodonia like she normally did. It was her preference, she did the job of management and research at the lab, while one of the few who could be around her and not sweat or cower in fear would work with clients. But, Muruta Azrael, one of the lab's big funding clients, had come by with a 'job' he needed her specifically for. Her issue wasn't with the current director of Blue Cosmos exactly, the organization was one of the funders of the lab after all. No what was bugging Mina Moss, was that the enhanced human project she had been putting her life into over a decade now, was likely being overseen by some of the fools back at the lab that were incompetent!

The three girls here on the ship with her, were some of her best candidates in the enhanced human project. They were definitely the best performers thus far and were very obedient to Mina, who they saw as their mother. The problem, was that the other group made up of three candidates of the project, who were decent scoring subjects, had been taken out and were now with Azrael. Those the three biological CPUs as some nicknamed them, were males and were under the supervision of one of Mina's subordinates. The said subordinate, was one that Mina didn't have confidence in, had a history of doing things sloppily or 'his way' which was unacceptable to her. Now those three and their "handler" were on their way to the Orb Union and it didn't sit well with her. And an unhappy and ticked off Mina wasn't one that was in any way pleasant to be around at all!

The silence on the bridge was adding to Mina's frustrations, so she rose and made her way further into the ship, to go see her girls. The three girls had come into her possession eight years ago while Mina had been out viewing some testing of work she'd contributed to. They had been abandoned in a small town near the test site, huddling together. The girls had seemed lost and they had clung to her when she came across them, which had served her well in her work and really, help save a part of the enhanced human project back at that time and several times since. She wasn't mean to the girls, no the three had shown potential beyond any of the other children that had come to the lab.

Once arriving in the room Mina was going to, she saw the three she had brought with her. They were spread out in the sitting room, one on the single couch in the room, another in an armchair and the last on the floor in front of the couch.

The young woman on the couch, laying across the whole length of the piece of furniture, with her length or height of five and a half feet. She was the oldest of the three girls, being twenty years old or that was the guess. She had face length orange hair that was wavy and complimented her deep blue eyes. Her name was Deborah Galiena and she had an overall figure that was average, not too thin or too wide. While she was wearing a black t-shirt and shirt with tight black long pants under the skirt. She had a red jacket over the black t-shirt. And currently, Deborah was reading a book, wasn't completely engrossed, it was still clear that she was listening to the activities of the other two girls. Deborah was the calm and collected one of the trio and was the 'big sister' figure for the bunch, being the oldest. She even was protective of the other two under almost all circumstances. Even at the times that Deborah snapped and lost it, she still protected her sisters, it just became far more violent, usually ending with those threating her and her sisters being killed!

The girl that was on the floor in front of the couch, was the youngest of the group, who had just turned eighteen a few weeks ago, her name was Lafter Galiena. She was a small margin shorter than Deborah and was a tad thin, but not unhealthily so. Lafter had light brown hair that was tied into two twin tails that framed her oval face and complemented her green eyes. She was wearing a tight pink tank-top with a white leather short jacket, denim shorts, along with white knee-socks and cowgirl boots. Lafter was happily munching on sweets while lying on her stomach, waving her boots in the air. She was looking at a book which Mina couldn't tell much about from where she stood at the doorway. Lafter was the cheerful one of the three, though she could be childish at times. A determined girl that didn't accept losing easily at all, so a good girl.

The last girl in the armchair, was over five and a half feet, but was shorter than Deborah. She had neck length hair that was black and straight. With her neutral blue eyes, which was a common trait among the girls showing their relations to each other, accenting her oval face. Her name was Rossweisse Galiena and she was the middle girl at the age of nineteen. Rossweisse was in a long-sleeve purple button-up shirt with tan dress pants. She was playing a handheld game and looked to be concentrating heavily on that. Although, she had a temper and difficulty controlling it at times, in a place like this room she was doing well at controlling it.

Mina cleared her throat to gain the attention of the three, who looked up at her, "Good afternoon my dears," Mina greeted.

Lafter reacted first, "Mama!" she cried as she leapt up and rushed over to Mina and hugged her.

Deborah sat up on the couch, "How nice for you to visit Mother. You appeared to be in a bad mood when we got to this ship," she said in a caring tone.

Mina waved a hand, "Oh, I'm still displeased by how things have ended out, having to leave three other candidates in the hands of a witless buffoon never has sat well with me. Admittedly, those three boys aren't as wonderful as you three are, yet I wouldn't leave any of you with anyone else. Nevertheless, there's been an amount of work put into them and it would be very irritating if that work was wasted," Mina replied.

Mina turned to her 'middle daughter', "Rossweisse dear, would you please come over here," said Mina, then faced Deborah, "You as well Deborah."

And three girls gathered around Mina, "Now listen up all of you, I have a job coming up that you three are very well suited to accomplish, I'm confident that all of you are up to doing the task. The job is to give the three mobile suits on this ship a full field test, for there's the need for viable data with them to do adjustments."

The three girls nodded, "We'll do our best mother/mama/mom" they answered together.

 **-Line Break-**

The Republic

The evacuation of the citizens was moving along efficiently, as the time set by the ultimatum from the Earth Alliance drew closer. All government employees and officials were doing their best to keep the public from panicking and get them to safety as quickly as was possible. At the same time, the Federation military forces were tightening down the defenses the Republic had and readying themselves for the battle that would come their way. It was clear by the actions and lack of answering any communications, the Earth Forces were coming to attack the Republic and won't accept surrender any more.

On the evening before the day that the Alliance's demands were supposed to be met, Ellen Blass gave the Earth Alliance's leadership the Republic's reply to their ultimatum. She said in clear and in no uncertain terms, that the Republic of East Asia would not agree to any of the demands stated. Nor would the Republic be swayed by such obvious threats made by those who would descend to the level of bullying thugs. However, Ellen said the message in a more dignified way than the Alliance had sent their own message. In which delivered how appalling as well as childish the Alliance was being by excusing themselves in saying the Human Federation wasn't being recognized by the Earth Alliance at all.

The Alliance made no response to the reply, at least no apparent one other than an Earth Forces fleet heading for the member nations of the Federation. This would be the first major offensive that had been made since the few skirmishes before the current war had started. Thus far, the Federation military and those they protected hadn't been put into a position that they would have to defend themselves or show much more force then they had already. The world, moon and colonies knowing this fact, were watching these events with baited breath, to see what the Federation would do.

With the time of the Alliance's demands were set to be met drew nearer and nearer, the tension being felt skyrocketed higher and higher. The evacuations were finished by sunrise and the last of those to leave the areas that combat would likely taking place, were the governing officials and they were on their way out as well. When the Earth Alliance fleet came into detection range of the Republic's sensors, the shoreline defensive guns were raised into position for deployment. The three large "Grandous" beam cannons shifted to train their barrels on the approaching ships making their way towards the Republic. The other defensive weapons were doing the same thing along the shore. While further inland, anti-air missile launchers, beam interceptors and gatling guns were brought up to the surface so they could prevent any missiles or other projectiles from hitting inland.

A final warning, stating the Republic's standing and the consequences of the possible coming actions would bring the Alliance, was transmitted to the flagship of the Earth Alliance's fleet, the Lawdon. Were the Alliance to attack the Republic, fully knowing that it was a part of the Federation, that could be seen as a declaration of war against the Federation itself. Yet, as the Alliance fleet didn't change its course, which said that the Earth Forces were ignoring the warning.

Sirens rang out over the empty city of Shira and the surrounding areas, signaling the impending conflict. The large bunkers were locked down and all defenders prepared for what was about to happen. The fighter launching catapults were made ready to use for all the hangers that were built inside the mountains that were on the western outskirts of Shira. In the command center, all the control operators were in their seats and were focused on their tasks. The taps on the Alliance's communication channels were being solidified and fed into the tactical information feeds. This would allow defending Federation forces to know what the Earth Forces movements would be as their orders were given. The taps were put in place in such a way that unless someone knew what to look for, none would see the taps for what they really were.

General Maxwell was at the holographic display of the battlefield with his tactical commanding officers, who were also looking over the information the display was providing. The final defense the Republic had at its disposal, deflection fields were activated. Barriers came into place, enclosing Shen Lóng, the Teswa complex, military command center and all of the bunkers. Those fields would block incoming beams from the Alliance force if things got that far.

Once the Alliance vessels crossed into the Republic's outer defensive perimeter, Maxwell gave his final order before the battle for the Republic would begin. "To all pilots, in this battle, use of mobile suit mode of your machines will be authorized. It is likely that the Earth Forces will be deploying their mobile suits in this. Do your utmost to prevent Alliance forces from making landfall or getting inland. The defense and the future of the Republic is in our hands and many are putting their faith in us and depending us. Fight for the future and good of humanity, good luck to us all."

Maxwell focused on the ships appearing on the holographic, "Aim 'Grandous' turrets at the lead ships and commence interception procedures."

The commands were inputted, and the high-energy beam cannons moved a bit to home in their targets they were aiming at and then, began shooting at the oncoming ships. The other shoreline guns followed suit and began throwing out a barrage at the Alliance vessels. The response of Alliance ships, were to use their multi-barreled CIWS guns to intercept what they could of what was coming at them.

Maxwell observed the opposing ships slow a margin and that was progress, the man knew the momentum needed to be kept up. Images that represented the first wave of defending vessels which was made up of twelve Federation sea vessels leaving their docks and sailed out towards the Alliance ships, appeared on the holographic display. All the ships were keeping out of the way of the shoreline defenses as they went. "Order Yue Fei squadron and Chao squadron to launch out. Yue Fei is to head towards the ships, while Chao is to take down the flying carriers that are coming to deliver mobile suits," he ordered.

An average squadron, was made up of twenty-five fighters, which both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance knew. What they weren't sure of, was how many squadrons that any of the member nations of the Federation had for their defense. The number wasn't small, not with the expectation of the Earth Alliance to attack member nations looming for the last year. Shortly after the orders were given, the sight of Delta Fighters zooming past the few front viewing windows of the command center, boosting morale a small bit. Half of those fighters climbed upward, the other half kept at a small distance from the ground, high enough to not being in the line of fire of the defensive guns.

The squad of fighters that had climbed up higher, quickly spotted the Alliance aerial transports that were carrying their new mass production mobile suits, flying towards the Republic. The fighters began attacking the carriers, shooting them down before they could get over the Republic. However, once the Alliance personnel realized that the carriers were being destroyed before they could get over their assigned drop point, they changed tactics. Mobile suits began leaping out of the carriers, before deploying parachutes that were connected to their backs.

The Earth Alliance mass production mobile suits, were built based on the X105 Strike and so, looked quite a bit like it. However, there were some differences between the mass production model and the Strike. It looked more simplistic, the coloration was off-white to grey instead of the brilliant white the Strike had. In fact, all the colors were darker than the Strike's and they were lighter and had better mobility than the Strike was capable of. For armaments, CIWS guns were visible on the sides of the head, a pair of beam sabers sat at their hips. There were smaller guns on both front sections of the feet for taking out infantry while on the ground. Some of the suits had machine guns in hand, while others had beam rifles. Most if not all the mobile suits had a shield mounted on one of the arms of the Alliance units.

As the Alliance mobile suits were descending, they fired back at the Federation fighters, some of the shots finding their marks and hitting some of the fighters. None of the Federation machines were destroyed by enemy fire at this point, but flying became harder if not impossible. Nonetheless, it was at this point that a fact that both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance had never been able to confirm if it was true, was revealed. The Federation fighters that were having issues with flying, transformed into mobile suits and started dancing with the Alliance suits. The Earth Forces mobile suits, being dependent on their parachutes, were much harder pressed to defend themselves against the Federation machines, which had flight systems built into them. But, it quickly became clear, that the Federation's mobile suits' flight systems had a sizable advantage over the Alliance machines' parachutes.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Teswa R&D complex

The final adjustments were being finished on the mobile suits. Those of us who would be piloting them had been occupying our time with whatever we could to keep from being idol. I ate a meal and caught some sleep or tried to, between that, I helped around the complex. But, the tension was building here like it had everywhere else and that was causing stress to all. It was when alarms started sounding, when I raced to the development floor and saw that the work was quickly being finished. When I asked, I was told that the alarms were sounding to say that fighting had broken out against the Alliance. The feeling of my guts being twisted in an unnatural way increased at hearing that. Let's just say, the short period of time that passed for the mobile suits to be made ready felt a lot longer than it really was.

The seven pilots chosen to pilot the machines here, including myself, boarded the machines we'd been assigned. The stress of the hours that had gone by since Lisa and I had arrived back in the Republic, had been starting to take a toll on me. However, now that the wait was over, the pressure that was brought on by the mounting stress was fading. I was about to join the fight that the Alliance had started. The feelings turned into the type I was familiar with and knew how to deal with, the weight that comes on you when you are on a battlefield is to me, easier to work against, rather than waiting with dread of an event to come. And honestly, it's high time the Earth Forces get taught the lesson that you can't just do what you want and expect everyone to agree to with your selfishness.

The alarm signaling the massive upper door opening, began blaring, then I felt my mobile suit moving backward towards the middle of Teswa, for easy access to the way out. The Aurora was turned around so that it faced outward, for a better launch. Once over the deep canyon like space that was in the center of the Teswa complex, airtight shutters closed behind all the mobile suits. I looked up to see daylight of the morning, before focusing on the battle that I and the other pilots here would soon enter. The Aurora's thrusters warmed up and when they were ready, I wasted no more time, "Tyler McGregor, Aurora, let's do this!" I announced.

There came cheering from those who work here at Teswa, as I piloted the Aurora to leap off the platform it was on. And then, I shot upward through the hole that Teswa's upper shutter normally covers and out into the valley Teswa is built in. I heard Graham being the nice guy, with him letting Lisa launch in the Athena before himself. After Lisa, Graham followed in the Thanatos and one by one, the other four mobile suits followed.

After I gained a respectable height, while keeping in the valley, I changed the Aurora over to its flight mode. The legs locked into being horizontal the upper leg joint below the lower. The front section of the feet folding down for streamlined flight, to have the tail fins set into their forty-five-degree position respectively with the rest of the suit. The Aurora's wings swiveled out and locked into flying position, the thrusters the pivot point of the wing was housed in, became parallel to the center line of the mobile suit. The two plasma cannons shifted forward and set to be next to each other, between the wings and ahead of them. Both cannons had the small fins they were three-fourths of the way along the cannons on the outsides of them, came out to be thirty-five-degree angles to the cannons. The Aurora's beam rifle was still in the right hand, but now was connected to the suit to be in line for flying like the plasma cannons were. Finally, the main flight senor array, which normally sits on the back of the suit between the 'jet sets' came forward and the thin gold fin like spars on the top of the array flicked up.

The transformation had been seamless, I hadn't felt much at all, which was different from a Delta fighter. I glanced behind me, to see the Athena shifting into its flight mode. In the Athena's flight mode, the backpack went flat against the back of the suit. The center length of backpack flipped forward over the head and was the main flight sensor array as well as the nose section of the machine. The shoulder thruster parts moved to be in line with the shoulders and acted as the wings for the Athena. The legs shifted to be much like the Aurora's are in flight mode.

I then caught a quick glimpse of the Thanatos's flight mode, which was similar to the Delta fighter model. The major differences, were that the attached gun was under the nose sections instead of above. Then the heavy cannon that the Thanatos has, stretched over the main sensor array that was the nose. Other than that, the two railguns were on either side by the wing shields.

Lisa and Graham then hovered over the land-based mobile suits, which had changed over to the quadruped mode they had. Both land suits were picked up and carried by the Athena and the Thanatos as we continued forward towards where the battle against the Earth Alliance was being fought. The two aquatic suits were traveling through the underwater tunnel that Teswa had that led to a bay near Shira.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Spengler-class Lawdon

The assault of the Earth Forces against the Republic and the defending Federation forces had been going for more than fifteen minutes. The Federation forces had managed to prevent any mobile suit landing on the mainland. The fleet commander was both frustrated and somewhat surprised that not only had those defending the Republic prevented the new GAT-01 Strike Daggers from reaching the mainland, but they had somehow known the direction the transport carriers would come to deliver them. And then for this battle, to have to confirm that the Federation military had mobile suits and showed that they were skilled with them they were by attacking the Daggers, didn't help. This skirmish certainly wasn't going as it was supposed at all!

Then, Dr. Moss wasn't just sitting on the bridge, causing a tense air, she was also commenting off and on about how the battle was going badly for the Alliance. "Must say Commander, your surprise at the results of this fight so far, makes you appear rather new to this, though it is a tad amusing," commented Dr. Moss.

"If the Daggers could land on the Republic's mainland, then things would be progressing better. But, the Federation's forces are making that very difficult and that has slowed things down," returned the fleet commander evenly.

Mina scoffed at the reply, "Are you so blinded by your delusions of pride and underestimation that you can't figure it out why that is?" she asked. Then Mina continued, not letting the commander answer the rhetorical question, "The Federation knows that the Alliance is mass producing mobile suits, their appearance at Panama was enough to show that. However, without a flight system equipped, the suits aren't all that effective unless they are on land. Hence, why the defenders aren't letting those mobile suits get that far, it's only logical as well as tactically sound. Then, if you took a moment and looked at the evidence, it's been clear that the Federation had mobile suits. Previous situations and circumstances show that they've a knack for preparation and it's quite impressive."

The fleet commander stayed silent, but inside he was fuming at the woman that was making it sound like the Earth Forces were foolish and didn't know much of anything. Then Mina rose, "But tell you what, I'll assist you in this ridiculous endeavor, and send out my girls with their machines."

She didn't wait for the fleet commanders reply, just left the bridge and headed down to the ship's hold where the mobile suits were. The three mobile suits were three out of the six prototypes that had been made for specifically candidates from Dr. Moss's project. The enhanced human project, where Mina had been 'improving' a number of candidates, with varying success. Her three girls were the best candidates of the project and the laboratory in all honesty, while the three males that were with Director Azrael were okay in Mina's opinion. However, she would have like more time to make sure the mobile suits were tuned and adjusted to work as best as possible with her candidates, but there hadn't been the time. For a scientist, it doesn't do well to refuse a 'request' from one of your major funders, so she had agreed to humor Azrael and show the progress that had been made.

Once Mina had arrived down in the hold, she saw that her girls were suited up and ready to go out in their assigned mobile suits. The three mobile suits, the X130 Raptor, the X251 Sinister and the X333 Bandit, all of the GAT-X suit series were custom high-performance machines, much better than the Strike Daggers. Deborah would pilot the Bandit suit, which had specs specifically for flying and having the advantage in the air. Lafter had been chosen to pilot the Sinister machine as she had shown an affinity with the equipment the machine came with. And that left Rossweisse the Raptor and her middle daughter had been fine with the artillery weaponry.

Deborah noticed Mina coming into the hold, "Mother, what brings you down here?" she asked.

The other two girls turned and faced Mina, who smiled, "Oh, just came to see you three off as well as get away from the lack of common logical sense that is absent up on the bridge of this ship. Now then girls, as I said before, you are to get viable test data for the mobile suits your piloting today. It's prefer that you were to breach the defenses that are protecting the shoreline. The best case, would have you making sure that the mass driver and the scientific complex are in working order should the Alliance overtake the Federation Forces defending. Truthfully, I don't see that being likely, but strange things can happen on rare occasions. So, do you understand the expectations of you today?"

All three girls nodded, "Yes, mother/mama/mom, we'll do our best to make you proud!"

The three girls entered their suits, then the outside doors on the ship opened, with the Raptor an Bandit seeing light to their left and the Sinister saw the same to its right. Mina watched as the three mobile suits launched, and smiled at knowing that her three girls wouldn't come back until they got good results. Mina then made her way back up to the bridge so that she could have a good seat to watch the performance of what she'd put over a decade of work into.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The group of custom mobile suits flew down the valley that led from Teswa to the ocean, with me in the lead. Lisa was slightly behind me and on my left, still carrying the land-based suit with the ranged weapon. Graham was about the same distance behind me, but on the right with the other land suit as his payload. I assume that the two aquatic suits were making their way toward the battle underwater and we would meet them on the field. I didn't know the other four pilots much at all, I'd met two of them once, but that was all.

We came around a curve in the valley, and we then got our first in-person the view on the battlefield ahead of us. What I was seeing didn't comfort me really in anyway, I mean the Alliance wasn't doing well in the battle right now, but our side was taking losses as well. I was feeling anger coursing through me, at the Alliance pulling this stunt and justifying this action by reasoning that it was their right in some way. The anger increased more at the thought that those who were ordering this, that probably weren't here in person, didn't care at all the lives that were being lost because of their decision.

I threw the throttle forward and sped ahead, the two aquatic suits followed my lead. I activated the Phantom system, making the Aurora vanish from sight as the seven of us kept flying. I caught the motions of Lisa and Graham veering to the right, likely to drop off the two suits they were carrying. The Aurora's sensors detected the two aquatic suits below coming into open water, zooming along below the surface of the water.

It was just after the custom Federation mobile suits came onto the field, that ahead of me, I saw two objects coming towards the mainland of the Republic. After a moment, I identified the two objects as two separate mobile suits and a mobile armor, none of which I'd seen before. The reason that they had appeared as two objects, was one machine was riding the armor, while the other suit was flying on its own.

The mobile armor, which looked to be an odd aircraft of some type with a mobile suit 'face' on its front and wings attached above the majority of the craft. It was blue overall with black along the center of the wings. There was a set of claws or talons that looked to carry things on the lower side of the mobile armor. There appeared to be a large thruster on top of the armor itself and served as the nose as far as I could tell. I saw a face on the front of the armor below the nose, which makes me wonder. This machine kind of reminds me of the Aegis and that one could change to a mobile armor from a mobile suit. From what I could see, there was a set of machine guns on either side of the 'face' the armor had. Then finally, there was a beam rifle sitting along the nose of the craft. That seemed to be the extent of the weapons this mobile armor was carrying, which was kind of light to send out into this fight, I would think.

Standing on top of the mobile armor, hitching a ride pretty much, was a mobile suit. It was white overall with the joints a slate blue and the mid torso was red. In most places of this mobile suit, it appeared to have two layers of armor, even the head unit had more armor than is normally expected. The suit's frame was most similar to the X103 Buster, but it was more like someone took the framework of the Buster and replaced it with a cross of the Blitz's frame and the Aegis's frame. Had the same frame that the Blitz did with the arms, legs and shoulders, yet the torso and head was like the Aegis. When it came to armaments for the white suit, it looked to have a number of rifles or cannons on its back and a long cannon positioned on the outside of either shoulder. The amount of rifles and/or cannons made me think the mobile suit I was looking at was built for artillery and a bombardment spread. Enemy machine was also holding a long bazooka in its right hand, had to be over 300mm weapon. And it had a long shield mounted on its left arm which was shaped much like the Strike's shield, but had two gun barrels built into it.

The second mobile suit flying besides the armor and the machine that it was carrying was different than its fellows. The frame was clearly based on the X102 Duel, even sharing the color of blue, but it was a lighter shade than the Duel's phase shift armor possessed. From what I saw, there were a couple of clear points of differences between this unit and the Duel. The first was the shield on its left arm, as it was one and a half times the length of the arm including the shoulder. There were two gold 'claws' at the top and bottom of the shield and there was something in the middle of the shield, which I didn't know what it was or its purpose. The second was something built into the torso, which looked like what the Aegis had, a multi-phased cannon. And the third and last point of difference, was a nearly sixteen-meter length anti-ship sword that looked very much like the Strike's "Schwert Gewehr" its optional anti-ship sword, which was stored on the suits back. As for other armaments, there were guns similar to Igelstellungs built into the upper torso. A heavy rifle mounted behind the right shoulder and what looked like missile launchers along the outsides of the forearms.

So, the Alliance are not only wrongfully attacking a nation that they don't control, for apparently that's not malicious enough for them. The Alliance is also using this battle to test new mobile suit models too. I swear, some people's way of thinking isn't just stupid, but downright weird and wrong and is nigh impossible to understand. Stealing a glance below me, I got a view of two dark silhouettes which were the aquatic suits underwater, heading for the Alliance vessels. I silently wished them good luck and focused back on the three approaching enemy machines. I selected to go for the Alliance suit that was not riding the mobile armor, shifting my course to have that machine in front of me.

Just before I reached the Alliance machine, I transformed the Aurora back into its mobile suit mode. I performed a classic move in my playbook that I do love doing, using my suits shield as a ramming tool with the blue unit as the target. My action caused the mobile suit to fly back a bit before stabilizing itself to hover where it had ended out. I disengaged the Aurora's stealth system and activated the phase shift armor, turning the Aurora a neutral red color, with white stripes lining the outside of the wings and the two cannons on the backpack. The wings folded part way so that the wings were at forty-five-degree angles, the back pack was pointing downward so that I'd my suit hover in the air.

I faced the new blue Alliance mobile suit, which was doing the same to me. Next thing I knew, the blue machine rushed forward, drawing its long anti-ship sword, igniting the cutting beam and then my opponent attempted to cleave me in two. I reacted on reflex and evaded to the right, but still saw the beam cutting edge going past where I'd been a moment ago. I dove downward as a second horizontal slice came at me from the sword. As I went downward, I pointed my beam rifle on the enemy suit and fired off a couple of shots to get the other suit to back off.

The desired result came immediately with the blue machine making some distance from me, but then came something I hadn't expected at all. " _Wha… you big meanie! You were supposed to stay where you were, so I could cut you in half! But, you're playing unfair and cheat by moving out of the way!_ " said a young female voice over an open channel.

I felt dumfounded surprise at hearing not only a female voice, but one that also gave the impression of the owner being around my age range. However, I was also pretty damn irked that this girl whoever she is, was currently pouting, which isn't unusual for girls do. But, the subject matter she's complaining about, is ridiculous as she's whining about failing to kill me of all things! I mean, who in their right mind expects an opponent to stay still and let you kill them?! And her tone and manner of speech makes it sound like she thinks this battle was some sort of game, it's just so wrong!

I began shooting the blue unit again and… observed the beams deflected just before striking the shield or rather, the beams changed direction just before hitting the shield surface. Maybe the shield has one of those… what did Carlos call it, Geschmeidig Panzer I think. Supposedly, the Alliance developed it to be able to deflect incoming beams or something, which it seems it does. So, I stopped shooting my rifle, stored it and then moved forward while drawing the pair of beam sabers the Aurora has. I struck my opponent before she had the chance to use her big sword against me again. My opponent managed to avoid my swinging beam sabers, but she retreated back from me, giving me space to work with.

Since I'd just gotten some time, I glanced around to take in the battlefield as it was currently. The Alliance suit that had been riding the mobile armor had gotten to the ground around Shira's airfields and was using its six cannons to cause problems with us defending the Republic. However, both land-based machines from Teswa were contending with that Alliance machine, the two in their quadruped modes. They were circling the enemy machine while pounding it with their weapons. The long-range suit… I believe Carlos called it the X115 Longinus. Anyways, it had a portion of its back raised up which had the long-range beam rifle and gatling guns on it. That section had spun around to point at the enemy suit and was shooting at it. The other Teswa land-based suit, named the X133 Atlas I think, like the Longinus, a section on its back had raised and spun to point at the opposing machine. The four heavy cannons that the Atlas has were sending volley after volley at the enemy.

Graham and Lisa were helping the regular forces whittle down the Earth Alliance mobile suit assaulting forces. Graham was doing so with… rather amazing efficiency, showing that his skills were still in good working order from his time as ZAFT's ace of aces. I'm just glad I don't hear his voice, with him showing how annoyingly boasting he can be while seeming modest. How Graham pulls such an idea off, I have no clue, but I've had to listen to him do that before and it's irritating. Then, the forward ships of the Alliance fleet were having issues as the aquatic suits were attacking them from below.

However, my attention was drawn back when I witnessed the 'mobile armor' change into a mobile suit. The unit was still blue and black like the armor had been. The wings were behind it, helping the suit to keep in the air, while the nose section was behind its head. The head, had the same face that I'd seen before on the front, and I spotted the talons between the wings and the main body of the mobile suit. The only weapon I could see out was the beam rifle in its right hand. There were two machine guns, one attached to either shoulder and if there were any other weapons, they were hidden from sight. Then, upon seeing movement to my right, I realized that the Alliance machine that I'd been fighting moments ago. …Do believe I'm about to be in a battle of two verses one and I'm the one, with them being the two. I don't like this development at all!

The two opponents I had, came at me at the same time. I was forced to block the anti-ship sword with my shield and shoot my beam rifle at the blue and black suit. That one peppered me with machine guns that were apparently built into its talons, which had swung forward and pointed at me. For about a minute, thought I could manage and handle these two, it wouldn't be easy, but I'm sure I could do it. That view changed when a couple of the mass production Alliance machines began adding their weapons' fire in my direction. I was starting to get a bit overwhelmed by this, when I got the clear picture of the Duel like unit, lining up the torso emitter at me. …That's not good! I tried to get out of the way, but ended out getting hit by the beam rifle shot from the black suit, which forced me to stay basically where I was.

I witnessed the beam cannon pointing at me charging, then fire off a plasma beam at me. My eyes widened as the beam came at me, there wasn't enough time for me to get my shield in position in time. But, just before the beam hit the Aurora, something got in between the beam and me, blocking the shot from hitting me. I blinked, at the sight in front of me, for I seriously thought I was seeing things. The mobile suit before me was one I've seen the specs of, but hadn't seen it in person until now. The sight of the dark red and maroon mobile suit with its backpack unit, named the "Fatum-00" in its active use position. The machine also bared a striking resemblance to its 'twin', the Freedom. Yes, I was looking at the Justice and I hadn't thought I would set eyes on this machine since taking the Freedom from Aprilius One. I shook my head and refocused on the matter at hand, "Unknown mobile suit pilot, identify yourself," I ordered over an open channel.

" _This is ZAFT special forces agent Athrun Zala,_ " announced a voice I knew all too well.

It was a voice of one that threw me for a second loop. The last time I'd heard it, we hadn't parted on the best of terms, really, I had gotten close to dying the last time we'd been around each other. However, it wasn't Athrun's fault and I don't blame him for what happened, circumstances hadn't been nice at all for either of us. Yet, never would I have expected him to be the pilot assigned the Justice, nor for us to reunite around here and in this situation.

The Alliance mass production suits started shooting in our direction, but then they began being destroyed. The enemy machines were being taken out by Lisa and Graham and that was evening out the odds. I connected a com-channel to the Justice and the sight of Athrun did provide a small modicum of comfort even in the middle of this skirmish, "It's good to see you Athrun, but we'll have to catch up later after this fight is said and done. Your help in this would be very much appreciated, but since ZAFT is not involved, it's up to you," I said while blocking incoming shots aimed at Athrun and me.

The Duel like unit rushed forward at us from one direction and the blue and black mobile suit came at us from the opposite direction. The blue suit, took out their anti-ship sword and swung it around, aiming for the Justice. The black machine took out a beam saber and attacked me, which I stopped with the Aurora's shield. But my attacker also had their talon machine guns peppering me, my suit's phase shift taking the machine gun fire. However, Athrun and I spun around keeping close to one another and switched opponents, to have Athrun facing the black suit and I taking on the blue machine.

Athrun and I fought back against these two mobile suits, working in sync with each other, helping the other in both defense and offense. I was weaving out of the way of the swinging sword, as well as parrying the sword with my beam sabers. Although, I quickly got annoyed with the increasingly irritating pouting that the girl that was piloting the Duel like unit was making. Her complaining about not being able to cleave me in two and how I was being a 'horrible meanie' as she put it for not staying still so she could slice me in half was getting ridiculous!

I ended out getting on the side that the mobile suit had its large shield, grabbed my opponent's suit's shoulder with one hand and the top of the shield with the other. Once my hold was solid, I started pulling hard, attempting to separate the shield from the suit, for my guess is that then this machine then loses its beam deflection ability. The female pilot's complaining changed to her shouting at me over the radio when I started pulling on the shield. She tried to swing the large sword, yet with where I was, she couldn't reach me with the sword as she was holding it with both the suit's hands. Her shouts, very quickly became shrieks for me to get away from her, which I took as encouragement. I was making progress at getting the shield separated from the suit, but it was sure attached well to the mobile suit, yet I wouldn't accept defeat!

I would have ripped the shield off, if I'd had the time to do so, but the black suit that Athrun was fighting, suddenly changed its tactics. They stored their rifle on the left hip, then took out the beam saber it had used against me before as well as a second one. Then, it started slashing wildly at anything that was close to them. Athrun tried to back off, but the black machine didn't let him, even with two Delta Fighters that came to my friend's aid, were destroyed in their attempts to help. So, I decided that my friend needed a helping hand more than I had the urge to teach the girl who'd been swinging a sword at me a lesson.

Instantly, I shifted the hand that held the shoulder and gripped the shield and used both to swing the whole Duel like suit around in a circle… kind of like I'd done with the Blitz at one time. After a few revolutions, I let go and watched for a few second as the suit sailed away, before I turned to face the beam saber wielding psycho trying to kill one of my best friends. Athrun admittedly, was doing darn good at avoiding the sabers swinging, but it was clear whoever was driving the suit had completely lost it. I brought out both Lunarious plasma cannons and had them swing forward to train them on the blue and black unit. Then, I let the cannons charge for a few seconds, before shouting two words to my blue-haired friend, "ATHRUN, DIVE!"

The Justice dove down right after I shouted, leaving the enemy mobile suit in direct line of fire of my plasma cannons. I fired both cannons and watched as the red streams of super-heated energy shot at the intended target. But, the Alliance suit turned sideways, so one beam barely missed, the other pierced its beam rifle. The rifle was detached as it exploded, and the machine backed off a distance. Then… strangely, it shifted back to the mobile armor mode and flew away towards the shore of the Republic.

I didn't take my eyes off the enemy unit as it headed to the mainland. Then I noted that the third custom Alliance suit was being overwhelmed by both land-based suits and a couple of Delta fighter suits. The Delta suits were incumbering the Alliance unit and, if I was seeing correctly, using their recharge cables t to draw power from the struggling machine of its power. However, the blue and black suit fired its weapons, breaking up those who were holding the Alliance suit down. Then the 'mobile armor' used its talons to pick up the Alliance suit and once it had it in its talons the two flew back to the largest Earth Alliance vessel. The blue suit was already heading in that direction as well.

Those of us defending the Republic, put ourselves between the mainland and what remained of the Alliance forces. We were all shooting at the Alliance mobile suits and aircraft that were retreating away already. The majority of the Alliance ships were moving away from the Republic, away from the battle they were losing. Once they were a sizable distance away, I scanned over the battlefield, which brought feelings of pain and sadness to wash over me.

The city of Shira had taken a beating and would need an amount of reconstruction and repairs to look as good as it normally does. Out of the twenty-four Federation vessels that had defended the Republic, three had been sunk in the bay and their outline could be seen underwater and there was a fourth in the process of sinking. Six ships were sluggish, and two was dead in the water and couldn't move. So, that meant that around half of the Republic's defensive fleet was out of commission until major repairs were completed on them.

I don't wish to know who many good people died defended their homeland with everything they could muster. I doubt the number of wounded and dead is small and that hurts. Those three custom Alliance mobile suits had made quite the difference in the battle, I couldn't deny that. Looking at all the destruction of the place I knew as home felt horrible and made me angry at the same time. The Earth Alliance would be brought to task and justice for what they had done here and elsewhere! No matter the justification or excuse the Alliance's leadership had or would come up with for escalating this war of theirs, it shouldn't do this. To destroying another's home just to get your selfish wants, is and always will be wrong!

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **Okay, and the battle scene of the Federation vs the Earth Alliance is over for the moment, but there'll be more to come! So then, know that this was a PACK chapter what with introducing five new characters, or at least four new ones I've never mentioned and revealing one that I've mentioned before now and have filled in more information about them. Now on a bit of a personal note, please some of you readers write a review. I'm not asking for a paragraph or essay telling me things or a list of questions (Though those are always neat). I don't care about spelling or grammar (I'm no English teacher, I assure you), as long as I can understand what is being said, it's good. For those who write on fanfiction, I would bet some of you know what I'm talking about when I say, sometimes, it feels like I'm writing to hear myself think for the reason I have to do so, (Those are private, I'm not insane, that's all that needs to be said). Anyways, thank you for reading my rant for reviews. Until the next chapter!**

 **Mobile suit Specs (in numerical order, there's a number of them)**

 **Model number** : **HFS-X115**

 **Official name** : Longinus Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable Long-Range Assault Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Teswa R&D

 **Operator:** Federation Military

 **First deployment** : June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Dimensions:** head height 17.9 meters

 **Weight:** 85.3 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift Armor

 **Powerplant** : Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas

 **Sensory Neural Interfacing Precision Extended Range Targeting system (SNIPER-T)**

The system is used for long-ranged sniping and involves the pilot using a hidden scope and focusing on sniping, while others fight off any who should get close enough to attack the mobile suit. The central fin raises up, uncovering the large mono-ocular optic scope for use for enhanced image targeting.

" **Homura Deflection" system emitters**

The system is made up of two separate collections of emitters, they are mounted on shield flaps on either shoulder fin that flip forward for use and can deflect beams.

 **Phantom Stealth system**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Longinus has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis** , the Federation's Operating System for mobile suits that Natruals and Coordinators can use

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

 **M2M3 45mm CIWS guns**

A pair of the CIWS are built into the forehead area of the Longinus' head. They're fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **MA-M978 "Mazan" Beam Sabers**

One of the Longinus' two close combat beam weaponry, the pair of beam sabers are stored on the side armor and they are usable only in MS mode.

 **"Spitfire" 75mm Gatling Guns**

The second of the Longinus' closer range weapons, the pair is mounted on two rails on the back that come out right above the hips, and they are loaded with anti-phase shift rounds

 **Handheld Armaments** :

" **Morphious" 275mm multi-range beam rifle**

A long-barreled beam rifle, the "Morphious" Rifle is the Longinus' primary armament. While its firing rate is low, it is able to snipe at long distances by working with other powerful sensors. As such, its for Longinus to attack enemies from outside their search operation area. Only users with high marksmanship skills are able to use the weapon effectively.

 **Model number** : **HFS-X133**

 **Official name:** Atlas Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable Artillery and Assault mobile suit.

 **Manufacturer:** Teswa R &D

 **Operator** : Federation Military

 **First deployment:** June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height:** 18.2 meters

 **Weight:** 87.25 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift Armor

 **Powerplant** : Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas

 **Phantom Stealth system**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Atlas has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis** , the Federation's Operating System for mobile suits that Natruals and Coordinators can use

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

 **M2M5 "Todeh" 50mm CIWS Guns**

There is one pair of the "Todeh" CIWS that are mounted into both sides of the Atlas' head and the other pair is built into the upper torso. The ones in the upper torso is only operable in quadruped mode. Each pair is fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **"Ra" 90mm Railgun**

The Atlas has two railguns, one mounted on the insides of the "Gozer" beam cannons and they come out at the same time as the beam cannons.

 **"Gozer" 225mm High-Energy Beam Cannons**

A pair is mounted on backpack and come over the shoulders when they are in firing position

 **Handheld Armaments** :

 **MX90 Arm Shield**

The shield is attached to the left arm of the Atlas and its coated with anti-beam coating.

 **\- "Lowus" 100mm Dual Ram Cannon**

A pair of beam cannons mounted on the shield, they have an excellent rate of fire.

 **\- GDR-17/A "Panzer Eisen III" rocket anchor**

The Atlas is also equipped with a shield mounted "Panzer Eisen" rocket anchors, which are of similar type as the one used on the Strike with its Sword Striker pack. However, they are grappling claws that are shot out on a line to hit or grab an enemy unit and not a smaller anchor.

 **Model number** : HFS-Y124

 **Official name** : Cancer Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable Aquatic Stealth Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer:** Teswa R &D

 **Operator** : Federation Military

 **Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height** : 18.2 meters

 **Weight:** 89.09 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift Armor

 **Powerplant:** Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas

 **"Ghost" Jamming System**

A system that is specifically designed to scramble sonar that seaborn ships. This is done by amplifying all signals and in essences "deafening" all sonar being used that aren't prepared to deal with such a thing.

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Atlas has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis** , the Federation's Operating System for mobile suits that Natruals and Coordinators can use

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

 **MMI GAU20A 40mm CIWS Guns**

There is one pair of CIWS that are mounted into the upper torso of the Cancer. They are fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **"Voroars" 75mm Railgun**

The Cancer has two railguns mounted on the back, and they can flip up and over the shoulders to firing position.

 **M103 "BarCoot" High-Energy Beam Cannon**

A pair of these mounted on the shields on both arms and cannot fire underwater.

 **"Zrack" Torpedo Launchers**

Three launchers built into each of the Cancer's shields, behind the beam cannons and are the offensive option other than the railguns.

 **Handheld Armaments** :

 **"Cutlass" Anti-Ship Sword**

The Cutlass is one the first attempts to produce an anti-ship sword that collapse down when stored. It still utilizes a beam cutting blade along one side of the blade, however, it is a thermal beam so that it can be used underwater as well as above. It is stored on the backpack when not in use.

 **Model number** : HFS-Y142

 **Official name** : Leviathan Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable Underwater Strike Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Teswa R&D

 **Operator** : Federation Military

 **First deployment** : June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation** : Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height:** 18.5 meters

 **Weight:** 88.18 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift

 **Powerplant:** Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas

 **"Ghost" Jamming System**

A system that is specifically designed to scramble sonar that seaborn ships. This is done by amplifying all signals and in essences "deafening" all sonar being used that aren't prepared to deal with such a thing.

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Atlas has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis** , the Federation's Operating System for mobile suits that Natruals and Coordinators can use

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

 **M95 52mm CIWS Machine Guns**

There is one pair of CIWS that are mounted into the upper torso of the Leviathan and. They are fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **"Fujin" 80mm Railguns**

There are two mounted on the outside of the shoulders. When deployed, they swing up and forward to fire. When submersible mode is used, they flip upward and face forward to be used.

 **"Voltz" 60mm Railguns**

They are mounted on the inside the backpack and only usable in submersible mode

 **"Sone" Torpedo Launchers**

There are six launchers, three built into each shoulder and they are only usable in submersible mode

 **"Miyolnor" 300mm Multi-Phase energy cannon**

A high-powered energy cannon mounted on the backpack of the Leviathan. Based upon the same cannon incorporated into the GAT-X303 Aegis, it can deal serious destruction to anything in its path. It can also be used to discourage enemy units from closing in and is often used just after popping up above the surface of the water for a precision strike that is nigh impossible to counter.

 **Handheld Armaments** :

 **"Horus" Thermal Beam Anchor**

Modeled on a javelin, the beam anchor has three separate cutting beam blades, two of them go off to either side of the center opposite of each other, while the third is in the center creating a piercing point. All the beam blades are experimental thermal version that are usable underwater as well as above.

 **Model number** : **HFS-Z127**

 **Official name** : Thanatos Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable High Mobility Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Teswa R&D

 **Operator** : Federation Military

 **First deployment** : June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height** : 18.12 meters

 **Weight:** 85.9 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift Armor

 **Powerplant:** Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas.

 **Wing Shield**

There are two wing shields, mounted on the sides of the backpack. the pair of Wing Shields are movable and boost the Thanatos's turning ability when its dogfights in flight mode and adds to the High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver system. They can also be a defense as they are coated with anti-beam coating and their length provide excellent coverage.

 **Grapple Carrying System**

The system is made up of hooks that slot into holes on what it carries, and this allows for carrying another mobile suit while in flight mode and drop them somewhere else on a battlefield. This system can also care a payload instead of a mobile suit for the same purpose.

 **Phantom Stealth System**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption.

 **Operation System**

The OS that the Thanatos has is the G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis, the Federation's system for both Naturals and Coordinators.

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

" **Shano" 225mm Plasma Cannon**

The cannon is mounted in the center unit of the backpack, which is also the nosecone in flight mode and is a movable beam cannon. It is the most powerful weapon the unit has at its disposal and is usable in flight mode and MS mode. When not in use in MS mode, the backpack center unit, but it can rotate and flip forward when for ready use.

" **Howles" 115mm Railguns**

The two railguns are mounted in the backpack section and they're usable in flight mode and MS mode. In MS mode, they can flip forward when in use while in flight mode, they face forward.

 **M85 55mm CIWS guns**

There is one pair of CIWS that are mounted into the head of the Thanatos on both sides. They are fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **MA-M978 "Mazan" Beam Saber**

The Thanatos is equipped with two "Mazan" Beam Sabers, which are stored in recharge racks in compartments on the outside of the forearms when not in use. The two beam sabers can be combined into a double-bladed beam saber, much like the Freedom and the Justice can do with their beam sabers in the form known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd' however, the Thanatos' is called the "Dual Corseque".

 **MMS-GUA "Spitfire" 65mm Vulcans**

The "Spitfire" 65mm vulcan guns are the shell firing weapons of the Thanatos's Flight mode and serve the same purpose as the CIWS. They are located on the backpack on either side of the nose section of the Thanatos' flight mode.

 **Handheld Armaments** :

 **SR23 "Barret" 250mm Long Beam Rifle**

The SR23 "Barret" 250mm Long beam rifle is the main weapon of the Thanatos Gundam. It can be used as a sniping-type rifle or a medium range weapon and has decent penetrating power.

 **Model number:** HFS-Z151

 **Official name** : Athena Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Strike Assault Transformable Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Teswa R&D

 **Operator:** Federation Military

 **First deployment** : June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation** : Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height** : 18.3 meters

 **Weight:** 86.6 tons

 **Armor Material** : Phase Shift Armor

 **Powerplant:** Advance Ultracompact Duel Sync battery, slow recharging function (experimental)

 **Equipment and design features** :

 **Phase Shift Type-Sigma (PS-S)**

A new variation of the Phase Shift armor system, developed by the Federation. Works similar to the original idea, but is now made to be more efficient by distributing the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas.

 **High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver System (HiMAMs)**

Similar to the HiMATs, the system gives higher maneuverability. Gives a great advantage in flight mode, but also in MS mode and is better suited for aerial dogfighting.

 **Grapple Carrying System**

The system is made up of hooks that slot into holes on what it carries, and this allows for carrying another mobile suit while in flight mode and drop them somewhere else on a battlefield. This system can also care a payload instead of a mobile suit for the same purpose.

 **Phantom Stealth System**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field. It is harder to see through this stealth system and is more efficient with its energy consumption.

 **Operation System**

The OS that the Thanatos has is the G.U.N.D.A.M. Synthesis, the Federation's system for both Naturals and Coordinators.

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/Version MV3 - N200 /**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euros - Network  
 **D** ispersive **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**  
 **Human Federation**

 **Fixed armaments** :

 **"StingRay" CIWS guns**

There is one pair of CIWS that are mounted into the head of the Athena on both sides. They are fire-linked so that they will fire at the same time with a single command and are loaded with newly developed anti-phase shift rounds, where are effective against mobile suits with a Phase Shift Armor system. Their purpose is to intercept missile and other projectiles, but they can also penetrate light to moderate armor.

 **MA-M978 "Mazan" Beam Sabers**

The Athena is equipped with two "Mazan" Beam Sabers, which are stored in recharge racks on the rear skirt. The two beam sabers can be combined into a double-bladed beam saber, much like the Freedom and the Justice can do with their beam sabers in the form known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd' however, the Athena's is called the "Dual Corseque".

 **"Locus" 8-tube Micro-Missile Pod**

There are two sets of eight pod launchers built into the left and right Booster Units. The missiles can be fired one at a time or fired all at once in a large swarm.

 **M2M2 70mm Vulcan Guns**

There is a pair mounted in the flight nose section, only useable during flight mode and are the shell firing weapons of the Athena's Flight mode and serve the same purpose as the CIWS.

 **M2M3 75mm Machine Guns**

There is one mounted on both the left and right forearms on the underside. They rapidly fire a barrage at the target at close and medium range effectively.

 **"Gauss" 90mm twin Railguns**

A combination of two railguns side by side into one weapon, there is one mounted on the both sides of the lower backpack to give four in total.

 **Optional Armaments** :

 **"Spatter-fire" 85mm Rapid-fire Ion Rifles**

A short length rifle which is built to be like a machine gun but fires energy like ZAFT's heavy Ion Cannon. The Athena has two of these rifles and can store them on the side skirts. While in Flight mode, the rifles are held by the hands and turned sideways. [Think of Airmaster gundam]

 **MA M25 "Halzer" Beam Lance**

The beam lance is made with beam saber specs but mounts the emitter at the end of a pole. When not in use, the lance is collapsed down into half of its full length and is holstered along the backpack between the railguns.

 **Model number:** GAT-X130  
 **Official name:** Raptor Gundam  
 **Unit type:** Prototype Artillery Assault Mobile Suit  
 **Manufacturer:** Earth Alliance  
 **Operator:** Earth Alliance  
 **First deployment:** June 1st 71 C.E.  
 **Accommodation:** pilot in panoramic monitor/linear seat cockpit in torso  
 **Pilot:** Rossweisse Galiena

 **Overall Height:** 17.9 meters  
 **Weight:** max gross 70 tons  
 **Powerplant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery

 **Armor Material:** Phase Shift Armor  
 **Equipment and design features:**

 **Trans Phase Armor**

A new version of the PS armor, Trans Phase armored suits do not change color when the armor is activated. It is a two-layer armor system with the PS armor in the inner layer activating only when the outer armor is breached. This design thus helps to reduce energy consumption and allows the equipped suit to have a longer operational time as well as for more power to be reserved for the suits's weapon.

 **Fixed armaments:**

 **2 × "Schlag" 125mm high-energy long-range beam cannon**

A pair of back-mounted beam cannons which rise up over the shoulders. They have excellent rate of fire and destructive power, and are capable of easily destroying an enemy force from range.

 **2 x "** **Eckzahn" 100mm railguns**

A pair is mounted along the outsides of the high-energy cannons, and like the cannons will flip out and forward when being used, but they flip downward then forward around the hip level of the suit.

 **2 x "Volgan" plasma cannons**

A pair are mounted, one on either side on the outside of the shoulder. The swing up and forward when used.

 **2 x beam saber**

The pair are stored in compartments that are on the outside of the upper legs, hand-carried in use

 **Optional hand armaments:**

 **"Todesblock" 337mm Plasma-Sabot Bazooka**

A hand carried shell-based weaponry, it has a high rate of fire and causes serious damage and shock around the impact area.

 **Anti-beam Shield**

Attached to the left forearm and/or handheld, the shield is made out of materials derived from the outer armor of spaceships like the Laurasia-class. As a result, it is light yet superhard. In addition, its surface has been given anti-beam treatment and the sharp tip can be used as a weapon during close combat.

 **Model number:** GAT-X251

 **Official name** : Sinister Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype High-Speed Front-Line Assault Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Earth Alliance

 **Operator** : Earth Alliance

 **First deployment:** June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation** : Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Pilot:** Lafter Galiena

 **Overall Height:** 17.47 m

 **Weight:** 85.33 t

 **Power-plant:** Ultracompact Energy Battery

 **Armor Material:** Phase Shift Armor

 **Equipment and design features:**

 **Geschmeidig Panzer**

Mounted in the shield, it is a system that utilizes colloid particles to repel and redirect energy beams away from the mobile suit. The particles used are different from those in Mirage Colloid stealth system, but both systems are similar as powerful magnetic fields are needed to hold the particles in place above the armor. This deflection system however seems to be ineffective against close combat beam weapons, as ZGMF-X09A Justice beam boomerang is able to damage the shields' surface. This system is also used for moving through water and counteracting water pressure.

 **Trans Phase Armor**

A new version of the PS armor, Trans Phase armored suits do not change color when the armor is activated. It is a two-layer armor system with the PS armor in the inner layer activating only when the outer armor is breached. This design thus helps to reduce energy consumption and allows the equipped suit to have a longer operational time as well as for more power to be reserved for the suits's weapon.

 **Armaments:**

 **Fixed:**

 **"Igelstellung" 80mm Multi-barrel** **CIWS**

Two of these light projectile weapons are mounted in the Sinister's head and although designated as Anti-Air, they can be used for missile interception and to destroy lightly armored vehicles.

 **"Loaus" high-energy beam cannon**

The cannon is mounted on the back, on the right side and flips upward over the shoulder when used

" **Mazer" 300mm Multi-Phased beam cannon**

Mounted in the torso in front of the cockpit

 **Missile Launchers**

The launchers are built into the outside of both forearms

 **Handheld:**

" **Claymorn" Anti-ship sword**

The Sinister Gundam, has a 15m sword with 13m cutting beam along its length and sharp end point for penetration. It is stored on the back on the left when the sword when it's not in use.

 **Model number:** GAT-X333

 **Official name** : Bandit Gundam

 **Unit type** : Prototype Transformable Long-Range Assault Aerial Mobile Suit

 **Manufacturer** : Earth Alliance

 **Operator** : Earth Alliance

 **Pilot:** Deborah Galiena

 **First deployment:** June 1st 71 C.E.

 **Accommodation** : Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **Overall Height:** 17.94 m

 **Weight:** 84.9 t

 **Power-plant:** Ultracompact energy battery

 **Armor Material:** Phase Shift Armor

 **Equipment and design features:**

 **Sub-wing**

A support device featuring a flying wing design developed for use with the Raider Full Spec. It contains ramjet engines that are used after the MS enters the atmosphere with its atmospheric entry capsule. Hardpoints are located on the top surface so as to maintain the MS's aerial characteristics and to allow the weapons to be used by the MS's arms. These hardpoints can also be used to mount auxiliary engines, or propellant tanks. Interestingly, the sub-wing has been known to be used as a ramming weapon by creative pilots.

 **Trans Phase Armor**

A new version of the PS armor, Trans Phase armored suits do not change color when the armor is activated. It is a two-layer armor system with the PS armor in the inner layer activating only when the outer armor is breached. This design thus helps to reduce energy consumption and allows the equipped suit to have a longer operational time as well as for more power to be reserved for the suits's weapon.

 **Armaments**

 **Fixed:**

 **2 × M2M3 76mm Machine Gun**

The M2M3 76mm machine gun is one of the ballistic weapons used by the Raider Full Spec. They are mounted in the shoulders and are usable only in MA mode.

 **2 × M20 20mm Machine Gun**

The suit has two such machine guns, one in each claw. They replace the Raider Gundam's "Ahura Mazda" short-range energy cannons.

 **Handheld:**

 **GAU-8M2 52mm Machine Gun**

A handheld machine gun, it is stored on the sub-wing's hardpoints and can be fired in this manner or be detached and used by the suit's arms.

 **2 x beam sabers**

Stored in compartments in the hips

 **Optional Armaments:**

 **70mm High Energy Beam Rifle**

Tends to be the main ranged weapon when in MS mode, it is hand-held when in used and can be stored on the side binders.

 **6 × AIM-957F "King Cobra" Missile**

The AIM-957F is a highly maneuverable missile that features an advanced Target Detection Device and AI system, thus it is capable of tracking and predicting an enemy's movement. The suit can carry a total of 6 such missiles, 2 missiles can be mounted on top of the shoulder armor and the other 4 can be mounted on the sub-wing's hardpoints in place of other weaponry or equipment.


	19. Phase 19: Chaotic World

**A/n**

 **Alrighty then, as you readers no doubt noticed, this chapter isn't short in any way. However, in my defense, I covered a good deal of material in this chapter. I left off at the end of the Battle of the Alliance verses the Federation in the Republic. As usual, I don't own nothing to do with the Gundam Universe, as neat and cool as that would be, I own none of it. Just take credit for my characters and musings. So then, on with the tale!**

* * *

Phase 19: A Chaotic World

June 11th 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Orb Union

When reports of the beginning of the Earth Alliance's attack on the Republic came to the Orb Union, it increased the already growing tension and worry which had been building since the Alliance's loss of Panama. The military headquarters was abuzz of activity, both preparing the country's own defenses and watching the battle as it unfolded in the Republic through their connection to the Federation's Information Network. For near all, it was painful to witness the lengths that those who led the Alliance were willing to go to obtain their goals. Many of those watching, seeing the Republic which was known as a country of peaceful for any to go and relax, was hard. Yet, all knew that this event, these actions of the Earth Forces and in extension, the Earth Alliance, were only the beginning of worse things to come.

With the Orb Union having joined the Human Federation a year ago, they knew Orb wouldn't be spared from the Alliance intentions. The Orb's military were well aware their turn would come soon enough. However, since becoming members of the Federation, the buildup of Federation military forces had been happening so, there was now a sizable addition to Orb's defending forces. Thankfully, none of the incoming Federation military forces had been rejected by the citizens of Orb, as many of the Federation soldiers became citizens of the Orb Union themselves with their families.

Those that worked and ran the government, were worrying the most, and it wasn't if the Alliance would attack, but rather when and what they would do when they came. The attack on the Republic had shown that the Earth Alliance no longer intended to be nice or polite about their plans and goals. The Alliance had renewed its drive to win their war against ZAFT with the results from battle of JOSH-A. However, that drive took a blow with the loss of Panama and its mass driver. Now it was clear, that trying to retake Victoria from ZAFT wasn't enough to satisfy those leading the Earth Alliance. They also intended to force other countries and nations of Earth into either joining them or labeling the country an enemy and just taking them over by force.

The horrible part of this, the actions of the Alliance went against the agreement made that they wouldn't do what they were over a decade ago with the Human Federation. The agreement was known as the "Ordea Treaty" and had been drafted to keep the peace between the Federation and the Alliance. Before the treaty had been put in place, the tensions between the two sides had been extremely harsh. Yet, now the Earth Alliance was ignoring the treaty, by attempting to force the member nations of the Federation to either join them or be taken over instead.

Uzumi Athha, the chief representative in the council that was the head of Orb's government, was personally worried about the woman that he saw as a friend and colleague that led the Republic. Ellen Blass had been a longtime friend and had been able to help his daughter Cagalli in ways that he, her father hadn't been able to do. And now, the country she had ogiven so much of herself for, was being attacked physically and on its principles. Having been to the Republic himself, Uzumi felt pain to see and know that such a beautiful nation being marred like it was. Uzumi could understand the feeling of pain and sorrow of the place you call home being threatened. And soon, Uzumi knew he would know first-hand what it felt like to have to watch one's country assaulted.

As the hours passed since the initial reports of the attack on the Republic had started coming in, then the reports of the victory of the Republic over the Earth Forces came to Orb and there was slight relief at the news. However, the losses initial estimates came in just after the reports of victory and the loss on the defending side, dampened the positive feelings that came with knowing of the victory. The losses hadn't been small, many people had died, a sizable amount of damage had been incurred, both would take time to accept and move on from. Still knowing that, didn't help dispel the worry or tension that hung over Orb, it only kept increasing.

Less than a day went by after the news of the Alliance being repelled from the Republic came, the Orb Union received a message from the Atlantic Federation. In the message, it was stated that the contents was from the Earth Alliance, but the subject matter gave a feel that was different, much more what is expected from the Atlantic Federation. The representative council had gathered together to address the message from the Atlantic Federation. Representative Homura Athha, the second most senior representative among the group, read the message out loud to the others there. "The message from the Atlantic Federation states that this is our final warning and it is as follows:

 _The Orb Union has failed to take into consideration the current state of world affairs and has abandoned its inherent responsibilities as a nation of Earth and only seeks to preserve its own domestic peace. Its claims of membership to the Human Federation are invalid, as the group has shown to not have the best, or any interest for the good of Earth, so is not being recognized as a legitimate group by the Alliance. Furthermore, your nation has continued to refuse repeated requests for cooperation with the other nations of Earth in efforts to bring peace to Earth. With the need of safeguarding and protecting the world from those who threaten it, such can no longer be ignored. Therefore, on behalf of all the member states of the Earth Alliance, we demand the following concessions from the Orb Union._

 _The immediate resignation of Orb Union's current government._

 _The disarmament and the subsequent demobilization of all its armed forces._

 _Should these demands not be met in forty-eight hours, then the Earth Alliance has no choice, but to conclude the Orb Union is a supporter of ZAFT, who is an enemy of Earth, and will confront your nation with force._

That is the full contents," finished Homura, putting down the page.

There was muttering between those in the room at what the Atlantic Federation was demanding. However, it was Uzumi Athha that reacted outwardly, and it was in anger and incredulity, "What ridiculous nonsense!"

"Indeed," agreed representative Homura. "It is easy to see why many in the Federation military have been preparing for the time the Alliance gained the ability to mass produce mobile suits, for with these results, those concerns are verified."

"Do they now, no longer have the decency to make the attempt to use diplomacy, or even hide their real intentions, they don't even hide their true colors now that they've lost Panama? Damn the Atlantic Federation!" growled Uzumi Athha.

Another at the table then spoke up, "For them to say what they did about the Human Federation, and then to not recognize it as a separate group, it is clear they are adamant in their efforts. Unfortunately Representative Athha, there's already an Alliance fleet heading south towards us according to the latest from the Information Network. They must have headed out not too long after the fleet that attacked the Republic did. That leaves the question, how many of the Alliance's seaborne fleets have been mobilized for their vendetta."

"For Orb, it's Morgenroete and the mass driver that they're really after, there's no more doubt," remarked Homura.

"No matter how absurd these demands are, it seems that the Atlantic Federation doesn't care about the Ordea Treaty, since their actions show they've dismissed it," said a third representative.

"With the Republic having repelled the Alliance's attack, the other member nations of the Federation are already preparing for similar attacks from the Alliance," said a woman.

"The Republic isn't likely in a position to assist with the battle they've fought, and the Equatorial Union is readying itself with the Alliance activity that's increasing along their western border and, so they can't send help either right now," commented a man.

"ZAFT's Carpentaria base has heard what is happening and is also asking for an audience to get more information on the situation," said yet another.

All these facts only seemed to hammer the point that those who were leading the Alliance were making sure the war between the Alliance and the PLANTs continued. It angered Uzumi greatly, to see the world, the moon and the colonies were being pull further and further away from any chance of peace for anyone and closer to complete destruction of everything. Uzumi ended out voicing his dislike in words, "The world is being divide into two armed camps because of the Atlantic Federation, or rather those like Blue Cosmos who have control and influence that hate Coordinators! Does everyone have to either be an ally or an enemy in this senseless conflict? Why should any in the Human Federation throw away their laws and/or principles, in order to fight whichever enemy we're told to?! All that is at the end of that path is destruction and nothingness for all."

The statements from Uzumi, sparked worried muttering from the other representatives around the table. For the implications, true as they were, still made the future for Orb and the other member nations of the Federation look darker and darker. Nevertheless, Uzumi kept going, "If we join forces with the Alliance, then the PLANTs become our enemy. But then, if we join forces with the PLANTs, then the Alliance becomes our enemy. Even if we were able to avoid conflict with the Alliance today by agreeing with their demands and leaving the Federation, we would suffer the same fate as Panama or even Victoria tomorrow! The second we side with one of them, all chances to avoid the war vanishes, that's why the side of the Human Federation is so important in this conflict."

"Representative Athha, as much as we all agree with your sentiments, it's clear that the Alliance isn't going to take that justification for an answer," said a representative.

Homura cleared his throat to gain the attention of the room, "Then, our next actions are just as clear, we should give the evacuation orders to the citizens. Their safety needs to be the highest priority and there still is time to get them out and avoid possible innocent casualties."

All the governing representatives went silent at what Homura said, before one of the representatives nodded and spoke what was on the minds of most in the room. "Representative Homura… you're right. Let us pray that our people, especially the children, will suffer the least amount of tragedy during these difficult times that have come upon us."

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The entire crew of the Archangel gather together in the hanger at the request of Murrue as she said that she had something serious to talk about with all of them. Once everyone was there, Murrue faced all of those who had been under her command throughout this journey. Mu was on her right and Krystal was on the left of Murrue. Kira was on the sidelines of the crew who were lined up in rows of ten with five rows in total.

The crew was bigger than it had been starting out from Heliopolis, which had been less than even a reasonable skeleton crew almost half of what the Archangel's normal crew compliment was. From the 8th fleet, there had been three officers and a number of non-commissioned officers transferred over to the Archangel, fifteen of them in fact. Only two out of those fifteen had received training for bridge station operations, which helped, but still, the Archangel was far from the full crew compliment of one-hundred-eighty. With what had happened at JOSH-A, so much had changed or rather, so many things had become clear that they had been ignorant of before. Now, the Archangel was a runaway ship and that was a harsh title to be labeled as, for it was close to the same as deserters or traitors.

"Thank you all for gathering here, I wanted you to all know how things stand as I believe that all of you deserve to know the truth. An Earth Alliance fleet is on its way here to Orb right now. We're told the reason that the Alliance is giving for this action is unless Orb joins forces with the Earth Alliance and fight against the PLANTs, thereby leaving the Human Federation, they will be considered a supporter of ZAFT," Murrue stated.

There were gasps of astonishment and disbelief, but it was Jackie Tonomura that voiced what most if not all of the crew were thinking, "But that's ridiculous!"

Mutterings of agreement to Jackie's statement came from a number of those in the hanger, yet Murrue continued where she'd left off. "By what information we have received, the Republic of East Asia has already been attacked by the Earth Forces for the same reason. And even with the Orb government is stressing and sticking to its position as a member nation of the Human Federation, it doesn't seem that it's having any effect. Along with the Federation's neutral stance in this war, along with informing the Alliance's demands go against the Ordea Treaty, in which the Earth Alliance agreed not to coheres other non-Alliance members, countries or territories."

Murrue paused as the next part of what she would say, was more her opinion, rather than fact, "The government is still pursuing a diplomatic solution even as we speak… but unfortunately, judging by the actions of the Earth Forces so far, the chances of avoiding a conflict is extremely slim. The attack on the Republic of East Asia is proof of that and it appears that the Alliance won't stop, even when they were repelled back once. The government is giving orders to its citizens to evacuate cities and areas in close proximity to military facilities. Orb is also readying their defenses in preparation for the worst-case scenario, predictions are being formed with what's know that come from the early reports of the battle at the Republic."

Murrue took a deep breath, about to come to the whole point of this, "Now each one of us, must make a decision as well. At the moment, The Archangel is a runaway ship and our status is undetermined. There's no one giving us orders, not even myself, of what to do about this situation with Orb. If you choose to stay onboard the Archangel and an attack prove unavoidable, then it will commence at 0900 hours the day after tomorrow and the Archangel will be fighting on the side of Orb. If you choose to leave the ship, then you are to evacuate according to the Orb's government's instructions. That's the choice that each of us has to make, whether we stay or go. Therefore, if you wish to leave, now's the time. Rest assured, none of us will think less of you should you choose to do so. All I can say for myself, is that it has been a real honor to serve with you all and I've felt privileged to command you all this far."

The next couple of minutes, only muttering was heard among the crew, then Murrue gave her last piece, "I know I've not always been the most reliable captain during this journey, and I want to thank you all for sticking with me up to this point. As I said, it has been a privilege to have led you all, may you all think hard about your decision. This is my final order, you are dismissed to make your decision."

The crew filtered out of the hanger, leaving Murre, Mu and Krystal in the hanger alone. Murrue sighed after watching the crew leave the room, "I'm left to wonder how many will leave the ship," she said to no one in particular.

Mu came up and put a hand to Murrue's shoulder, "I think you will be pretty surprised at what will result from this will be."

"I agree with Mu in this," said Krystal, "I'm confident that the majority will stay. This crew has gone through things that change anyone and that's something you don't forget."

Throughout the Archangel, the crew was making their decision individually, whether to keep going onboard the ship or to leave and take their chances. A small number did exit the ship, but most of the crew stayed where they were. With all the stuff they had been through together, they would stay and go the distance with their comrades.

Tolle, who had already decided that he was going to stay, had put on his uniform as he would be on duty soon, then headed towards the bridge. He felt the need for something to do to occupy his time to not let his mind dwell on what was coming. Hearing about the attack on the Republic and knowing that Tyler would've been there during that event didn't sit well with Tolle. He didn't doubt Tyler was still alive, after all he had survived the destruction of the Shadow, a battle with the Alliance would probably not dampen his style.

As Tolle was thinking, he stepped out of his quarters and he found himself bumping into Kuzzey. Even more surprising was that Kuzzey was still in the Earth Forces uniform, for Tolle, Miriallia and Sai had kind of expected Kuzzey to leave the ship. "Kuzzey? You're still here and in the Alliance uniform?" Questioned Tolle.

Kuzzey gained a serious expression on his face, "I… I thought about leaving the ship, I really did, since I hate all this fighting and what this war is doing to the world and the colonies. I know that you and the others say that I'm too nice for stuff like this and you're right. But even so, after believing that Tyler died and feeling the pain of that loss… I don't want to go through that kind of experience again, living with the regret that I ran away from where my friends were and then find out they died when I wasn't there. So, I'm going to stay on the Archangel, no matter the dangers that will come or how scared I'll get. I'm staying with those I care about and helping in whatever way I can, even if it's the simple things only."

Tolle was in a mild state of shock at hearing the determination that Kuzzey was showing. Kuzzey had always been more like a teddy bear, soft, nice and one that dislike violence and would avoid it as much as he could. But at Kuzzey's firm determination, Tolle felt a smile creep on his face, before he moved forward and hugged Kuzzey. Now it was Kuzzey's turn to feel shock, and he was about to ask Tolle what he was doing, when Tolle spoke. "Then you'll be in the best of company Kuzzey! I was thinking that all of us would have to say farewell to you for the time being, but apparently not and that's awesome!"

Meanwhile, Miriallia headed down to the brig of the Archangel, having been asked to release the prisoner that had been kept onboard. She was carrying the red ZAFT pilot uniform, to give it back to the guy who had come out of the Buster. Miriallia came into the brig and inputted the code to open the cell and the blonde, tan skinned guy, looked up at her, "So then, questioning or a transfer?" Asked Dearka.

Miriallia glanced at Dearka, then tossed the red pilot suit at him, "This ship will be going into battle again, because the Earth Forces are going to attack Orb," she replied evenly.

Dearka stared at Miriallia in confusion, to suddenly be released was so unexpected, that Dearka didn't know what to say. He didn't get any chance to say anything, since Miriallia kept going as she began turning away from him. "Apparently, you're free to go now, you're being released," remarked Miriallia.

Miriallia started walking away from the cell and heading towards the door of the cell block. Yet, Dearka got up and began to follow Miriallia, "Wha… Wait a minute, what do you mean this ship is going into battle again?" He asked.

Miriallia didn't face Dearka, just kept walking towards the door, but she did answer the question asked her. "Exactly what I said, Orb is likely going to be attacked by the Alliance, and the Archangel is planning to help Orb in their defense. That's probably why there isn't a good reason to keep you in the brig onboard, so get off."

That caught Dearka's attention, yet made so little sense to him, "Okay… what I want to know is why you guys are fighting against the Earth Forces, it doesn't make sense," Dearka questioned.

The two came out into the corridor as the conversation continued, "It's because Orb refused to side with the Alliance and will stay with the Human Federation," said Miriallia.

"Huh? Okay, I get the idea of wanting to stay with the Human Federation, but then why would fighting with the Earth Forces come up then? The Federation has always been insistent with staying neutral, hasn't it?" Posed Dearka.

Miriallia spun around and glared at Dearka, "What's it to you?! Anyways, when the fighting starts, it will be chaotic around here, so get lost, you're on your own," she snapped.

Dearka drew back slight at the snapped reply, "That's easy for you to say… wait, what about my Buster?" Dearka demanded.

"It was ours to begin with, since you seemed to have forgotten that, you idiot. Morgenroete has it now," Miriallia shot back.

At hearing that, Dearka felt his mood drop lower. So, not only was he being 'released' which was pretty much to be taken as being kicked off the ship that had captured him earlier. But now, he also was going to be denied the mobile suit he had been using. Things were certainly not looking too bright or really very nice, the longer Dearka thought about the current standing he had.

"I'm sorry that things ended out this way. And I'm sorry for trying to stab you before, I was… having a hard time back then, thought a friend had died," apologized Miriallia.

Dearka looked up at this girl that had talked to him while he had been onboard this ship. It looked like she actually meant the apology that she was giving to him. But, that also meant that Dearka himself, had been an unknowing idiot with the joking he had been doing at the time. He had been joking about a 'friend' dying, he had not thought a thing of it… until this girl had tried seriously to stab him with one of the medical tools. That action had gotten Dearka to consider that his words hadn't had the effect he had been going for, which was to lighten the mood. So, Dearka himself was partially to blame for that situation due to what he had said, "I should say I'm sorry for that time too. I was trying to lighten the mood, a habit of mine when I'm in a tense air," Dearka remarked. Dearka then had a thought, then grabbed her upper arm, "Then, are you going into this fight too?" He asked.

Miriallia looked Dearka square in the face, "I'd better be, I'm assigned to be in the Archangel's CIC!" said Miriallia, yanking her arm away from Dearka. "Besides, Orb is my homeland."

Miriallia left Dearka in the corridor, and he was left to a growing conundrum in his mind at the situation that was developing.

 **-Line Break-**

Pacific Ocean

The sizable Earth Forces fleet, the 2nd fleet of the Earth Forces, was made up of twenty-nine ships, pasted the outer most borderline that made up the Orb Union territory. The fleet consisted of fourteen Fraser-class frigates, which were one-hundred-fifty-two meters in length. They had their main 127mm rapid fire gun and carried a number of missile launchers, normally used to bombard defenses of enemy bases on Earth. Positioned on the outsides of the fleet's formations, they were the lightest and fastest ships within the fleet.

Next, there were ten Des Moines-class cruisers, one-hundred-ninety meters in length and were similar to the Earth Alliance's Arkansas-class cruiser. They possessed a 155mm rapid fire gun on the front and had missile tubes built into the ship. Making up the core of the Alliance fleet, they kept in the middle part of the armada. They carried aircraft like VTOL fighters and F-7D Spearheads on them, which weren't as good as mobile suits, but still helped at wearing down an enemy.

Then last but not least, the five Spengler-class carriers, two-hundred meters from bow to stern. The carriers lacked in the area of armaments, but with the aircraft and mobile suits contained in them, they made up for the absence of weapons. For all but one of the Spengler-class ships, they carried the new GAT-01 Strike Daggers, the mass production mobile suit models the Alliance had. There were also helicopters and other aircraft flew above the seaborn 2nd fleet as it moved forward towards their intended destination.

On the lead Spengler class, which was named the Powell, Blue Cosmos director Muruta Azrael was looking at the reply the Alliance had received from Orb's government. "Your demands are unjust, so therefore we cannot accept them. The Orb Union is a member nation of the Human Federation and will remain so for the foreseeable future," read Azrael in a flat tone, then the man laughed. "I have to admit Representative Athha, impressive comeback from you. I'm glad to see that both he and Blass didn't fail to disappoint in giving us a chance to go against them. Truth is, I was a tad worried that after knowing the Republic was attacked by the Earth Forces, I was worried that he would think about agreeing to our demands. Now, we have all the more reason to conduct our test with the new suits. I just hope they oblige us by fighting until the bitter end. That, I'll enjoy to the fullest!"

The captain of the vessel looked to Azrael, "Sir, we still haven't received word from the 1st fleet has engaged the Federation forces around the Republic. They were to meet up with us and assist in the expected assault on Orb afterward," said the man.

Azrael smiled, "Indeed they are my good man, but do give them time and patience. The Republic's defensive capabilities have been estimated to be strong. I don't doubt they will be meeting up with us once things are settled. You should have some faith in your colleagues," he replied.

"I understand that director, but with no word from them yet," the captain pointed out.

The blonde-haired man sighed, "Very well, I will call my contact who is with the 1st fleet and ask how things are going on their end in a little while. Then we can get to planning who the upcoming operation will go," Azrael said.

The Captain of the Powell nodded slowly at the suggestion and began thinking about the battle that loomed with Orb. The nation was strong and powerful, like all the member nations of the Human Federation were thought to be. The issue was that there was so little information on the strength of the Federation military, whether in space, on Earth or defending their member nations from attack. No one had seriously attacked any part of the Human Federation openly like the Alliance was now doing.

The lack of communication from the Alliance's 1st naval fleet, worried the captain of the Powell and felt like a bad omen. He knew he wasn't the only one that had tried attempting to make contact with the fleet, and none had received anything back. The absence of a reply could be for a variety of reasons, something blocking transmissions, to the worst-case scenario, the fleet had been wiped out by the Republic defending forces. It was possible, a number of commanding officers in the Earth Forces knew the Federation would be a more vicious opponent that ZAFT had been thus far in the war, even if the leadership didn't agree openly. For those who had even a little experience against the Federation military, they were aware that the Federation would be ready to receive an Alliance attack. Either way, there would be losses on the side of the Earth Alliance and about half of those in the fleet, regardless of rank knew this as fact.

 **-Line Break-**

Spengler-class Lawdon, Eastern Quadrant of the Indian Ocean

The remanence of the Alliance's 1st fleet, which had assaulted the Republic before ending out retreating, was now sailing south of the Republic through the ocean south of Asia. The Earth Forces vessels were heading towards the Victoria base that had originally belonged to the Earth Alliance. The 4th seaborne fleet was on their way to the base to commence the operation to retake the place from ZAFT. It had started on March 13th in year 69 of the Cosmic Era, ZAFT attacked the base that had been the Alliance's headquarters on Earth. The second battle of Victoria had gone on for nearly two days off and on, with neither side giving in to the other. But then, a little after dawn on March 15th, that changed, for then she came, the ZAFT champion, the Black Zephyr had joined the ZAFT forces.

When that woman appeared on the field, the battle that had gone on for a few days, ended in a matter of just over an hour. That hour however, had been the most horrible hour in the second battle of Victoria for the Earth Forces. It was still one of the worst losses the Earth Forces taken in the war thus far. Yet, the amount of embarrassment that had come from the Black Zephyr whipping the Alliance and losing their headquarters had hurt in a way that words couldn't say. Nevertheless, to make it more painful, not that it was needed, but to have lost in that short of time, it was something the Alliance hadn't been able to live down. Since then, the Earth Alliance had been planning how to take back their former headquarters from ZAFT with care and preparation.

As the ships traveled, Mina Moss was in her quarters, going over the records of the recent battle of the Earth Forces going against the Federation forces in the Republic. The facts were as she'd seen during this war, even if the Federation had not actively participated in it. The first was that the Earth Forces had grossly underestimated the Federation's military and the strength they had. Anyone with common sense and logic, which many in the Alliance were lacking in Mina's opinion and there was a great deal of evidence to support that view. One merely could look at past events and make some sound observations about the Federation. The amount of preparation the Federation military made was well-thought out and took in many factors into account, more than most would. It had been clear to Mina that the odds that the Federation having mobile suits was very high and had been so for an amount of time.

Second, Mina hadn't accounted for the number of custom Federation mobile suits. She'd expected one, maybe two or three of them and she'd been confident that her girls could handle such working together to win against such a situation. But even they couldn't take on seven of them at the same time and then, the that unknown crimson suit that had appeared later in the battle, then siding with the Federation forces had added to the difficulty. Her girls were good at getting good results, but even they would have serious issues taking on multiple custom machines, and there had been eight of them. From Mina's experience, a custom mobile suit almost always had above average pilot that was skilled, usually bordering on expert or better in with their capabilities. So, custom machines equaled dangerous opponents and were to be avoided as best as those on the field were able and were to be taken on cautiously in necessary.

Yet, it was because of that 'equation', which had the Earth Forces wanting her and others to create the perfect soldiers that none could defeat. That's what the lab received the majority of its funding for, the enhanced human project, but they were such fools to believe a feat like that was possible. Such a soldier never would exist, there's no such thing as an undefeatable soldier or pilot or a "perfect human". One had already tried that, and Ulen Hibiki had had failed in that dream of his, he had intelligence and talent and had wasted it all on the obsession in Mina's view. Not to say that the work on the enhanced human project hadn't making strides of improving some subjects to be able to do better. Some of her candidates could perform as well, if not somewhat better than average ZAFT pilots at this point.

Anyway, even with the loss that had been incurred against the Republic's defending forces, the data that had been acquired on the Raptor, the Sinister, and the Bandit had made the sacrifice a fair exchange to Mina. The adjustments that would be made by the time the fleet reached Victoria would make a difference. If those results were impressive enough, then perhaps the funders would get off Mina's back, stop demanding ridiculous things and keep the money flowing in. Mina didn't like having to deal with financial backers, most just wanted results and didn't care or understand the work put in or involved in projects.

Nothing she or any of the other scientists at the lab did, had been noticed by those who gave the money that the lab needed to keep going. None of the financial backers the lab had, ever seemed to possess a bit of gratitude or were satisfied with anything. Every single representative from a funding group for the lab, no matter how many times she had shown them examples from different projects, did any of them see the value of what those in the lab did. None of them had cared about the work and time that had gone into the projects. Not a single 'good work' or 'this is an incredible achievement', just 'is that all you can offer' and 'can't you do more'. It was crap like that which frustrated Mina so much! Hell, she had been considering going to the Federation or even ZAFT, in the hopes that one of those two sides would understand the real value the work had. Granted, there would be projects that neither of those two factions would like, but if giving up a couple of projects was the price to pay for notice and encouragement to continue, then that might not be such a bad trade off. Especially, with how the Alliance had been treating those at the lab, including herself lately.

A beeping sound drew Mina's attention and she saw that there was an incoming call on the terminal in her quarters. Connecting the com-signal, Mina hid her irritation which flared up at the sight of Muruta Azrael on the screen, "Director Azrael, how unexpected to get a call from you. So then, what do you want this time?" Mina greeted flatly.

" _My my, to the point as ever Mina. Well, I hadn't heard from you, so I thought I would check and see how things were going on your end,_ " Azrael returned.

Mina scoffed a bit, "The answer to that, would be the Earth Forces 1st fleet you put me with, failed miserably at what they were assigned."

Azrael's reaction was controlled, but it was clear the answer Mina had given wasn't the one that he wanted. But Mina saw that Azrael was unhappy, " _Is that so, define what you mean by failed miserably, Mina,_ " he said.

Mina thought for a moment, and decided that to boost her mood, she would tell this man exactly how the idiots around her had failed so spectacular. "Of course Director, I'm more than happy to oblige you in your request. The Alliance forces weren't able to take the Republic in any way and ended out being ousted by the defending forces. And then, they lost close to sixty percent of the strength they came with as well by the time they retreated." Mina said in a mocking sing song voice. Then Mina's voice and expression returned to the annoyed and irritated look she had before, "That's what I mean by failed miserably Azrael, I could go into more detail should you wish, but I doubt that you want to hear more right now. Honestly, I don't have a high opinion of the one in charge of this fleet. I had to simplify the situation by laying it out in the form of the risk versing the plausible outcome. By the time he comprehended the point, half the fighting forces had been disabled or lost," Mina iterated.

Azrael quickly began having issues at hiding his emotions, to hear that things weren't going according to plan wasn't what Muruta Azrael wanted to hear. " _And what of those candidates of yours that you are so proud of? With the way you talked about them, I would have thought they would've made a different in the battle. Yet, by what I'm hearing, it sounds like they failed as well,_ " he sneered.

Mina gained a foul expression at hearing Azrael say that her girls had failed, "Mocking my work is VERY unwise Azrael, don't make that mistake, you've shown yourself smarter than to do that! My work including, candidates and mobile suits you had me do the designing and do a good deal of overseeing with their construction, aren't at fault. The Earth Forces have grossly underestimated the Federation military strength and they paid the price for it, plain and simple. For you to expect a couple to pick up the slack that many are leaving due to their stupidity is not just ridiculous, but also pathetic. Besides, the data acquired for the three suits with me was worth the time, the improvements will make the difference in the next battle. The candidates from the lab were designed and trained to go against ZAFT forces, not the Federation soldiers and there is a difference, even if there are those in the Alliance say there isn't, they are blind. Should you want or need proof of what I say, my candidates will prove their value when what's left of the fleet reaches Victoria and links up with the 4th fleet. I would assume that the forces trying to retake the base, will still be working on the job by the time we get there, since ZAFT won't make it easy in any way. My girls will speed that along and will achieve the results that will have a lot less damage to the mass driver than there would be with just the Alliance's Strike Daggers suits doing the job."

Azrael suddenly gained a bit of a smile, " _Oh Mina, it's nice to see that your confidence is still healthy. Very well then, I'll give you the opportunity to show me what they can do against those they've been trained to fight. I look forward to hearing from you with the results of Victoria with a sales pitch like that. Until then, keep up with that attitude of yours._ "

The call with Azrael ended, and the room was left in silence as it had been before the call had come. Mina was left fuming at the man that she had quickly come to dislike, Muruta Azrael. Granted, Blue Cosmos was one of the bigger funders that the lab had, but it wasn't pleasant to have one's work questioned. It was one of Mina Moss's serious pet peeves, to have her work questioned or doubted and it irked her to an extreme. None at Lodonia Lab did such a thing anymore, they knew better and knew that there were consequences with doing so. However, she knew that should she want the funding to continue coming, she would have to play nice enough to keep it that way. But she would have the one she trusted at the Lab seriously look into seeing if the Federation or even ZAFT, would be interested in some of the work the Lodonia Lab did.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Republic

With the Earth Forces gone, the battle mercifully was over, but that doesn't mean the work that needed to be done could be ignored. The damage done by the Alliance was painful to look at, more so when you knew what it had looked like. The city of Shira had been beautiful and a thriving city, now had fires burning, buildings in need of repair before any stepped into them. I was flying over the city and it hurt to look below my current position, for it was home to me. Yes, I'm well aware that all of this could be rebuilt and could be a sight to behold once again. That didn't change the fact that it was painful to see home in the state it was now. The three custom model mobile suits the Alliance put onto the field had caused more damage than any other Alliance forces. Had to admit, whoever it was that designed and built those machines, certainly knew how to build mean mobile suits.

The losses that we, the defending forces of the Federation had taken weren't small. Many good men and women gave their lives to defend the Republic from the Earth Forces trying to take it for themselves. Now, there would be families that would have a member missing from them, sorrow would come to them at the loss. Heck, I might be assigned to deliver the bad news to their families… certainly hope I don't get that job, it's never easy. Hours went by during which, the Republic's borders were secured and the search for those who hadn't reported in had been going on. Search and rescue teams were taking shifts and were bolstered by mobile suits in the effort. It was also discovered that an Alliance force from Eurasia had been encroaching from the north, but it was small. So, a full squadron was sent to handle the job along with the two land-based suits went with the fighters. The land-based machines used their quadruped modes to great effect and covered the distance on land.

The searching and assessing went on even after the sun set, but shortly after that, the order for the rest of us who had launched from Teswa, to return came. So, I changed my course to head back towards the valley I'd come down from the research complex. The Justice took up position on my right, riding its Fatum-00. At least I get to look forward to talking to Athrun again for a bit, as I'd wanted to ever since waking up after the explosion. There were things that I see, really needed to be said between the two of us.

I came into the area that the Teswa R&D complex takes up and saw that the large shutter was already opening to the open space in Teswa's central area. I went into Teswa and landed on the spot I had taken off from, and upon glancing to my right, witnessed the Justice landing on the docking platform next to mine. Even though I'm still recovering from recent injuries, including the destruction of the Shadow, I was doing 'okay'. I'm looking forward to talking with Athrun, for I worry about him and what he had been doing to himself. I waited for my mobile suit to come back into the development floor from the empty central space that Teswa had. Once inside, I exited the Aurora's cockpit and used the zip-line to get down to the floor, rather than waiting for the dock catwalks to move into place.

I mean, when I take the time to consider the last time that I'd seen Athrun, it was when I'd gotten him and Sakura out of the Republic. The next 'meeting' we had, ended with me being right next to an explosion and I don't doubt that Athrun has been blaming himself for what happened. I'm still going along the road of recovery from what that explosion had done to me, I won't deny that. After all, that event had gotten close to giving the grim reaper a near clean shot at me with that scythe of his! He missed, but still, it had been FAR too close for me to have any feeling of comfort. However, I didn't blame Athrun in any way for what had occurred between us, I had been doing what I saw necessary to prevent my two best friends from killing each other. I don't regret my actions in the slightest, and would do it again if that was needed, but Athrun had gotten time to beat himself up and that rarely ends well.

Anyways, Athrun did the same type of descent I did with a zip-line, and so was setting his feet on the floor not too long after I did. I made my way over to the feet of the Justice, not as easy as it might sound, lots of people here going around doing all sorts of stuff. But, I did get over to where my best friend was. Both of us had taken our helmets off and were looking at each other, the world seemed to fade away.

"Tye, I'm," Athrun began.

I moved forward and embraced my friend before he could say any more, "Athrun, I can't think of the words to say properly, how good it is to see you and know that you're doing okay. I was worried about you with how events played out between us, but we're good."

Athrun returned my hug, "I… I'm glad to see you still alive Tyler. I thought you were gone and that I," Athrun got out.

I chuckled a little at hearing that, "Yeah, I would bet it looked that way after that explosion. I thought that I would be kicking the bucket for a little bit too and be seeing my dad and sister earlier than I expected. But, I'm still here and that's what counts and what happened wasn't the fault of any of us there, so let it go. Like I said, we're good Athrun, but if it makes you feel any better, I fully and totally forgive you," I said.

I was very happy that Athrun was okay, even though I don't know what it is that brought him here. He had saved my butt when it counted and that is why I'm grateful to have a friend like Athrun. Still for him to be piloting the X09A Justice, it makes me curious what purpose he was given it for. We broke apart and I looked to the other nuclear powered mobile suit ZAFT had produced, "I have to say though Athrun, I didn't imagine that you would be piloting this mobile suit."

Athrun looked at me with confusion, "You know about the Justice? I mean, Lacus did mention that you found out about the Freedom, but not how that happened. So, how did you find out about the Freedom and the Justice?" he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Siegel Clyne and Lacus showed me the specs on both of the machines when they requested my assistance with seeing that they got where they could be used the best."

My friend's eyes widened a bit, "It was you! You were the one in the pilot suit that stole the Freedom!" he stated.

I bowed slightly to the claim, "Indeed, guilty as charged in that, but there were reasons why I agreed to help get at least one of those suits out of the PLANTs. First of which, is that I agree with Siegel, in that those machines were dangerous being left where they were. Then concerning the Freedom, I brought it here for a short period before I headed for JOSH-A. After that, I gave the suit to Kira so that he could put it to good use. The mobile suit fits his fighting and piloting style far more than it does for me. Plus, I'm completely confident that Kira will use the Freedom to do what's best and wouldn't let it fall into the wrong hands. I made sure to give him a proper explanation, taking into account Kira's naivete that we're oh so frustrated by."

"Okay, I agree that Kira would understand, and I also have faith that he wouldn't let the Freedom fall into the wrong hands. But, what I want to ask is why you did what you did when you clear knew that security cameras were recording you," said Athrun.

It took me a good amount of effort, along with the pain accompanying the effort, to contain the laughter at the reference of showing what I thought of the current leaders of ZAFT and the job their doing. The question that Athrun was asking, also meant that he likely knew of the head of the Supreme Council 'reaction' was to view the recording.

Then, I was kind of curious what the reaction had been, "Oh, is that all? By all means, I gave the watchers 'the finger' for two particular reasons Athrun. First, I did that, because I wanted to take as much attention off of Siegel and Lacus, by focusing it on me, and saw that as a good way of doing that. And second, the recent actions of both the leaders of the Earth Alliance and of the PLANTs have been really ticking me off. They are sending good people out to get killed for little reason and it's infuriating the heck out of me," I said, pausing for a moment, before I continued. "Take what happened at JOSH-A as an example, that event was set up for a large number of people to die. If not for me and your friend Nicol Amalfi, the number of casualties would've been a great deal higher, like more than sixty percent of ZAFT's fighting force being killed, probably closer to eighty, instead of the below thirty-five percent it ended out being. Honestly, that whole setup was horrid, and I would love to make the rat who orchestrated the whole thing pay in spades!"

I shook my head and focused back on Athrun, "But it's a discussion for a different time, there are things to be done that are more urgent."

"Agreed, so then, what will you do Tye?" Athrun inquired.

I smiled a bit, "I have things that need to be seen to. Right now Athrun, I think that our friend Kira will need your help more than I do at this time. So, go to Orb and help him, we'll meet back up in space, then we'll catch up with one another," I said.

"That didn't answer the question Tye," Athrun stated firmly.

I put a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "Suppose not, you know how I am when I promise things to someone Athrun, I don't make a promise that I don't fully intend to keep. I've a promise to keep and deliver on, said vow requires me going into space. And so, that's why I say we'll meet up in space, Kira included, we will go forward from there, settling accounts between the three of us. I don't deny there's a need for catching up, but better to do the idea once with everyone concerned. So until then, do what it takes to stay alive," I assured my friend. Athrun nodded before he boarded the Justice again, the resupply for it was sped up a bit.

Meanwhile, as if my statement had been somehow heard by the higher ups, orders came that Lisa, Graham and I would be launched into space. I took one last look at the Justice, before I went with Graham and Lisa toward the transit system. The three of us traveled to the Republic's mass driver, Shen Lóng, our mobile suit that we had used, coming along behind us. Once we arrived at the mass driver complex, the three mobile suits were loaded onto the space craft that was on the mass driver's tracks. Shortly after the machines were loaded, the three of us got on the 'shuttle' to wait for the launch.

The Shen Lóng, is a little difference than the other mass drivers of the world. Where the others are fairly straight over the distance of water or land the track runs, Shen Lóng is not that way. First, the Republic's mass driver is surrounded by mountains on three out of four sides, the one way that mountains didn't affect the way that the tracks ran down. So, as a solution to that problem, the catapult was shorter than the other mass drivers. To compensate for the lack of length, which is used for acceleration, there were platforms with modules connectors attached to ships which was connected to magnetic rails built into the mass driver's tracks that were employed to increase the acceleration. Then the mass driver's last fourth of the tracks, climbed upward along the mountain at the end of the valley area the catapult was located in. The Natural landscape acted as a shelter for the mass driver as well as a very defensible position for the complex.

It was as the sun started rising when the signal finally came for the large shuttle to begin its launching sequence, and we felt the craft started moving forward along the track. The shuttle quickly began picked up speed as it raced down the electron rails, helped along by the connectors racing along the magnetic rails system. As we hit the last third of the track, the final acceleration of the craft started and shortly, the shuttle's orientation changed from being parallel to the ground, to forty-five-degrees to the ground. The increasing G-force, press those of us on the shuttle back into our seats, while our orientation with the ground kept moving to perpendicular to the ground. We were pressed into our seats a bit more as the sound of the modulus accelerators disconnecting from the shuttle. Then the shuttle's boosters ignited, and the craft gained a sizable increase in speed as it shot up and off the end of Shen Lóng. The craft carrying us upward, rocketed up higher and higher, taking us from Earth, back into space.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Athrun launched in the Justice from Teswa, heading down the canyon that he had traveled down following Tyler, heading back toward the shoreline. As light began coming over the horizon as the sun began rising, Athrun was left to his own thoughts. He was thinking about the things Tyler had said and the events that had led to the current circumstances. Athrun was very happy that Tyler was alive, since most odds would state that he shouldn't be with the explosion he had been next to. Tyler had even somehow known that Athrun had been blaming himself and beating himself up for what had occurred, even if he hadn't said it exactly. The last time that Athrun had even spoken to Tyler, had been as he and Commander Clyne had been leaving Shira for Carpentaria. Lacus had been right, talking with Tyler had helped a great deal, not with just the confusion that he had been experiencing, but also brought peace of mind.

He could clearly see now, that the orders he currently had from the Chairman, were ones that Athrun himself could never follow. They would require that he kill his two best friends and many good people, and Athrun would rather be branded a traitor than become the murder his orders demanded. Besides, Athrun had already tried killing Tyler once, and that didn't appear to slow him down all that much if at all. Heck, Tyler hadn't blamed him when it was the self-destruction of the Aegis that had nearly done him in and had even said he forgave Athrun. Honestly, Athrun didn't deserve friends like Tyler and Kira, he didn't kid himself about that, he really didn't deserve either of their friendships with what he had done.

The view of the shoreline came into the forward viewing screen of the Justice, and when he came to the open ocean, Athrun changed his mobile suit's course. Now, the Justice was pointing towards the Orb Union and the trip should get him there around noon. Hopefully, Athrun would find the Freedom at Orb and with the mobile suit, Kira as well.

Still, the realization that the one in the recording of the theft of the Freedom, was Tyler had been something else. Tyler wasn't one to normally be rude, so… for him to make the gesture that he had was out of place. His reasons for doing it made sense, but it was just different for him, and Tyler probably wouldn't have done it if his mother could've seen it. His mentioning of what happened at JOSH-A made Athrun wonder what was going on even more, especially with the identification of a "rat" in a derogatory reference. If there had been someone responsible for that event, then they couldn't be allowed to do such things ever again! However, the last part about a promise Tyler made to someone, made Athrun curious. Tyler had always been serous when it came to making promises. When he made one, you could count on him doing what it took to fulfill the said promise made. So, the question would be, who was it that Tyler promised something to and what was it that he promised he would do.

Athrun had been traveling forward for a time, the sun was rising as a thundering boom came from behind Athrun. When he glanced in that direction, he caught sight of a shuttle rocketing upward in the sky from the Republic's mass driver, Shen Lóng. Athrun silently wished Tyler luck in whatever he was going up to space to do and kept going forward toward Orb. He intended to find Kira and have a talk with him, the chat with Tyler had helped and Athrun assumed that doing the same with Kira would be as well.

 **-Line Break-**

The Orb Union

The day when the Alliance set for their demands to be met dawned over Orb and an eerie silence filled the air of the early morning. The ships in Orb's fleet, made up of two different classes; the Aegis-class cruisers and Kuraomikami-class battleships both of which were comparable with the Federation's own sea borne vessels. Ships of both classes headed out from their docks around the main island and from Onogoro island, going out to surrounding waters of their homeland. The military headquarters on the main island of Orb, outside of the nation's capital, Olofat, had dense airs of foreboding as the signals of the Earth Forces fleet came into short-ranged sensors. Linear Artillery vehicles had already moved into positions along the coastline for the purpose of intercepting missiles and enemy aircraft. The fixed defenses that Orb had, were in place and ready to do what was needed to prevent the Earth Alliance from taking over Orb.

These defenses and forces were combined with the Federation military forces that had come to Orb within the last year. Federation Delta Fighters were prepared to launch and support the M1-Astray mobile suits that would be sent out. Runways had been laid at several different places around Orb, for Federation fighters to launch from and most were located by military complexes. And since the fact of the Federation having mobile suit in the form of fighters had come to light during the defense of the Republic of East Asia, the Federation pilots in Orb were prepared to use their machines in the same manner as well.

The evacuation process to get the citizens out of harm's way, was moving along as efficiently as it could. But, it hadn't been finished just yet even with the battle with the Alliance looming, it was being sped up the best it could be. The leaders of the Orb government, kept feeling the tension rising as the Earth Forces drew ever closer like the defending forces were. The hope that diplomacy could serve as a solution faded and the understanding of imminent attack sunk into Orb's inhabitance.

It was the alert sounding as missiles were fired from the Alliance vessels, that told of the start of the battle which would determine the future of the Orb Union. Orders were given to begin interception of the missiles as well as for the rest of the defense forces to move out. All the M1-Astrays left their docks and made their way out to the battlefield and at the same time, Delta Fighters took off into the air. The Astrays were to do the best they could from the ground, while the fighters were to take care of the Alliance's aircraft. One of the lessons learned from the battle of the Republic, the Earth Forces would have aircraft to drop in mobile suit on the mainland. In this battle, the less Alliance mobile suits that were able to reach Orb's mainland, the better chances the defending forces had at forcing the attackers out.

The Archangel moved out of the dock it had been in and once on the field, her crew saw that the Orb fleet was doing okay at defending against the Alliance fleet's attacks. Still, the former Alliance warship steered towards the battle to assist in the defense of Orb. As they moved towards the fight, they witnessed the numbers of Federation fighters flying over them, shooting missiles down and searching for Alliance aircraft. However, even with the efforts of Orb's defending forces, some missiles and other projectiles managed to hit randomly on the Orb mainland.

Explosions from above caught attention which was followed by the wreckage of Alliance carrier planes plummeted to the water below them. The fighters after finding the Alliance carrier planes, they focused their efforts on preventing the aircraft to be able to drop mobile suits. Other Alliance aircraft attempted to keep the Federation fighters busy enough to get the carrier planes through, but with little success as more carriers were attacked and then plummet to the water below them.

Then, from all four Spengler-class ships other than the Powell, their Alliance's Strike Daggers, equipped with flight systems began launching. The blue and gray mobile suits headed straight for Orb's mainland, dodging incoming shots as they were able. However, only around half the Strike Daggers landed on the Izangai shoreline, which was east of the capitol city. Yet, the Alliance gained some momentum as two Alliance planes got past the Federation fighters and got in range to get their mobile suits to the mainland. Even as one carriers took a shot to one of its engines, both it and its companion managed to deploy the mobile suits they carried over Onogoro Island. The Alliance's pilots' target, was the Mass Driver and Morgenroete's main complex.

The battle progressed little as morning continued on as it was, the Archangel opened both linear catapults. The Freedom moved to the right catapult while the Strike was sent to the left. Kira was calm and focused on the task of forcing the Alliance back from Orb. Whereas, for Mu and Krystal, this would be their first actual battle piloting mobile suits rather than Skygraspers or mobile armors. Both had put in time to practice piloting the machines, even sparred with Kira, neither had won against the kid, but had come away with lessons learned.

" _Kira Yamato, Freedom, let's do it!_ " announced Kira, with the Freedom launching out from the Archangel directly following.

The Strike was equipped with its newest armament set, the AQM/E-YM1, which gave the Strike the combination of all its striker packs. The rocket anchor and shoulder with beam boomerang from the sword striker was attached to the suits left arm. While the launcher pack's shoulder piece, complete with gatling gun and missile launchers, went on the right shoulder. The flight pack from the Aile striker pack was mounted on the machine's back hardpoint, though it had two arm units for mounting the "Agni" beam cannon on the left and the "Schwert Gewehr" anti-ship sword on the right. Yet with this set, the mobile suit had to give up the customary beam rifle and anti-beam shield.

Once the equipment set was on, Mu was given the go ahead to launch, " _Mu La Flaga, launching in Strike!_ "

The Strike flew out from the Archangel and followed the Freedom, that only left the Shadow to go. The mobile suit had already moved to the right catapult and was getting its flight system put on. But when that was done, Krystal focused forward, " _Krystal McAlester, Shadow, heading out!_ " The Shadow joined the two other mobile suits and dove into the battle against the Alliance.

Meanwhile, on the Spengler-class Powell; Shani Andras, Clotho Buer and Orga Sabnak, had just down the 'dose' of medication that had been given to them regularly for performance enhancement, though the mixture was different from normal. The three males were candidates from the Lodonia Lab, along with the three girls that had gone to the Republic with the Earth Forces. Although, the three didn't work together as well as Mina Moss's girls did, the woman had deemed their performance overall, above acceptable. It was high praise from the female scientist, more to the candidates, who knew the woman much more than those who had only heard of her reputation or met her a time or two.

Shani, Clotho and Orga, knew that this was a chance to show Dr. Moss what they could do. And if a candidate could make Dr. Moss happy about their performance, then they were a LOT less likely to have to suffer punishment from those in the lab. Said punishments weren't in anyway pleasant to have to endure, all three had experienced the idea first hand. None of them wanted to ever go through such things again! Plus, if they could get in the woman's good book, the amount of freedom they would have would increase a great deal and that was something all three wanted. None of the three, really cared about the one giving them their instructions, for none of them feared him anywhere near a number of the scientist back at Lodonia Lab, Dr. Moss being the one they feared the most.

When they were told to board the suit that each one of them had been assigned to, they did so without a word. The ingrained habit of following instructions given showing, acquired from the years of training and conditioning they had gone through. Orga went into the X133 Calamity, Shani entered the X252 Forbidden and Clotho got in the X370 Raider. They were checking the onboard system as they'd been taught to do each and every time, when the voice of Muruta Azrael came over the com-channel. " _Say boys, it's extremely important that you not damage Morgenroete or the mass driver, Understand? I've heard good things about you three from Mina, so I assume that such a task won't be an issue, will it boys?_ "

A feeling of excitement filled the three candidates at hearing their instructions. Normally, the set of instructions they received were specific and restrictive, along with giving little room to do anything else. But, the instructions that had just been handed to them, granted immensely more freedom than they were used to having, "Then, does that mean we can destroy whatever else we want to around this place?" inquired Shani, making sure he understood what had been said.

"It certainly sounds like it to me," remarked Clotho, smiling at the thought of so much freedom to do what you wanted.

"Would you two shut up already so we can get going on this," snapped Orga, yet he too, was excited to have such freedom to destroy things and play with this mobile suit he had been given.

Azrael laughed, " _Now that's the kind of attitude I wanted to hear boys. You're all absolutely right in your assumption. Now then, go out there and have fun boys while you work,_ " Azrael returned.

The three hatches on the sides of the forward half of the Powell opened, with two on the starboard side and one of the port side. The Forbidden leapt out the port side hatch and surged forward with its highspeed mode in place. The Raider was next to leave the ship and shifted over to its mobile armor flight mode, which was pretty much identical to the Bandit's mobile armor mode. Once the Raider had changed modes, the Calamity moved out of the ship and jumped up and landed on top of the Raider. The three Alliance custom model suits rocketed forward towards the battle still in full swing ahead of them.

In the skirmish, a small number of Alliance Strike Daggers had gotten onto Orb's mainland, but not the number hoped for or even originally planned. The efforts of the combined Orb and Federation forces had made it hard for the Earth Forces to get even what they had on land. It was made even harder when a half of the Federation fighters switched over to their mobile suit forms and came to the ground to help their allies against the Alliance machines. The Alliance mobile suit pilots knew they were outnumbered and were reminded of the point as some of them were simply overwhelmed by the teamwork of the Astray suits and Federation Delta suits taking them down.

Yet, when the Freedom, Strike and Shadow arrived, the Alliance attacking forces were shown just how direr the straights they were in really was! The Strike headed to the west side of the battlefield, while the Shadow made its way to the east side and the Freedom shot for the center. Kira spotted some Astray machines having difficulty with five strike daggers, so he brought out the Freedom's two railguns and plasma cannons. The targets were locked and Kira shot, hitting five of the Alliance mobile suits, taking them out of commission. Then Kira detached the Freedom's shield, drew both beam saber and cut off the arms of the two remain Strike Daggers with two slices and then gave one more swing, taking a leg off of each machine. Kira stored the beam sabers, then grabbed the Freedom's shield, which had just hit the ground by this point, bottom tip down and flew off to help the Orb ship as they were having trouble.

A short distance from that area, Mu was using the Agni cannon to mow down two Strike Daggers, before landing the Strike on the ground. "This is cool, even if I'm still pretty new to piloting this machine," Mu commented to himself.

At the same time, the Shadow was shooting Alliance suits a ways away, sometimes using the LRT scope to do the job. " _As right you are Mu, focus on the battle. Although, don't compare yourself to the previous pilots of these suits, Kira and Lacus make piloting mobile suits look fairly simple. But, Tyler made it look like there was little that was easier,_ " Krystal said of the radio.

" _Yeah, I know Krystal. Tell you what, we both survive this, we go out to have a drink and I'll buy,_ " Mu replied.

" _That sounds good, heck you can even invite Murrue if you feel so inclined as I would bet you will be with how cozy you two have been getting. Only want to make one small change to the bet, let's make it that the one who takes out the least enemy suits buys instead. That way I won't feel like you trying to sweet talk me into something and you can save face,_ " Krystal shot back.

Mu felt his cheeks heat up slightly, he thought that the building relationship between Murrue and himself had been kept very quiet and so wouldn't be public. But then, Mu chuckled, " _Deal Krystal, may the best pilot win,_ " returned Mu. Then he noticed the small number of Astrays watching the Freedom, " _Hey, stay alert girls, the more Alliance suits we stop from moving forward, the better chance we all have at being alive by the end of this!_ "

While those on the mainland kept up their defense, on the water, the battle continued as well, the Archangel was attacking Alliance vessels. It was to chip away at the Earth Forces' strength down so that they would at some point retreat and leave Orb's territory. Yet, none on the Archangel had notice the three new Alliance mobile suits approaching them. The Raider with the Calamity on its back, was viewed the white ship with interest, " _That white one, it looks like it would make a good boom when its destroyed,_ " mused Clotho.

Orga looked at the Archangel and then snickered, " _You know, for one of the rare times that it happens, I agree with you Clotho, shall we find out if you're right?_ " he asked.

The Calamity brought its backpack mounted heavy beam cannons to bear on the Archangel along with lining up its torso multi-phased beam cannon, then fired all three weapons. However, the white vessel managed to move sideways out of the way in time for the beams to miss the Archangel, but strike an Orb ship and do damage. Clotho huffed, " _If you're going to shoot something that's this close, you shouldn't miss it! You need to work on your aim,_ " he remarked in an insinuating and derisive tone.

Then the Raider flew over the mainland and Clotho tilted the Raider's wings, forcing the Calamity to fall to the ground. The Calamity moved itself to point its weapons at the Orb forces and began firing off its arsenal. While the Raider went back to where the Archangel was, though Kira took a couple of shots at it as it went for its target, still missing the Alliance machine. Clotho got his suit right in front of the bridge of the Archangel and was going to send the Raider's "Mjoinir" Spherical Breaker that was built like an old-fashion ball and chain weapon. But, Kira slammed the Freedom into the enemy suit and knocked the Raider out of the way before it could hit the Archangel. The Raider was sent flying downward and entered the water with a sizable splash as a sign.

As the three custom mobile suits joined the battle, Federation suits positioned themselves to protect the routes that was being used for the citizen evacuations. They blocked whatever came in that direction to make sure that the citizen didn't get hurt as they attempted to flee. The Federation suits even attacked the Calamity, making it move a margin away from one of the evacuation routes. Along that route, Dearka Elsman came to a stop once again and watched the battle, conflict plaguing his mind. On the one hand, as a pilot for ZAFT, this battle didn't concern him, but on the other hand, to just leave didn't feel right at all. After meeting Tyler McGregor and talking with him, Dearka had felt bad for attacking the Archangel, for the reason of those onboard that weren't Alliance personnel. Then with that girl, Miriallia Haw, she had brought him meals and had talked to him when pretty much no one else did.

As Dearka watch Federation mobile suits doing whatever they could to protect the evacuation route, he made his decision. He turned around and ran towards where Miriallia had said his mobile suit, the Buster had been taken. Explosions kept going off all around Dearka as he ran towards Morgenroete, but when he got to the complex, there were few people around. So, he just went inside and quickly found the Buster in a dock. Dearka slipped into his pilot suit and clambered into the Buster's cockpit and brought the OS online, thankful that the activation code hadn't been changed yet. Then he moved the Buster out of the dock and out of the factory, making his way to the battlefield.

Over the water, with the Raider taking a dive into the sea after being hit by the Freedom, the Forbidden to that opportunity to attack one of the Orb vessels. Shani landed his suit on a Kuraomikami-class battleship, then made a horizontal slice with the Forbidden's scythe, cut through the bridge tower. Then Shani leapt of the ship, satisfied to see the ship explode from the damage he caused. He was thoroughly enjoying himself with all the fun destruction he was making, using bad memories to fuel his drive to keep going. Yet, he then noticed a strange mobile suit following him and as Shani didn't recognize the machine, he assumed that it was an enemy.

Then, the Raider came out of the water, and Clotho was mad that someone had denied him the fun he had almost had in destroying the white ship. So, Clotho launched the Raider's "Mjoinir" at the Freedom, wanting to make the one that had stopped him pay. However, the Freedom evaded the projectile that had been sent its way. Yet, Clotho continued pursuing the Freedom, determined to get the machine that had cheated him.

Mu had gotten to where the Calamity was destroying structures and took out the Strike's anti-ship sword, bringing it down on the Calamity. Nevertheless, with the improved Trans phase armor the Calamity had, the sword wasn't able to slice through. Orga brought his multi-phased cannon to bear on the weird suit that had attacked him, and pulled the trigger. The Strike moved out of the way and so the beam missed, but then the Shadow hit the Calamity from behind with its shield's railgun. The impact forced the Calamity forward a few steps, which Mu took the chance to send the rocket anchor into the Calamity.

Even with the bouncing around, the Calamity's firepower was more than the two mobile suits it fought and that quickly began making a difference. Krystal was blocking incoming shots, yet she was forced back a distance each time she did. Mu was not really given the chance to attack as the Calamity kept shooting at him and he had to dodge. Then a couple Astray suits and Federation suits came to the aid of both Krystal and Mu. The Astrays began blocking with their shields for the Strike and Shadow, while the Federation suits were trying to hold the Calamity and keep it from using its weapons. This came in the form of a suit on each of the Calamity's high-energy beam cannons on the backpack, forcing the cannons to point upward. There was a suit on each arm attempting to pin the Alliance suit. Orga began struggling against those trying to pin the Calamity, but was finding it difficult to move against them.

Meanwhile, the Kira quickly found himself, fighting two out of the three custom Alliance machines and the fight wasn't easy. Yet, at the same time, it was clear that the pilots of the two mobile suits didn't care about one another. For they shot at the Freedom, as much as they fired weapons at each other, so they weren't working together as a team at all. They were getting in each other's way and just attacking everything within reach. Then when Kira did manage to get a shot from his plasma cannons at the Forbidden, the beams were deflected by its shields shifting forward. Even as skilled as Kira had become over the last few months, he was getting close to his limit of his abilities in this fight.

With Kira being kept busy, some of the Earth Forces ships started focusing on trying to take down the Archangel, even Alliance aircraft joined in on the task. Missiles and projectiles were sent the former Alliance vessel's way and the Igelstellungs intercepted a good portion of it. However, some missiles got close to the ship, then at the last minute, beams destroyed them. It was Sai that utter an explanation as to what had happened, and it was only two words, "The Buster."

A picture of the Buster in the shallow water in the local bay, both of its beam rifles along with its missile launchers open shooting down missile and Alliance aircraft. " _Archangel, keep moving, I'll cover you,_ " came the voice of Dearka over the com-channel.

As the battle was going on above the Archangel, the fight raged on all around Orb. The Buster was keeping busy chipping down the number of Alliance aircraft with many Federation fighters assisting. He had begun to resort to switching between the snipe configuration and the launcher configuration that his rifles could do to keep blasting down missiles that wouldn't stop coming. The Shadow had separated for the Strike, and was now helping in the defense of Orb's military headquarters from the pressing of the Earth Forces. The Alliance had managed to push forward a ways onto the Orb mainland and so, the defending forces had been put into the position of digging in and not giving more ground. The Strike was still dancing with the Calamity with a few allied mobile suits working together with Mu. Overall, the Earth Forces had gained some ground, but they had paid for each meter that they gained, with their armed forces being worn down and chipped way in their numbers.

Meanwhile, the Freedom's situation was getting harder as time kept moving forward, as the Raider and Forbidden continued to come at it. But it was around that time, the Justice came into range of the battlefield that Orb had become. Athrun quickly spotted the Freedom and the two mobile suits that it was trying to fend off. The green and white mobile suit was different than any of the Earth Forces mobile suits Athrun had seen around the Republic. Yet, something about the black and red suit nagged at Athrun, for it was familiar somehow.

Taking into account recent events, Athrun's resolve fed his swelling determination that no more friends die in this war! Athrun had the Justice jump off the Fatum-00 and had it reconnect with the main suit and brought it to active position. Then, the Justice zoomed forward as the Freedom took a blow from the Raider's ball. The Forbidden then caught the Freedom with its scythe and forced it to be directly in front of the Raider. The Raider fired its "Zorn" energy cannon that was mounted in its head at the Freedom and it appeared the battle was over. But at the last moment, the Justice got between the Freedom and the Raider, blocking the beam with its shield. The action brought the Raider and the Forbidden to a halt, mostly due to the appearance of another odd and unknown machine.

Kira could only stare at the crimson mobile suit in front of the Freedom. It had come out of nowhere, and had blocked the beam that Kira had thought would possibly kill him. And yet, Kira hadn't a clue who it was piloting the suit right now or which side it was on. Kira's unasked question was quickly answered though, " _This is ZAFT special forces agent, Athrun Zala. Do you hear me Kira Yamato?_ " came the voice of Athrun Zala over the radio.

Kira was feeling surprised mixed with shock at heading Athrun's voice, for it was completely unexpected. However, he and Athrun were forced to dodge as both the Forbidden and the Raider rushed forward at them. The Raider went for the Justice, shifted into its mobile armor mode and started using its machine guns. But the Justice evaded the shots, which in turn got Clotho to change the Raider back over to its suit form. Then Clotho used the shield cannons he had on the Raider's shield, but was again blocked by the Justice's shield.

There came a beam at Athrun from his right, which had a definite curve to it, and though he managed to get his shield in line to block the shot, the Justice was forced back a bit. Athrun turned to the plasma beam's source which was the green suit, but it had two rails up on both sides of what looked like a beam cannon emitter. So, Athrun had the Justice take out its beam sabers and combine them into one, then he attacked the green machine, moved its shields to be in front of itself.

Kira drew one of the Freedom's sabers and rushed up to the Raider, striking the black suit, preventing it from attacking the Justice while it was dealing with the other machine. He was kind of happy and unhappy at the same time with Athrun showing up here in Orb. The way he had identified himself, said he was here as a pilot for ZAFT and had 'official business' likely something to do with the Freedom. The mobile suit had been entrusted to Kira by Tyler and from what their friend had said, Lacus and her father had probably taken the fall for the theft of the Freedom. That put both of them at great risk of being arrested and/or killed, and that didn't sit well at all with Kira any more than it had for Tyler.

So, there was no way Kira would give up the Freedom to anyone, not after knowing those sacrifices being made to get it away from the PLANTs. ZAFT could easily use mobile suits like this to gain the upper hand or simply deliver a nuclear payload to wherever they chose as Tyler had mentioned. Then, there would be those in the Earth Alliance that would take the neutron-jammer canceller and then use it to send nuclear warheads at the PLANTs. So, neither side could be trusted with the technology as they were more likely to abuse it and keep the war going, rather than use it to help end the war with the least lives lost.

" _What are you doing here Athrun?! ZAFT has no business here,_ " Kira demanded over the com-channel.

The Raider got away from the Freedom and went for the Justice as it was going against the Forbidden. But Athrun moved out of the way, causing the Raider and the Forbidden to crash into each other as the Raider couldn't stop its momentum. " _I haven't received orders regarding this battle. This intervention is at the request of a friend that I don't deserve, along with my own will!_ " Athrun answered.

The Forbidden shifted into its high-speed assault mode, then the two electro-magnetic rails came up. The plasma beam that was shot, curved to the left and shot at the Freedom, forcing Kira to flip the Freedom backwards to avoid the beam hitting him. Still, Kira was left to wonder what Athrun meant by his answer. Athrun having no orders to be in this battle, but here because of a 'friend', was the reason he was here. The friend was almost certainly Tyler, mostly due to Athrun saying 'a friend that I don't deserve'. With what had happened to the Shadow, Athrun was likely blaming himself for what Tyler had gone through.

Athrun shot forward and slashed at the Raider, and it was at that moment, the realization hit him why this mobile suit was familiar. It was near identical to the blue and black mobile armor from the Republic that could shift into a mobile suit, with the exception of the armaments it had were different. That got Athrun thinking, all three of these Earth Alliance machines were similar in one or more ways to one of those three custom models he'd help fight around the Republic. The green suit had the deflection ability that the Duel-like suit with the large sword. While the one that was shooting from Orb's mainland was like the one with artillery, just to name a few of the similarities.

The biggest difference that Athrun was seeing between these three and the others from the Republic, was the way the pilots were fighting. Those that had fought at the Republic, had worked as a team and to great effect by looking out for each other and all working towards a common goal. Yet, the three here were doing nothing like that, they seem just as willing to fight one another as fight anyone else. They clearly didn't care enough to not fire at their allies or weren't worried enough about anyone else in being damaged or killed.

As the battle between the four mobile suits continued, others on the battlefield began to notice the fast pace aerial fight going. Mu paused as the Calamity finally broke away from those who were doing what they could to pin it down. The Federation suits landed nearby, and Mu was about to thank them when movement caught his eyes. When he focused on the movement, he saw it was a fight among mobile suits and one was the Freedom, "What the?! What's going on up there?!" Mu questioned.

Krystal had just cut an Alliance's Strike Dagger in half at the torso and leapt back from it as it exploded. Then she noticed the fight going on high in the sky above Orb, and her eyes widened as she saw the Freedom was one of the mobile suits. "Who is the Freedom fighting up there and who is helping Kira?" she uttered to herself.

Dearka got a rest bit, as the rain of missile let up for a little time, and then he spotted the fast pace movement above. The sight of four mobile suits fighting at such a quick paced battle wasn't something one saw on any given day, even a mobile suit pilot. At least, Dearka hadn't seen a fight like this that he could recall at the moment. He couldn't think of anything to say other than utter sounds that spoke of his surprise and mild shock.

The Calamity joined in on the battle in the sky and it didn't take long for the dynamic of the battle itself to change. Both Athrun and Kira saw the shift from before, even if the Raider and Forbidden had shot in each other's direction, it had not been intentionally done. They just didn't care about what happened to their allies to aim with such in mind. But now, they appeared to be intentionally shooting at each other. That was only made worse as the third Alliance custom mobile suit added its firepower into the mix. Granted, Athrun and Kira were still made to evade and dodge, but not like they had been before.

Nonetheless, even if the three were now fighting among themselves, Kira and Athrun could see the danger that was still presented by the three. There was no need to speak to each other to understand what was need, much like Athrun had done with Tyler in the battle of the Republic. The Justice flew forward at the Forbidden, lighting up the turret machine guns on its Fatum-00 and pounding the Forbidden. Kira moved forward behind the Justice, bringing out the Freedom's railguns. The Forbidden shifted both its shield forward to block the Justice's attack. Only to find that when the Justice went past, that the Freedom was in line to get point blank shots at the Forbidden. The Freedom began firing its railgun, sending rounds slamming into the Forbidden's shields, sending the suit flying down into the water with a splash.

As the Forbidden crashed into the water, the Raider zoomed forward and sent its Mjolnir at the Justice. Yet, the Freedom changed course and went straight for the Raider, shifting Clotho's attention and Athrun dodged the incoming sphere. The Freedom flew his opponent, which surprised Clotho, then he was met by the sight of the Justice right in his face then the Raider got kneed in the upper torso.

The Calamity kept firing its arsenal at the Freedom and the Justice, but wasn't able to hit them. The Forbidden came out of the water as the Raider got hit by the Justice and began shooting its railguns at both mobile suits. Kira shot his plasma rifles at the Alliance machine, only to be blocked and deflected by the Frobidden's Geschmeidig Panzers. Then the Justice disconnected the Fatum-00 and sent it at the Forbidden with its turret machine guns blazing. Shani moved the Forbidden's shields to be in front, to intercept the bullets from the Fatum-00. Yet, when he shifted the shields out of the way, Shani saw that the Freedom was right in front of him with its railguns mere meters from him. The railguns fired, the shots nailing the Forbidden and sent Shani tumbling through the air again.

In fact, over the whole battlefield a shift was occurring, the tables were turning upon the Earth Forces and favoring the defenders. Where the Strike Daggers had been making slow progress forward, with losses as they went, now they were being forced to retreat with even faster increasing casualties. The combined armed forces of Orb and the Federation kept up the pressure, pushing the invaders further and further away from what still stood along with the citizens that were still trying to get away from the fighting. Feelings of hope grew as the defender gained more momentum in their push against the Alliance forces.

 **-Line Break-**

Spengler-class Powell

On the bridge of the Powell, which was at the rear of the Earth Forces fleet, the crew was observing the battle against Orb. Hours had passed since the battle had started in the morning and it was now afternoon, and Muruta Azrael was feeling impatient not seeing the end results of this by now. However, he reined his emotions in and didn't let them show outwardly, "We haven't taken over Orb's military headquarters yet? Isn't that kind of strange in an operation like this?" he asked.

The captain of the Powell turned to gaze at Azrael, "In an operation like this, things are not as simple as politicians think Director. In this instance, the two major problems are first, those new machines you are so proud of aren't doing the job you said or expected they would do. They are more of a hinderance than a help as they apparently just interested in showing how the mobile suit weaponry work on both our opponents and our own forces. Second, the Federation mobile suits along with Orb's own machines are putting up far more resistance than anticipated," he replied to Azrael flatly.

The captain hadn't been all that happy to have the director of Blue Cosmos onboard his ship, even if he was the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association's head. Azrael was well-known for being a devoted member of the organization and a vocal hater of Coordinators. Granted, ZAFT was made up of Coordinator, but it made one wonder if the hatred wasn't one of the driving forces behind this war between the Alliance and ZAFT. The man certainly didn't understand how things went on a battlefield, that fact had been proven multiple times already.

Meanwhile, Azrael's feelings of irritation, were transforming into fury. He definitely miffed that Orb hadn't fallen yet along with being told that the mobile suits he had being so interested in testing weren't delivering as was sold to him. The newer 'GAT' series machines were supposed to be strong and with candidates from the Lodonia Lab, should be able to do what they were told. That's how it had been put the idea to Azrael and by what the captain of this ship was telling him, they weren't performing up to that. Azrael was definitely going to have a word with Mina after this, and the words wouldn't be nice.

The fight kept going and yet, the longer it did, the more ground the Alliance lost to the combination of Orb's military and the Federation's forces here. Then it was reported that the Calamity, the Forbidden and the Raider were appearing to fight one another more than those they were supposed to be fighting. That was followed by two odd custom suits beating two out of the three again and again. But then abruptly, the three custom Alliance mobile suits stopped fighting, before shortly starting to head back towards the Powell for now visible reason.

When one of the operators on the bridge of the Powell reported that the three had returned to the ship, the captain turned to Azrael. "Do you have an explanation for their actions Director?" asked the ship captain.

Azrael didn't answer right away, for he was fuming at the failure that the three candidates of Mina's had shown. The day was going differently than it was supposed to, and it frustrated Azrael so much. He was silently cursing the Federation and its member nations for not falling into line like they were supposed to. Upon entering into the hold of the Powell, the pilots of the three custom suits exited their cockpits, or rather Clotho, Shani and Orga fell out. They collapsed to the floor in pain as their medication had run out and their bodies were experiencing the pain that came when the medication dose ended. The staff that was onboard to oversee the health and performance of the three were watching them suffer.

Where back on the bridge, Azrael finally gave an answer to the captain's question, "Well Captain, think it's time that we all take a break from this fight, don't you?" he posed.

"Huh?" uttered the captain, sure he hadn't heard correctly.

"Recall all forces for the time being, don't worry, this is only temporary," Azrael went on.

The captain realized that he hadn't been having hearing issues with Azrael's answer. The order was ridiculous, especially with the losses that had been taken thus far with the Earth Forces. It made the captain quite irritated at simply hearing such, "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Even you can see and understand that the Strike Daggers aren't going to get all that far against the Federation and Orb forces. I'm forced to admit that we underestimated them a bit and perhaps the loss at the Republics wasn't entirely a fluke as originally thought. The best chance of taking Orb requires the power of the new machines. I'll be getting into contact with the one that will hopefully explain why their performance is disappointing." Azrael finished.

Not that the captain didn't understand and admit the facts stated, but for all the work that had been put forth to be wasted still didn't sit well with him. But, to cut further losses of strength and forces, there wasn't much of another option, "Very well," the captain said, then turned to one of the bridge crew, "Fire signal flares, temporary withdrawal and regroup!"

 **-Line Break-**

The signal that was sent up to announce the Alliance's intention to retreat, was seen by both the Earth Forces and those defending Orb. The Alliance forces fell back to their fleet, leaving Orb in the damage state they put it in, but it could've been worse. The Freedom and the Justice faced each other, " _Thanks for the backup, but still, I can't help but wonder what your intentions are for being here,_ " Kira said to Athrun.

Then, Kira saw the cockpit of the Justice slid open and the pilot seat rose up, making Athrun visible to the open air and the outside world. Athrun was looking at the Freedom as he spoke, " _Technically speaking, I'm under orders from the homeland to either recapture or destroy that machine you're flying right now, the Freedom._ " Athrun paused as the thought of the other half of his orders, _"Then I'm supposed to eliminate any who learned of that mobile suit._ " Athrun's voice had become bitter at saying what was expected of him. Yet, he continued, _"But, I have no intention of following those orders. Only if you betray the one who entrusted the Freedom to you and hand it over to the Earth Alliance would I take such extreme actions._ "

Kira could tell that Athrun had changed, in what way exactly, Kira couldn't say. However, it was clear that they needed to have a conversation with each other, sooner rather than later. Kira then did the same as Athrun had, by opening the Freedom's cockpit and have the pilot chair raise up and out of the main cockpit. So now, both Kira and Athrun could see one another, Athrun in the ZAFT red pilot suit, Kira in an Orb pilot suit.

" _I… just want to talk okay, face to face,_ " Athrun said.

Kira nodded to the request, " _Fair enough,_ " he answered.

Down on the ground on the Orb mainland, those who had made it through were taking stock of things. The defense of Orb had come with a cost to the defending forces and that price hadn't been small, many lives had been lost to earn this victory. The recovery work to see what could be done to prepare for the high possibility of the Alliance coming back to attack later began. During which time, the Shadow made its way over to where the Strike and the Busters were, all three mobile suits showed signs and marks of damaged from the long battle. _"Mu, you okay?"_ asked Krystal.

 _"Yeah, tired, but still here and you?"_ answered Mu.

 _"Still alive, so one of us will be buy drinks later,"_ Krystal returned before turning her attention to the Buster.

The pilot, Dearka Elsman as she recalled, was supposed to have left the Archangel and evacuated with Orb's citizens. But apparently, he hadn't done that with the Buster here, " _Pilot Elsman, I would hope that you're still alive and somewhat kicking or better, especially with the trouble you've shown that you're capable of causing from past experience,_ " Krystal commented.

There was silence for a moment, but then a reply came, " _Got to say lady, you need to work on how to encourage someone, because your current way of doing it, really sucks,_ " Dearka shot back.

 **-Line Break-**

Ocean off the Western Coastline of the African Community 

The remanence of the Alliance's 1st fleet, came into view of Victoria an hour after sunrise. The 1st fleet's flagship the Lawdon, had made contact with the Alliance's 4th seaborne fleet, who was assigned the mission to retake Victoria. The attack was planned at dawn of today, and so, the fight for the Earth Forces to take back Victoria had begun already when the 1st fleet arrived. The Earth Forces that were in combat with ZAFT, weren't doing badly or being pushed back by their opponents, but neither were they making good progress.

Yet, the 1st fleet was not in the best position to lead a lot of help to their allies due to the losses from the battle with the Republic. However, Mina told the captain of the Lawdon that her girls could launch out and they would make a difference in this fight. The captain begrudgingly agreed, for it did mean that what was left of the 1st fleet could provide long-range support. And with less than half the fleet left from the assault on the Republic, curtailing any more losses would be best.

Deborah, Lafter and Rossweisse were down in the cargo hold and had already boarded their machines. They were awaiting instructions, but it was clear that they were all itching to go out to the field. Lafter was barely able to sit still, she was twitching and moving even in the Sinister's cockpit. Rossweisse was sitting in the pilot seat, but her eyes were closed, and she was focusing on the upcoming battle. Only Deborah appeared to have an air of calm around her, yet she also was looking ahead to what would be asked and expected of her and her sisters. They hadn't managed to obtain the best results back at the Republic, though they hadn't failed either according to their mother. However, this time, all three of them were determined to make up for their falling short last time in this battle, they would make their mother proud.

As they were making their preparations, there came an interruption, " _My darling girls,_ " came the voice of Mina.

All three girls stopped what they were doing and looked to the left video screen where the picture of their 'mother' had appeared. " _I know you're feeling down after the last outing, but today is a new day and a new opportunity for you all. I'm confident that you three will do better, and that you should do well in this fight as it will be much more like the training you've gone through. Now like before, getting good data for the mobile suits is the bear minimum, but I expect you all to perform better than the minimum standard. So, it would be better for you to shoo away the ZAFT forces and make sure the mass driver was intact. It would be best if you can have as much of the base intact as possible and the mass driver in working order. Also, please do try not to hit the Alliance units the best you can. I know things happen, but do make an effort. Do you three understand your task girls?_ " Mina iterated.

Deborah, Lafter and Rossweisse nodded to their mother, "Yes mother/mama/mom, we understand," they replied together.

The hatches on the side of the Lawdon opened and once they had, the Sinister, Bandit and Raptor launched out of the ship. The Raptor took its spot atop of the Bandit after it had shifted into its mobile armor mode and the three machines made their way toward the African mainland where the Victoria base stood. All three activated their machine's trans-phase shift armor, taking on the customary colors. The view of the Alliance's forces battling it out with ZAFT became clearer as the three approached, though they ignored them other than remembering where they were around. Lafter climbed upward towards the ZAFT mobile suits, taking out the large beam sword as she went. Deborah flew over the base for Rossweisse, and the Raptor leapt off the Raider at a spot that Rossweisse determined was good enough to work from. Then the Bandit kept going forward, deeper into the base, searching for a critical target to strike.

Lafter activated the beam cutting edge of her anti-ship sword, rushed up to the nearest GINN and sliced them in two pieces with one swing. She moved onto the next enemy suit and then the next, cleaving through GINN after GINN, seemingly unstoppable. Meanwhile, Rossweisse in the Raptor, had brought its six cannons to aim forward, then started unloading on any ZAFT suits she could get her crosshairs on. The barrage of beams put the ZAFT pilots to the wall and the number of them defending began falling the longer the Raptor and the Sinister kept attacking.

While they occupied ZAFT's defending forces, the Bandit kept going ahead, heading for the base's command center. Deborah knew that tactically speaking, were the command center to fall, then chaos ensued and an enemy force doesn't survive very long when the command structure falls apart. Soon Deborah caught sight of her target, and as the Bandit was in its mobile armor mode, the speed of the mobile suit was better than ZAFT's machines that had tried chasing her, she was alone. Deborah brought the claws to point forward and started to fire all four of her suit's machine guns along with the high-energy beam rifle on the right side at the bunker that was the command center. Unfortunately for the ZAFT officers, Deborah's aim was accurate and true, as her shots struck the view windows of the main control room and crashed through and caused explosions came from within.

From this point going forward, the fight quickly went from going fine to ZAFT losing ground and people fast. The three custom Alliance machines were making a real difference and were proving that fact effectively as they were forcing ZAFT back. Over the next hour, the battle was done, and it was a serious loss for ZAFT, close to what JOSH-A could have been. With the work of the Bandit, the Sinister and the Raptor, only a small portion of ZAFT's defending force were able to retreat, while the rest were exterminated, mostly by the three custom machines. However, when the time came for them to resupply their suits, the Strike Daggers and Earth Forces aircraft finished cleaning up what was left of the ZAFT forces.

The results of the Third Battle of Victoria, were much better than original estimations by those who planned the operation. The greatest fear of course, was that the mass driver would be damaged and made unusable, or worse, destroyed completely. However, due to the work of the three 'GAT-X' series mobile suits, the mass driver only took minor damage and was still completely usable for launching ships into space. Not only that, around seventy percent of the base was still standing with varying degrees of damage states.

On the Lawdon, much of the crew were gob smacked at what they had seen during the battle. Yes, they had seen the three girls that had come with the she-devil Mina Moss, but none of them had thought they could do what they had out there. It had been unreal to witness even the scene, while Mina was quietly smug at the results that she knew her girls would achieve.

The 1st fleet came into the ports at Victoria, the 4th fleet was already securing the base and doing damage control. Thus, much of the rest of the daylight hours were spent, inspecting the base and seeing what worked and what wasn't working. Mina left the bridge of the Lawdon, and returned to her quarters to write up the report on this skirmish, the results were on note after all.

To say that Mina Moss was in a much more satisfied mood after seeing a battle like the recent one, would be an understatement. Her girls had done even better than she herself had hoped for and she was extremely proud of their performance. Yes, she had been training and working on the Lab's candidates, so that they would be able to successfully take on ZAFT pilots and win more than fifty percent of the time. But all three of her favorite girls had sent a sizable ZAFT force running away and had nearly overwhelmed them with the chaos they had caused among the enemy. Plus, now Mina could gloat to Azrael that not only had her girls proved her right, they had outdone the Alliance force along with doing the majority of their job almost by themselves. She was looking so forward to doing just that, that after she finished writing up her report, she called Azrael without further delay.

However, when Mina did get into contact with her employer, it became instantly obvious that he wasn't in the same good mood she was. "My my, Director Azrael, it appears that our moods are reversed from the last conversation we had. In fact, you appear to be in quite a bad mood today, should I ask what caused this?" Mina asked.

" _Mina, I've been needing a word with you and you calling saves me the trouble of having to do myself_ ," Azrael said in a cold tone.

Mina's eyebrows rose, "Is that so Azrael? Well, since I've done the curtesy of calling you, what is it you want to speak to me about?" she inquired, somewhat curious as to what the man wanted to talk about.

" _Well Mina, the assault on Orb failed, your candidates were useless and didn't do what YOU said they would. So then, how do you explain this result, for this isn't how you sold this to me,_ " Azrael snarled.

Mina held in the irritation that flared up in her at the complaint, "Once again Azrael, I state that there's nothing wrong with the mobile suits or the candidates. The mobile suits are as efficient as they can be made without more viable data that comes from field tests and actual combat. My candidates have been trained and conditioned to be able to do well against ZAFT forces," Mina was iterating.

Yet, she was interrupted by Azrael, " _And yet, they failed Mina, why?_ "

Mina glared at the blonde man, "You want an explanation, then don't interrupt me. You sent those three against Federation forces and that's not what they've been trained to perform against, so the results will vary. And my intuition tells me that there were some custom model machines on the battlefield, am I right?"

" _Yes, but what possible difference should that make?_ " Azrael grumbled.

This man was frustrating Mina more than most ever got to before, "Custom models, almost always have very skilled pilots Azrael, skilled pilots are more difficult to take down. My candidates haven't gotten to the point where they can consistently take on multiple pilots of that caliber. Then, it sounds like there are other problems going on that I'm not aware of at this moment." Mina then gained a smile, "But director, I believe I have a way to brighten you glum and foul mood."

" _Oh, and how would you do that Mina?_ " Azrael asked flatly.

"Victoria has been taken and is now under the control of the Earth Alliance. Thanks to the performance of my girls, the mass driver is still in good working order and more than half the base is still very usable. They did a good portion of the work in the battle, even had a good number of the Alliance commanding officers' jaws hanging open as my girls did their tasks. I even got some videos of my girls forcing ZAFT to retreat, running away, or at least those they didn't shoot down, which I can send for your viewing pleasure. They performed beyond my expectations and that's not a normal occurrence, but still, very satisfying to witness and they did prove me right," Mina said a bit smugly.

Azrael had sat up straighter at hearing that, " _Well well, that does help lighten my mood an amount Mina, but still, Orb is a standing problem._ "

Mina sighed, "If it would help you understand what I've stated is correct, I could come met up with the fleet around Orb and check to see if there is something is wrong with either the mobile suits or their candidates. Should any of the pairs be unable to perform, then I'll send out one of my girls in their place to show you that candidates from Lodonia can give an acceptable performance. Would that be agreeable and to your liking?" posed Mina.

" _That's quite the offer Mina, what brought this on?_ " Azrael asked curiously.

Mina frowned slightly, "I suspect that the problem that you're seeing, lies with not the candidates per say, nor the suits, but with the handlers themselves. Candidates require a certain level of consistent maintenance to keep up their heightened performance, if it's not done, issues start happening. It… does occur occasionally, yet much less than in the earlier days of this project. So, if that's indeed the issue as I believe it is, it would be better if I handle it. I prefer to take care of internal issues myself, rather than leave someone else to do the job and possibly leave lose ends."

" _Now that's a mentality I can understand Mina. Yes, I accept your offer, how long would it take you to get out here?_ " Azrael asked.

Mina took a moment to think about the answer, "Likely two days, less if I were to tell the captain of the Lawdon to push it."

" _Then tell the captain to push the Lawdon, the sooner you get here, the better,_ " replied Azrael.

Mina nodded, and then ended the call, before she went back to the bridge of the ship and told the captain to ship out. She also, said to put the petal to the metal and get the Lawdon to Orb as quickly as possible by the orders of Muruta Azrael.

 **-Line Break-**

Orb Union

It was around sunset by the time some semblance of order had been mostly reestablished, and an amount of calm had come. Most of the mobile suit pilots were tired and showed it, where much of the military personnel were glad to be alive after the battle like they had been in. The Strike, the Buster and the Shadow came to stand in an area that they were directed to and Mu, Dearka and Krystal clambered out of the machines. Krystal and Mu met up with one another making sure they were okay, while Dearka watched the Archangel coming in to land.

The attention shifted when the Freedom and the Justice hovered over a clear area nearby and then lowered down. The Justice's Fatum-00's outer wings folded down as the suit got closer to the ground and the Freedom's wings collapsed into their stored position. As the two suits touched the ground a portion of those who were around moved towards the two mobile suits. That group included most of the crew of the Archangel, the mobile suit pilots and Cagalli herself.

Kira and Athrun came out of the cockpits and used the zip-lines to descend down to the ground. At the sight of Athrun Kisaka Ledonir, the man chosen by Lord Uzumi Athha himself to safeguard his daughter, he felt shock. "That's the ZAFT pilot we found around the Marshall Islands," Kisaka muttered.

The two friends touched down to the ground and simply looked at one another for a moment, before they both began walking towards each other. The world around them seemed to fade out from the notice of both of them as they kept closing the distance between one another. None in the watching crowd moved, just kept looking at the two pilots as they got closer to each other.

Soon they stood in front of one another, neither knowing how to start this. So much had happened between seeing each other in the Republic earlier this year and now. And an amount of it had involved them and had ended badly and there hadn't really been an opportunity to talk things out. Then, out of nowhere, Tori flew over to Kira and landed on his shoulder and acted as a trigger, "Hey Athrun… nice to see you're looking well," Kira greeted his best friend other than Tyler.

"Kira… I," Athrun started, not sure how to word what he wanted to get across properly.

Suddenly, Cagalli ran forward towards the two friends, "You two!" she shouted as she went. When Cagalli had reached them, she wrapped an arm around each of them and pulled them closer together, "You... You're both such idiots!"

Kira and Athrun looked at each other and smiled, knowing for now, words weren't needed to understand. However, once things calm down, the work of repair and maintenance was were seen to in earnest as the threat of the Alliance was still present. Everyone was contributing in what ways they could between their periods where sleep came. Even the leader of Orb, Uzumi Athha was going out in a helicopter assessing the extent of the damage that the Earth Forces had done.

As all of this was going on, Athrun and Kira got off by themselves, so they could catch up with one another. They had both gotten something to eat and drink, before they found a place to sit down. Kira was the one that started the conversation, "So then, you said that one of the reason you're here was due to the request of a friend… which you don't deserve. I take it that you're referring to Tyler, right?"

Athrun nodded, "Yeah," he said, clenching a fist and lowered his head a bit, "I… I don't deserve someone like him as a friend." Tears began flowing from Athrun's eyes, "I nearly killed him when I tried to kill you, and yet… he didn't even once blame me for it. He greeted me saying that he was glad that I was alright, then said that what happened, none of us were to blame… and he forgave me… I don't deserve that at all."

Athrun felt more grateful of a friend like Tyler after hearing he didn't blame him at all for what had gone down outside of Orb. Just after Athrun had come to understand that the self-destruction of the Aegis, had pretty much destroyed the mobile suit Tyler had been in, the pain that had filled him had been the same kind that had come after Junius Seven's demise. It was why when Lacus had said that Tyler was alive, Athrun had wanted to believe her so much. In the end, it was taken her suggestion and going to talk to Tyler and now was talking to Kira that was doing more for Athrun than anything else.

The conversation moved to Athrun telling Kira about the battle at the Republic in more detail. What both weren't fully aware of, was that others were listening to their conversation. And Athrun was going into details that weren't in the reports received by the Orb government, so there was interest in what was being described and said. Some of the highlights, were the descriptions of the three custom Alliance suits, the similarities between them and the three suits that had been in the attack on Orb. The similarities suggested they had been made either in the same place, by the same group of people, or both. The scary difference between the group of pilots of these new Alliance models, became clear as Athrun talked about those from the Republic used team work and those which they just faced didn't. Then, the description of the number of custom mobile suits made by the Federation was of interesting for those listening as well.

Athrun then got into the conversation with Tyler after the battle, ending with Tyler's promise that they would see each other in space. "So, Tye says we'll meet back up in space, did he? Then, there's nothing to worry about, we'll see him again," Kira reasoned.

With all the things that had happened, Athrun couldn't help the small smile that came to his face, "I know that we haven't always seen eye to eye Kira, but… I don't know. This war used to seem simple, but now it's so confusing, no matter where you go or who you talk to. Sometimes I think your naiveté is a gift for you," Athrun remarked.

Kira looked a bit confused at being considered naïve, but shook his head and just looked back at Athrun, "It would be great if we lived in a world where we didn't have to fight, and I would assume Tyler would agree. If only we could live forever in such a world," Kira mused.

Athrun agreed, but also knew the other part of that, the exchange that would be made if such a world was made. "Yeah, but in such a world, everything would stay the same, there would be no happiness, no sorrow, no pain or joy. The world is made up of the good and the bad, you can't have one without the other," he said.

Kira nodded slowly, "True, and if things go on like they are now, then the PLANTs and Earth will very likely end out destroying each other. Nevertheless, I believe there's still hope for things to end out peacefully, and that's worth fighting for. Therefore, that's my reason for choosing to fight, I can go back to how things were before, since I've already pulled the trigger and can't give back the lives taken anymore. I'll fight to protect that which is dear to me and do so with everything I have," Kira replied.

That brought to mind one point that Athrun wanted to bring up and make sure of, "One question Kira, you know the Freedom is equipped with a Neutron-Jammer Canceller. I want to confirm that you understand, should that data was to fall into the hands of the Alliance, you know that it would result in countless lives lost," Athrun stated.

Kira smiled, understanding what Athrun was getting at, "If anyone tries to steal it or data on it from me for their own purposes, I'll shoot them myself to stop them. I've been trusted with it and I will not betray that trust for any reason," Kira said firmly, with conviction.

He then rose and walked away from Athrun, to find something to do to occupy the idol time. Athrun had known that Tyler had made the right decision in entrusting Kira with the Freedom, but it helped Athrun to have conformation. He understood the line of thinking that Siegel and Lacus Clyne had considered both the Freedom and the Justice dangerous and shouldn't be left where they had been. Although, Athrun didn't want to admit that his Father… the current chairman of the Supreme Council, he might think about using nuclear technology to harm the Earth or other places. Just because of his hatred of Naturals that had stemmed from the Bloody Valentine Incident and that didn't make any sense.

A future with the man that Athrun's father had become, had been looking more bleak and non-existent as time kept moving forward. Patrick Zala was once a good man that really thought peace was a possibility for both Earth and the PLANTs and even practical. Most wouldn't know that and with the way that Patrick Zala presented himself now, none would ever think that of him. It was sad to Athrun to understand that, so many wouldn't know the father Athrun himself remembered from when he had been younger.

A day and a half went by and the Earth Forces were using the time to prepare for the next assault upon Orb. However, the real reason for the wait time wasn't known to most of the soldiers or commanding officers, but it wasn't for preparation. Azrael was waiting for Mina to arrive and figure out what the problem with the new machines and their 'CPUs' were. It was as twilight was falling that the Lawdon came into range of the 2nd seaborne fleet of the Earth Alliance.

Shortly after the Lawdon came alongside the Powell, Mina made herself ready to go over to the Powell. She would have an assistant going with her, mostly to record things for her to look over later if it was needed in future. Mina did stop by to talk to her girl rooms and told them to be ready to sortie out, for it might be needed. Then, Mina went to the upper deck of the Lawdon and boarded the helicopter that would take her and the female assistant over to the Powell. The helicopter lifted off and flew the short distance to the other Spengler-class ship.

Mina stepped out of the aircraft and didn't wait for the soldiers that were there to offer her a hand on getting down. She ignored them and headed inside the ship's interior with her assistant right behind her, carrying the briefcase that contained tools Mina believed she might need to use with the problem she suspected was present. She came around a corner and saw Muruta Azrael smiling at seeing her, while Mina had no readable expression on her face. "Director Azrael," Mina greeted flatly.

"Mina, happy to have you here," Azrael returned, "So, any idea how long identifying and taking care of the issue will take? There's work to be done and I'm not the fondest of waiting for long periods of time."

Mina looked at Azrael, "Want another go against Athha that badly, do you director? Well, barring any unwelcome interference, I believe I will have an answer for you concerning whether any of the three can perform properly in around an hour or less. So, if you keep those onboard this ship from sticking their noses into business they have no right or real reason to look into, then I can settle things. As I said to you before, I prefer to handle internal issues personal, if indeed that's the problem, so I would like all others to butt out," Mina stated emotionlessly.

Azrael's smile broadened a bit, "That's quite reasonable, I'd imagined it would take longer, good to hear that I can still count on you to get results in a reasonable amount of time Mina."

Mina nodded, before going past the man, her assistant silent following her, heading for the infirmary. Upon arriving in the room, the sound the three male candidates grunting in pain and clearly suffering. Mina became extremely ticked at seeing the instructions she had specifically given to the man that was the handler, were not being obeyed. Mina had expressly said that doses of medication were to be administered as the set schedule dictated, regardless of whatever else was said by anyone, even Azrael. She didn't need to see any more of the situation to know that her instructions hadn't been followed in most if not all of them. But, Mina did look a bit longer anyways and from the trembling forms of the three males, had been denied multiple doses of their medication. The medication was a mix of two different drugs; the first being Gamma Glipheptin, the other was Miliana Seritonine.

Gamma Glipheptin was in simple terms, was a performance-enhancing drug and was effective at doing so, better than any drugs with the same purpose that had come before. The issue with this synthetic substance, it was extremely additive, worse than any Natural addicting drug or substances known. The human can and could become so dependent on the drug that the withdrawal incapacitates the person a bit more than eight times out of ten. Long term effects of the drug were still undocumented, but preliminary estimations suggested that it would have consequences and end out killing the recipients, but there had been no deaths yet and that's what mattered to Mina.

Miliana Seritonine, was a substance created to help stabilize the body overall and balanced out the work done on candidates. It also prevented the bodily rejection from coming into play that the other surgeries did bring on sometimes with the candidates. With the range and variance of implants installed in candidates, it was necessary to stop the human body from rejecting and attacking the implants. It also had the added effect of extending the time that the Gamma Glipheptin acted on the body and diluted the negative effects of the drug somewhat, but not get rid of them.

Mina wasted no more time and visually signaled for her assistant to bring her the briefcase and the woman did so. Mina then, put the case down on a table and opened it. In the case was a variety of medical tools, liquid filled bottles and even had a datapad. However, Mina went straight for a syringe and then studied the small liquid filled bottles, before she took one out and filled the syringe with the substance. Once filled, Mina put the bottle back and then moved forward into the room. None noticed her coming in, Mina just went to the one that was supposed to be in charge of the three male candidates, their handler. Without hesitation, Mina grabbed the man's shoulder with one hand and with the other, plunged the needle attached to the syringe into the back of the man's neck and injected the liquid inside.

The man dropped to the floor holding the back of his neck, while Mina just stood above him, "I see you've decided that ignoring my explicated instructions I gave before leaving the lab is fine Dr. Mull, disappointing," Mina said coldly.

All in the room drew back in fear of the woman, for her to give another something that would cause pain of some sort, wasn't new for Mina Moss. The real question, was how bad was the punishment going to be for crossing her. Even as those in the infirmary watched the man, Dr. Mull began thrashing around from the pain he was put in from whatever it was that Mina had injected. Mina then took one of the available chairs in the room and sat down, before she spoke again, "None of you are to do anything to help him, this is what he receives for not following the instructions given him in favor of his own method. Should any of you feel inclined to do so, understand that you'll receive the same treatment."

At hearing that, the rest of the doctors and scientist turned away and ignored the man in pain on the ground. "One of you go and fetch three standard doses of medication right now, before any more damage is incurred with these three," Mina commanded and one of the doctors rushed off to do as they had been told. "Next, I'm to have a status report on what has been happening since leaving the lab, A.S.A. Damn P. One of you I would think would've been documenting, like should be common practice by now."

Within a minute, the woman that had gone to get the medication returned and the doses were given to the three males. Once the medication was administered, Mina then began to perform tests on the candidates to see if there were still up to going out in mobile suits. During that time, she was informed that two doses had been missed thus far since leaving the lab. Dr. Mull got a hard kick to the gut by Mina for that and she had firm heels on today. She would have kept doing that after the next question if the answer wasn't what she liked and would start using the heels she had to jab the man regardless whether it seriously injured the man. "Tell me Mull, did you at least record data for improving and adjusting the mobile suits, to make it worth what was sacrifice in the battle worth it? If you didn't, today will be the last of the few free days you will have going forward."

Silence from Dr. Mull told Mina that he hadn't recorded any data, and she was about to jab her right heel into the man's gut, when one of the female scientist spoke up. "Excuse me Dr. Moss, Dr. Mull might not have taken data for the mobile suits, but another and myself did. It was more due to the habit of documentation you've drilled the majority of us on."

Mina lowered her leg and returned to the chair she had sat in before and waved a hand, "Well, at least some of you listen to what you get told, even if a greater portion don't see the logic of it. Then take the data and make the needed adjustments to the three machines on this ship as quickly as possible without making mistakes."

A number of those in the infirmary left to do what Mina told them to, as much to get away from Mina than anything else. It was thirty minutes passed, when the results came back to Mina, telling her the condition of the three male candidates. She drew the attention of the three older teen boys by pinning them with her gaze, "The results are in for you three on whether you are fit to keep performing. First, Candidate Clotho Buer," Mina began.

Clotho stood up, "Yes, Ma'am," he said evenly, doing his best not to let his voice say that he was afraid.

Mina looked at him, "You are deemed unfit to perform at this time, so you are to return to your quarters and wait for further instructions," she stated.

Clotho bowed his head, and quietly did as he was told, not wanting to anger Dr. Moss, only hoping that he would get a second chance at those two machines from the last battle. Mina then looked at the datapad again, "Next, Candidate Orga Sabnak," Mina continued.

Orga stood up, "You are deemed unfit as well, and are to also return to quarters and await further instructions," Mina iterated.

Orga felt a bit of panic mixed with the desire to go back out there and fight, "Please Dr. Moss, I can perform, just give me a chance ma'am," Orga pled.

For the 'candidates' from Lodonia Labs, to not be able to perform could be seen as being useless and if such happened consistently, that was extremely bad. It could mean that the one would be disposed of and that was a permanent thing that couldn't be undone. Orga, like all the candidates didn't want to be disposed of, many of them had nowhere else to go and what they had come from was normally horrible for most. Mina looked up at Orga, "Need I remind you Orga Sabnak, that it isn't up to the candidate to decide if they are fit or not, that's the job of those like me. If you are unsatisfied with my diagnosis, then I can have your accommodations changed to assist in your understanding. One of the brig cells on this ship would do just fine and rest assured, that cell will be made to be exactly like one of the 'time out' rooms back at the lab. That in mind, are you sure you wish to disagree with my assessment of you right now?" Mina posed emotionlessly.

Orga shivered at the mention of the 'time out' room, Shani hugged himself in fear at the mention of the place, for they both knew exactly to what Dr. Moss was referring to. It was a set of specific rooms at Lodonia Lab and they weren't rooms that any of those there like or wanted to go to. In fact, it was one of the few things that all who lived at the lab agreed upon, whether they were a Natural type or a Coordinator type, for there were both types at the Lab. The set of rooms were the worst punishment that could be given other than disposal! All the candidates had either seen someone or been in one of the 'time out' rooms themselves, and know how horrible they were. One would go in resisting or fighting those as they were dragged there… but, when they came out they were all the same. Every single person would be broken down, in tears, promising to be good and do what they're told no matter what. Orga himself, had be sent to one of those rooms once and he would never forget how awful it had been to be put in there! The experience was one he never ever wanted to repeat again, for he too had been a mental mess and had broken down into tears, promising to be good and do what he was told like the rest when he came out.

So, Orga quickly shook his head, tears coming to the corners of his eyes, "No Dr. Moss, you're right, I won't question you again! I'll go back to my quarters like you told me! So please, don't put me in one of those rooms another time!" pled Orga shakily and desperately, his fear evident.

Mina gazed at Orga for a moment, "Very well, I'll let it slide this time, since I'm feeling generous right now and it's your handler's fault you've been having a number of the issues. Now off to your room you go then," Mina said dismissively.

Orga left and when to the quarters he had been given. Back in the infirmary, Shani was trembling as he awaited the verdict for him. He didn't have high hopes as the other two had been declared unfit, it was unlikely he would be any better at this point. And having to be reminded of the worse punishment those in the lab could face hadn't helped him at all. His 'roommate' had been sent to one and what they had described had really scared Shani and so, he didn't want to face the idea himself. Mina glanced back at the datapad, "Finally, Candidate Shani Andras," she announced.

Shani stood up, as ready as he could be to be told that he wouldn't be able to perform, "You are fit to perform as it happens," Mina remarked.

Shani's head snapped up, thinking he had heard wrong, "Uh, you said fit Dr. Moss, right? Meaning I can go out again?" Shani asked with disbelief.

Mina nodded, "That's corrected Shani, so that being said, I expect you to do acceptably as your past performance has shown you are able to do. You've proven to be the most consistent out of your trio, so make yourself ready to launch soon in the X252, off you go," Mina ordered.

Shani nodded and then bowed, before he left the infirmary and headed towards the cargo hold, in a better mood with the prospect of being able to go out again to prove he was useful. Mina put down the datapad and then contacted the bridge, "Azrael, I've finished solving the problem and it was as I thought, an internal issue," Mina said.

" _I see, so then, what's the verdict for your candidates?_ " asked Azrael expectantly.

Mina sighed, "Clotho Buer and Orga Sabnak are unfit at this time to perform however, Shani Andras is up to go out. Since two out of the three are not going to be able to pilot, I'll also send out my girls with him so that he doesn't go out alone and needlessly get killed and waste the work that's gone into him," Mina said dryly.

" _That's perfectly fine with me, I look forward to seeing their performance Mina,_ " Azrael said with glee.

Shortly after the news of the pilots was heard, the Alliance fleet advanced forward, approaching the Orb Union once more, now that everything was made ready according to the leaders of the fleet. Mina had returned to the Lawdon, not wanting to be around Azrael. The man had an ego far too large for one person needing or should have in Mina's opinion. It was that, which made him as a financial backer that Mina had to deal with, a particularly frustrating one. Pretty much the only reason that Mina tolerated Azrael, was Blue Cosmos gave Lodonia Lab a LARGE amount of money to work with for researching funds.

Once on the bridge of the Lawdon, Mina sunk into her chair and exhaled heavily at the whole situation that was happening. War wasn't Mina's thing at all, even if her work was well suited for the idea. Her interest was always in finding where the limits of human beings were and see what it took for them to surpass them.

She then focused on the battle looming, turned connected a com-channel to the four mobile suits that would be going out. "Listen up all of you, your goal is to get as far as you can in this fight and I can guarantee it won't be a simple task. You're not going against ZAFT forces like you have been trained to face in the simulations back at the lab. That should be clear to each one of you by this point with having at least one experience against Federation military forces, they are an amount better than ZAFT is. That being said, using your brains will be the best thing for you to do in this outing. Like before, the desired results are for the mass driver to be intact and usable as well as Morgenroete being like that as well. Quite honestly, I don't find it likely that even with the four of you working together being able to do that without a lot of effort and luck. But, I'm optimistic and hopeful that it's possible, still all four of you are to be careful out there. Do the four of you understand your instructions?" Mina said.

" _Yes mother/mama/mom/ma'am, we do,_ " all four replied in unison.

The Earth Forces fleet started firing off missile and projectiles at Orb's mainland again, renewing assault they had left off on around two days ago. Of course, the defending forces of Orb took up repelling the Alliance from getting on to the mainland. It was as Strike Daggers flew out of ships and headed towards the Orb mainland, that the four custom mobile suits came out of the Spengler-classes. The Bandit shifted into its mobile armor mode and let the Raptor jump on top, then with the Sinister and the Forbidden flew towards Orb's military forces.

Meanwhile, on the side of those defending Orb, returned to the battlefield to protect their home and all they held dear. The second attack from the Earth Forces had been expected, but it was hoped that somehow it wouldn't come. The attack was heavy like the one earlier, but the defenders stood their ground and held firm. Kira and Athrun flew up to be above the bay the fighting had begun in, looking over the battlefield. And they were the first to spot four incoming custom mobile suits. Kira recognized one out of the four, the white one that had the green backpack unit and the shields on either side of the shoulders. But, the other three were new to him, though one of them kind of looked like the black and red one from the first battle, but this one was black and blue.

Athrun felt his heart drop a little at seeing not only one of the three from the previous skirmish, but all three mobile suits that had been in the battle of the Republic. Even if Athrun had fought two of them for a short period of time when he had entered the fight to help Tyler, it had been enough to know they were dangerous! More so since unlike the previous three, the one's from the Republic worked as a team. Athrun opened a com-channel to the Freedom, " _Kira, those three machines with the scythe wield suit, they are the same ones that were in the attack the Republic. Don't underestimated them, they're dangerous, as individuals and as a team,_ " remarked Athrun.

When the four Alliance machines got into striking range of the defending forces, they immediately got down to attacking the defenders. The Forbidden and the Sinister took the enemies higher up, while the Raptor jumped to the ground and started putting its artillery to use. The Bandit, after dropping off the Raptor, headed for the Freedom and the Justice. It shifted into its mobile suit form and taking out both beam sabers, striking at the Freedom and the Justice. Kira and Athrun pushed back against the Bandit, but even when it was forced back a bit, the suit just took out the rifle it had and fired alternating between the Freedom and the Justice.

Mu and Krystal were taking on the Raptor, but with it being lighter than the Calamity, it had better mobility then the Calamity had. Then the other problem with going against the Raptor, the two plasma cannons it had on the sides of the shoulder, had a hundred-eighty-degree spherical range of motion and so, there were less blind spots to exploit.

As time moved forward, Athrun and Kira managed to push the Bandit back and then they split up. Kira went after the Bandit, while Athrun went for the Sinister, which was swing at Federation fighters that were in the air. However, all four custom Earth Forces machines were proving to be a challenge for any to hamper their efforts.

On the Powell, the view of the skirmish was being taken in and most of the crew and officers were in shock at seeing the difference that the other custom mobile suits were making. Yet, Azrael was smiling at the performance of those Mina had sent out with the one from the Powell, for it was even impressing him. It made him consider the value that the work Mina and those cooperating with her were doing, for these results were very good in Azrael's view. There was still the open com-channel between the Powell and the Lawdon, Azrael couldn't help but comment about the view. "Must say Mina, quite impressive performance from your candidates," he said.

" _There's a reason that I have confidence in my work and the results of it Azrael, you would do well to remember that,_ " Mina answered back.

Things were going well for the Alliance nonetheless, the momentum that they had gained and use to surge forward, didn't last for all that long. The tables turned and changed unexpectedly when the Alliance ships began to be attacked from behind. Shortly after the Earth Forces ships were struck from behind, a sizable number of Federation fighters zoomed past the damaged ships. Azrael felt frustration at the sight of more of the Federation military showing up when things had been going well.

Mina on the other hand, was looking closer at the coloration that the fighter/mobile suits sported. It had been something else that Mina and some others had noticed, Federation military forces, especially the fighters, had different colored markings and the color was normally attributed to the nation they were from. And with the colors this group had, there were most likely from the Equatorial Union. If that's true, it was a good assumption that the Earth Alliance's 3rd seaborne fleet, which had been sent to that nation, had failed in taking control of the Equatorial Union. One could then further conclude that the Alliance hadn't been able to succeed at taking over even half of the Human Federation's territory, pretty much none of it so far.

The issue Mina saw with that for the Alliance at least, was while the Earth Forces down here on Earth was being foolish, she had the hunch that the Federation military in space was busy with the Alliance forces up there. And if what had happened thus far on Earth was anything to go by, the Federation were probably mowing down the Earth Forces orbital fleets as things went on down here. Mina was seeing what a mess that helping the Earth Alliance was becoming the longer that this time away from the lab. Technically, Lodonia Labs didn't belong to the Alliance, just more than half its funders were a part of the Alliance. The thought of looking into taking her work to either ZAFT or the Federation came to mind once again.

Then as the new Federation fighters began to exploit the weaknesses of the custom machines, Mina could see that things were now going badly, and that the Alliance would probably lose. But still, the bad news kept coming as another group of Federation forces arrived on the field. Yet, it was the marking coloration that alerted Mina that there was most likely an upcoming problem. For the coloring was that from the Republic, and memories from that battle came to mind specifically, the issue with the sonar that had occurred.

Mina twisted herself in her chair to the captain, "Captain, it would be in our best interest if the frequency that sonar runs on, changes before it becomes blind like it did back in the Republic," she said in a flat tone.

The sonar operator had barely done just that upon orders from the captain, when reports came in from other ships, saying that something had taken down the sonar detection system. The battle had been going on for nearly an hour by this point, and the fact that the custom mobile suits for the Alliance, would soon need resupply was began registering to Mina. Things were quickly looking grim for the Alliance from Mina's perspective and with little possibility of improvement. The last point or the capping idea that worried Mina how this would end, was the reputation Uzumi Athha had. For if you went by that, then the leader of the Orb Union wouldn't let the Alliance have the mass driver or Morgenroete, even if it ended bad for Orb itself. So, no matter how this finished, the Alliance would lose and not get what they were after.

So, Mina go back on the com-channel to the Powell, "Azrael, don't take this badly, but I would suggest that a tactical retreat be done, a personal opinion base upon observation," she said.

" _I have no interest in hearing your opinion right now Mina,_ " Azrael growled back.

However, before Mina could say anything else, two unknown craft burst out of the water and changed into custom mobile suits, before landing on different Alliance ships. One was the green, some of the larger sections a darker green while the rest was a lighter green, only the feet's center section was white. Before, the suit had appeared as a saucer for the upper section, and the lower was the lower half of the suit simply folded back and was likely the propulsion system. So, the head, shoulders and arms, folded in and combined with the back to form the saucer section. It possessed two long cannons, one on either arm mounted on the saucer section parts. It was clear, from where it had come, it was meant for fighting underwater and above it as well.

The other machine, was white overall, with the upper torso section and the feet being blue. Like the other, could transform into a submersible with the long nose divided into two parts, one behind each shoulder. Then there was a powerful looking cannon on its back along the center, where there were two rifles on the outside of the shoulders. The suit was also carrying a lance of some kind on its back beside the cannon.

Both the custom mobile suits, started shooting the Alliance ships and honestly, were ripping them apart with their arsenals. That left the Federation fighters that had come to Orb, to work on taking down the Alliance forces that were on Orb's mainland. Mina then turned her attention back to Azrael, "Look around you Azrael, then tell me that you think it's such a bad idea to retreat. Plus, with the reputation that Athha has, I would bet a substantial sum of currency that he had rigged something with the mass driver and Morgenroete. Should you overtake the defenders, then I wouldn't doubt he'd destroy both of them before you could do anything to stop him. It would make all the work done to get this far wasted," Mina reasoned.

Azrael looked to the field once again, then frowned, angry at how things had gone from going the way he wanted them to be, to going horribly! Yet, he could see the logic Mina was saying, even if he disliked it. Athha was stubborn enough to do as Mina said, and Azrael knew that by this point. He sighed in slight defeat, " _Okay Mina, I admit that you have a point in this, but don't think that this fight with the Federation is over._ "

" _I_ _wouldn't doubt you'll make sure of that,_ " Mina replied.

She then gave orders to recall the custom mobile suits immediately, not wanting to have too much damage with them. The order was echoed to the rest of the Alliance forces and they pulled back from Orb, leaving the nation still standing. It had been damaged and would take time and resources to rebuild the land, but the Alliance had failed in taking over.

 **-Line Break-**

Kaguya Facility, Onogoro Island

Things had been busy since the Earth Alliance forces had pulled out and left the Orb Union's territory. There had been further losses on the defender's side, and there had been damage and destruction wide spread.

The Archangel had come to Orb's mass driver facility, known as Kaguya and was having

Plasma Boosters mounted to its sides. The boosters were to help atmospheric ascent, which normally, a mass driver would be required for anything bigger than a medium class shuttle. A second ship was being prepared on the mass driver's rails, one of Orb's own space vessels, the Izumo-class.

The Buster, the Strike and the Shadow were loaded on the Archangel, since neither of the three did well in atmospheric conditions for extended periods of time. The Freedom and Justice would follow, hanging onto the outside of the Izumo's central module, since they could do fine in atmospheric conditions. Once things were prepared, the Archangel lifted off, pointed its bow towards the sky, then fired a volley from both of its positron cannons. The positron energy reacted with the boosters and helped the ship increase its speed as it climbed higher and higher. The white vessel was heading up to space as that's where the real fight that would decide the way this war would end.

Meanwhile, the final tasks needing to be done to make sure the Izumo was ready to launch up into space were being seen to. Kisaka would be in charge and would act as the ship's captain with the military experience he had, it seemed the best option. Erica Simmons would also go to make sure the Astrays that were going onboard would be working as efficiently as possible. Cagalli was doing what she could to help, but she was also kind of sad that she had to see the ship and those going with it leave at a time like this. However, when her father, Uzumi Athha came up to her and put a hand on her should she straightened up and put on a good face. "Worry not Cagalli, you will not see the Izumo leaving Orb," said Uzumi.

Cagalli turned and stared at her father, "What do you mean father?" She asked.

Uzumi gently pushed Cagalli toward the ship, "You will be onboard when it flies into the heavens," he returned kindly.

Cagalli gaped at her father and was about to say no, when Kisaka grabbed one of her arms, "It's almost time to go Lady Cagalli," he said.

She glanced to Kisaka, then back to her father, "But Orb needs people here! I can't go up into space right now," Cagalli choked.

Uzumi shook his head, yet smiled, "No, your place in above this world, your voice may be able to help turn the tide and bring about a better tomorrow for not just Orb, but for all humanity. I will stay here and lead this nation and help it get back to its feet after the Earth Alliance's attempts to bring it low came to not," Uzumi turned to Kisaka. "Fly Kisaka my friend, watch over my daughter while she's under your care. She is one who will help nourish the seeds of the future, and that will be necessary if the human race is to have any chance of surviving and having a future for itself."

Kisaka bowed to Uzumi, before he began pulling Cagalli towards the Izumo. Cagalli however, was struggling against Kisaka, saying she couldn't leave Orb like this. Uzumi could only smile at seeing the struggle his adopted daughter was putting up. It reminded him a bit of his late wife, and very much of his friend and colleague, Ellen Blass. Certainly, Cagalli had learned a few mannerisms from her, how to be headstrong at the very least! Homura Athha came up behind Uzumi, "I take it that my niece didn't much like the idea of leaving at this time?" He asked.

"No, but it is needed, the seeds of the future are in jeopardy and those who are able to protect and nurture them are necessary now more than ever." Uzumi sighed, "Still, not an easy thing for a parent to send their child off, and so it isn't for me either."

Homura chuckled, "You are not the first parent to admit that, and nor I believe, will you be the last my brother. Still, there's plenty of work to do down here. I just got done speaking with our allies from the Equatorial Union, seems that we aren't the only ones that have serious issues with the way the Alliance leadership is running things. Apparently, a growing number within the Alliance states are becoming dissatisfied with the leadership and their actions," stated Homura. Uzumi hummed in thought at that piece of information, for it could infer quite a few different things.

The announcement of the start of the launching of the Izumo came and the ship began moving along the mass driver tracks. The Justice and the Freedom latched onto the ship as it zoomed down the mass driver, constantly gaining speed. Halfway down the length of Kaguya, the Izumo's boosters activated and the increase of speed picked up sharply. The Izumo rocketed of the linear catapult upward toward space and an unknown future.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **Okay, that's where I'll leave off for this chapter. Now, I admit, that this is the other end of what goes down on Earth before the story shifts into space. And originally, I debated whether to do this chapter at all, but after I laid it out, I saw value in making this phase. The overall reasoning, comes in a few points; the change in what happens to Orb, the battle at Victoria and showing what Mina Moss can be like. I'll start with Mina, in the last chapter, I mentioned that she had a reputation of being mean, but I wrote an example of it in this chapter. I also showed the air of fear with many who work around her and how a number of the 'candidates' see her, for there is a difference.**

 **With the battle of Victoria, I made that section to portray what the three girls Mina has with her could do against ZAFT. Plus, they kind of show to me what Clotho, Orga and Shani might be able to do were the to work as a team. Then finally, the change in what happened with Orb at the end of the second battle does have importance. Mostly because Orb's mass driver is intact and Uzumi Athha ISN'T dead! That will play a part later, won't be saying why or what will come from it. I'll let your imagination do work instead. So, to finish off, as I normally do, please some of you write a review and tell me what you think. Reviews do help me improve my writing and that in turn, makes the story better.**


	20. Phase 20: Promises to Keep

**A/n**

 **Alrighty then! Not only am I bringing you Phase 20, but there is also a couple of other things I have brought. First is a scene that I added in Phase 11 as I did have a few readers that wanted the scene between Cagalli and Ellen. Next, the Phase numbering system in now all numerical and not words halfway through along with consistent formatting. It is necessary for me as apparently, whatever fanfiction uses as its word processor, doesn't like Microsoft Word and so doesn't transfer everything. The other point that I will bring up is that I did make a small change in the Aurora's arsenal, I'll point it out at the end of this Phase. I still don't own anything from the Gundam Universe, as much as I would love to, just my own characters and musings. That's what I got before this Phase begins, so on with the story!**

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Phase 20: Promises to Keep

June 25th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

The atmospheric ascent was pretty much the same as it normally was, somewhat bumpy on the way up while you're pushed into your seat. Still, once the shuttle exited the atmosphere, it moved slowly away from the Earth sphere. The shuttle wasn't really going to transport Lisa, Graham or myself to our destination, just get us up to space so we can travel the rest of the way. So, the three of us unbuckled the restraints and left out seats, heading towards the cargo hold where our mobile suits were. I thanked the shuttle pilots for the ride, before following Lisa and Graham to the hold.

We boarded the mobile suits that were used during the fight to defend the Republic, so Lisa to the Athena, Graham to the Thanatos and myself to the Aurora. When we were strapped in, the cargo hold was opened, and the three mobile suits launched out. The shuttle became smaller as all three of us shifted our suits into their flight modes and moved forward. The coordinates which we had been given to meet up with other Federation forces should take about fifteen minutes to reach from where we launched from.

When we got to the place, a large ship appeared in front of us and to my surprise, it was a Federation dreadnought. The Voyager-class dreadnought's overall length was four-hundred meters from front to back. The central section's shape was similar to the Enterprise-class cruiser, though the wings ran the whole length of the ship on both sides. The wings were level with the top of the ship for the back half of the ship, then tapered off forward and downward on the front half. There were four heavy engines, two mounted on the back of each wing and three built into the rear of the ship. The class only had one mobile suit catapult, where cruisers have two, the single linear catapult ran along the top of the dreadnought's length. It tended to support a crew of three-hundred, sometimes a bit more.

Like all ships the Federation built and used for the military, the Voyager-class was equipped with a combination of an optical camouflage field and a stealth system, working together to make a ship completely undetectable. The dreadnought was armed a bit lighter than cruisers were. There were two "Lancer" high-energy beam cannons, with one on either wing. Also, along both wings, were an array of twelve missile launchers each wing. There were eleven "Cepters" CIWS dual-barreled defensive gun turrets in total, four in front, with two on the center sections on either side of the linear catapult and a gun on both of the wings. There were two more midway along both wings and the last three were divided with one on top and behind the navigation bridge and the other two along the bottom length of the central section of the ship.

The major weapon of the Voyager-class was built into the forward of the central section of the ship, much like the Enterprise-class. But, instead of the MAC gun, the dreadnought had a three-hundred-centimeter multi-phase beam cannon that could outdo positron cannons ships had thus far. It was called the "Beastian" and even if it had a heat generating issue as any beam weapon of its size would, that was countered by a complex cooling and venting system built around the cannon. The Voyager-class dreadnought was definitely the hard hitter in an assault, where the cruisers were the heavy damaged deliverer of the Federation space forces.

Anyways, the three of us landed on the dreadnought, Lisa first, followed by me, then Graham bringing up the rear. Thankfully, this class of ship is able to carry up to ten mobile weapons, tends to have at least five Delta Fliers onboard. So, there was room for all three of our machines to be on the ship without difficulty. Lisa, Graham and I then next, reported to the captain of the vessel, where we got updated on what was going up here in space.

Thus far, attacks had been made on three out of the five member nations of the Federation, by the Earth Forces; those being the Republic, the Orb Union and the Equatorial Union. None of the nations had fallen to the Alliance, but neither did any of them get through the attacks without taking notable losses. The Euros Coalition and the Kingdom of Scandinavia were securing their borders and the Federation base known as Asgard was on high alert. Asgard was located on the island that had been known as Iceland before the reconstruction war. It was the major base for the Federation military for the Atlantic Ocean and took up the whole island. The Earth Alliance, hadn't liked the Federation's presence that the base had and made their displeasure vocal often enough, but it hadn't changed anything.

Up here in space, when the Republic came under attack, the Alliance's action seen as a declaration of war against the Human Federation. So, Federation's Admiralty got to work, namely the two admirals over the Federation's space fleets, those being Maharaja Karn and Katejina Loos, began the response to the Alliance. They had mobilized a good portion of the fleet and had been busy since then and had been going against the Alliance's orbital fleets. Each Fleet was first given the chance to surrender, and if that was declined, the fleet was completely destroyed. So far, two of the Earth Forces' orbital fleets had been destroyed from this response to the Alliance's actions on Earth, all in the matter of a few days.

The Earth Forces in space had quickly taken notice of the actions and had been sending messages to the Federation, mostly for them to stop. Not only was the response of the Federation Military against them a serious embarrassment for the Earth Alliance as they were suffering losses the likes of which they haven't before now, but the losses were mounting. The reply to that had been blunt, by merely said that due to the actions of the Alliance on Earth, the Earth Forces had openly declared war and were being dealt with accordingly. The Federation was pretty much ripping the Alliance's space forces apart, and if the Alliance forces on earth knew about the losses, they weren't saying anything about it, nor showing any signs that they noticed.

Then, there was also an operation being planned to assist Siegel and Lacus Clyne to escape the PLANTs. With the assistance and strides that Siegel Clyne had taken while he had been the Chairman of the Supreme Council, the Federation had a serious interest in keeping him from dying. So, there would be a group sent to the PLANTs to help bail both Siegel and Lacus out of the situation they were in now. I instantly requested to help on the operation as I'd promised Lacus that I would help her leave the prosecution she would face, though I didn't mention that. The request wasn't refused, but as the operation wouldn't start for a time, I would have to wait to go and help my friend. I accepted that, and the three of us were shown to quarters onboard the ship.

The day and a half that passed was long and near torture to me, for I worried each report I viewed from the Information Network. Most of ones I read in much detail, said that ZAFT soldiers that answered to the National Defense Committee, along with some from one of the groups that did clean up behind the scenes, were hunting down both Lacus and Siegel. So far, both of them were evading capture, yet who knows how long that would stay the case. But finally, I was given the green light to go to the PLANTs. There was not one, but two SOLAS teams on route, which I was to meet up with and that gave me so hope that help for Lacus and Siegel could get to them in time.

That's all I needed to hear, for I wasted no more time and went to the hanger and boarded my mobile suit. I launched out shortly after that and after shifting the Aurora into its flight mode, I put my foot down and hauled my rear towards Lagrange 5 where the PLANTs were. Hoping against hope, that those being sent to help them including myself, would be able to reach them before the worse happens, for there was the chance that we didn't.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel and the Orb Union's Izumo-class ship Kusanagi, came into a stable orbit after finishing the ascent into space, minimizing the effects of Earth's gravity. The M1 Astray suits onboard the Kusanagi exited the ship and positioned themselves around it in preparation of the modules connection procedures for the Kusanagi. During the launch of the Kusanagi from Orb, only the central module was launched from the mass driver, the other modules were already up in outer orbit. They had been under an optical camouflage field the Federation had provided so that no one would be tempted to steal the other modules.

So, the Kusanagi's central module stayed where it was while both the forward and rear modules were moved into position. The forward module drifted backwards and split along its horizontal center line as it approached the central module. At the same time, the rear module, which had more powerful engines moved forward towards the central module and split vertically and connected on both sides of the back of the central module. The haves of the forward module, attached to the front of the Kusanagi's central section, all of this operation being monitored by the mobile suits outside the ship, including the Freedom and the Justice.

Once the Kusanagi was properly assembled, a com-channel was established between the Archangel and the Kusanagi. Kisaka was in charge onboard of the Kusanagi, since Cagalli wasn't exactly up to the job after leaving Orb. Murrue tried to put on a smile, but wasn't able to do a good job, " _So, how is Cagalli doing after having to leave Orb like she did?_ " she asked.

Kisaka lowered his head a bit, " _She has calm down a bit from how she was when Lord Uzumi ordered her to leave with the Kusanagi. However, it isn't easy for her to have to part with her father, or leave the homeland the way she did. I… I can't look her in the eyes and tell her things will be okay and to not cry, not with recent events involving the Alliance,_ " he replied.

Meanwhile, Kira and Athrun returned to the Kusanagi, Kira worrying about Cagalli, for she had been in a sad mood ever since they left Orb. So, the two went to her quarters to visit her and see how she was doing. When there was no response from Cagalli, Kira and Athrun entered her quarters. Cagalli was sitting on the bed, silent with tears coming from her eyes, not even acknowledging she had visitors. Kira floated over next to her, "Cagalli, are you going to be all right?" he asked.

Athrun held in the flinch and the urge to smack his forehead with a hand almost by reflex at the question Kira had asked. Athrun agreed with Tyler, in wondering sometimes if Kira's naiveté was genuine or a seriously good act he put on. Clearly Cagalli wasn't okay, and who could blame her, she had left her homeland in a rather damaged state. Her father was still there trying to clean up the mess the Alliance had caused, and the Earth Forces could attack again as well. Cagalli looked at Kira, before she threw herself at him and broke into sobs. Kira simply patted her head, while Athrun looked at the floor, not knowing what he could say.

While that was happening, the Kusanagi came alongside the Archangel, a shuttle launched from the Archangel, with Mu and Murrue onboard. Krystal stayed on the Archangel, and would take charge in the need arose. The journey was quiet, but not silent, as Mu did speak up as he piloted the craft, "You know, the real problems we will have to face are still ahead."

Murrue hummed in agreement, but wasn't ready right then to cross the bridge of looking forward towards the difficulties there would be. The shuttle arrived on the Kusanagi, with both Mu and Murrue making their way to the bridge of the ship after exiting the shuttle. Upon entering the bridge, Murrue glanced around, "This is very similar to the Archangel," she commented.

Kisaka smiled a bit, "Actually, it's the other way around, but then both ships were produced by Morgenroete, after all." He turned to one of the bridge operators, "Can you bring up a map of this area of space?"

"Sure, give me a moment," said a female voice.

Mu and Murrue looked in the direction that the voice had come from and saw Erica Simmons sitting at a console. Both were shocked to see the woman that was Orb's chief engineer at Morgenroete, "Chief Simmons, didn't think we'd see you here," Mu greeted.

"Hello Commander, nice to see you too. And you're lucky I'm here, with you and most of the other pilots operating MS's in space. It's a very different environment than doing it on Earth, there will need to be adjustments made and I'm the best one to do that. More so with the operating system Mr. Yamato wrote, which is comparable to the Federation's system and really is a bit easier to use," Erica replied.

A map appeared on the forward display of the area they were currently in. The Earth Sphere was left of center of the screen and both ships' signals were below Earth in its southern orbital position. The PLANTs were shown in the position at Lagrange 5 and the moon also was on the map. Kisaka gestured to the map, "As you can see for yourselves, with the PLANTs at L5 and the debris of Artemis at L3, you can realize that we'll in a bit of a bind given enough time. Yet, for a little while, things should be fine and supplies will hold up, but water will be the first to become a problem in that regard."

As the meeting on the bridge was going on, Kira and Athrun moved outside the room and were waiting for Cagalli to collect herself. Cagalli had changed out of her military uniform and into the Morgenroete outfit she had been given. She then washed her face to rid herself of the signs that she had been crying. As she finished, a small photograph floated out of her things and she noticed it in the mirror, her father had given it to her before the Kusanagi had launched. She hadn't looked at the photo since it had been given to her and had been told that it was of Cagalli herself and her brother. It was the second time any mention had been made that she had a sibling, for Ellen had implied such. However, Cagalli had dismissed the idea as Ellen worrying about her keeping so busy.

But, as Cagalli looked at the photo, which was of a brown-haired woman holding two babies, one with brown hair and the other with blonde, thoughts swirled through her head. She turned the photo over and stared at the writing on the back that was only two words; 'Kira' and 'Cagalli'. If what her father told her was true, then she was the blonde baby in the picture and the writing on the back said that the other baby was Kira. Granted, Cagalli knew that she was adopted by her father Uzumi, but that had never really made a difference to her. Then she knew Kira's parents, Caridad and Haruma Yamato and considered them good people and they were like an aunt and uncle to her. But, never had she had thought that Kira could be her brother by birth, they hardly knew one another. Then, Kira was a Coordinator and Cagalli was a Natural, the necessary circumstances to have them be siblings were outlandish. For that to be the case, it required one of two things; either Kira's genes would've been altered while he was in the womb or he was taken out before he had been born. No matter which it could have been, for chance and fate to bring them together… Cagalli didn't know what to think of this.

Back on the bridge, the discussion of what to do next continued after their current location was established. "I believe that is would be best to set our course for the colony cluster at L4," Kisaka remarked.

The small number of colonies had been built during the earlier part of the colony construction race during the Cosmic Era, were located at. The colonies were made up of O'Neill Island 3 types and Bernal Island 1 types. The colonies were made for agriculture and scientific research and for habitation and had been among some of the first colonies people lived in before the PLANTs were finished. Nonetheless, due to a combination of conflict and a viral outbreak, the colony cluster became abandoned and had been so for over a decade since that was how things were. Yet, even if there were no people living within any of the colony structures, the majority of the colonies were still to some degree operational. But among the colonies, the level of operation varied mostly due to which had better built systems for the colonies, for they weren't all equal.

The most well-known and famous colony among the L4 cluster, was the Mendel Colony, which was an O'Neill Island 3 type colony. Before the conflict and viral outbreak, a group of scientists that were under the name of Genetic Advanced Reproductive Medical Research & Development, or GARM R&D, worked at the Mendel colony. Other than the group's name and just a few overall facts, most of the assumptions were unproven about them. That was public facts, none knew if any of the three major factions had more information, and out of the three, the Federation was the most likely to have the most information. The assumptions that came from public known fact and the rumors, weren't nice nor intended to be. And though from the team of scientists, the artificial womb came into being and assisted in the streamlining of Coordinator DNA alterations before the actual birth process. The artificial womb had made DNA arrangement a more accurate science and that couldn't be denied.

The man that was seen as responsible for the idea was Ulen Hibiki, he was known to be ambitious or more obsessed with what he and others called the 'pursuit of potential'. There was other gossip about the man, that painted him in a much worse light, but no proof had ever been found or made public.

With any of the colonies at L4, still at some level of operation, resupply and recharging should be possible. And at this point of the conversation of what to do, Cagalli, Kira and Athrun came onto the bridge. The three did hear enough to be able to understand, that the suggestion to set course to L4 and the colony cluster. Athrun even added the point that ZAFT had made an inspection of the colonies in the cluster after there had been a report of suspicious activity. It had ended out being nothing of real concern, but since then the colonies had been quiet. However, ZAFT scouts had determined that pretty much all the O'Neill 3 type colonies still had a breathable atmosphere inside them and could be entered without needing a space suit.

It was after that, Mu focused on Athrun, "So, after what happened in orb, you fighting with us has been nice, and that goes for the other ZAFT pilot too. But, with the battles ahead, I have to ask the question for both of you, how committed are you both to our cause?" Mu posed.

Athrun was silent at the question, for he knew what was being asked, and it was one that had been going around in his mind over and over. Would he and Dearka side with the Archangel when they went against ZAFT, or would the side with ZAFT? It was a difficult question to answer up to this point.

For Athrun, so much had changed from when he had originally enlisted and with what he had seen recent, it swayed his beliefs. This war had gone from fighting the good fight in defending the PLANTs, to being a quagmire of retaliation that kept escalating. Mu continued, seeing that Athrun was having a hard time with the question, "With you being Patrick Zala's son, I can understand the difficulty you face, but I have to ask for an answer on this," he said.

"Why should it matter whose son he is?! Athrun is," Cagalli began, getting angry at the implications being made.

Mu twisted to gaze at Cagalli, "Leaving one's own forces is a lot more of a serious matter for a soldier than you imagine it to be Missy. Not only that, imagine if your own father was the one who was in charge of the nations you promised and vowed to defend. You should be able to comprehend that a small margin," he said, before he turned back to Athrun. "Unless you believe in your side's cause and are fully dedicated to it, then fighting in this war isn't possible. It's not as simple as you seem to think it is, especially when that belief is turned upside-down."

Mu took a deep breath, "I hate to force this issue on you, but if we fight together, then can I and my comrades rely on you?"

Athrun paused, "It was around the time that the assault on Heliopolis, I think I began to notice there were changes I didn't see before that. My doubts grew since then, all throughout the pursuit of the Archangel. Seeing what I have, my views of this war have changed so much from what they started as. So, I can't speak for Dearka, but I will fight for the same cause you do, for I believe it's the right one, more so after recent events," Athrun justified.

Mu was nodding, "That's good enough for me. You have a strong heart and mind and I can put my faith in that," he said.

Kira then spoke up, "I don't believe that we're the only ones that wish for peace. Those in the Federation and even many in the PLANTs and on Earth I think want peace too."

Kira's statement, acted as a reminder of his last visited the PLANTs for Athrun, "You're more right than you know Kira. Lacus is among those in the PLANTs that are trying to advocate for peace. But, she's being hunted down as a traitor along with her father due to an incident they were involved in," he commented.

There was silence at the comment, especially when Lacus was mentioned and her being hunted down by others. None of them had forgotten about her, even when she had left the Archangel a period of time ago. They cared what happened to the pink-haired girl and to hear that she was in danger didn't sit well with any.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

A few hours went by before I came into the area considered Lagrange 5, and spotted the hourglass shaped colonies. There were laid out in six rows with ten in each row and another grid of the same size below the first. I headed to Aprilius One, the capitol of the PLANTs as that's were both Siegel and Lacus were suspected to be. I maneuvered to be close to an airlock, then I exited the Aurora's cockpit and used my suits thrusters to reach the airlock. Entering the colony when the airlock cycled, before I began searching for the SOLAS team that should be here. I came across them within five minutes and fell in with them as the group moved forward. I didn't know any of those on this team, but then I'm more used to working in a small team or alone on assignments, so that's why I don't.

To my good fortune and luck, the team I had met with, was the one moving towards where Lacus was. Traveling through the maintenance corridors of the colony, which were empty and clearly unused for a great deal of time, we had no trouble as we proceeded forward. When we actually entered the habitable area of the colony, we were forced to make our descent to the ground using our suits' thrusters. Yet, before entering the colony interior, we activated the optical camouflage system that our suits had. They weren't as good as those on Federation equipment, but the system still tended to work enough to keep others from noticing those who had it.

Our group came to a structure that looked to be a house for multiple families, and was larger than a single-family home. We hid in the greenery and saw that on the outside was a group of green uniformed men with helmets and bullet resistant vests and they were seemingly guarding the place. Then, there were the gunshots from inside the place and those weren't what at least, I wanted to hear. The leader of the SOLAS team had us divide into two groups, where she was the leader of one and I ended out being the head of the other. My team infiltrated the building while the other team stayed outside and would deal with those 'guarding' the place.

Once inside, we moved towards the gunfire, which brought us to a dining room and a study. The attackers, who looked the same as those outside, were in the dining room, firing their weapons into the study, but they were also being shot back at. There were fifteen of the attacking forces and by what we could tell, there were less on the defending side.

We wasted no more time, three smoke grenades were rolled into the dining room and they began putting out billows of thick smoke. The smoke quickly filled the room and the sounds of coughing filled the air. That's when all of us here to stop Lacus from dying moved in, our helmet visors were switched over to a thermal filter and laying it over the layout that we had seen. At the start, we were just stabbing those we reached either in the back or the front, before letting them drop to the floor. We had gotten through almost half of them, when the windows were thrown open and the smoke rapidly dissipated. I sheathed my knife and took out my "Hornet" SMG, flicking off the safety. I gave the order to take down the rest of those here to kill the one we were here to save.

Even with their bullet resistant vest, those left of the ZAFT forces didn't last long before we had them all taken care of. Sounds of the gunfire of the Federation's "Avenger" assault rifle came from outside, signaling that those guarding were also being mowed down as well. I ignored the sick feeling that I still get from killing another and focused at the task at hand. After the attackers were dead, those with me and I turned off our suits' optical camouflage and we all became visible again. The others fanned out, searching the rest of the house for anyone else, while I moved forward, holstering my SMG as I went towards the study.

Before I entered the room though, two ZAFT uniformed men moved out behind the doorway and pointed sub-machine guns at me. I stopped where I was and watched as others came out from the room that they had been held up in, among them was my pink-haired friend. I took off my helmet, even while soldiers aimed guns at me, for the action would help move this along quicker. Lacus immediately recognized me and rushed forward and embraced me, "It's good to see you're okay Lacus. I'm here like I said I would be to help you get out of this situation, with help," I greeted the girl.

Then into my sight, came the same woman that had been with Waltfeld when I'd been stealing the Freedom. As nice as it is to see and know that Lacus is okay, we can't stay around here, there will be other soldiers that will come soon enough. We needed to move, and it didn't take long for me to get the point across that we needed to leave. And so, within a few minutes, we had those with Lacus moving away from the house and the SOLAS team, invisible and following alongside them.

We entered elevators that would take up to the center of the colony and it was clear that Lacus had some sort of plan to get out of here. It was as we were going towards the docks of the colony, that I knew it was time we parted ways. I needed to get back to the Aurora as I feel that I will need to be out in a mobile suit soon enough with how things are. I did manage to whisper to Lacus that we would see each other soon, even if she didn't see me when I did. Then I went a different way from the rest, and headed to the area that I had gone to steal the Freedom as it happens. There were multiple mobile suit docks down this way and most of them were unused, not a clue why they're that way, but I'm not going to complain.

And with my continuing good luck I found the near prefect dock that would meet my needs wonderfully! Then, two came down the hallway, one soldier and the other I would guess was an engineer of some kind. Well, I really couldn't have them find out about what I was doing or that I was here. So, moved behind the two and hit them hard in the back of the head, not enough to kill them, but I did knock them out and that was good enough for me. I then, dragged the two down the hall where I found a convenient storage room to stuff them into so that they would be found later.

I returned to the dock I had found and entered the room, turning the lights on to see the whole room to see what I'd to work with. After taking into the room I went to one of the consoles and took the time to get this room to have power flowing into it. I opened the airlocks to the launching tunnel and once that was done, I remotely instructed the Aurora to come through and land… none seemed to notice any of my activities. Honestly, ZAFT personnel were becoming so lazy, it was dangerous these days still, it helps me, and I'll take that for now! I input commands to link up my suit to the equipment here to recharge and resupply it for the battle I believe I will soon be fighting. Now it was a matter of me waiting for the process to finish and pray I don't get caught before that's done. The area may appear to be unused, but that doesn't mean that no one comes around this section of the colony. I had found two looking around, so I need to be careful even if things were going fairly well thus far.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Lacus and her group kept moving towards the main docking facility for the colony for ships and shuttles. They were taking less used and watched routes to get to their destination, mostly since Lacus's appearance was as well-known as it was, with her being hunted by those loyal to Patrick Zala it made it necessary. Yet, along the way, a few soldiers, who were part of what was being called the 'Clyne Faction' met up with them. They didn't bring welcome news, those searching for Lacus were being delayed and falsely led so far. That was expected, but the other piece of news that they brought got Lacus to bring the group to a halt.

They were told that Athrun Zala had come back from the mission he was on, but the strange thing was that he hadn't come back with the mobile suit he had been sent out with. No, he had come back to Aprilius One on an Alliance shuttle instead. Athrun was now in custody of the regular forces that were under the command of Chairman Zala. After meeting with Chairman Zala, Athrun was being taken to be 'questioned' or really interrogated. Lacus believed that Athrun had been trying to confront his father, but she couldn't say for sure.

After hearing that news, Lacus asked Aisha if there was any way to help Athrun out of the predicament that he had gotten himself into. Aisha quickly assigned Martin DaCosta, Waltfeld's right hand and go to man the task of getting Athrun out of the situation he was in. A few men went with DaCosta after Aisha had given him the job and told them to catch up to the ship after he had Athrun with him.

Lacus, Aisha and the rest continued onward towards the main docks and even with taking less watched routes, the journey took around ten minutes. But they finally came to an observation lounge above the ship they would take to leave Aprilius One. The FFMH-Y101 Eternal, was a pinkish dark red color over all, with an overall length of three hundred meters. It had the single mobile suit catapult on the forward half of the ship and the majority of the ship behind the catapult. The ship had ten engines in total, with two on each of the wing pod structures and the other six on the rear of the main ship body.

For armaments, the Eternal had forty missile launchers, spread throughout the wings, central section and the rear of the ship. The main offensive weapon of the ship was a large beam cannon, mounted above the catapult deck. The cannon was supported by three smaller beam cannons on both wings for a collective total of six of them. On the defensive side of things, there were twelve CIWS guns and two double barreled CIWS to intercept incoming fire. Then last, but not least, the Mobile suit Embedded Tactical EnfORcer, or METEORs were docked to the front of the ship just forward of the mobile suit catapult. The METEORs were a weapon system in themselves with four high-energy beam cannons, beam swords and missiles with each of unit.

Aisha and the other ZAFT soldiers moved forward, while the Federation SOLAS team surrounded Lacus. With the SOLAS team around Lacus, she was brought onboard the Eternal without anyone seeing her at all. Aisha and the others weren't stopped or even questioned, as the dock workers had seen some of them with Andrew Waltfeld, who was assigned to be the captain of the Eternal. Lacus made her way to the bridge once onboard the ship, and was greeted by Waltfeld, "Miss Clyne, welcome aboard the Eternal. Are you ready do ship out?"

"Yes, it would be best for us to leave while we can," Lacus replied.

Aisha took a seat near Andrew, "I would have to agree with Miss Clyne in this, but we're still waiting for your father," she said.

Then from the back end of the bridge came a mechanical feminine voice was heard, "Siegel Clyne is no longer able to reach this ship, others are helping him."

The members of the Federation's SOLAS team had become visible at the rear of the bridge and it was from their 'leader' that the statement had come. Lacus instantly became very worried at hearing that her father wouldn't be joining them like the plan had been originally. She hoped that didn't mean that something had happened to him, like being killed. Andrew nodded, "Very well then," he said, before he picked up the communication phone in his chair's armrest. "This ship is beginning its final preparations, is that understood? This ship is in its final preparations, now all of you get to work."

Those who weren't in on the escape plan, were being offloaded, since it was wished for the least amount of people hurt in this endeavor. "Loading departure plan C, forced exit subroutine one nine two zero, online," one of the bridge operators announced.

"Adding logic array, security disengaged. All systems go!" said another operator.

"Charge engines for forward thrust," ordered Aisha.

The as the bridge lights came on and then, over the radio, a voice that sounded somewhat desperate was heard, " _Commander Waltfeld, what are you doing?! Take off orders haven't been given for your ship! Respond Commander Waltfeld!_ "

No one on the Eternal paid attention to the dock controllers, but their actions did bring up a problem. The co-pilot turned to Waltfeld, "Commander, the code to the main gate control system has been changed."

Andrew Waltfeld sighed, while Aisha giggled, "They are clever doing that, though it would've been better if they had left things as they were," he remarked.

Aisha nodded, "Well, then the damage that comes from our exit will be on their heads, just means that it will be rocky," she said.

Waltfeld nodded, and face forward, "Main cannon, prepare to fire! Target, main gate! Fire immediately after takeoff!" he ordered.

The main beam cannon lowered its pitch angle to aim at the gate that led out of the dock and began charging up. Lacus focused on the journey ahead, "Eternal, please launch!" she commanded.

The Eternal's engines burned and propelled the ship forward slowly, even as the dock controllers were continuing their pleas for the Eternal to stop. The main beam cannon of the Eternal fired at the wall ahead and the gate was ripped open and the ship flew out of the dock.

Meanwhile, while all that was happening, Athrun was being escorted to a truck that would take him somewhere to be 'questioned' and 'ruffed up' if necessary, by what the chairman had said. Athrun had tried as hard as he could to convince the man that was his 'father', that what was being done wasn't right. But, in the end, his effort had been for not, for the chairman hadn't listened to him at all. The realization that the Patrick Zala that Athrun had known was gone, had shaken him to the core. All that Chairman Zala had been insistent to know, was what had happened to the X10A Freedom and the X09A Justice and what their locations were. Then, the man had pointed a gun at Athrun himself, that had hurt Athrun more than the soldiers pointing weapons at him.

Athrun's next action of attempting to assault the chairman were foolish and he knew it, but the anger he felt at the man that appeared and sounded like his father burned. Fuel was added at comprehending how blind this man that led the PLANTs, and had become immense. When Athrun had asked how this war would end, the chairman had shouted that only when all Naturals were dead would the war end. It had been at that moment, Athrun had fully understood how Tyler had felt when he had performed for security camera before stealing the Freedom. It had snapped something within Athrun and he couldn't stop himself in attacking the man that used his father's face and voice. Still, to be shot by the one who had been your parent… it had shocked Athrun, more than the pain from the bullet going through his shoulder.

He was now being escorted out of the government administration complex, with looks of confusion and incredulity from other people there. Thought swirled around in Athrun's mind as he moved forward. Echoes from those like Lord Athha, stating that Patrick Zala, his father justified what ZAFT was doing by claiming Coordinators were a new and separate species. That the man that had been his father 'ruled' the PLANTs and ZAFT now and not the council. Kira saying it wasn't his time to die just before they parted, making sure Athrun knew that echoed in his head. Tyler's final sentence also rang in him, of doing what it took to stay alive and it was that, which helped Athrun make up his mind.

As the soldiers on either side of him were gesturing for Athrun to get into the truck that had two black suited men sitting in the back already, Athrun knew the time to act was now. The black suited men were from a "section" there were supposed to be part of the Justice Department officially, unofficially they were the ones who settled things that the public never found out about. Athrun shoulder one of the soldiers and then spun around and kicked the other backwards, following it up by body slamming the first soldier into the nearest wall. Athrun then ran away from the truck, looking for a place he could lose the pursuers that he would have.

What surprised him, was when a number of the soldiers turned on the others there and opened began firing their guns at them. One of them followed Athrun, throwing a flash grenade at the black suited men, stopping them in their tracks. Athrun ducked behind a stone wall of the building he was next to and sunk to the ground feeling lightheaded, probably from the blood he'd lost so far. The soldier told Athrun to turn his back to him so that he could shoot his cuffs to get them off. There was a bang and Athrun felt the cuff loosen and he let them fall to the ground, "You're being far too reckless you know," said the soldier, chucking another flash grenade.

The soldier turned to Athrun, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You even knocked over one of our own men in this," the young man said.

Athrun stared at the man, "Who are you?" he asked.

He man pushed his helmet up, showing red hair, "I'm with the so-called 'Clyne Faction'. You've made this a lot more complicated than it's supposed to be, so cooperation would be helpful!"

The man handed Athrun a gun, as a second soldier was slow walking backward by them, "DaCosta, hurry it up! They're recovering from their confusion!"

The three hurried along and managed to escape their pursuers and make it to a shuttle that was hidden out of sight. The three boarded the craft and quickly got it into the air and flying heading for a tunnel out of the colony.

Back on the Eternal, Andrew Waltfeld turned to Aisha, "Where is DaCosta? Wasn't he with you?" he asked.

Aisha frowned, "I thought he would have made contact by this point. We were given information that Athrun Zala had gotten himself into a bad situation. Miss Clyne wished to help him and I sent DaCosta and a few others to do what they could, haven't heard anything from them yet," she replied.

Just then a shuttle came out of a colony tunnel and was seen by those on the Eternal, then over the radio, " _Commander! Sorry to keep you waiting sir_ ," came the voice of DaCosta.

Aisha smile, "My, there he is now, he still has impeccable timing doesn't he Andrew," she remarked.

Andrew sighed, "That he does my dear, that he does," he muttered, before he turned his attention to his subordinate. "DaCosta, move to the aft hatch," he paused and closed the com-channel. "As soon as they get onboard, I want maximum thrust! That way we'll shake those who will attempt to chase us."

 **-Line Break-**

As Sakura Clyne made her way towards the office of the PLANT's Supreme Council's chairman, Patrick Zala, and she was in a fairly bad mood. Most of the times she had be required to meet with the man or others from the council, it would end out being annoying talk that ended out being a waste of her time. Most of those times had been while Zala had been the head of the National Defense Committee, and Sakura didn't see any reason why the man would change from how he was before. So, Sakura was prepared to receive a lecture of why she should do what the committee says above all others. That coming from fools that didn't have a clue what goes on around a battlefield, they were politicians after all.

Then, the other piece that added to her current mood, were the rumors that she'd begun hearing upon her return to the PLANTs this morning coming from Earth. The rumors implied. Those that not only had her father and sister committed some sort of crime, but one of massive proportions. It was completely ridiculous, and Sakura's glare sent at those who had been saying such things had silenced them. To even hear the suggestion that her father or her little sister Lacus would betray those living in the PLANTs was as ludicrous as Lanus choosing not to work for the protection of the PLANTs. And to even hear it suggested angered Sakura and she wasn't someone that you wanted to be angry at you if you wanted to live long!

When Sakura enter the office of Patrick Zala, she didn't have a pleased or nice expression on her face. Yet, Patrick Zala had an equally unhappy look set on his face as he watched her approach his desk. "Commander Clyne, how nice of you to come by after getting back," Zala said flatly.

Sakura glared at the man, "Don't waste my time Zala, get to the point for which you 'requested' to have me make the trip here. I can think of other things to do with my time and I'm not in the mood to stand and listen to lectures," she ordered.

Zala smiled a bit, "To the point as you always are, I can respect that, more so these days. I want to know where you family is currently," he said.

Sakura let out a snort, "I haven't heard from them since I was last around the homeland. I've been busy cleaning things up on Earth, since there's been a number of messes to clean up lately, if you haven't noticed. And the second I return to the PLANTs, I'm told they've disappeared and I'm being demanded to tell others where they could be. Not only that, there's a ridiculous rumor going around that both my father and sister have committed treason. So, perhaps you can explain to me, why I'm more than ready to strangle the next person that whispers such crap, before I do just that and you get to deal with the bodies I leave behind," Sakura snapped.

Instead of answering vocally, Zala activated a screen to Sakura's right and showed her the video that had Lacus helping someone in a ZAFT red pilot suit. Even as Sakura watched the recording, she didn't buy what was being inferred by this recording. There was information missing and with that being the case, it made Lacus appear completely guilty. The 'pilot' did give an amusing gesture in Sakura's view, as it was clearly directed at Zala and it was something she herself agreed with. The pilot then got in a new mobile suit and left with it, none had done much to stop them, which she noted. Once the video finished, Sakura face Zala again, "So then, what do you know about the one in the red pilot suit," she asked.

Patrick Zala glowered at the question, "There is little information on the _pilot,_ but what does that matter, they will pay when they're found? You can clearly see that your sister, Lacus Clyne has betrayed us and what we stand for! Now I order you Commander Clyne as the Chairman of the PLANTs, to tell me where they are!" Zala bellowed.

Sakura kept calm, even with this man yelling at her, yet she did feel the urge to send her fist straight into this idiot's gut or his face would do as well. It was clear that Patrick Zala's growing vendetta had focused on the Clyne family now, and Sakura didn't appreciate it at all! However, she shrugged her shoulders, "Like I said, I haven't the faintest idea where they are, and even if I did somehow know, what reason is there for me to assist you in this foolish witch hunt of yours Zala?"

"Siegel and Lacus Clyne are traitors to the homeland and must be punished for their crimes! You honestly think I would believe that you would know nothing about their whereabouts?!" Barked the man.

Sakura's fury was increasing and becoming hard to control, so she just glared at Patrick Zala, "Did it ever occur to you, that others along with yourself drove them both into hiding, and so, they would unlike have a way to contact me _chairman_? Or did that conveniently slip your mind, because right now, I'm tempted to make you shut up," She questioned bitterly.

Zala seemed to take a moment to calm down, "Very well, but understand, they are traitors now. Helping them is a crime, so do be careful and know what is more important, obeying your superiors or being loyal to a family that discards its values," he returned.

That statement infuriated Sakura passed her boiling point, she closed the distance between where she had stood and Zala's desk. Sakura reached forward and grabbed the collar of Patrick Zala's uniform and wrenched the man forward towards herself, which caught Patrick Zala completely off guard. "You listen and listen good Patrick Zala, just because you've taken the position of chairman of the Supreme Council, doesn't make you superior to everyone else around you. To me, it makes no difference whether you are the head of the council or if you were a fresh green pilot that it was my job to give a wake-up call! You nor any other tell me what to do, not before now nor ever! The only person who can give me an order and expect me to follow it without telling me why I should give them the time of day, is Lanus Treize and no other. Don't you ever forget that fact Patrick Zala, or I will show you first-hand how I got the reputation I have as the Black Zephyr," Sakura said emotionlessly.

Sakura released Patrick Zala and then left his office, continuing to fume at the man. She was stalking towards the Black Jade, thinking upon all the crap that Zala had shouted at her about her father and sister. Then to have the gall and the stupidity to attempt to tell her, Sakura Clyne what to do, it just enforced her dislike of Patrick Zala. Sakura's mood had been foul before, but it was even worse now. The two who were escorting her to the Black Jade, could see that Sakura was in a very bad mood and so, were keeping silent. They were terrified of the woman and they just look at each other and silently agreed to do nothing to make it worse… so they could keep living.

It was as they came up to a group of ZAFT soldiers and engineers gathered together that the three came to a stop. Sakura came forward and demanded to know what was going on and the second that they understood who it was in front of them, they snapped to attention. One of the engineers answered Sakura and said that they were finishing up an inspection of the less used areas of the colony. However, there were some that had not reported in and were missing so, there was a discussion to decide what to do.

Sakura managed to contain her annoyance and irritation at seeing incompetence of the soldiers here. So, instead Sakura took charge and quickly organized the soldiers and engineers in to teams to search for those who were missing and figure out what was going on. Even she herself went searching, it was something to do and it took her mind off of Zala. It was within ten minutes, Sakura and those with her came across a room that contained two who were missing. The engineer and the soldier were out cold, and looked to have been disabled by a blow from behind. Sakura ordered those with her to call for medical personnel to their location right away and one of the soldiers did as she said to.

Meanwhile, Sakura started inspecting the surrounding area, in order to perhaps ascertain what had happened to the two that had been found. It was clear that something or someone had come across them and had disabled them. She glanced through the viewing ports of the two closest docking facilities and found nothing. Yet, when Sakura looked into the third, she stopped as she spotted there was something inside when there shouldn't be according to the engineers.

Sakura opened the door and entered the Mobile suit dock, drawing the gun she had with her. The room was dim with all the lights off, except the dull light by the door. So, Sakura found the switch for the lights and flicked them on. With the lights on, Sakura turned around and got a view of the mobile suit sitting in the dock. Even with the years of service Sakura had given to the ZAFT military, she hadn't seen a mobile suit like the one in front of her.

The head appeared to be similar to the stolen Alliance machines that those pilots who had been stuck with Creuset used, and it had the same grey coloration. Its frame was different than those suits, but they had clearly been some of the basis that had been used in the design process. There were also vents on either side of the torso and on the front of the shoulders. Also with the shoulders, there were short wings that stuck out at the end of either shoulder cover. The legs did have large vents above the ankles and beside them on the outside were short wings and thrusters. Behind this mobile suit, was two long guns or cannons and a pair of long wings. Sakura shifted her attention to the armaments that this machine had, and she noticed a shield attached to the left arm and it was white, shorter than any GINNs or CGUE shields. In the right hand was a good-sized rifle and looked to be a tad bulkier than normal beam rifles.

For this suit to be here in an unused dock and none know about it, was odd, even by Sakura's standards. She assumed that it was the product of the Integrated Design Bureau, they always were working on improving mobile suits or just making new ones. But, the question on Sakura's mind, was why those from the Bureau would store one of their machines in a place like this, it didn't make sense for them as security conscious as they were the majority of the time.

The suit appeared to at least be hooked into cables and other things that were for resupply. Still, there was something about this whole setup that didn't feel right to her at all. Sakura was scanning around as she was more than halfway to the forward control console for readings of the suit and yet, there was nothing. Nevertheless, she had this sixth sense more than long enough to know that it wasn't wise to ignore. Then, there was movement to the left and Sakura swung her gun in that direction, "Stop, come out with your hands up!" shouted Sakura.

A figure moved to get behind equipment, but Sakura fired her gun, yet she missed whoever it was in the room other than herself. She slowly floated forward, keeping her gun at the ready as she got closer to the intruder. As Sakura was looking over into the shadows, something appeared on the right. But when she turned that way, she saw only a helmet floating there, before the figure burst up from below on her left. Sakura was taken by surprise and the gun was kicked out of her hands. Then Sakura found herself confined by two arms going around her middle and she was held fast. She fought back against the intruder and with her strength, it would unlikely have been long before Sakura would have overpowered whoever the intruder was, if not for one fact. "I don't have the time for this today Sakura," said a male voice.

The foul mood instantly vanished, and Sakura felt her heart skip a beat at the sound of that voice, along with a tingling warmth spreading through her. Sakura felt quite happy as she twisted around and hugged the person in the blue Federation pilot suit, who she now knew to be the one that she adored, Tyler McGregor.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Time seemed to be moving slowly as I waited for the maintenance and resupply process to finish so the Aurora could launch out at 100%. There would be fighting ahead of me and I didn't even think to doubt it for I was no fool to think otherwise. Things were going dandy for me, notwithstanding the two I'd had to disable and stuff in a room. However, then I began to hear voices and other noise outside the docking area, meaning that there were people coming my way. I rushed over to the switch for the lights in the room and shut them off, throwing the room into shadowy shapes and blackness. Then, I dove downward and out of sight of the entryway to this dock, using equipment and supplies to hide myself from being discovered.

I stayed hidden among supplies below the level of the entry to this room as I listened to the sounds outside the docking area. I couldn't tell what was happening or who was talking, but I was hoping that they would move along quickly and not come inside this dock. Yet, I didn't get my wish as I heard the door to this room slide open and I saw light coming in from the doorway. The sound of a gun clicking as it loaded a round into the chamber, so whoever it was that came in had a handgun… great.

The next thing I knew, the lights of the room flashed on and I immediately sunk lower behind a group of liquid tanks. Still, I poked my head up over the tanks and spotted the shadow of whoever it was that had come into the dock. By the shadow's position, they were staring at the Aurora from halfway between the doorway and the forward control console. They began floating forward slowly, scanning around the room, which would get worse for me the longer this goes on. So, I decided to make a dash for my suit's cockpit by using the shadows to remain unseen as long as possible. I was doing nicely, or at least that's what I thought, "Stop, come out with your hands up!" shouted a female voice.

I reacted on reflex and moved behind metal equipment and heard a bang of a gunshot and the striking of a bullet on metal. However, what was irking me the most, was the voice belonged to someone that I knew quite well and wasn't in the mood in any way to see right now. I mean of all times for our paths to cross, why do Sakura and I have to come to be in the same place at the same time now?! And by how loud the bullet striking metal had been, the woman that chased me got close to hitting me with said bullet. My next action had to count, or I just might get a bullet hole in me somewhere and I would like to avoid that!

I removed my helmet and tossed it forward and upward, using it as a decoy. Sakura took the bait and turned towards my thrown helmet, giving me the opportunity to blindside her. I zoomed towards her and kicked the handgun out of her hands, then swung around to be behind the woman. I quickly encircled her middle, including that both of her arms and locked Sakura into a kind of bear hug and held on for dear life! But, even with the effort I was making to keep Sakura from moving, her strength was more than I could contain for long and I knew it. My only other option in this, is to appeal to the liking Sakura has of me and hope she doesn't kill me. "I don't have the time for this today Sakura," I said with effort.

Sakura's struggling against me stopped, then she then spun around and hugged me, or in my view started crushing me to herself. "Sakura… contain yourself, I'm in the process *gasp* of helping your little sister and I'll be unable if I don't go soon," I reasoned.

Sakura eased up on crushing me and stared, "Helping Lacus?" she asked.

I sighed, "I would not doubt by now, you've heard what she and your father are accused of by this point. I tried to get as much attention off of them as I could, but it wasn't as much as I wanted to," I remarked.

The pink-haired woman's eyes widened, "You were the one in the ZAFT red suit," she uttered.

I nodded, "Yep, that was me, your father asked for my help and I didn't say no. However, I did get to show what I thought of how the current chairman is running things."

Sakura snickered, "Yes, he didn't look happy about the gesture you showed in the security footage, although I can assure you, you're not the only one that feels that way about the man's actions," she returned. Sakura then released me, "Go then, help Lacus, for I can't right now even though I wish to."

I was about to turn and go, but then without warning of any kind, Sakura grabbed both sides of my face and then pressed her lips to mine in a kiss. I was too stunned to fight the action, but Sakura made it clear that she was liking the kiss, before she pulled back and pushed me away from herself. No idea what kind of expression I had on my face, I just grabbed my helmet and shoved it back on to hide whatever it was. Yet, I couldn't deny my cheeks were burning at what Sakura had just pulled without me having the opportunity to prepare myself!

I adjusted my helmet to lock it and seal it into place as I floated to the forward control console and inputted the command to disconnect all the cables from the Aurora as well as starting the airlocks to cycle and open the launching tunnel. Glancing over to the door, I saw Sakura leaving and locking the door behind herself. I moved to the cockpit of my mobile suit as cables were disconnecting from my machine. Once inside, I settled myself into the seat and buckled into the restraints and the backpack part of my pilot suit locked to the back of the pilot seat. It was a newer feature for pilot safety that Federation mobile suits were being built with according to Carlos. The pilot suit would lock into the seats to prevent the pilot being thrown around the cockpit, which is preferred.

Next, I brought the mobile suit's operating system up and after the quick booting process, I gripped the controls firmly. Once the tunnel was fully open, I had the Aurora leap upward, racing through the tunnel and outside Aprilius One. I shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and activated the phantom stealth and the phase shift armor. It's the nice thing about Federation stealth technology, it's a separate system that doesn't require what the phase shift uses, so they can be active at the same time. Anyways, the Aurora vanished before it could be noticed by ZAFT. I flew the Aurora in an arc around the colony and as I came around to the opposite side I spotted the ship I believe Lacus had mentioned to me being her way out. I tilted my machine and moved into a path that would follow the ship, but I had to shove the throttle close to full to start catching up.

As I was closing the distance between the dark pink ship and myself, a message came to the Aurora, saying that Siegel Clyne had gotten out from Aprilius One. However, he had been injured in the process, something about a bullet to one of his shoulders. The injury had been treated as best as was possible and was wrapped up and so wasn't a big issue. Siegel was being escorted back to the dreadnought that was around the area right now. That brought peace to my mind, as I wanted both Lacus and Siegel to be alive and away from the PLANTs for the time being.

I kept following the 'Eternal' as Lacus had called it for a distance, in which I got closer to the ship itself. However, as I was in visual viewing distance of the Eternal, I also saw a massive structure ahead of us. The structure was made up of an asteroid, which ZAFT had made into a military base they called Jachin Due. The place could take a nuclear bombardment and had taken a moderate one earlier in the war when nuclear weapons were sometimes employed. It was also the main base of ZAFT's that stopped attacks that were to be directed at the PLANTs themselves. In fact, I took in what I estimated fifty GINNs heading in our direction, accompanied by a couple Nazca and Laurasia-class ships approaching with them. Those GINNs were armed with artillery type weaponry, which going against one ship was kind of extreme. Me thinks some idiot has a serious problem and anger management issues that aren't being properly dealt with.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Athrun, accompanied by DaCosta, left the hanger and were making their way towards the navigation bridge. There was a bit of a jerk as the Eternal increased its speed, but that didn't affect either Athrun or DaCosta. They soon came onto the bridge and Athrun could only stare around, for the bridge of this ship was unique. There was the captain's chair slightly above the vice captain's seat. Then there was also a seat for likely a commander next to the vice captain's place where they would be on a Nazca-class's bridge. The rest of the bridge stations were set in a 'U' around the outer edge of the room. Yet, Athrun's gaze settled on Lacus Clyne who was in the captain's chair, it was the last place he expected to see her.

When the lift to the bridge had opened, Lacus turned and after seeing Athrun, she got out of her chair and sailed towards him, "Are you okay Athrun? Your shoulder," she started saying.

Athrun looked at the floor, somewhat ashamed and saddened at the memory of what had occurred between him and his father. "It's the price I paid for trying to reason with him."

Lacus frowned at what he said, not fully understanding what Athrun was referring to, but was able to guess that it had something to do with Patrick Zala. Andrew Waltfeld turned in his seat towards Athrun, "Hey there youngster, welcome to the ship of the songstress. I'm Andrew Waltfeld and the lady next to me would be my second in command and partner, Aisha," he said introducing himself.

The introduction itself didn't shock Athrun as much as the unsaid implications that came with it. Yes, the last visit when he had come back to the PLANTs after what had happened around Orb, had shown that things had changed. Nevertheless, he hadn't thought that ZAFT itself had become so internally divided between the chairman and Admiral Treize. For the differing opinion wasn't new, but for the split to drive things to armed forces being divide into two different sides was disturbing.

"Mobile suit forces approaching! Fifty GINNs and a few Nazca and Laurasia classes behind them," announced one of the bridge operators.

"Likely forces from Jachin Due," remarked Aisha.

"Indeed, not all that surprising," agreed Waltfeld, "Ready the main cannon to fire and activate CIWS," he commanded.

Athrun felt restless, even with his injury, sitting around doing nothing never was something he liked. He was well aware that he wasn't in a position to ask to help, but Athrun couldn't stay silent, "Does this ship have any mobile suits on board?"

There was silence to the question, and Athrun was taking that as a no, when Andrew Waltfeld spoke, "Well… technically yes, we have one."

Athrun's head snapped up at being told that the was a suit on board, "But, it still needs adjustments before serious use," Aisha finished.

"What do you mean?" Athrun asked.

"This ship was originally meant to be used exclusively for the Justice and the Freedom… basically the new 'X' series," began Waltfeld. "Yet, the Integrated Design Bureau didn't stop with those two."

"They made another one and are in the process of constructing a fourth and fifth," continued Aisha.

It was stunning, that not one, but three other mobile suits were designed with similar features to the Freedom, the Justice or both. But, Athrun also saw the dangers of the idea as well, since they likely would have nuclear reactors like the Freedom and the Justice do. Athrun was about to inquire further however, Lacus spoke up, "Open all channels for outgoing communications."

Waltfeld nodded and faced forward, "Roger, open all com-channels."

"Let us hope some listen, though I doubt the ones that could prevent issues will," remarked Aisha quietly.

Lacus took a deep breath, then began, "My name is Lacus Clyne, and although I stand in opposition to Chairman Zala, due to our differences of opinion, I don't wish to fight with any of you. The future that Chairman Zala is working towards is a dark and cold one that ends all of humanity. All parts of humanity deserve a better future than that, we are capable of creating and better future. So please, let our ship go and consider what it is, we really should be fighting against."

The response to Lacus's entreaty, came in the form of the sensors detecting incoming projectiles. Waltfeld sighed, "Well, had hoped for a moment that they would listen, yet alas, seems they aren't going to. It's not so easy for them, the military is taking commands from two different sources and they have different objectives in mind with their orders."

Aisha nodded sadly, "Unfortunately, I believe that Jachin Due's forces are taking orders from Chairman Zala."

"Commence counterattack!" ordered Waltfeld.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

" _My name is Lacus Clyne, and although I stand in opposition to Chairman Zala, due to our differences of opinion, I don't wish to fight with any of you. The future that Chairman Zala is working towards is a dark and cold one that ends all of humanity. All parts of humanity deserve a better future than that, we are capable of creating and better future. So please, let our ship go and consider what it is, we really should be fighting against._ "

After hearing Lacus say that, it wasn't surprising to see the squadrons of mobile suits approaching the Eternal to begin their assault. I knew what needed to be done, it's time for me to get to work fulfilling points of my job description of being one of the good guys. I would save the Eternal from getting destroyed and kick a** while I do, and doing so with style! I rocketed forward as I pushed the throttle against its stop, bringing the crosshairs of my machine's 90mm vulcans to bear on the nearest GINNs. When I had them in my sites, I opened fired, aiming for the artillery, since they are explosive and can just as readily go off while in their racks as when they hit a target. For a few of the GINNs, my shots did strike the weapons and those went bang, some of the ZAFT suits did manage to detach them before they detonated, but I still got many of them anyways.

As more missiles and projectiles sailed at the Eternal, the ship's defenses were falling behind, so I gave them a helping hand. I brought the Aurora to point down the path the missile would travel to reach the Eternal. Then I fired both the plasma cannons and the beams engulfed a number of projectiles, taking care of them. I shut off the stealth system, leaving me with phase shift armor on and changed my suit over from its flight mode to its suit mode.

I quickly began to do some amazing moves in not just evading and dodging, but also shooting back and pegging GINNs. I also used the opportunity to try out the secondary mode for the Aurora's beam rifle, its stream mode. I hadn't had a chance during the battle around the Republic to try the idea out, but I was still curious as to what the mode could do and now is as good a time as any. So, upon switching the rifle's mode over, the front half of the weapon split open. I took aim and pulled the trigger and to my surprise, my rifle began emitting a focused beam that blasted right through the GINN I'd aimed at. The beam didn't stop flowing, I essentially had a very long beam saber that my rifle was the hilt for. I started sweeping my rifle horizontally and the beam cut through the GINNs that I pointed my rifle at. When next I'm around Teswa, I need to find out who came up with this idea and shake their hand! Granted, it drains power more than using the rifle its normal mode, it used power like the plasma cannons do, but it's awesome.

After I had used the stream mode of my beam rifle for a second time, I caught sight of a custom Delta Fighter, appearing on the battlefield. It had a different color scheme than Delta Fighters were produced with, it was dark grey overall and had also had a non-standard arsenal. First, it has smaller railguns than the standard Delta Fighter. Then with the shield, there were still 60mm Vulcans, but they were built into the shield structure plus, there was a pair of 80mm gatling guns on either side. The last piece of equipment was a unique weapon combo in the form of a long rectangular beam rifle that had a pole coming out from the butt of the weapon.

The custom machine shifted into its mobile suit mode and took out the pole and ignited the two emitters on the endo of the pole, producing a long-curved beam blade shape like a scythe. This mobile suit what piloted by one and only one man, after all, he is infamous for his preference to use a scythe like weapon, something about the best tool to open 'tin cans' or warships to the rest of us. I'm glad that he's not my opponent for I would lose and he's scary to go against, have done it a couple of times, and I still have nightmares about those. Let's just say that the man quickly proved how good he was with his weapon of choice as he sliced through one GINN after another, sometime multiple suits with a single swing. My ally also would switch to using the flechette rifle on the end of the beam scythe pole from time to time, which operated like a shotgun, by firing a spread of beams with each discharge.

The situation got even better when the Freedom arrived, and Kira added his efforts to the mix. The three of us, managed to shoo away what was left of mobile suits that had come out to face the Eternal from Jachin Due. The Eternal kept moving forward, looking relatively undamaged from the battle. I shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and moved over to fly alongside where I believe the bridge was. My stealth system was off as I flew beside of the Eternal on its right and saw that the Freedom was cruising on the ship's left.

" _This is the Freedom, Kira Yamato here,_ " Kira identified himself.

I was containing the mirth I felt, which was still somewhat painful to do, at the images that had come to mind. Among those were a few of Lacus and Kira being around one another again after their separation, being the way they were. Plus, I was happy to hear my friend's voice honestly as I hadn't heard it for a while.

" _Kira?!_ " Lacus uttered in surprise over the com-channel.

I could stay silent no longer, "Your timing is as impeccable as it usually is Kira, you're as dependable as you normally are."

" _Tye?_ " replied Kira in surprise.

"Were you expecting someone else then? Granted, I've been keeping myself busy lately, but I do try to do what I can to help, part of being one of the good guys," I returned.

The conversation turned to where we would go and Kira mentioned that others were around the L4 colony cluster. Those others included; the Archangel and an Orb Union vessel that Kira called the Kusanagi. So, that's where we headed to… just hope that we can get some time to relax, though even if we do, doubt it would last long. I flicked on the phantom stealth again as we went forward towards Lagrange 4.

Once we arrived at the area of Lagrange 4 hours after the fight with ZAFT Jachin Due's forces, the sight of the colony cluster brought an eerie feeling to me. The abandoned colonies here at L4 are still operating to varying degrees like they were felt odd to me, it wasn't entirely the same as Junius Seven felt to be around, but it was similar enough to be unsettling. We approached the colony called Mendel, named after Gregor Mendel, a historical figure from the nineteenth century before the Reconstruction war and the Cosmic Era. And the colony was the most well-known one in the L4 cluster, but its history isn't the nicest.

By what I could see from a distance, the reports about the colony were accurate, with it being the most intact colony overall in the cluster and I would guess the most functional of them too. The Eternal started maneuvering to back into the dock of the colony I slowed my approach, watching the proceedings. While I watched, a message appeared on one of the displays in my cockpit and when I brought it up, I read the contents. It said that a shuttle from the Voyager-class would be departing for the Mendel colony with Siegel Clyne on board shortly. I don't doubt Lacus would appreciate seeing her father, for I assume that she hadn't had much contact with him regularly as of late.

I waited for the Eternal to move into the dock running to the left of the Archangel. The Archangel was in the front position of their dock run with what I would guess was an Orb Union ship behind them. As I was left to decide which ship I should land on, I detected the shuttle I assumed was from the Federation dreadnought coming up from behind me. I quickly made my decision and flew towards the Eternal, contacting the bridge so that they could open the ship's catapult. The Eternal's catapult was opened at my request, and as I locked in my approach, I switched off the stealth system of my unit and shifted it into MS mode.

Even with my suit's thrusters slowing my forward momentum, I felt the moderate jerk as the Aurora came into contact with deceleration cables. The cables stretched and brought my machine to a complete stop, though it was a tad rocky. It's the reason I prefer the magnetic rail deceleration option that the Federation military employs, and I more used to using that method. The shuttle followed me in at a short distance behind, so when the outer airlock closed, we were both inside the Eternal. I moved the Aurora to a free dock, as there was five in total in the Eternal's hanger. The odd thing, was that there was one dock that contained a mobile suit and it was different than ones than I've seen.

The suit's frame was unique, but kind of reminded me of the Aegis's to an extent, I think because it had blades on its feet and the torso section did look similar. However, the machine appeared to be built, for lack of a better term, in sections then connected together. At least its legs and arms looked to be able to shift like the Aegis could. There also seemed to be a backpack part, not like the Justice's Fatum-00. Then on either side of the backpack, two other limb like parts sat, folded up to be behind the shoulders of this unit. I saw no obvious weapons on this machine, which meant to me that it possessed hidden weapons.

Once I had the Aurora in a mobile suit dock, I popped out of my mobile suit and floated in the direction of the shuttle. I had my helmet off and had nearly closed the distance separating the shuttle and myself covered, when the door opened and out came Siegel Clyne. The man had bandages wrapped around his left shoulder, which the first message had mentioned a bullet had found him during his extraction. Granted, that's better than him taking a bullet in a more vital place, but would have been nicer for him to have taken no bullet shots at all.

Another man followed Siegel out of the shuttle, he was in a Federation pilot suit, with his helmet off like me. His height was 6'1" and fairly muscular, at least he had a better muscle build than I do, don't know if that's due to him being a Coordinator or just because he worked to be so. Anyways, the man's hair was grey and flowed to the back, which complimented his tan skin pretty well. His face made a stark contrast to the rest of his appearance, mostly due to two particular features. Those being his gold colored left eye, and the black square patch that laid over his right eye and the surrounding area, which was held on by a strap that went around his head. His one eye that was visible, gave a cold and uncaring air, not really much niceties came from it. He's a tad younger than my mother is, believe in his late thirties maybe early forties, were I to guess.

The man's name was Kurt Gream, though most wouldn't know his own name, more the nickname he gained from his reputation he gained earlier during the war. He had fought in it on the side of ZAFT, and had been an amazing pilot and still is, just works for the Federation now. Nevertheless, while he was a pilot for ZAFT, he was known as 'the Roc' or the 'Grimaldi Roc', an ace pilot as well as one of ZAFT's champions. That's right, this guy is the infamous pilot that owned a good portion of the defending Alliance forces at Endimon. He was 'supposed' to have died when the cyclops system the Earth Forces had built there went off, though he didn't.

Yet, the funny thing, with all his skills, we have the same rank within the Federation military, both of us are licensed to pretty much do what we see fit on the field. But, I'll admit, Kurt could beat me in a fight with mobile suits, he's ranked as number two in the pecking order of ace pilots of the Federation while I'm number three. Yes, there was one more above both of us, but now I would say two with Graham working for the Federation military. Graham could out do myself and the two better than me, I've see the skills he has, so I know what I'm talking about. What he had done during the battle of the Republic, that was simple stuff compared to the other things he could do.

Of course, Kurt had been the pilot of the custom Delta Fighter that had helped in the defense of the Eternal against the Jachin Due's forces. His preference in the weapon he used was almost like a signature for the man and yet, the things he could do with his beam scythe and beam shotgun combo, were scary to go against. I did give a nod to Kurt, which he returned nonchalantly, before I focused on Siegel Clyne. "See that though you got out alive, yet I see it wasn't without receiving a mark for it Siegel," I remarked.

Siegel rubbed his injured shoulder, "Yes, that sounds about right, I was worried about how the situation was going for a time, but it all ended well enough. Although, there were a number of good men and women that sacrificed their lives to make the escape possible," he replied.

Siegel didn't say any more, but Kurt took of the narrative of what had happened on the other end of the rescue operation. Kurt had been leading the other SOLAS team, which he said he volunteered for, he mentioned that he owed a favor to Sakura, didn't say why. Apparently, when they had gotten close to where Siegel had been holding up in, ZAFT armed forces had already found Siegel. The SOLAS team jumped in and helped, but those who were defending Siegel had been giving their all, some making the ultimate sacrifice to do that. After getting Siegel and those with him out, Kurt then found a bottle with 'something flamable' inside and made an old fashion Molotov cocktail. Kurt then used that cocktail to convince others that Siegel was dead and get rid of the evidence to the contrary, by burning down the house that Siegel had been held up in.

Honestly, if the SOLAS team hadn't arrived when they had, Siegel would unlikely be here right now. If Siegel had died, then the world would have even less of a chance of peace and its already hard enough. We can't afford to lose the advocates of peace there still are, there aren't as many as there once were.

The conversation came to a close, and with the Eternal docked like the other two ships were, that made it easier for use to move into the docking facility and from there to the other ships. The reason, tunnels connected to each ship allowed us to use the port facilities to travel between the crafts. The three of us made our way to the tunnel that led to the port and we traveled through it to the colony's southern port facilities. I get the feeling that Lacus would have gone to Kira for comfort and the port's internal structure seemed the most likely gathering place for the two.

I found out that I was right the gathering aspect, when I spotted Athrun with Cagalli in one of the rooms that was an observation lounge or at least it had a clear view of the docking area and the three ships now there. I glanced upward when movement caught my eye and saw both Kira and Lacus in one of the corridors above us. Siegel and Kurt stayed behind me, but didn't enter the room that Athrun and Cagalli were in. I would guess the officers of the Eternal were introducing themselves to the Archangel's crew and vice versa at this time.

As I got closer, I began to overhear some of the conversation between Cagalli and Athrun, "Really? I'm glad," Cagalli was saying to Athrun.

Haven't a clue what she's talking about, but then, I'm coming in on the middle of the conversation, so that's what I get. Neither Athrun, nor Cagalli appeared or gave any sign that they had noticed that I had entered the room. "But to think that she escaped with that huge thing. She's really something, I'll give her that," Cagalli continued, while looking at the Eternal.

Athrun muttered his agreement. I was just studying the pair, thinking how well they seemed to get along. I mean, Athrun begin formally engaged to Lacus would have been fine with me, though I think Lacus and Kira make a better pair personally. However, I believe Sakura had some problems or she had made it known that she didn't intend to accept Athrun being married to Lacus anytime in the near future. Both Cagalli and Athrun turned to gaze up at Kira and Lacus, who were talking by what I could tell from where I stood.

"Don't you mind, she is your fiancée, right?" Cagalli asked.

"Former fiancée," Athrun replied, smiling slightly. Cagalli was looking puzzled before Athrun continued, "Mostly because I was such a fool."

I couldn't hold in the snicker at my friend's admittance, and it was that, which got both he and Cagalli to realize I was in the room. "Worry not Athrun for you're not alone, we all can be fools at times, it's a way that we learn," I said.

"Well, it's better to realize it than never. The lessons hard learned are the ones we remember the most," Cagalli stated.

I blinked at the comment, for it's one that my mom had said every now and then. And now that I think about it, mom had mentioned that she did talk to the child of a friend, though she never said a name or anything. I guess that the friend could possibly be Uzume Athha, in which case Cagalli could fit the idea. It would explain where she got the second sentence from, "You've wisdom beyond your years to know and say that Cagalli. Applying that idea, is a different matter and normally comes through experience, but that's beside the point right now," I returned.

Cagalli looked over to where Kira and Lacus were again, "And I think that Kira is just as much a fool. So, even Coordinators can be fools."

I burst out laughing at that, and once I contained myself, I spoke, "Coordinators are as human as any other, so we can be stupid in how we choose things, just like everyone else. Why anyone thinks that Coordinators are perfect and can't make mistakes, needs to stop smoking whatever it is they are, because they're frying their brain. Still, I wouldn't say that Kira is a fool like you think he is, definitely not the kind Athrun has been recently." I turned to Athrun, "No insult or offense intended my friend," I said.

"None taken," Athrun replied.

I faced Cagalli again, "Kira is more naïve than he is foolish most of the time. Long have I been waiting for the day that he sheds that naiveté, pray that I live to see it and I doubt that I'm the only one," I finished.

I gestured to Athrun I would be back, before I went back to where Kurt and Siegel were still waiting. We then floated through the corridors, heading towards where Kira and Lacus were in the port area. By the time we reached the hallway that I could hear voices from, it instantly became clear that Lacus was crying. She probably believed that her father was killed, which was not the case as he was with me. I opened the door a little and peeked in and saw that my ears were indeed working perfectly fine, Lacus was crying into Kira's neck. I cleared my throat to get the attention of the pair, "Umm, don't doubt this is a bad time, but with Lacus crying her eyes out, I just can't stand by and do nothing." I said.

Kira looked at me with curiosity, "What do you mean Tye, can't whatever want to say wait for a bit?" asked my friend.

I gave a pained smile, "Normally I would say yes, yet right now no. In fact, I believe I can improve Lacus's mood tremendously," I finished. The door opened the rest of the way, revealing Siegel Clyne behind me and the man floated past me. "For look here Lacus, your father is alive and okay," I said.

The second Lacus saw her father, she shot towards him and hugged the man, crying once more, but in happiness, not in sadness. I motioned Kira to leave the two alone and he did as I motioned him to do. Kira and I went down to the observation lounge, where Athrun and Cagalli still were. And with Kira, Athrun and I in the same place at the same time, it was high time that we caught up with one another. Yes, Cagalli is still here, but I don't see her presence making much of a difference in the catch-up session.

I decided to be the one to start off the conversation this time around, and I began with my return home to the Republic. Talking about the feelings of worry and foreboding that I had felt when I had gotten home, was unpleasant. I paraphrased the message of the Atlantic Federation the best I could recall the wording, while I contained my anger at what ridiculous crap had been said. Granted, the Republic hadn't been completely unprepared for the Earth Forces attack as there was some time to do things before they arrived. The Federation military had been making preparations without notice for many years for the time that an attack would come, whether it came from the Alliance or ZAFT for both were expected at some point. That hadn't stopped the battle from being harsh in many ways, but it had helped minimize some of the damage incurred.

The wait time before the battle had been near torture for me at least, even with the impressive show of new mobile suits. Then the battle itself, had been horrid and I doubt that I was the only one to think of it that way. Things had started out okay; the Earth Forces were being halted in their advance, their mass production mobile suits were not being allowed to land on the mainland and so the Alliance was being forced back. Then, the three custom Alliance machines had appeared, and the flow of the battle had changed, the losses that we on the defending forces were taking multiplied and the effort required to defend the homeland increased. Athrun's arrival with the Justice was impeccable, for me specifically as he saved me from likely kicking the bucket!

The short talk Athrun and I had after the battle against the Alliance, was not as satisfying as a good long conversation, but that was all the time we had back then. We separated there, Athrun had headed to Orb while I had headed into space. From there, I had eventually gone to the PLANTs so that I could keep my promise to Lacus and help her and her father get away from those who were hunting them. I happened to leave out my encounter with Sakura, since I didn't see a reason to bring up that event nor what it involved. So, once getting out Siegel and Lacus, getting away from the PLANTs had been a bit of a task, but was handled. That was the short and sweet of what had happened for me over the time of separation between the three of us.

Kira was next in this conversation, and he started just after our parting at Orb when I left for the Republic. The tension around Orb was much the same as it was at the Republic, and increased as the attack from the Alliance loomed. The news of the results from the Earth Forces's attack on the Republic did provide a small morale boost, but the looming fight dispelled the effect for the most part. The preparation Orb made was respectable, so when the forces of the Atlantic Federation came, they were close to ready for the attack. The attack itself, came around two days after the Republic was assaulted. The fight went as good as could be expected, much like it had for the Republic and the Equatorial Union. It would have likely been worse if Federation forces hadn't been there to assist in the defense. Heck, Orb might not be standing right now, if they had been alone in their fight, who can say what could have been. None can say that those defending Orb hadn't been giving their all to protect their home. By what Kira said, Mu and Krystal showed their dedication and determination on the battlefield, even with it being their first real fight while piloting mobile suits.

When the break had come after the Alliance forces had fallen back without much of a reason other than the custom mobile suits which had appeared, went had gone back to their ship. The period of non-aggression lasted for close to two days, which was odd. Why it was that long, I can't say at this point, my only guess is that the Alliance was waiting for more forces to join them, but there could be more to it than that. Then, when the Alliance resumed their attack, the three custom suits that had been at the Republic appearing around Orb. The second fight had ended okay, but the losses had been harsh for both sides.

Leaving for space made sense to me, for that's where this war was and would get worse and where it has to stop. To know that Uzumi Athha was still alive did give me hope that things could become better. Like with Siegel, those who advocated peace were needed more now than before and the more of those there are the better chances there were for peace to be realized. Once up in space, Athrun had headed off to the PLANTs, probably to confront the chairman were I to assume. Kira had escorted Athrun two thirds of the way, around to the area that the forces from Jachin Due attacked the Eternal.

Athrun took up the narrative from there, going back a bit to be at his return to the PLANTs following what had went down outside Orb. He had noticed the change in how things felt around the PLANTs. Athrun mentioned being told of the failure of the massive ZAFT operation 'Spit break' which was the assault on JOSH-A. He also giving a short explain of the hopes that the operation bringing about a quick end to the war, which could happen but was unlikely. It had been just after I had taken the Freedom, so those running the ZAFT military and those running the PLANTs had been panicking about recent events. Then, I didn't blame Athrun not believing the rumors of Lacus and Siegel having betrayed the PLANTs, not with what both had done for the PLANTs before that. However, the meeting with the Chairman was much more revealing and educational in my view than what Athrun had heard along the way.

The major points of note would be; the results of what had happened with JOSH-A; the response that followed, Le Creuset, what the Council thought and a couple of other things. The officers that had been reporting to Chairman Zala had made what had happened sound worse than it had been. It hadn't been that there wasn't the correct information, for informants within ZAFT had supplied information that ZAFT command knew of the approximate losses taken. So why they would do that makes little sense, unless it was to force immediate action, there's not enough information to say yet. Then for Chairman Zala or those under his command, not to know where Rau Le Creuset was after JOSH-A, that made me more suspicious of the man and I already suspected a great deal of things about him. Specifically, I'm of the opinion that from the facts and evidence that points to Creuset being the rat that I've been witnessing the work of lately.

And yet, from what Athrun said, the chairman seemed to trust Le Creuset more than Admiral Treize, which didn't just worry me, it seriously alarmed me. Case and point, the track records of Treize and Creuset were very different. Treize had the golden, pristine one, achieved great results and exchanged the least amount of losses. While on the other end of the spectrum, Le Creuset had nearly the opposite type of record, he may get results, but would cause political fiascos and a slew of problems along with his actions. I would think that most sane people would be more likely trust Treize rather than Creuset, but it's the opposite with Chairman Zala and no real reason as to why.

Back to Athrun's account, the Supreme Council wanted to know what was going on, which gave me the impression that most of them had been kept in the dark about a lot more things than previously thought. And to keep those who are supposed to be working with you from knowing what you're doing, it breeds problems far more often than preventing them. One of the few good things the chairman had done, was to order the remaining ZAFT forces to move to Carpentaria, but Treize was doing that already. Next, things had turned to Lacus and Siegel, where Patrick Zala had shown himself to be far less tolerant and less able to control his emotions.

For him to be hunting them both was one thing, to be using ZAFT's justice department and regular soldiers to do that job… that sounds more like abuse of authority. I might not know how the governmental system the PLANTs use works from back to front, but I pretty sure that the chairman doesn't have the authority or power to order other committees to do whatever job comes to their mind. Patrick Zala is acting more like a dictator than a council leader, and with the way he's going lately, the man is heading towards tyrannical fast.

Athrun being shown the video of Lacus bringing me to where the Freedom was stored, had further confused him by his own words and it's understandable. After the meeting with the chairman, Athrun had the mental conundrum of the orders he had been given of finding the Freedom. While searching for the mobile suit was fine and justified, the other half of the orders were ridiculous, ludicrous and self-destructing. To order the elimination all people AND facilities that the Freedom came into contact with was dangerous for ZAFT. So, either the man hadn't thought out just what they could entail, or he didn't care enough anymore about anything other than his own goals to think about it what consequences would result. His orders, if followed, would pit the PLANTs against the Federation as that require the destruction of Teswa R&D and a portion of the Republic to start and include Orb and the Archangel. ZAFT is having enough difficulty against the Alliance without adding lots more crap to their plate!

Athrun had gone looking for Lacus, to get the real story from her, checking multiple sources to see what the real story like most sensible people would. When he had gone by the Clyne residence, he had looked around and he hadn't found many answers. One room that he described sounded like the room I had been in during the early stage of my recovery. Athrun continued his search and when he had found Lacus, she had told him the truth and it wasn't an easy truth for him to hear. He had doubted at first, but Lacus had manage to persuade Athrun of the truth, even with it being a hard realization. She had even made the wise suggestion of Athrun coming to Kira and me to talk, which I would thank her later for.

And so, Athrun had done the sensible thing and decided to look for answers himself. After taking the Justice, he left the PLANTs and started the 'search' for the Freedom following the basic path I had taken. Athrun had gone by Alaska when he got to Earth and had witnessed the results from the Earth Alliance's actions at JOSH-A. The crater that was where the base and surrounding area, showed charred ground and little else. From there, Athrun had headed towards the Republic, thinking I had gone there. He had come upon the scene of the Alliance throwing themselves at the defending forces of the Republic.

Of course, he had jumped in and helped, to which I'm grateful to my blue-haired friend. After the battle came to a close, Athrun and I'd had our short talk, in which I flat out told him that I didn't blame him for what happened outside of Orb. My suggestion for Athrun to go to Orb to assist Kira, was in my view still the best choice at the time. And from the outcome with both battles around Orb, I stand by that insistence I had.

Then once their group made it up to space, Athrun mentioned his thoughts of wanting to confront his father about what he was doing. Athrun had been seeing that the chairman's actions were not being done with the best future of the PLANTs in mind. And when he had said that line, I couldn't stop myself from voicing my thoughts, "Good Golly Athrun, part of me wants to say how noble of you it is to wish to attempt to reason with the man. However, the other half of me, urges me to grab your shoulders, shake you with some decent force and ask what were you thinking at a rather loud volume."

Athrun lowered his head at hearing that, yet Kira was the one to speak, "Tye, that's pretty harsh you know."

"Yeah, doesn't change the point Kira. I expect this kind of naïve ignorance from you," I shot back, pointing a finger at Kira, then swung to face Athrun. "Not you Athrun, even if I can understand your desire to help the man that looks and sounds like your father. I'm not saying that you couldn't possibly change his views, but from what I've seen, the man is completely focused on his vendetta now."

What I said, acted as a trigger and he Athrun continued where he left off, telling how he managed to convince Kira to help him and after delivering the Justice to the Archangel. I wish Kira had talked Athrun out of going to the PLANTs, but unfortunately, his naivete did its thing again. They left for the PLANTs shortly thereafter, Athrun in an Earth Alliance shuttle, while Kira was in the Freedom, to go with him a portion of the way. The detail that Athrun then gave of that meeting were not only quite impressive proof of his memory, but also painful to listen to for it proved me right.

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 _-Neutral pov-_

When Athrun had arrived at Jachin Due in the Alliance shuttle, he had been detained, which he had been expected. He had returned without the mobile suit he had left with, Athrun was prepared for the questions that would be demanded of him. He didn't answer much of them, but was polite about those he did answers, even if those interrogating him weren't. However, two things saved him from further questioning, the first was that someone came upon the interrogation, and it was Admiral Treize of all people who had been touring the base at that time. He had asked what was going on, and those trying to get information from Athrun couldn't come up with a response for the man. The second point that got Athrun out of the questioning, was that orders came that he was to be escorted to the Chairman's office immediately.

The trip to Aprilius One was quiet, and then the walk to Patrick Zala's office was the same. The two soldiers said nothing as they escorted Athrun, gave no expression to say anything. Upon entering the office, Athrun noted it was darker than it was the last time he was here. The expression on his 'father's' face was even less kind than when he received his mission to find the Freedom. Patrick Zala signaled for the soldiers to leave and they did, before he came around his desk and stood in front of Athrun. "You've returned from you mission and yet, by what I'm to understand, you came back on an Alliance shuttle and not a mobile suit. Now, where is the Justice? What happened to the Freedom?" he demanded.

Athrun's intention was to confront this man that was his father, in the hope to understand why he had been doing things that got so many people killed. The man Athrun remembered from when he was a child, had been a good man, stubborn at time and stern, but good natured and stood up for others. However, this man in front of Athrun now, was not even a shadow of that man, but for the good in him that Athrun still believed he had, the attempt had to be made to reason with him. "Father, what are your true feelings and intentions in regard to this war?" Athrun asked calmly.

Chairman Zala, just stared for a moment, before gaining an expression of annoyance on his face, "What did you say?" he shot back.

"You heard me, how much longer must we continue fighting?" Athrun continued, not willing to back down on this. The inquiry which questioned the purpose and reasoning for this conflict was important and Athrun had to know.

Again, Patrick Zala paused at the question, not quite believing that the one in front of him was asking this. "What nonsense are you blathering? What's important now it the mission you were handed! You're to report on that!" insisted Zala.

"I've returned because… I felt the need to directly ask you this question Father. How much more of this fighting, this destructive war must there be, how many more live will be lost before it ends?" Athrun shot back with as much insistence.

Patrick Zala, gained a look of growing anger, "Enough of this Athun! I will not have a child, who doesn't understand a thing, talking like this," he growled.

Before now, Athrun would have likely backed down, but not anymore, not with the things he had seen. Athrun wasn't ignorant of the world around him, nor anymore of the rising cost this 'war' was taking. "It is you who doesn't understand a thing! Alaska, Panama, Victoria, and then the battles that resulted because of those, do even know the exact numbers of those who didn't come back! You attack another, and then you're attacked again because you attacked! All the lives that are lost in this count for nothing, it doesn't make sense at all. This war only escalates, and more people die, yet nothing changes, the same responses and reactions don't solve anything. This war and the disasters its brought, they'll never stop with the current mentality, it will only keep spiraling into the death and destruction and it's getting out of control!" Athrun reasoned, but by the end he was close to shouting.

"Where did you get such crazy ideas? Have you been deceived by that girl as well, Lacus Clyne and her lies?" demanded Zala.

The replies coming from his father, were becoming more ridiculous each time, he wasn't listening to the subject matter, just thinking of the justifications for himself and his goals… whatever they were. The effects the war was having even now, were doing horrible things and were going beyond the original arguments that brought it about. "Father, do you seriously think that meeting power with powerwill put an end to this war?" Athrun questioned incredulously.

"Of course it will! The moment every last Natural is exterminated, the war will end!" Patrick Zala shot back.

Athrun was dumbfounded, not only at the answer, which was one he had never thought he would hear from this man, but also the conviction it was stated in. For, he was sure that when Chairman Zala said 'every last Natural', he included those that were a part of the Human Federation. The sheer amount of lives that would end and destroy… it went far beyond mass genocide, it was pure evil! This was more a mantra or answers Athrun would expect from groups like Blue Cosmos, not his father.

"Now tell me Athrun, what happened to our machines, the Justice and the Freedom?! Be aware that depending on your answer, even you may not be forgiven!" Patrick Zala said, regaining Athrun's attention.

He had to ask the question on his mind, though he was pretty sure what it would be in his heart, "Father, do you really mean what you said, about killing every Natural?" Athrun inquired seriously.

The chairman closed the distance between himself and Athrun and grabbed his son by the collar of his uniform. "That's the whole point to this war! That's why we're fighting it in the first place, how could you have forgotten that?" he snapped angrily.

This conversation was going worse with each line, "And do you include those who are members of the Federation?" Athrun questioned, hoping that somehow, he could make his father realize what he was saying and take back what he claimed.

"Of course it does, they are no different than any other Natural type, the Federation can't be trusted, Naturals have corrupted them and so, they are as much a threat as the Earth Alliance!" Chairman Zala barked, before he threw Athrun forward to the floor.

Athrun hit the ground and bounced once, before he hit the ground and rolled a few feet and came to a stop. It had been like a knife to the heart to hear his father declare that he would keep this war going until every Natural was dead. Such an action wouldn't bring an end to the war, Athrun knew it, the Coordinators who had loved ones that were Naturals wouldn't allow it. Such actions would only keep this vicious cycle this war was, going until humanity utterly destroyed itself. Athrun's thoughts were of why would his father do this and go so far as to keep this war going? However, the click of a gun being loaded and made readied to fire, was heard. Athrun glanced up at Chairman Zala, "A gun, father?" Athrun asked, tones of disbelief mixed with sadness entering his voice.

"Now, stop giving me that garbage and answer me! Where are the Justice and the Freedom?" Chairman Zala demanded.

Athrun gazed downward, at last realizing what Tyler had been trying to tell him when it came to the man that was the Chairman of the PLANTs. The man in front of Athrun looked like Patrick Zala, and even sounded like him, but he wasn't Patrick Zala anymore, he was now a stranger. The man that had been Athrun's father Patrick Zala was gone… and the awareness sinking in hurt more than any of the words that had been said.

 _-Flashback End-_

-Tyler's pov-

The meeting had ended with Athrun being taken by soldiers to be questioned, yet that hadn't happened as it was planned. Men that weren't loyal to Zala got Athrun out of that jam and had managed to get him to the Eternal shortly after the ship had launched.

I must admit, Kira, Athrun and myself seem to find ourselves lots of trouble to get ourselves involved in as of late. I think that Athrun and I are better at the idea than Kira is, but that's a matter of opinion. The mood between the three of us was glum and I didn't like it at all. I let out a sigh, "Well, at least we're all alive after what's happened, that's something to be grateful for if you ask me. Take this all as a 'you live, and you learn' experience," I said.

Kira smiled at me and nodded, "You're right Tye, with the events we've all been through, it's quite amazing that we're here right now."

"Say Tyler, do you know what the Federation's response is to the recent events?" Athrun asked.

I hesitated at the question, for it was a loaded question, "I know some of the responses, yeah. What you need to know, is there's a lot of factors, the two major ones being the Earth Alliance and ZAFT." I began, and at the mention of ZAFT Athrun frowned more.

"First, the Alliance has attacked three out of the five member nations on Earth, the Equatorial Union was also hit. The Earth forces that struck in the Equatorial Union were sent packing as the assault acted as a reason to put aside the differences that had the Union dealing with civil unrest. The Euros Coalition and the Kingdom of Scandinavia are tightening their borders and defense now. Although, the Alliance would have to get past the Federation's Asgard base at the western edge of the Euros Coalition and that's a base they've never won against. But still, those in control of the Earth Alliance have made their intentions clear, they want the vendetta to be fulfilled no matter what, and the Federation is in the way," I iterated.

I paused, for the other response was less nice, even if I agreed with the actions. The results were harsh to say the least, the losses faced by the Earth Forces were an example that the ones in control of the Alliance didn't care about anyone but themselves. "As a result of the attacks on Federation member nations, the actions are seen as a declaration of war against the Human Federation by the Earth Alliance, even if they didn't state it being so. Here in space, the Federation's space fleets have been mobilized and are hunting down the Alliance's orbital fleets. They give them the chance to surrender, and if that's refused, then the orbital fleet is then destroyed. Thus far, by what I've understood, two of the Alliance's fleets have been eliminated and a third will soon follow. It's been all done within the last two weeks, so I doubt that the Earth Forces have high morale or are feeling nicely about their allies on Earth, if they know at all," I continued.

The audience in the room had increased, since the conversation had begun, and with the things that I had said, most were not looking happy about the subject. I took a deep breath and kept going as there was the other part of this, "Then, you have ZAFT, and that's a different and a more complicated matter than the Earth Alliance is. And as far as I can tell, the biggest part that cause the issues, stems from the schism that's formed between the leadership of the PLANTs and the head of ZAFT's military."

"You're referring to ZAFT's Admiral Treize," posed Mu, who was part of the audience in the room.

I nodded, "Yep, that would be the head of ZAFT's military, even if it is unofficial. The information supplied, implies that the distance between him and the PLANTs Supreme Council's chairman, is growing on both sides and not slowly. I feel one of the main reason things aren't even worse than they are now, is Treize is keeping a firm standing and keeping control of the majority of ZAFT forces." I turned my head to Kurt who had been listening from the beginning, "Tell me Kurt, how much influence does Treize actually have within the ZAFT military, you know the man better than I would."

Kurt put a hand to his chin, "Depends on how many fear the current chairman, I would think the majority of ZAFT officers would follow Lanus over Zala, but can't say for sure any more. I can guarantee that the remaining champions will stand behind Treize, not a question about that," he replied.

That hopefully meant that much of ZAFT's forces would be likely back the champions, but with how Chairman Zala been running things, who can say. There was also one piece of information that I hadn't said yet, and didn't know if I should at this time. The Federation had found out that there were some in ZAFT that were building a 'super weapon' of some kind. Information about the weapon hadn't been obtained yet, and that was extremely troublesome. I have the feeling that Patrick Zala is behind the super weapon, whatever it is, and is keeping the information about secret. That implies that he might think that there are those that supply the Federation with information, which is correct.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **That's where I'll stop for this Phase. Now originally, I had one more scene in this Phase, but I decided that it works better as the start of the next Phase. It will make more sense I think when Phase 21 is written, and it adds a real change in the storyline. Anyways, the change I made in the Aurora's arsenal, was that the 50mm Vulcans that are usable in flight mode, are now 90mm versions instead. Other than that, nothing else has changed for that machine as I like it the way it is. For Siegel Clyne's survival, like Uzumi Athha, I have parts for them to play in future, so they ain't dead in my version. If any of you should dislike that change, tough luck, my story, my choice. As I say at pretty much each chapter, please some of you write a review, long or short, doesn't matter to me, just tell me what you think or ask questions. Until the next Phase, peace out all!**


	21. Phase 21: An Uncomfortable Reunion

**A/n**

 **Okay, I know that this Phase is on the longer end of the length spectrum, but when I originally started outlining what I wanted this Phase covered, there was more. There came a point that I just decided to split the subject matter into two Phases, may be more. Second there is a reason that the starting date is a lot farther ahead from where it was last Phase. I'll explain it at the end and my decision why I have jumped as far head as I have. Other than saying I own nothing from the Gundam Universe, only my characters and musings, on with the show!**

* * *

Phase 21: An Uncomfortable Reunion

July 3rd, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Ptolemaeus Lunar Base

The feeling that pervaded over the Alliance's moon headquarters had changed quite a bit over the last five weeks. After what had happened at JOSH-A, there had been a mix of increased morale at the losses that ZAFT had incurred, and for some, pain from those who gave their lives there. Then, came the news of the battle of Panama and the destruction of its mass driver, which had caused lots of worry. The loss of the only mass driver the Alliance controlled, had been a harsh blow and supplies had been rationed out as a result.

The mixed messages that had started coming from their allies on Earth, had been confusing to the general personnel at Ptolemaeus base. The clear point was that their allies were trying to acquire a mass driver to get the supply line back and running, but other than that, not much else could be determined. Then, when the reports of Victoria being retaken came, that had brought relief and hope that this war could end with victory for the Alliance.

However, the view drastically changed when the report of the of a patrol finding what they identified as the remains of the fifth orbital fleet. Like was standard with any of the orbital fleets, it had been made up of more than thirty ships, thirty-six to be exact. Yet, by what the patrol had come across, all thirty-six ships had been destroyed. And after they had investigated, evidence strongly suggested that the Federation Military was responsible and that didn't make any sense to those in command at Lunar HQ. The type of damage and other signs that were seen, the fifth orbital fleet had been wiped out, likely in a short period of time. And since there had been no distress call from any of the ships in the fleet, it was assumed that none had the time to do so.

The Earth Forces had feared that should they go against the Federation military, they would take serious losses. It was the reason they had left them alone while they were battling ZAFT. So, reasons as to why the Federation would attack the Alliance suddenly, none could say. Messages were sent to the Federation for them to stop, for the destruction of their orbital fleets so quickly that no distress calls could be sent out, it was as embarrassing as it was frightening! However, the response that had come back, shocked most if not all commanding officers. The message from the Federation had simply been that due to the recent actions of the Alliance forces, the Earth Forces had declared war on the Human Federation. What made this message more clear and harsh, was ships that were a part of the third orbital fleet, found the wreckage of the fourth fleet a few days later.

Rumors of the message from the Federation military spread through the base and guesses as to what was implied by 'recent acts of the Alliance forces' quickly followed. Natarle Badgiruel found that what was being said, to be seriously worrying and confused her for several reasons, didn't do anything to help her mood, which was low after coming up to Lunar HQ. After reading the reports of what happened at JOSH-A, it had hurt Natarle badly, so many lives lost there. Nothing had been heard about the Archangel, though there were rumors that some of the defending forces had escaped somehow, but nothing else. Then with the Federation not just attacking orbital fleets, but eliminating them in next to no time for no visible reason was scary to comprehend!

Granted, Natarle had heard stories and read some of the report of the instances that the Earth Forces had gone against the Federation military. None of the files she'd read or heard had gone well for the Alliance. However, the Federation's stance of neutrality had kept things on at least non-violent terms with the Federation for the Alliance. So, the question of course, was what had changed that? There had been nothing from their allies on Earth that would suggest anything that would prod the Federation into these actions.

When the call for Natarle to report to the commanding officer in charge here at Lunar HQ, which was in Admiral Maes office. She promptly headed to the man's office, hoping that she might also get some answers to the hanging questions. Upon arriving, Natarle saluted her superior officer and waited to be addressed.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel, thank you for coming so promptly," greeted Admiral Maes.

"Not at all sir, what can I do for you?" Asked Natarle.

The man picked up a folder from his desk, "You're being assigned to the Archangel-class Dominion as its captain, as such, you are being promoted to Lieutenant Commander. In this folder are the files of those who will make up the ship's crew, they have been picked on the recommendations of creditable officers."

Admiral Maes handed the collection of personnel files over to Natarle, "I'm honored that I would be selected for the post sir. However, as good as these people are said to be by others, I will reserve judgement for when we go through a couple of simulations. Only then will I decide whether I can count on them on the battlefield, no offense intended Admiral," she stated.

Maes nodded, "That is completely understandable Lieutenant, getting to know the capabilities of those who are part of your crew is a good habit to have. I see you've inherited that qualities from your Father, Commander Badgiruel. He also would take the time to observe and test all of his crew members before accepting command over them and I respect that. I happened to have had the opportunity and good fortune to work with him," he replied.

"Thank you Admiral, that means a lot to be told that I'm like my father, he was the reason I joined the Earth Forces." Natarle paused and then decided to ask the questions that had been weighing on her, "Admiral, if I may ask a question sir."

Admiral Maes gestured for Natarle to go on, "Has there been any reason determined, for the actions of the Federation military against the orbital fleets?" She inquired.

The man's gaze fell slightly, "I wish I had an answer to that question Lieutenant, I really do. None of us here have been able to come up with anything other than, something happening on Earth that we don't know about yet. Orders have been sent to all the remaining Orbital Fleets, to be on guard and avoid encounters with Federation forces," he returned.

Natarle left the office, still confused as to what was going on within the Alliance. She didn't doubt the reasons the Alliance had for fighting in this war, but some of the methods were extreme and could be done far better. Things had been so much simpler and easier to understand, back when she had been with others, working on the first Archangel.

She headed to the docking area, and stared at the 'Dominion' the second Archangel-class vessel the Alliance had constructed and put into service. The major difference between the Dominion and the Archangel, was the Dominion was black overall and the Archangel was white. Natarle then began the process of transferring her personal things to the captain's quarters of the Dominion. The quarters felt somewhat alien to her, since she had occupied the vice captain's quarters while on the Archangel. Some of the final words that Murrue Ramius came time mind for Natarle, that her former captain believed she would make an excellent captain someday and here she was, a captain.

After settling in, Natarle headed to the bridge and found that a small number of officers were there. When they saw her exit the elevator, they all saluted her, Natarle returned the gesture and floated towards the captain's chair. She asked the ship's status and was told that the final adjustments were being made, and that they should be done within an hour. With the status of the vessel answered, Natarle began skimming over the personnel files.

When the Dominion was ready, it launched out of Ptolemaeus and came to the starting position that had been set for the practice exercise they had today. The scenario was one of the more up to date simulations the Alliance development sections had come up with. The enemy side was made up of two Nazca-classes and two Laurasia-class. No mobile suits were in this scenario, but four against two would make this realistic enough. The Dominion had one Drake-class supporting them, but that was all.

Natarle ordered the offensive and defensive systems on and prepare for combat. She noted the poor reaction time that the bridge operators had and it worried her. Inexperience in whatever they did was one thing, but this was not a time to have it come out. The ZAFT vessels let loose a barrage of their weapons, the beams were disbursed by the anti-beam depth charges. However, the missile interception wasn't happening quickly enough and Natarle could see that some of them would strike the Dominion if that didn't change now. "Counter-measure station, what are you doing?! Speed up the missile interception now!" ordered Natarle.

There was scrambling down in the CIC, but an alarm a few seconds later, signaled the end of the exercise. The Dominion had been destroyed by the ZAFT forces and had failed the simulation. Natarle wasn't happy at that result, but she knew that snapping at the crew here wouldn't help much. She sunk back into her chair, "Congratulations everyone, if this had been an actual battle, all of us would be dead. Let this be a lesson on the need to know your station better and as soon as possible," stated Natarle disappointedly, then she sighed. "Helm, bring us back to dock, once there you are all dismissed. Please learn your jobs and practice them so that this kind of thing doesn't happen the next time."

Admiral Maes had mentioned that the crew on this ship had been picked to be good and experienced personnel. Yet, from what Natarle had just seen, they hadn't taken the time to explore the stations they were to operate or to know each other at all. This crew might as well be a fresh new crew for what they could do was not much better. That would need to change before they entered real combat, or they wouldn't make it through the first fight.

 **-Line Break-**

Capitol Building, Shira, The Republic

The room for the press would meet in within the Republic's capitol building was packed with news reporters from all major media network and others operating cameras. Many were wondering why they had been invited here, for all that had been said was there would be a momentous broadcast made by the Prime Minister herself. For most of the reporters, that reason was enough to get their attention as it was rare for the leader of the Republic to do such a thing. On the few instances she had, the event had been indeed ones of distinguished note and if this one was going to be similar, then none of them wanted to miss it!

Behind the scenes, there were people, including members of the Federation military, that were preparing to send the broadcast out. The broadcast was going to be sent on every single communication channel possible, private and public, on as many transmission frequencies as could be managed. The purpose of this broadcast was to deliver a message to as many human beings as possible and with the assistance of the Federation, this message would reach all members of humanity as was possible regardless where they were or what means they had of communications.

When the press secretary came out and stood in front of the lectern and looked over the crowd, those in the room settled down and became quiet. The man was in a business suit, and after the signal that the broadcast was being transmitted, he spoke. "Thank you all for coming to this presentation, your time that you spend here will not be wasted," snaps of cameras were heard as the greeting was given by the man. The man bowed and gestured to his right, "And now without further ado, the Prime Minister of the Republic of East Asia, Ellen Blass."

There were applause as Ellen came out into the open and walked towards the lectern. Questions began to be asked by the reporters the very second that Ellen came onto the stage, yet she didn't answer them as her Press Secretary moved aside for her, offering use of the lectern. Ellen took the lectern and faced the reporters, "As my press secretary said to you all, thank you for taking the time coming here. I invited you all here for an address I will make to you, the world and to those in space, both on the moon and living in colonies. Once the address is done, then I will take questions that I would not doubt you will have, so please hold them until then."

All the reporters focused their attention on Ellen, not wanting to miss anything she might say now. Ellen took a breath, taking one look to one of those working to broadcast this event, and was given the thumbs up. After seeing that, Ellen began, "To all who are hearing or viewing this broadcast right now, my name is Ellen Blass and I'm the current leader of the Republic of East Asia, one of the member nations of the Human Federation. I make this address, in the hope it will assist all of those who can make a difference come to see reason and save the lives that haven't been lost already. Every human being has either seen or experienced the chaos and violence around us in some way, which comes from the conflict that rages today."

Ellen gazed out on the reporters in the room, "The war between the Earth Alliance and the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty or ZAFT as it's also called, has been ongoing on officially for five years as of February fourteenth of this year and longer than that unofficially. Neither side has shown any intent or inkling to end this war in the near future in any way, shape or form. Leaders from both sides have made all sorts of promises for an end to this conflict and yet, none have provided anything of the sort, all they have brought is a continuation of the fighting. However, I'm not here to justify any of them, nor what they work for. None of them have shown that they care about those who die in their battles, whether they are soldiers or just happened to be around the fighting."

She paused for a breath before continuing, "This war known as the First Alliance-PLANT war, was brought about because of the hatred of some of those that are viewed as different from others around them. Due to this current conflict, that hatred and fear has spread and fuel the flames of war and destruction. People that wish to live in peace are driven from their homes, fearing for their lives because of this. Places of peace and safety are attacked when they refuse to participate and take a side in this conflict. Or else they are deemed as an 'enemy' of the attackers if the demand of participation is refused."

Ellen picked up a paper from the folder that she had carried in with her, it was the first page of the ultimatum from the Atlantic Federation and showed it to the crowd. "If any wish for an example of such a thing, in my hand is a page of the message that was sent to the Republic before the nation itself came under attack by the Earth Forces. Other member nations of the Federation received similar a form of communication before being assaulted by the military forces of the Earth Alliance. Each occurrence came because none of the nations agreed to the demands from the Alliance to join them in their battle against ZAFT and the PLANTs."

Ellen then, out down the page, "In the words of the senders in reference to their view of the Human Federation, they stated such 'has shown itself to not have the interests of the human species at heart as shown by their actions. The Human Federation's actions are unacceptable and so, the group is denounced as an official group by the Earth Alliance as a whole.' The Claim is asserted even with historical records showing clearly, that the Alliance has recognized the Human Federation as an autonomous faction from any others formed. Then, the senders' demands were akin to the terms of surrender or else be considered an enemy of them."

Some of the reporters gasped and other muttered at hearing what the Earth Alliance had done as well as some denials of the claim. Ellen ignored the reaction and kept going, "That is what kind of actions have become commonplace from this war and none of it has done anything of value or good for any part of the human race. It only has and will take away; destroy and ruin the places we call home and that which one holds dear. And if there are no changes made, then more and more will be taken. This war has stolen many people's lives before their time already and more will follow if humanity accepts this war as it is or at all."

Quiet mutterings floated around the room, and yet still, Ellen kept going with what she wanted to convey. "Many of you viewing and listening right now, understand what I speak of, the pain of knowing loved ones will not be coming home or back to you ever again. It is you, who are glossed over by the ones who insist on keeping this war and the hatred that fuels it, going, I speak to now. To you women that are wives, now in the depths of sorrow being without your husbands because their lives were taken by this war, give heed. To all you men that are husbands, grieving for your lost wives, whether you do so in view of others or when no one sees you, I urge you to listen. To all the children, who don't see one, or perhaps both of their parents any more, even if you are too young to understand why they can't come home to you, lend me your ears. And to all of those, who weep and pine for those who presence is missing because their lives were taken, do not shut out this message. None of you are alone in this horrible pain that is torturing you, for I myself know of the same pain as you feel. I too, have lost some dear to me due to this conflict and wish that they were still alive and with me right now."

Ellen took a calming breath and wiped her eyes at recalling her dear husband and cheerful daughter who had died because of this war. Even if she didn't normally show how much she missed them both, Ellen truly missed her daughter Lana along with her husband, best friend and closest companion, Lance. "I stand here before you today to tell you all that there is still hope for peace and an end to this conflict. It requires that all of us rise up, open our eyes to the truth that others hide and stand together refusing things as they stand right now. That's the first step to end this conflict and stop the loss of lives that is happening a daily basis! These horrible events that take loved ones away can and must be stopped, all the lives lost at Victoria and Panama never have to happen again elsewhere as some shout they must, none of those there were necessary casualties of war nor are any lives, no matter what type of human one is. If the war between the Earth Forces and ZAFT is allowed to continue, then it will not just lead to even more destruction, but to another Bloody Valentine Incident and further, it will take the future from us all!"

The gasping and muttering from what Ellen had said before had ceased and all were paying focused attention to her now. Microphones were pointing at her and many had recording devices running to catch every word. "Today, all will know the truth of what happened at that PLANT type colony, Junius Seven, I will make sure of that. The Bloody Valentine Incident is an event that all know by now, but parts of the account of what happened there and the results, are lies that have been spread since its occurrence. Both people within the Alliance and its military, along with the PLANTs and ZAFT, have tried to hide truths about the colony for different reason, but all of that ends today!" she stated with firmness.

Complete silence hung in the room, as all waited to hear what would be said next. Ellen continued. "It is fact that a missile bearing a nuclear warhead struck Junius Seven, bringing about the destruction of the colony. Close to a quarter of a million people followed the colony with the deaths, those facts are true. However, what the public does not know, is that between a third to half of that population were made up of Natural type human being."

The voices of reporters rose, questions about Ellen's statement being the subject of inquiry. Ellen waited for the crowd to quiet down, before she continued, "The reason this fact is unknown or denied, is because a number of individuals and groups don't wish this truth to be known. For some of them, the fact would have them facing criminal charges before now, while others don't want to admit what Natural type humans being on Junius Seven nor what it implies."

Ellen took a deep breath and then revealed what she had wanted to for years, "Junius Seven was not just an agricultural colony that was home to a large number of human beings, it was also a testing ground to see if Coordinator type and Natural type humans could live in peace and harmony together. The colony proved such a thing was easily possible, so much so that even Milliardo Peacecraft, the leader of the Earth Sphere before the Alliance was formed, was impressed and he was even encouraged by what he saw there. That man, who advocated peace was also on Junius Seven at the time of the nuclear strike took place. Whether that was by chance or by some design, all I can say at this time is that the Federation military is currently investigating it. On a more personal note, to those who would say I couldn't possibly know what it feels like to have lost someone in the Bloody Valentine, I can assure you that I do. My husband was at the colony, doing research that could and would have benefit both the colonies and Earth itself. My ten-year-old daughter was also there at the time and so, because of the hatred of a few towards Coordinators, they are dead, and I can never see them again."

There was silence akin to the silence of the grave and Ellen continued, "All the tragedies from the Blood Valentine to the battles that have happened in this war, none of it is the fault of the soldiers or pilots that fight in them, for they are following orders, some willingly, others unwillingly. Most of them are protecting their homes and what they hold dear to themselves and that is not wrong. The ones who are at fault for this war and what it has brought to us all, can be identified, regardless if they take responsibility for their actions or not. There is a phrase that most will have heard at least once by now, but I will change it slightly to promote understanding. The ones that ushered in this war and keep it going, are 'humankind's true enemy'."

Questions were raised at the last statement Ellen made by some of the reporters. Nevertheless, those who were asking them were quelled as Ellen continued, "I understand that more of an explanation is required so that it is understood, and others do not use my words to justify committing atrocities after this like others had done before now."

Ellen took a moment to gather her thoughts and then began her explanation "First, I will define those who would be considered 'humankind's true enemy'. They are those who use their hatred of others, as the sole reason for attacking and killing people, innocent or not. They are those who insist that war is the only way to settle standing disagreements and more, adamantly claiming there is no other solution no matter the evidence provided to the contrary. They are those, who use their war cries for blood to be spilled and see them as rallying calls for others to join them as well as justification for their terrible and unforgivable actions. They are those, who are more intent on pursuing their vendettas and fulfilling them, than seeking peace for all people. Those who see nothing wrong with using and abusing people, knowingly and unknowingly, then toss them away after they fail or don't provide a use or purpose for those that control them. They are those who promote this war and say it will only end when a whole part of humanity, whether it be Coordinator, Natural, Hybrid or any other form of human being is completely exterminated! Any who do one or more of the points I mentioned, are humankind's true enemy and are as demons dressed in human skin. They are the same as the most villainous individuals in our history, the same as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler or Musade Muhlan, they used war to kill all they could. And those who are humankind's true enemy will be remembered in the exact same way as those horrible individuals! Like those villains, those who are humankind's true enemy, are not human beings, they are a creature that is less than any type of human is."

None in the room could find use of their voices after hearing the definition that Ellen gave of who it was that was responsible for the current war. So, Ellen kept going in wrapping up her message, "It is individuals and groups that are humankind's enemy need to be stood up against now more than ever. Humankind's true enemy uses fear, intimidation, lies and deception to force others to do the work for their intentions. They require others to fulfill their vendettas and ambitions, and only we can give them that power by listening and giving into them. Now is the time to stand together and stand against them, only doing that will be how this war will come to an end."

Ellen put her hands together, "So, I pled and urge all of you hearing my voice, for all you hold dear and for the future generations yet to come, show the courage within you that all human beings have, no matter what type you are. Use that courage and rise up against those who insist on destroying humanity in any way, they are the harbingers of death for the whole human race; Coordinator, Naturals, Hybrids and any other form of human. Humanity isn't made up of just a single form of humanity, not only Coordinators, just Naturals or Hybrids, but all of them together are humanity. I pray that this horrible, terrible conflict come to an end, so that the least there are still human beings living. Yet, it will take many of us to accomplish this task. No one is too small or beneath notice, everyone can make a difference and it is now, that such amazing potential that all human beings have, needs to be shown and used!"

When Ellen finished her message, reporters began talking over one another, trying to get their question answered first. Ellen took a breath a picked one of the reporters, knowing that this would be a long day with what she had started.

 **-Line Break-**

Victoria Base, eastern African Community

It was a few days after the second battle at the Orb Union that the Alliance's 2nd seaborne fleet arrived at the retaken Victoria Base. Azrael's mood was not a happy one, with what had happened with Orb, he was infuriated, and his mood reflected it. In the end, Mina's suggestion to make a tactical retreat had been correct, if Athha has destroyed Orb's mass driver, then the effort put into getting where they were would have been wasted. Even with knowing those facts, that didn't mean that Azrael had liked it.

Once the Spengler-class had docked at the port, Azrael quickly exited the ship, not wanting to stay on board any longer with his mood. Mina had mentioned that she would take care of the six mobile suits and her candidates and that was fine by him. Azrael was quickly guided to the base's airfield where Captain Sutherland was waiting for him. They got on board an aircraft that would fly over the area of the base so that they could look over the results of the battle to retake Victoria.

As they flew over and took in the view, Azrael's mood improved at seeing how efficiently the base had been taken back in. Around seventy-five percent or a little more of the structures were in fair condition and most of all, the mass driver was in good working order. "I must say Captain Sutherland, very impressive work. Congratulations are in order for taking Victoria this much intact, very well done indeed," remarked Azrael.

Sutherland smiled a bit, "Not at all director. The Strike Daggers are a very well-made weapon and are matches against ZAFT's mobile suits. However, I have to admit, the Sinister, the Bandit and the Raptor did an amount of the work and helped speed the process up. Their pilots might be young, but they are good at getting results as Dr. Moss has claimed."

Azrael frown at hearing the last line, "It would've been nice to see that on my end," he muttered.

Sutherland grunted, "Where I would have been pleased for you if you had taken the Orb Union, as they're members of the Federation, going at them wasn't going to be easy. It's hard to admit, but the Federation has shown itself to be unpredictable and good at defying odds," Sutherland remarked.

The two discussed the recent Alliance operations, while the aircraft finished its tour and returned to the runway at Victoria, where upon exiting the plane, were greeted by Mina. Azrael stared at Mina, "Hope that things are ready on your end Mina."

"The three you had director, are doing better, they should be fine as long as they receive their maintenance on schedule consistently. If someone skips the drug doses for any reason, I guarantee nothing, keep that in mind. Those three are already moving their assigned suits to the transport that's going to go up to space as you requested," Mina stated. "Now, while you go up to space, I would prefer to stop by Lodonia while I'm this close and make sure things are going like they should be. Plus, adjustments with the mobile suits and candidates can be done better and quicker at the Lab anyway."

Azrael shrugged, "I don't see that as a problem, just don't take too long. I still expect to see you and those girls of yours up in space working Mina," he returned.

Mina bowed in understanding and left the two men and headed off. Azrael turned his attention back to captain Sutherland, "You said that the problems at Orb, the Republic and the Equatorial Union came from more the Federation end, care to elaborate on what you mean captain?"

Sutherland began talking about how the Federation had mobile suits, which the Alliance hadn't known until now. Then there was the possibility that the Federation member nations and the military got some of their technology from ZAFT and the PLANTs. The other point was that it was clear that the Federation nations had prepared for attacks. Then the discussion turned to some of the custom mobile suits that had been seen.

"The two machines from Orb, you can call me crazy, but I think those two suits were nuclear powered. That is the only way that I can think of that could power them and help them overpower other machines," Azrael remarked.

Sutherland gained an expression of shock, but then took a moment to consider the idea, "Nuclear powered? Well, if they come from the PLANTs, that wouldn't be all that surprising. They created the N-Jammers, so they could make a way around the devices. The Federation could also possibly have come up with those machines, their technology has always been slightly ahead of the Alliance and ZAFT most of the time."

"Is there any possibility that either or both could be captured?" asked Azrael.

Sutherland said it might be, but they would need more information. They both entered part of the base to discuss what would need to happen next. The shuttle transport would leave later today to head to the Ptolemaeus Lunar base and Azrael intended to be on board.

However, while waiting for the time that the shuttle would take off, Azrael came across a broadcast that made him pause. Irritation filled him as he saw the face of Ellen Blass, the "Dragon of the Republic" and one that caused issues with Azrael himself more than once. With her being the political leader of the Republic was one thing, but for her to be unwilling to cooperate in any way with the Alliance, had complicated plans.

" _I make this address, in the hope it will assist all of those who can make a difference come to see reason and save the lives that haven't been lost already. Every human being has either seen or experienced the chaos and violence around us in some way, which comes from the conflict that rages today. The war between the Earth Alliance and the Zodiac Alliance of Freedom Treaty or ZAFT as it's also called, has been ongoing on officially for five years as of February fourteenth of this year and longer than that unofficially. Neither side has shown any intent or inkling to end this war in the near future in any way, shape or form. Leaders from both sides have made all sorts of promises for an end to this conflict and yet, none have provided anything of the sort, all they have brought is a continuation of the fighting,_ " began Ellen Blass.

The woman was a fool in Azrael's opinion, to speak of the chaos that the horrible Coordinators had brought about like it was any other's fault was deplorable! This war would only end when the PLANTs were destroyed, and all other Coordinators were hunted down and killed. That would be the only way this conflict would come to a close and any who said otherwise were fooling themselves.

Yet, Azrael kept watching this farce, and it became laughable to him quite quickly. Blass spoke of hatred and people fleeing their homes, pointless drivel really. The way that Ellen Blass had of speaking was different than many politicians, he admitted it, but it can get boring fairly fast. But, Azrael's attention was brought back as the Alliance was mentioned, " _… the Human Federation, they stated such 'has shown itself to not have the interests of the human species at heart as shown by their actions. The Human Federation's actions are unacceptable and so, the group is denounced as an official group by the Earth Alliance as a whole.' The claim is asserted even with historical records showing clearly, that the Alliance has recognized the Human Federation as an autonomous faction from any others formed after the Earth Alliance was. Then, the senders' demands were akin to the terms of surrender or else be considered an enemy of them, which is in the end the same thing._ "

Azrael felt anger at hearing what Ellen Blass had said, for the blame of things to be put on the Alliance wasn't how things were supposed to go. Then, to use the words which had been in the demand sent to the Republic, the Equatorial Union and Orb, against the Alliance. It fed his anger at the denial of what was rightfully the Earth Alliance's to begin with! Azrael's fury grew as he listened to Blass give 'her message' to the masses and it was dangerous for those like Azrael himself. The ridiculous things that the woman brought up was more than annoying and were damaging to work that had been done thus far to boost morale within the Alliance.

" _If the war between the Earth Forces and ZAFT is allowed to continue, then it will not just lead to even more destruction, but to another Bloody Valentine Incident and further, it will take the future from us all!_ " Ellen Blass was saying, to Azrael's displeasure and anger. " _Today, all will know the truth of what happened at that PLANT type colony, Junius Seven, I will make sure of that. The Bloody Valentine Incident is known by all, but parts of the account of what happened there and the results, are lies that have been spread since its occurrence. Both people within the Alliance and its military, along with the PLANTs and ZAFT, have tried to hide truths about the colony for different reason, but all of that ends today!_ "

The last line the woman said, worried, frustrated and enraged Azrael in so many ways. For her to have brought up the one event that could influence so many, irked him. Then for her to even consider providing more facts of what had happened to Junius Seven would be very problematic! Yet, even with that being the case, the blasted woman Ellen Blass kept going, " _It is fact that a missile bearing a nuclear warhead struck Junius Seven, bringing about the destruction of the colony. Close to a quarter of a million people followed the colony with their deaths, those facts are true. However, what the public does not know, is that between a third to half of the population there were made up of Natural type human being. The reason this fact is unknown or denied, is because a number of individuals and groups do not wish this truth to be known. For some of them, the fact would have them facing criminal charges before now, while others don't want to admit what Natural type humans being on Junius Seven nor what it implies._ "

Azrael wanted to strangle the woman so much right now, for her to dare to say that there had been Naturals on that colony, when lots of effort had been put in to dismissing that as false. But, things didn't stop there, no, Blass kept speaking of things that she shouldn't, " _Junius Seven was not just an agricultural colony that was home to a large number of human beings, it was also a testing ground to see if Coordinator type and Natural type humans could live in peace and harmony together. The colony proved such a thing was easily possible, so much so that even Milliardo Peacecraft, the leader of the Earth Sphere and the former United Nations before the Alliance was formed was impressed and he was even encouraged by what he saw there._ "

To hear the mention of the man that had stood in the way for so long, served to anger Azrael a great deal more. Milliardo Peacecraft, a man that had the 'love of the people', and he had been insistent on peace with Coordinators being pursued. The failed attempt to kill him along with the rest of the fools in the United Nations body, was infuriating as he had been absent. But then the day Junius Seven had been destroyed had come and so many issues had gone away, the foremost being that Peacecraft had been erased. Yet here, the spirit of the cursed peace-loving man haunted Azrael! Peacecraft had been such a fool, explaining to him why Coordinators needed to be wiped out completely had been pointless in the end.

" _That man, who advocated peace was also on Junius Seven at the time of the nuclear strike took place. Whether that was by chance or by some design, all I can say at this time is that the Federation military is currently investigating it. On a more personal note, to those who would say I couldn't possibly know what it feels like to have lost someone in the Bloody Valentine, I can assure you that I do. My husband was at the colony, doing research that could and would have benefit both the colonies and Earth itself. My ten-year-old daughter was also there at the time and so, because of the hatred of a few towards Coordinators, they are dead, and I can never see them again._ " Continued Blass.

The Federation military investigating into the Bloody Valentine Incident was bad news for Azrael himself and others. It could explain why a few individuals had disappeared over the last two years without trace. Still, to hear that Ellen Blass had lost loved ones in the nuclear strike, honestly, felt nice knowing he had helped get a shot in on the 'imperturbable politician' which Ellen Blass had shown herself to be over the years.

The woman didn't help her case as she claimed that the soldiers of both sides weren't at fault, just 'following orders'. This woman was whimsical, a painful annoyance one moment and then a sentimental fool the next. " _The ones who are at fault for this war and what it has brought to us all, can be identified, regardless if they take responsibility for their actions or not. There is a phrase that most will have heard at least once by now, but I will change it slightly to promote understanding. The ones that ushered in this war and keep it going, are 'humankind's true enemy'._ "

Hearing that line, caught Azrael's attention, as much for coining 'mankind's enemy' from Blue Cosmos as the subject matter hinted at. And so, Azrael glared with sheer hatred at the leader of the Republic as she continued her 'address', " _I understand that more of an explanation is required so that it is understood, and others do not use my words to justify committing atrocities after this like others had done before now. First, I will define those who would be considered 'humankind's true enemy'. They are those who use their hatred of others, as the sole reason for attacking and killing people, innocent or not. They are those who insist that war is the only way to settle standing disagreements and more, adamantly claiming there is no other solution no matter evidence provided proof to the contrary. They are those, who use their war cries for blood to be spilled and see them as rallying calls for others to join them as well as justification for their terrible and unforgivable actions. They are those, who are more intent on pursuing their vendettas and fulfilling them, than seeking peace for all people. Those who see nothing wrong with using and abusing people, knowingly and unknowingly, then toss them away after they fail or don't provide a use or purpose for those that control them. They are those who promote this war and say it will only end when a whole part of humanity, whether it be Coordinator, Natural, Hybrid or any other form of human being is completely exterminated! Any who do one or more of the points I mentioned, are humankind's true enemy and are as demons dressed in human skin. They are the same as the most villainous individuals in our history, the same as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler or Musade Muhlan, they used war as a means of extermination of those they saw as their enemies. And those who are humankind's true enemy will be remembered in the exact same way as those horrible individuals! Like those villains, those who are humankind's true enemy, are not human beings, they are a creature that is less than any type of human is._ "

Azrael picked up the chair in the room and chucked it at the opposite wall in anger at Ellen Blass. She may not have said names, but that was the problem, for with her just describing what she had, actions of people, organizations or faction would be the judge. Blass had made sure that 'humankind's true enemy' was defined in a way that had no bias to use as a loophole or shove blame back on her at all! Her description could be applied to many, Blue Cosmos would be one that could fall into her definition easily.

The situation was made worse as Ellen Blass gave a call to arms against those she had defined. She ended her 'speech' with a plea, " _So, I pled and urge all of you hearing my voice, for all you hold dear and for the future generations yet to come, show the courage within you that all human beings have, no matter what type you are. Use that courage and rise up against those who insist on destroying humanity in any way, they are the harbingers of death for the whole human race; Coordinator type, Natural type, Hybrids and any other form of human. Humanity isn't made up of just a single form of human, not only Coordinators, neither just Naturals nor Hybrids, but all of them together make up the human species and race. I pray that this horrible, terrible conflict come to an end, so that the least lives are lost. Yet, it will take many of us to accomplish this task. No one is too small or beneath notice, everyone can make a difference and it is now, that such amazing potential that all human beings have, needs to be shown and used!_ "

Her rhetoric of humans being inclusive of Coordinators and Hybrids, along with Naturals, went against everything that Blue Cosmos and many in the Alliance claimed! So, to say that Azrael's mood was foul, would be an understatement. Then when he was informed that the Federation military was attacking the Alliance's orbital fleets, his mood got even worse. Things weren't working like they were supposed to, and it was frustrating Azrael so much! He stayed silent and fumed after boarding the shuttle and remained so during the journey to the moon and Ptolemaeus Lunar base. However, he thought about the ways that he could make Ellen Blass pay for what she had done.

 **-Line Break-**

Lodonia Lab, Suez Egypt

The aircraft Mina was on that took off from Victoria, took a few hours to reach Lodonia Laboratories, the place where the Enhanced Human Project was researched and worked on. The project was extensive, but overall was divided into two basic parts and a third piece that worked with the other two. The goal of the project was to take Naturals and get them to be on par with Coordinators. The two parts were more two different methods or variations to achieve the goal, those were 'Boosted Men and Women' and the other was 'Extendeds'. The major difference between the two, were Boosted Men and Women required drugs, specific surgeries and mental conditioning. While the Extendeds were made through surgeries and conditioning, brainwashing and other things. Really, Boosted Men required less work to create and maintain, but tended to be not as reliable or stable over time. Extendeds proved more stable long term, but required more work and a great deal more maintenance than boosted men and women.

Mina along with a couple of others came up with the idea and methodology that made the project possible. Lodonia Lab was the facility that Mina ran along with those she delegated the task to and it was strictly done. There were no arguments tolerated to run the Enhanced Human Project, Mina had made sure that was clearly understood. Her methods of disciplinary methodology had made sure that all who worked in the lab or were subjects there, knew what disobedience got them.

Mina's mood was improving since she had separated from Director Azrael, that man had irked her, and that influence wasn't healthy. And where many if not all the funders for the Lab were people that Mina didn't like or get along with, Azrael had been the worst thus far. Thankfully, Mina didn't deal with most of them, that was left to a colleague who was one of the few friends that Mina had. That was one of the reasons she looked forward to coming 'home' to Lodonia, even her girls who were in seats behind her were showing excitement at returning. She wouldn't have to deal with crap like she had while being away from the lab.

Even with Mina gone for a few weeks, she expected everything was going fine, if not there would be changes made that would make things become so. She had used the excuse of being able to do adjustments quicker at the lab with Azrael to get time away from the blonde-haired idiot that knew so little about science. At Lodonia, all knew and were told what was expected and repetition was most of the time not necessary, that's why Mina wasn't worried. There would be no foolish and idiotic Alliance soldiers to annoy her or that thought they knew better than she did. Plus, there were some candidates, both from the Boosted Men and the Extendeds, which Mina had invested interests in and she wanted to check on their progress.

The plane landed on the lab's runway and all on board came off the craft, Mina was heading for the main complex where her office was. She'd calmed down a great deal and could almost be called reasonable and a tad pleased, which was the mood those in the lab preferred her to be in whenever possible. However, upon entering the laboratory itself, the sight of men in Alliance military uniforms was very unwelcome to Mina and it dampened her somewhat good mood. The sight was made worse as the 'soldiers' were attempting to order around those working here. But, Mina observed that the workers were doing as they had been trained to do and that helped stop her getting ticked off. All that worked in Lodonia knew, an unhappy Mina Moss was something that could easily be akin to a living hell for everyone around her! That didn't mean that Mina was pleased to see the Alliance personnel here, though she was already deciding how to take care of this problem.

Mina told her girls to stay where they were, while she settles a matter, before she strode forward. Without hesitation, Mina walked up to the man that gave signs that they were the one in charge of the soldiers and kicked him hard in his groin. The man let out a pained whine as he crumpled to the floor, groaning in pain with Mina standing over him. The other soldiers staring at Mina, some in shock and other afraid they would be next, "Who in the hell do you think you are, coming around here and thinking you can run the place?! Then, tell me who gave you the authority to act like you can tell anyone here what to do?! For I have choice words for them, listening while a method I employed puts them in serious pain," Mina demanded coldly.

The man that Mina nailed in the family jewels, glared up at her, "Damn you woman!" he growled.

Mina simply gazed down at him, lifted her right leg and stomped down with her heel on the man's back. Mina kept stomping the man, and only after he was groaning with clear pain, did she stop and speak, "This complex isn't an Earth Alliance owned facility, so isn't subject to martial law from the Earth Forces. Never ever forget that fact, you don't give orders here! That power belongs to me and with those I delegate to, none other," Mina stated flatly.

The workers and scientist were going about their assigned tasks and ignored what was going on, knowing that it was the best option for them all. The sooner that Mina disciplined the man she was, the sooner that she could be in a nicer mood and they all could be relieved that the storm Mina was having was over. Yet, five heavy built men came up to where the commotion was happening, "Dr. Moss, good to see you back here," said the man in front in his deep voice. "Is there a problem here that needs to be dealt with ma'am?"

Mina turned to the voice and was pleased to see some of the 'enforcers', which were very heavy-set men, that were here that made sure that discipline was maintained. "Ah, Bruno, the timing of you and your colleagues are as impeccable as ever, good to know that. Yes, there is an issue that you can assist with," Mina said, then pointed to the man on the ground. "This man seems to think he can run things here. I did not delegate to such an idiot like him, and even though I've made sure to give a proper lesson to him, I want to be sure he doesn't forget it. So, I believe a short session in one of the 'time out' rooms should help reinforce the folly of his assumptions. Would you please escort him and make sure he gets there Bruno?"

Bruno nodded, then he and those with him moved forward and picked up the Alliance soldier, then they dragged him off further into the lab. Meanwhile, Mina headed further into the lab to check in on projects, before she would head to her office. Along the way to the interior of the complex, she told a scientist to deliver a message to a colleague for her, that she wanted to see her. Her girls were dropped off to have some tests done on them and have maintenance done while they were here.

While, that was being done, Mina went to the section of the lab where the "Extended" part of the Enhanced Human Project was done. The more long-term part of the project as Extendeds took more work to create, however, thus far, they were proving more stable with their enhancements. There was a minor issue with some of the psychological conditioning with a percentage of the Extended candidates, but Mina was hopeful that the man over the Extendeds would be able to be worked out of them. The Extendeds, like the Boosted Men, were kept in groups of three all the tests and performance in simulations, mostly to instill skills of working with others.

For Mina, lately there had been one trio of Extendeds that were consistently showing results that were above expectations. It wasn't at the same level that Mina's girls from the Boosted Men side, but it was similar in the means and promise of potential. The particular group of three was made up of two males and one female, all three in their latter mid-teenage years in physical development. The trio was the oldest and best performing group thus far, the others that were their age or older were proving to be problematic in a growing number of ways. It was one of the major reasons that Mina had an interest in the three and the Extended half of the project was riding on how they would do a large amount going forward.

Mina arrived at her destination, and saw that the trio in question was having post testing done to get data on their bodies and how they were taking the strain. The female was average looking physically, from her figure to her height. She did have rather silky looking locks of blonde hair and her red eyes were fairly uncommon. The two males were average physically, a tad more muscular than the female, one had dark green hair and the other had a dirty brown. Mina observed the three as they underwent their tests, a bit pleased and hopeful at to the success of the Extended part of the Enhanced Human Project. After watching the trio for a period, Mina began making her way to her office to look over what had been going on while she had been gone.

When Mina had gotten to her office, she looked over the reports that had been written from the scientists. The last few weeks, had been spent demonstrating to Muruta Azrael, that the work of the Enhanced Human Project was valuable. And if it hadn't been for Azrael asking for her to personally show him the point, then Mina would've had another do the job instead. Dealing with Financial backers was always a pain to Mina and it normally only took one meeting for any given representative to wish to deal with a different person than Mina herself. In fact, the colleague Mina had called for was the one who did the selling and impressing of the funders for the Lodonia Lab. A knock on the door brought Mina's attention out of looking at reports and her dislike of Muruta Azrael, "Enter." At the command that Mina gave, the door opened and in came a woman.

The woman was shorter than Mina herself, at five foot four, though the woman's figure was a little more voluptuous than Mina's body was. Her hair was tan and appeared to have a silkier look to it with it falling to her midback. The female's face looked kinder than Mina and the air about her emphasized the impression, including her light blue eyes. And though she was older than Mina by seven years, she gave off a different feel to others, which was seen as more mature than Mina's cold and ruthless feel. Yet, these two women were two of the three who had come up with the foundation and many of the theories that the Enhanced Human Project used. The woman that entered was named Lori Kall and was not only the 'second in charge' but was the face those from the outside of the Lab saw most of the time. She was a Natural, like Mina was Mina's had to best friend or that was the best idea you could call their relationship. Today, Lori was wearing a red t-shirt and black mini skirt, with a long white lab coat.

"Lori, good of you to come so quickly when I asked, thanks," greeted Mina.

Lori shrugged, "It isn't difficult to know when you got back as an air of focus that comes when you're around spread through the lab like wildfire. I take it you noticed the Alliance soldiers that have been trying to show they should run things here already?"

Mina scoffed, "Dealt with already, I had Bruno and some of his helpers drag off the leader of the idiots for a timeout room."

Lori smiled slightly, "I have been tempted to do that, but… well, you know," she trailed off.

"You're the nice one here Lori, I'm not. It's why I do the management of the lab, while you do the representing and presenting for us here, while Ryan and Chris do the maintaining day to day, it works out very well for all of us," Mina finished.

Lori nodded, "Indeed, that's how it has worked for us since those of us that came up with the project started. So, how did you attempt to impress the director of the Earth Alliance's National Defense Industry Association go?"

Mina gained a disgusted expression at the thought of dealing with Azrael, "Horrid, you can have the job back! The outing reminded me why I dislike dealing with those who fund the lab so much. You're far better at it than I am, a better people person than I could be anytime in the foreseeable future," Mina answered.

Lori chuckled, "Quite the compliment from you that is, I assume that Muruta Azrael managed to get under your skin? That's no easy feat to do, not that any should try to get under your skin Mina, not with your temper, no offense intended."

Mina let out something between a shutter and a growl, "None taken Lori. Yes, an apt way of you putting it, but then, that brings me to the subject I wanted to talk to you about."

Lori nodded and gestured for Mina to go on, and she did, "What I'm about to ask, is to be kept between us, not even Ryan or Chris are to know. I want you to start looking into whether the work we do here could be taken to either the Human Federation or even ZAFT. The Federation would be the better of the two and the more likely to say yes, but still, even ZAFT would be nicer than those we deal with currently from the Alliance."

Lori stared at Mina incredulously, "Muruta Azrael rub you that bad a way, did he? Granted, the man is a pain and hard to be around, one of the worst members of Blue Cosmos I've met. However, I would of thought with your famously armored skin that you have, he wouldn't have gotten to you. What did he do to get you to dislike him this much, out of curiosity?" She asked.

Mina frowned angrily, "The blonde-haired imbecilic, seems to think that our work is incompetent and said that what has come from the lab, is faulty. He apparently, had the foolish notion that he was being sold undefeatable soldiers and blamed me for failure without giving me all the factors that played into the problem. The man twists words to benefit him and it was very annoying! Types like him irk me Lori, only demanding results and not caring about anything else and are quick to show displeasure and disappointment when things don't go as they want them to."

Lori sighed, "Yes, people like that are difficult to handle, I can attest to that from experience. Very well, I'll see what I can find out. However Mina, you do understand that if we do take the work we do here to either ZAFT or the Federation, then there will be parts of it that they won't like or allow to be continued. We'll likely asked to give up something to be able to leave the Alliance," she posed.

Mina nodded, "I'm aware of that, but if that's the price to move forwar, then it's fine, as long as it gets us out from under these idiots that are dragging the world into the current chaos. While I don't have issues with chaos in general, the kind of chaos the Alliance is producing is the more dangerous kind and I think it best to avoid such when possible. That requires that we separate ourselves from them as soon as we can."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Mendel Colony, L4

With Kurt had just told me that the champions of ZAFT would side with Treize, I was determining how things would go, when Andrew Waltfeld and the woman that I'm sure is his 'partner' or lover came into the room. Waltfeld's gaze went around the room, yet stopped on Kurt and widened, "Well I'll be, now there's a face that I never imagined I would see again. I see that you have some new scars there Roc, I take it there's a story to how you got them?" asked Waltfeld.

The room had gone silent at Waltfeld mentioning Kurt's former ZAFT champion title, while Kurt smirked a bit. "Desert Tiger, fancy crossing paths with you here. Yeah, there's a story to why I have this patch over my right eye along with other new marks I have, for none of them are for decoration. So Tiger, you still into making coffee, or have you given that up? I still have to say that the stuff you made me last time was the best cup of coffee I've ever had before and since."

Waltfeld laughed at the question and then the woman… I think her name is Aisha, still am horrible with some names spoke up. "Rest assured, Andrew hasn't in any way given up his making and 'refining' as he puts it, with his hobby of producing the 'perfect coffee'."

I glanced over at Mu and Krystal as there had been movement from that direction a moment ago. I saw that they had tensed and put up their guard, but then, it's not surprising for them to do so. They're facing the man that had nearly helped ZAFT defeat the Earth Forces at Endymion and likely would have if not for the Cyclops system.

In fact, Kurt went into the story of what had happened back at the battle of the Endymion Crater around the Grimaldi Front. In the battle, the Alliance had been defending a forward base on the moon, while ZAFT wanted the same base gone to have a fairly open path to the Alliance's Ptolemaeus Lunar Base. What the leaders of the Earth Forces didn't tell those who had fought in the battle, was a trap had been planned. Kurt inferred that there was 'someone' that had given the information to the Alliance, to cause the end that had happened. The 'someone' was certainly sounding like a rat, who I've been seeing the action of as of late.

Kurt had escaped the worst of the effects of the Cyclops system, he hadn't gotten out of that without injury. Most of what had happened to him there had healed, but Kurt had lost the use of his right eye, it was close to completely blind now. Really, a group of Federation forces had come across of what was left of Kurt's mobile suit while looking over the battlefield after the fight had ended. After he had healed up, an offer had been made for Kurt to join the Federation in their attempts to get this war to end. And with him, his answer was clearly yes, what his reasons are, I haven't the faintest.

I left the room as the chatting turned to other things, and set out to find something else to do. I could talk to Athrun and Kira later if it was needed, but we had caught up enough. The thought came to me that checking the Federation's Information Network and see what's going on and get a better overall picture. You never know what you'll find out when you look on the network.

The Human Federation's Information Network, is vast and is made up of three basic parts; data gathering, sorting and processing, and application and implementation. The first part, data gathering, was done by informants, lots and lots of them in all sorts of different places. For example, I believe there are couple among the secretarial staff of the leadership of the Earth Alliance. Even among the PLANT's Supreme Council staff there are those who send info to the network. Part two of the network, the sorting and processing of the incoming information, is down by a number of facilities in different locations both in space and on Earth. The complexes actual locations are not made public nor known to ZAFT or the Alliance for good reason. Then the third and final part of the network, the application and implementation was done by some in the Federation military. All the flow and transmissions are encrypted so much that neither ZAFT or the Earth Alliance had come close to getting through or breaking it.

I accessed a console in the port's control room, logged into the Information Network and scanned through the more recent info that was there. Thus far, the Alliance had lost two full Orbital Fleets, and would soon, probably lose a third. The Earth Forces actions on Earth were not explained or even informed to those up in space, according to the reactions of the Alliance forces up here. ZAFT was being quiet and that didn't sit well with me, not with how the war had escalated lately.

However, as I was looking over the data, I came across something I didn't expect at all. At first, I thought I was looking at a picture of a room with people in rows of seats and a lectern at the front. It took me a few seconds to realize, that I knew that room as I had been in it a few times before, it was the Republic's capital building's press room. I could only sit and stare at the screen, wondering what the hell was going on for this picture to be on the screen. After doing some checking, I was further baffled to find out that what I was seeing wasn't a picture, but a live broadcast. My question is what is going on and why is whatever this is being broadcasted on most frequencies?

Within a minute, the man that my mother had serving as her press secretary came out on the stage to the lectern, my gaze became glued to the screen. I then thought better of staring at a small screen when the much larger forward display could do the job. So, I switched the broadcast to the bigger display and continued to watch whatever this was. " _Thank you all for coming to this presentation, your time that you spend here will not be wasted,_ " The sound of cameras snapping came, but I kept my attention on the secretary as he bowed and then gestured to his right, " _And now without further ado, the Prime Minister of the Republic of East Asia, Ellen Blass._ "

My mother came out on to the stage, greeted by applause and questions from those there as she made her way to the lectern. While gazed at the screen, I was racking my brain to think of why my mother would be broadcasting something and came up with nothing. I'll be the first to say that my mother can give rousing speeches and freaking how. She'd proven that a couple of times already! It's one of the reasons that she's respected and disliked in the world of politics by those in and outside the Federation. The woman that I call mother can move the masses is ways others can't! But, she doesn't do broadcast often at all, so for her to do so now, was a big deal, more so since this was being transmitted far and wide!

" _As my press secretary said to you all, thank you for taking the time coming here. I invited you all here for an address I will make to you, the world and to those in space, both on the moon and living in colonies. Once the address is done, then I will take questions that I would not doubt you will have, so please hold them until then,_ " my mother began. She paused then continued, " _To all who are hearing or viewing this broadcast right now, my name is Ellen Blass and I'm the current leader of the Republic of East Asia, one of the member nations of the Human Federation. I make this address, in the hope it will assist all of those who can make a difference come to see reason and save the lives that haven't been lost already._ "

Mom has given a couple of speeches before now, but this one certainly took the cake and it was a hell of a rich cake, I'll tell you that already and it's only getting started! The overall subject was the ongoing war between the alliance and ZAFT, yet she quickly went beyond what others had gone into before now. Mom laid out bare and bluntly, that neither side showed any resolve or intention to end the conflict. That would send heavy pressure to leaders on both sides to do more for those they represent or are supposed to. She nailed what had brought on this war and what had resulted and the horrid and disgusting results that had come from it all. She did the idea so well, that my jaw dropped! Yes, my mouth was hanging open at what my mother was speeching about, for I was seriously impressed at how mom was nailing this subject. Mom was putting things in a way that most decent people couldn't deny without lying and that's harder than most would think it is.

Mom was getting into the attack on the Republic by the Alliance, when I heard the door to the control room slide open and looking behind me, I saw that Athrun and Cagalli coming in. Behind them, was Kira, Lacus and Siegel, all of them quickly took seats in the chair around me and locked their gazes at the forward viewing screen. Athrun and Cagalli took seats on my left and the other three did the same on my right and all of us focused on my mother's broadcast. And oh boy, was my mother taking the Earth Alliance out to Lunch and making them pay the full bill, including the tip! She certainly was increasing the pressure on the Alliance as a whole. Should they deny it, they would have to explain why all the evidence which shows they attacked as my mother said they did. Within their justifications, the lies would become clear and those responsible will be revealed.

" _These horrible events that take loved ones away can and must be stopped, all the lives lost at Victoria and Panama never have to happen again elsewhere as some shout they must, none of those there were necessary casualties of war nor are any lives, no matter what type of human one is. If the war between the Earth Forces and ZAFT is allowed to continue, then it will not just lead to even more destruction, but to another Bloody Valentine Incident and further, it will take the future from us all!_ " My mother stated.

I wanted to clap and shout in agreement to what my mother said, for I believed what she said one freaking hundred percent! I doubt that I'm the only one spellbound by my mother's broadcast and I say the more the better! My mom was speaking to those who had been this affected the war, appealing a sense of love towards those who had died already. The point of the speech, was to of course convince all listening, that the war needed to end. It would require many stand up together and unite against those who started and worked to continue the bloodshed and killing.

" _Today, all will know the truth of what happened at that PLANT type colony, Junius Seven, I will make sure of that. The Bloody Valentine Incident is an event that all know by now, but parts of the account of what happened there and the results, are lies that have been spread since its occurrence. Both people within the Alliance and its military, along with the PLANTs and ZAFT, have tried to hide truths about the colony for different reason, but all of that ends today!_ " mom declared.

My jaw somehow fell lower I swear at hearing that, gasps from the others were audible and I couldn't blame them. This was a completely unexpected turn and it would be big! It was general accepted that the nuclear missile strike on Junius Seven had been unfortunate, but had been done by a "rouge group" and not a specific organization. That's a lie of course, but there was so much more than those who were responsible for the deaths that had resulted from that attack. What that colony had represented was far more the reason that the attack had occurred than it just being attack on Coordinators like is generally stated. Mom even when into detail what was being done at Junius Seven, that between a third to a half of the 243,721 people there, had been Natural type humans. The idea the colony was testing, had been to see if both Naturals and Coordinators could live in peace, and it was working just fine and was going wonderfully.

Heck, even the leader of Earth before the Earth Alliance came together, Milliardo Peacecraft, had been encouraged by what was going on at the colony. The man had been known for attempts at peace yet, taking a firm stance with what he believed, it's why many had respected and liked the man. He had actually been at the colony when the attack had come even if, by what I'm to understand, he was supposed to have been around there a week earlier. The results were convenient to a number in the Alliance leadership, Peacecraft had stood in their way of attacking Coordinators just because of what they are. With Bloody Valentine, he was dead and gone, at least that's how it looks with the evidence collected thus far that was a planned "benefit". Mom even mentioned Lana and Dad dying there, then went on to say that soldiers fighting are not to blame for the war or its results.

" _All the tragedies from the Blood Valentine to the battles that have happened in this war, none of it is the fault of the soldiers or pilots that fight in them, for they are following orders, some willingly, others unwillingly. Most of them are protecting their homes and what they hold dear to themselves and that is not wrong. The ones who are at fault for this war and what it has brought to us all, can be identified, regardless if they take responsibility for their actions or not. There is a phrase that most will have heard at least once by now, but I will change it slightly to promote understanding. The ones that ushered in this war and keep it going, are 'humankind's true enemy'._ " My mother said.

I paid complete attention at hearing that line, for it was obviously taking Blue Cosmos's label for Coordinators, 'mankind's enemy'. My intuition was screaming at me that what would be said next by my mother would be epic! Mom acknowledged that more explanation was required, " _First, I will define those who would be considered 'humankind's true enemy'. They are those who use their hatred of others, as the sole reason for attacking and killing people, innocent or not. They are those who insist that war is the only way to settle standing disagreements and more, adamantly claiming there is no other solution no matter the evidence provided to the contrary. They are those, who use their war cries for blood to be spilled and see them as rallying calls for others to join them as well as justification for their terrible and unforgivable actions. They are those, who are more intent on pursuing their vendettas and fulfilling them, than seeking peace for all people. Those who see nothing wrong with using and abusing people, knowingly and unknowingly, then toss them away after they fail or don't provide a use or purpose for those that control them. They are those who promote this war and say it will only end when a whole part of humanity, whether it be Coordinator, Natural, Hybrid or any other form of human being is completely exterminated! Any who do one or more of the points I mentioned, are humankind's true enemy and are as demons dressed in human skin. They are the same as the most villainous individuals in our history, the same as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler or Musade Muhlan, they used war to kill all they could. And those who are humankind's true enemy will be remembered in the exact same way as those horrible individuals! Like those villains, those who are humankind's true enemy, are not human beings, they are a creature that is less than any type of human is._ "

…I can't think of a more direct way that a spike can be driven in to the heart than what my mother had just dished out! It showed that the war and what it had done had pushed things to a really bad place and the attacks on the Federation member nations just acted as a breaking point. She might not have mentioned names of those who can be seen as she put it humankind's true enemy. But honestly, she doesn't need to any more, she's got them in a way that those who are humankind's true enemy that they can't claim bias or use as an excuse. My dear mother had nailed a large number of punks that had previously been seen as close to untouchable on both sides and that is incredible to me! Then, to mention three of the most infamous human scumbags that history ever recorded, added to the point. Adolf Hitler is blamed for the second world war while Stalin was held responsible for what was called the 'cold war', which apparently happened off and on for nearly a century, or that's at least the estimation by historians since there is no exact reference. Then Musade Muhlan, arguably the evilest of the three, since he was one of those who ignited and pushed the Reconstruction War to what it became. The man had used religion to bring the world into its third and worst world war, history isn't entirely clear on much more than that. Hopeful, this will help people watching and listening, to understand they have power to stop this war and that they're needed.

My mother ended her address and began accepting questions then so, I kept watching the broadcast. " _Minister Blass, Earth Sphere News Network, you defined those you say can be considered Humankind's true enemy. Can you give any examples of those who would fall under the idea?"_ asked a reporter.

Oh, I knew that the question or request to hear 'examples' of those who would be 'Humankind's true enemy' would come. Still, mom took the question in stride like the seasoned pro that she is in politics, " _As much as I would not doubt some would like me to give specific examples, those that are humankind's true enemy, know who they are and how they fall under the definition I gave. They are on their own side and use others, but I'm afraid it's best I leave it at that, next question."_

" _Minister Blass, Lunar Associated Press, what is your view of the current leaderships of the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs?_ " questioned a different reporter.

Now there's a loaded question, yet, my mother is used to this as it's a part of the world of politics. " _A complex question, for the Earth Alliance, I've becoming increasingly disappointed in how they are conducting themselves lately, especially their military forces who receive their tasks from the Alliance Leadership. Whether that is due to something with the leadership of the Alliance or something else, I cannot say with what I know. With the recent contact from the Alliance including their attacks, it seems more like Anti-Coordinator sentiment is dictating the Alliance's actions. I would hope that those who lead the Earth Alliance would be less inclined to listen to those who carrier such blinding and destructive hatred that such sediments carry. Whereas the PLANTs have normally been more inclined to be reasonable and tolerant. However, these days that seems to become less normal judging upon ZAFT's actions. Knowing some of those who have been elected to the PLANT Supreme Council, I would hope that work is being done to help end the war with the least lives lost._ " Mom replied.

My mouth had closed, and a smile formed on my face as I leaned back into the chair I was in, continuing watching my mom do her thing and doing it amazingly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Ptolemaeus Lunar Base

A day and a half passed after the first exercise of the Archangel-class ship Dominion. Now the ship was out above the Lunar base ready to start a different scenario then they had done the last time. The simulation had one ZAFT warship, unknown class, but approaching in 'V' formation in attack posture. The other difference in this scenario, was mobile suit might and would likely be in this one where they hadn't in the previous one.

"Sensors are detecting heat sources approaching, distance 500, Orange 14 Mark 233 Alpha… looks like one enemy warship and two mobile suits," called the sensor detection operator.

Natarle focused, hoping that there would be an improvement in the crew's performance from the first exercise. "Stand by for anti-ship and anti-mobile suit combat! Starboard 10, lower bow, pitch angle 15! Activate Igelstellung, target enemy warships, load missile launchers one through four with Korinthos!" Natarle ordered. She noted the sound of scrambling from different stations, which didn't instill much confidence, "Valiants, fire!"

The time between the orders being given and their executions lengthened, only punctured by alarms sounding incoming attacks towards the ship. The pilot managed to tilt the ship to dodge the first wave of beams and missiles, but as the Dominion righted itself a 'shot' from one of the mobile suits came. The sound of the flat tone, signaling the destruction of the Dominion and the failure of the exercise.

Natarle felt the hope she'd had before this exercise, fall at seeing that the crew had failed for a second time. She had to admit, it wasn't as bad or as quick as in the first exercise and the improvement as slight as it was, showed a bit of potential. But, Natarle could honestly say that she couldn't recommend this crew was ready to be sent out to battlefields. Their two performances showed that there was still work for them to do. The man that was the first officer on the Dominion came up out of the CIC, also having a worried expression, "Still seems there is work to be done captain."

Natarle sighed, "Yes, I would agree, but with a show of improvement, then perhaps practice and experience will be all that is needed. Thankfully, we haven't received orders to go out to the field yet, so there still is time to get the crew up to a good standard."

The Dominion returned to Ptolemaeus base dock to assess things. Natarle was going to return to her quarters and leave delegating the need of practice station operation to the first officer. However, the door to the elevator slid opened and Admiral Maes along with a blonde man in a light blue suit came onto the bridge of the Dominion.

All the crew saluted and stood at attention when they saw Admiral Maes, "At ease everyone," Maes said, then turned to Natarle. "Captain Badgiruel, I would like to introduce you to the director of the National Defense Industry Association of the Alliance, Muruta Azrael."

Natarle studied the man, who looked a couple of years older than herself, and could be considered handsome to some. But there was something about this man that didn't seem right to Natarle, but she dismissed the feeling as nothing. Admiral Maes continued speaking, "Along with him, three mobile suits will be coming on board with him, he will be here to observe their performance."

She nodded in understanding, yet then this Muruta Azrael moved forward, "I never expected the captain of the ship we're to be traveling on to be this young and beautiful. Is this an added benefit of some sort Maes?" he asked.

Natarle was taken aback at the question of the man. Of course, to be called beautiful was nice, but to think of it as some sort of added benefit for this man, was odd and uncomfortable in a few ways. The feeling of something being off returned stronger than before, it was confusing. Natarle didn't know how to respond to this clear attempt to flatter her. Admiral Maes cleared his throat, "Not to worry Director Azrael, Captain Badgiruel is very skilled. Her family has a long history of military service and has shown herself to be of the very same high caliber as those that have come previously from her family."

"That may be true sir, but," Natarle started.

"Also, prior to her posting to this ship, she served as the first officer of the Archangel." Maes went on. Then he turned to Natarle, "Captain, I also have your first mission orders, which are to hunt down a rouge ship."

"First officer of the Archangel, the predecessor of this vessel, were you? Well, that would then mean that you're familiar with the Archangel ship class then, yes?" asked director Azrael

"Yes, I suppose you could say that," Natarle replied.

"Excellent then, your knowledge will be very helpful. After all, the rouge ship that the Admiral mentioned is the first Archangel-class which shares the name and we'll be on our way to go and sink her," the blonde man said with slight relish.

Natarle was stunned at being told that she would be assigned to deal with the very ship she had been on. To have to hunt down the Archangel and the crew she considered perhaps one of the best she'd served with. It caused a serious internal conflict for Natarle Badgiruel for her military training and upbringing said to follow orders that she was given and not question them. Yet, something else in her told her that these orders weren't right. What she did, was acknowledge the orders from Admiral Maes.

And so, the GAT series X131, X252, X370 were loaded on board the Dominion, along with the resupply being sped up. After all was made ready, the Dominion launched from Ptolemaeus base and set course for Lagrange 4 and its colony cluster. Natarle went too her quarters once the ship was on its way toward L4, to have some peace and quiet that she couldn't find on the bridge of the vessel. The current situation and mission was nagging at Natarle in ways that nothing else had before.

To take her mind off the conflict, she began looking over the personnel files on the three pilots for the mobile that had been loaded on the ship. The three were in their late teens, maybe around Tyler's age or so. All three had come from somewhere that their files just listed as 'L.L.', which meant nothing to her as to where it could be referring to. Natarle ended out reading the files out loud, "Clotho Buer, Enhanced implants stage three, the biological CPU for the X-370. All personal data has been deleted, data of their training is classified as 'absolutely need to know only', no reason given as to why. Orga Sabnak, Enhanced implants stage two, biological CPU for the X-131. Also no personal data, other data is classified and is unviewable like the first. Then Shani Andras, stage four Enhanced implants, and is the Biological CPU for X-252. Like the others, no personal data and other information is not viewable. So, why are these three treated not as pilots, but as equipment?"

For pilots like this, to be brought on the ship with Muruta Azrael, a man that was more a politician than a soldier was very unusual. Natarle had heard of Muruta Azrael, but his name was pretty much it. Natarle even looked up more information on Azrael, and it didn't help her opinion of the man. Not only was he the director of the National Defense Industry Association, but also the current leader of the anti-Coordinator organization, Blue Cosmos. Natarle had heard of some of the activities of the group and disagreed with what they did, some of the organization were terrorist, even if they deny it. Muruta Azrael wasn't outspoken like some of the member's of Blue Cosmos were, yet nor was he quiet.

After half an hour, Natarle made her way back to the bridge and found that crew members were practicing their stations. That boosted her view that those in… her crew were trying to do their best to do what they could. What had brought the motivation on with them, Natarle couldn't say, but she certainly wasn't opposed to the effort.

However, when Director Azrael came on to the bridge, the air became or tense instantly, "Ah, Miss Captain, see you've come back to the bridge, nice to see that." Azrael said. "Any idea as to the timeframe until we arrive around the colony cluster at L4?"

"Approximately twelve hours or so director Azrael. Nonetheless sir, perhaps you could tell me and the rest of the crew what makes you so sure that those we're hunting will be at the L4 colony cluster?" asked Natarle.

Azrael smiled a bit, "Your wish for evidence can be considered admirable Captain Badgiruel. No need to worry, we're not going to the L4 colony cluster on a wild goose chase. I've good information from a trusted source of mine that what were after will be there," he replied.

Natarle paused, wondering who this source that Azrael could have the information that the Archangel was the L4 colony cluster. And then, it sounded like the director of the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association was after something else other than the Natarle's former ship. "And if I might ask, where did your source get the information, sir?" she asked.

"They come from within the PLANTs, that's all you need to know," Azrael answered.

"But, you can't trust information from the PLANTs! The odds of it being a trap are high then them not being one. So how do you justify believing this source of yours? And what is so important in this mission? You make it sound like the Archangel isn't the real target for you," Natarle questioned.

Azrael clapped a bit, "The Admiral was right about you Captain Badgiruel, you are quite good and figuring things out with limited information. You're correct, seeing the Archangel destroyed isn't what I'm here to do. With that ship, are two machines of interest and they are what I'm here for. The Freedom and the Justice, the codenames of the two machines that are of extreme interest to more than just me." Azrael put a hand to his chin as if thinking, "And then, there's good intelligence that three Nazca-class vessels, which are fully loaded and are heading for L4 too."

Azrael looked at Natarle, "You tell me Miss Captain, if the information is true and those ships suggest that it is, what is there is valuable. We can't afford to miss a chance at acquiring those machines. It's the whole reason for this mission, the Archangel is just conveniently around that area as well, meaning it can be dealt with. So, let's get a point straight, shall we? You may be the captain assigned to command this ship, but people in places higher up look at the overall picture. People like that think things through and give orders, and I'm one of those people. Do try to comprehend such things," said Azrael, before he backed up a bit and continued. "Besides, you've been told to do what I tell you or 'suggest', right? Make sure you don't forget that, Miss Captain."

 **-Line Break-**

Lagrange 1

Three ZAFT Nazca-class which had headed out from the PLANT after the Eternal had been commandeered and had fled. From the information that Jachin Due had sent, if the Eternal's course to go unchanged, they would end up at the Lagrange 4 colony cluster. The lead Nazca was the Vesalius with Le Creuset was leading the group that were tracking down the Eternal.

Creuset was looking over the tactical display of the area of L4, "The colony cluster at Lagrange 4 is made up of abandoned O'Neill 3 and Bernal 1 type colonies, all in varying states of operational status by previous scouting mission reports. The colony cluster has been a nest of issues over the years as they can be a haven for trouble makers. From what we know thus far, the FFMH-Y101 Eternal was put under the command of Commander Andrew Waltfeld. The man has a good record and helped an amount during the campaign in the African Community. It is suspected that he is still in command of the vessel when it launched," Creuset iterated to the three ship captains.

" _Andrew Waltfeld? As in the Desert Tiger? I can't see him doing what you suggest Le Creuset, are we sure this isn't just you talking about someone you aren't fond of badly,_ " posed one of the other ship captains.

Ades agreed with the statement, "I've personally met Commander Waltfeld before, I would've never expected this from someone like him," Ades added.

"Whether you expect it of him or not, current evidence says he has stolen the ship under his command. He's a smooth-talking, cheerful man by what I've heard and that being said, it's hard to understand why he would do such, perhaps he has been deceived by the Clyne faction. What is clear, is that he's very likely involved and if he is, then he is to be seen as an enemy," Le Creuset said, bringing the discussion back to the main topic.

The fact as they were, made things worse for some, for Athrun Zala had disappeared around the same time as he was being escorted to be questioned. So, there was a high possibility that Athrun was now on board the Eternal. The mission was to either recapture the Eternal or destroy it and those who might have become involved.

After the discussion between the captains and Creuset ended, the masked man turned to the Vesalius's pilots. The pilots consisted of Yzak Joule, Nicol Amalfi, Miguel Aiman and two other green uniformed young men. "This mission will be difficult, especially for three of you. Yzak, Nicol and you Miguel, understand, if Athrun was on the Eternal, then is now an enemy going forward, can you shoot him down?"

All three pilots in question hesitated at what was being asked, for them to be asked if they can take down one who had been a comrade. Nicol still didn't believe the rumors about Athrun, even when his Father Yuri, who was on the Supreme Council, said that Athrun was being treated as a criminal. Supposedly, Athrun was being accused of treason, what his friend had actually done, had never been mentioned and that made Nicol suspicious. He wanted to talk to Athrun directly before he made any judgement on what Athrun had or had not done.

Miguel was much of the same opinion as Nicol, there was parts of this that didn't sound right at all. Athrun was not the type of person to betray those put trust in him, not without seriously good reason. Then, the current Supreme Council Chairman had been accusing a lot of people lately of really odd things if there was any question made of his actions. At least that was what Miguel had been seeing and hearing from others he had spoken to.

Even Yzak Joule, the picture of a dedicated soldier to ZAFT, had doubts as to whether Athrun was capable of what was being pinned to him. Athrun wasn't the kind of person that would turn traitor, a bit of a coward in Yzak's opinion, but certainly not someone that would turn against the PLANTs. His comrade had shown him that, when he had been there after Dearka had gone down and had been a support. And after losing Dearka, the thought of Athrun being a traitor sounded even more ludicrous. Yzak took in a deep breath, "I know that I can do what it takes to defend this ship and the PLANTs… no matter what it is," he replied.

Le Creuset turned to Miguel and Nicol, who were trying to come to their decision, "Commander, like Yzak, I will do what is needed, but if given the option, I would rather not be forced to him shoot him down," Miguel said.

"We all hope that it doesn't come to that Miguel, and what about you Nicol? Know that none will think less of you should you admit that you can't. One who can say that they are unable to do something, that is a strength to be able to know your limitations," commented Creuset.

Nicol exhaled and then bowed, "Then commander, I'm sorry to say that I'll be sitting this mission out. I need to take time to come to terms with recent events, so I wish the rest of my comrades the best of luck." Nicol replied, to which Le Creuset nodded to him be dismissed, before Nicol left the bridge.

Nicol entered the quarters he had been assigned and closed the door. Even with his answer to the commander being what he felt, Nicol felt bad about it and was conflicted internally. Athrun was his friend and no matter what others said he had done, until Nicol could talk to him directly, none of the rumors were believable or truthful to him.

To occupy himself, Nicol thought he could call his mother as he hadn't been able to get much time to talk to her while around the PLANTs. However, as he was about to call her, a transmission came over every com-channel, which baffled Nicol. He connected to the transmission and found himself looking at a scene that he hadn't seen before. The room was that used for press conferences by most and it was filled with people. As Nicol kept watching, a man took the raised platform and introduced, of all people the Prime Minister of the Republic.

Nicol had never met the woman that had been one of the long standing political leader within the Human Federation, but he'd certainly heard about her. His father had met the woman once and he'd said that she was polite and had a very charismatic personality, but could also be extremely stubborn sometimes. Public information about Ellen Blass, said that she was one of the longer lasting political leaders of the Federation, having held her officer overall for seventeen years thus far by her being reelected over and over. Nicol was now curious why a politician that wasn't known for making speech often, would choose now of all time to make a speech, if that's what this was.

" _I invited you all here for an address I will make to you, the world and to those in space, both on the moon and living in colonies. Once the address is done, then I will take questions that I would not doubt you will have, so please hold them until then._ " Minister Blass began, introducing herself before she began her actual address, " _To all who are hearing or viewing this broadcast right now, my name is Ellen Blass and I'm the current leader of the Republic of East Asia, one of the member nations of the Human Federation. I make this address, in the hope it will assist all of those who can make a difference come to see reason and save the lives that haven't been lost already. Every human being has either seen or experienced the chaos and violence around us in some way, which comes from the conflict that rages today._ "

Nicol found himself nodding in agreement without thinking. The war had become far worse lately than it had been earlier. The casualties in the last six months alone had been higher than the previous year, by a frightening margin of more than three time!

" _Leaders from both sides have made all sorts of promises for an end to this conflict and yet, none have provided anything of the sort, all they have brought is a continuation of the fighting. However, I'm not here to justify any of them, nor what they work for. None of them have shown that they care about those who die in their battles, whether they are soldiers or just happened to be around the fighting._ " Continued Minister Blass.

" _Due to this current conflict, that hatred and fear has spread and fuel the flames of war and destruction. People that wish to live in peace are driven from their homes, fearing for their lives because of this. Places of peace and safety are attacked when they refuse to participate and take a side in this conflict. Or else they are deemed as an 'enemy' of the attackers if the demand of participation is refused._ " The woman then held up a page, " _In the words of the senders in reference to their view of the Human Federation, they stated such 'has shown itself to not have the interests of the human species at heart as shown by their actions. The Human Federation's actions are unacceptable and so, the group is denounced as an official group by the Earth Alliance as a whole.' The Claim is asserted even with historical records showing clearly, that the Alliance has recognized the Human Federation as an autonomous faction from any others formed after the Earth Alliance was formed. Then, the senders' demands were akin to the terms of surrender or else be considered an enemy of them._ "

It was nigh impossible for Nicol to tear his attention away for this broadcast. There had been no news of any attacks by the Earth Forces on the Federation as far as Nicol knew, it brought a worrisome feeling. There had been a whispered rumor that those in charge at the Carpentaria base had asked the Orb Union for a meeting, which isn't unheard of. However, if it had to do with the Alliance attacking the Federation, it hadn't been reported and that was very odd, if not a violation of ZAFT conduct. It was a major change for the war were the Federation to become more involved than they were already.

For the Earth Alliance to consider threating the Federation was an extremely risky move, any could understand that. So, tactically speaking, Nicol could figure parts of the Earth Forces plan of action, but not all of it. With the loss of Panama's mass driver destroyed due to the deployment of the "Gungnirs" and the EMP they made. Nicol himself hadn't been fond of that battle, it had felt almost like ZAFT forces were massacring people after the mass driver was destroyed. So, after losing the one mass driver they controlled, the Alliance had the need to acquire the use of another mass driver or surrender.

What had happened at Victoria was unfortunate, many good people had died defending the base in that battle, but in the end, the Earth Forces had taken the base. The Alliance would want more than one mass driver, they had for a while, but the Human Federation had denied use of the three mass drivers they controlled for military use in any way. Nonetheless, to go straight to attacking the member nations of the Federation was reckless as the Federation could see that action as a declaration of war against them. If the Federation had mobile suits, which Nicol was one of those who was of the opinion that they did, then they probably knew how to use them. So, the one who decided to send the Earth Forces to do something so foolish, it was sacrificing forces.

" _Many of you viewing and listening right now, understand what I speak of, the pain of knowing loved ones will not be coming home or back to you ever again. It is you, who are glossed over by the ones who insist on keeping this war and the hatred that fuels it, going, I speak to now. To you women that are wives, now in the depths of sorrow being without your husbands because their lives were taken by this war, give heed. To all you men that are husbands, grieving for your lost wives, whether you do so in view of others or when no one sees you, I urge you to listen. To all the children, who don't see one, or perhaps both of their parents any more, even if you are too young to understand why they can't come home to you, lend me your ears. And to all of those, who weep and pine for those who presence is missing because their lives were taken, do not shut out this message. None of you are alone in this horrible pain that is torturing you, for I myself know of the same pain as you feel. I too, have lost some dear to me due to this conflict and wish that they were still alive and with me right now._ " continued Minister Blass.

Nicol was beyond surprised at hearing this, for several different reasons. For, he agreed with what was being said by the Prime Minister of the Republic so far. This war hadn't done much if any good in Nicol's view. And to understand that the person that his father and others considered immovable and stubborn, had suffered loss like many people had, was different. The woman kept going saying that there was a need to stand up and refuse to keep accepting things as they were. And hearing about the need to stand up and not accept things as they are, struck a chord in Nicol.

" _Today, all will know the truth of what happened at that PLANT type colony, Junius Seven, I will make sure of that. The Bloody Valentine Incident is an event that all know by now, but parts of the account of what happened there and the results, are lies that have been spread since its occurrence. Both people within the Alliance and its military, along with the PLANTs and ZAFT, have tried to hide truths about the colony for different reason, but all of that ends today!_ " Minister Blass stated firmly.

Nicol's mouth hung open at that last line. Could historical accounts really be incorrected about what had happened to Junius Seven? Part of Nicol screamed defiance to even a thought that history got it wrong. But still, there was something in him that said perhaps there was more to the infamous event.

Ellen Blass kept going, " _It is fact that a missile bearing a nuclear warhead struck Junius Seven, bringing about the destruction of the colony. Close to a quarter of a million people followed the colony with the deaths, those facts are true. However, what the public does not know, is that between a third to half of that population were made up of Natural type human being._ "

There was a pause that had gasps in the background, then the woman continued, " _The reason this fact is unknown or denied, is because a number of individuals and groups don't wish this truth to be known. For some of them, the fact would have them facing criminal charges before now, while others don't want to admit what Natural type humans being on Junius Seven nor what it implies._ "

Shock filled Nicol, was it really possible that a third of Junius Seven's population could have been Naturals? Nicol couldn't recall anyone saying anything about that, but it was possible.

" _Junius Seven was not just an agricultural colony that was home to a large number of human beings, it was also a testing ground to see if Coordinator type and Natural type humans could live in peace and harmony together. The colony proved such a thing was easily possible, so much so that even Milliardo Peacecraft, the leader of the Earth Sphere before the Alliance was formed, was impressed and he was even encouraged by what he saw there. That man, who advocated peace was also on Junius Seven at the time of the nuclear strike took place. Whether that was by chance or by some design, all I can say at this time is that the Federation military is currently investigating it,_ " Ellen Blass iterated.

Nicol remembered a couple of conversations he had overheard about 'failed' attempts to see if Naturals and Coordinators could live together in peace, but Junius Seven was never been mentioned in any of those. For that fact to be hidden by the Earth Alliance, wasn't surprising, nor was it nice, more so if Earth's previous leader before the Earth Alliance had been formed had been there. But, if this was true, and Nicol was finding himself believing that it was, then a number within ZAFT had also hidden the fact that Naturals had been at Junius Seven when the strike had occurred. And lastly, to hear that the Federation was investigating the Bloody Valentine still, implied there was indeed more to the event than was publicly known.

Minister Blass spoke again, " _All the tragedies from the Blood Valentine to the battles that have happened in this war, none of it is the fault of the soldiers or pilots that fight in them, for they are following orders, some willingly, others unwillingly. Most of them are protecting their homes and what they hold dear to themselves and that is not wrong. The ones who are at fault for this war and what it has brought to us all, can be identified, regardless if they take responsibility for their actions or not. There is a phrase that most will have heard at least once by now, but I will change it slightly to promote understanding. The ones that ushered in this war and keep it going, are 'humankind's true enemy'._ "

The phrase 'humankind's true enemy' caught and held Nicol's attention, for it was clearly based on the phrase Blue Cosmos used as their rallying cry. And for whoever they were to be blamed instead of the soldiers was different than most who cursed the war that Nicol had heard about. Most cursed the soldiers and those who fought in the war, so it was nice in a way to hear someone not blame those who were fighting to defend others.

" _First, I will define those who would be considered 'humankind's true enemy'. They are those who use their hatred of others, as the sole reason for attacking and killing people, innocent or not. They are those who insist that war is the only way to settle standing disagreements and more, adamantly claiming there is no other solution no matter the evidence provided to the contrary. They are those, who use their war cries for blood to be spilled and see them as rallying calls for others to join them as well as justification for their terrible and unforgivable actions. They are those, who are more intent on pursuing their vendettas and fulfilling them, than seeking peace for all people. Those who see nothing wrong with using and abusing people, knowingly and unknowingly, then toss them away after they fail or don't provide a use or purpose for those that control them. They are those who promote this war and say it will only end when a whole part of humanity, whether it be Coordinator, Natural, Hybrid or any other form of human being is completely exterminated! Any who do one or more of the points I mentioned, are humankind's true enemy and are as demons dressed in human skin. They are the same as the most villainous individuals in our history, the same as Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler or Musade Muhlan, they used war to kill all they could. And those who are humankind's true enemy will be remembered in the exact same way as those horrible individuals! Like those villains, those who are humankind's true enemy, are not human beings, they are a creature that is less than any type of human is._ "

Nicol was speechless at the 'definition' that was given by Minister Blass. The reason being, Nicol could think of a few that could fall under at least part of the definition among other reasons. To make the conundrum Nicol was having harder, the woman summed up her speech by saying that standing against humankind's true enemy would end this war. The speech certainly left Nicol to wonder many things that he hadn't thought about before.

 **-Line Break-**

Mendel Colony, L4

Things settled down a little as time moved forward for those at the L4 colony cluster. Of course, that didn't mean that they were idle or just sat around doing nothing. There was work that needed doing and with the time, preparations were made for whatever would come that could be thought of. In fact, there was quite a list of tasks that needed to be done, like; sorting supplies that had been brought by the Archangel, the Kusanagi and the Eternal, the pilots from orb needed practice in using their mobile suits in zero-G. And with Erica Simmons there, she could also help with doing the needed adjustments on the mobile suit that the Eternal had brought with it, the ZGMF-X11A Regenerate.

Everyone was pitching in on the work, because no one knew when this quieter period would come to an end. The supply sorting was mostly done by the M1-Asrays, along with the Shadow and the Strike. Mu and Krystal saying that they needed the practice in using mobile suits in space just as much as the Orb pilots did. Mu was quickly grasping the suit controls as the OS designed by Kira was much better than what had originally come with the machine. And even if Krystal wasn't piloting the Shadow at the same level as Tyler had shown, but she was doing respectively.

At the same time, Mrs. Simmons was doing a fair job at finishing the needed work on the Regenerate. When it was taken from the PLANTs, it had still required adjustments for real use and no doubt, ZAFT's Integrated Design Bureau had been planning to do the work. But with the premature departure, that hadn't worked out. The theft of the Regenerate, had been Lacus's idea, for having piloted a mobile suit, she felt there might be a need for her to do so again. Plus, she didn't intend to sit by and have to watch Kira, Athrun and Tyler put their lives on the line for everyone else. She would go out and be right next to them if that would make a difference.

The Justice and Freedom were transferred over to the Eternal to join the Aurora in its hanger. With that being the case, the three ships had more equal loadouts. The Archangel was carrying the Strike, the Shadow and the Buster, yet it also still had Mu's mobile armor, even if it had been modified at Morgenroete. The Kusanagi had seven M-1 Astrays and unexpectedly, the Asuka had been loaded on the ship too. Cagalli had been eyeing the machine with visible interest, where that would go, none knew. The Eternal of course, carried the Freedom, the Justice, the Aurora and the Regenerate mobile suits.

However, during what down time there was, the activities varied from person to person, but it quickly became clear that everyone had seen Ellen Blass's speech, whether live or a recording of it. For it was the topic of discussion among most, her speech was talked and thought about at length.

For those that came from Orb, they fully agreed with what Minister Blass had stated. The speech had hit Cagalli directly in the heart, for more than one reason. Not only was Ellen Blass a woman that Cagalli respected a great deal and even saw her to extent, like a mother figure. But seeing her show emotion as she had during the speech was something Cagalli hadn't seen before. Sure she understood that what had happened to Ellen's husband and that she had even had a daughter, that would be very harder. Ellen's speech as a whole, caused Cagalli to seriously consider things that she had thought couldn't change.

Kira had agreed with what Tyler's mother had stated and said. But, to hear of what had been in the messages sent to the member nations of the Federation, had irritated him. It did explain why Tyler could have been mad before if the message from the Alliance had been the same or similar. Granted there were those in the Earth Alliance that seemed to do wrong, but this went beyond just doing wrong. The Alliance attacked others, knowing that it would very likely make the war worse for everyone and to show no sign that they cared in the slightest. The feelings of righteous anger were a strange emotion for Kira as it had not happened to him much.

After listening to the speech, Lacus wished that as many human beings hear the message that Ellen Blass had as possible. It had been so simple and yet rang true in the heart! If people worked together and stood united against this conflict, then peace could come. And if this war came to an end, then people could live happily and not have to fear being killed from fighting. Siegel agreed with this youngest daughter, even if he knew that there was more work to be done for peace to come about.

However, Athrun took the speech of Ellen Blass hard, even if he didn't show any evidence of what he felt. He understood and agreed with what had been said by the woman, yet parts had been painful to hear for him. The part that had affected Athrun the most, was listening to Ellen's definition of humankind's true enemy. It was as a checklist… and each line, Athrun had to admit was a strike against his father. Each quality that Ellen had identified could be applied to his father as of late. Patrick Zala used his hatred he bore towards Naturals as justification for the attacks on the Alliance. His father said this war was the only solution and there was nothing else that could. The man had even used cries of retribution to rally others to his cause, Athrun himself included. He used people knowingly, though mostly unknowingly and then 'tossed' them out when their usefulness ended, Athrun had personal experience in that. Then, Athrun could see now the 'vendetta' that was driving Patrick Zala onward and was promoting the war to keep it going.

The work kept moving forward as the days passed by with little change, but each day that nothing changed increased the feel of the need to hurry. Things came to a head when a meeting was scheduled for the leaders here. The meeting took place on the bridge of the Archangel, most people of note were there. All three commanding the vessels were there, all the pilots, just to name a few in attendance.

Kisaka was the one who started the discussion, "With recent events, the Earth Alliance is the more worrisome of the two other factions right now. There retaking of the Victoria base, got them use of a mass driver as they had been trying to obtain to replace Panama. They are putting the Habilis mass driver to use by reestablishing their supply line among other things."

Mu cursed quietly, "Having a mass driver to use, means it won't be long before this conflict gets worse up here in space. It won't be long before strikes are made at the PLANTs by the Alliance and that gets us nowhere."

"But, what good does attacking the PLANTs even achieve?" Asked Cagalli.

No one answered the question for a time, but then Tyler spoke up, "Because Cagalli, those in control of the Earth Alliance believe that only when all of Earth and space are purged of every single Coordinators will this war end for them in victory. They are convinced and shout that only when every Coordinator is dead will this war stop. The PLANTs are where the largest population of Coordinator are and stands for Coordinator independents from Natural type human control and dominance or that's how it's portrayed.

"I can't see how getting rid of Coordinators would lead to a pure world. I don't know what is meant by 'pure world' in the first place. But, from the PLANTs' perspective, there's nothing worse than being shot and killed for the sole reason to be attacked," Waltfeld continued where Tyler had left off.

Cagalli noted that Athrun had disappear and so, she slipped away to go looking for him. Meanwhile, Andrew Waltfeld kept going, "On the other hand, most of the leaders of the PLANTs look upon the Naturals as pests and beneath them. Both sides claim self-defense and self-preservation as their reasons to fight this war… one is left to wonder how long this cycle will continue and if it will ever end."

"You're pretty much stating the whole problematic cycle that this war is maintained by," said Tyler, "It's the hypocritical and yet horribly ironic, spilling blood stains and taints all around it, making it impossible to have a "pure world". So, to claim killing a group will solve things, is nothing more than a justification that is used for a vendetta of a few. It has to stop soon, or all will die for this war and then it will be too late for anything to change."

"But there is still the opportunity for change to occur, much like Minister Blass said in her broadcast. It isn't to the point that things can't change, and even the influence of a few can make a difference," Lacus insisted firmly.

"Indeed, it is the greatest power that human beings have, the ability to choose a different path and change," said Siegel Clyne.

While the meeting continued, Cagalli searched for Athrun. He hadn't been looking like he was doing well since he had returned from going to the PLANTs. She had heard that things had gone… badly with Athrun trying to talk to his father, at least that's what Kira had said. It was when she came into the observation lounge, that she found Athrun, who was staring out over the docking area. "I finally found you," Cagalli announced.

Athrun turned and saw Cagalli floating towards him, he felt surprised at seeing her. He had come to the port's observation lounge to get time to clear his head, though he hadn't been doing well in that respect. What had happened around the PLANTs was plaguing him, what his father had done kept going through his mind. The broadcast had contributed to the storm in his mind, for he respected and agreed with Tyler's mother, far more than his father now.

Cagalli stopped right in front of Athrun, "I bet your head is like a hamster about now with all that's happened," she said, tones of worry audible. "Your mind going around in circles, getting nowhere with any of the question you have, right?"

Athrun said nothing, she was right, the questions that were bouncing around his brain were still unanswered. He had tried to think of how and why things had ended out the way they did, how he might have missed something that he could have changed yet still, Athrun had come up with nothing. Cagalli kept going, "That's why you need to talk about what's on your mind to others, it does harm if you just keep it inside. All of us here can help you Athrun and we want to help you, there are friends here that are worried about you, me included. Your opinion and knowledge is valuable, so when we gather for meetings, you should be there too."

"Sorry, just don't know what to say right now," Athrun replied.

Cagalli stared at Athrun, seeing he was clearly in pain, both physical and non-physical. Specifically, Cagalli's gaze fell on Athrun's right shoulder, which had bandages wrapping and his arm was in a sling to help the healing process along. "Does it hurt?" Cagalli asked.

Athrun realized that she was talking about his shoulder, "Not really," he said evenly.

His shoulder was sore, but the pain he felt before when he had been shot had been far worse. But even then, the one who had shot him had been more damaging to his heart than the action itself. "You're lying, of course it hurts. You were shot by your own father, how could that not hurt," Cagalli reasoned.

The blonde's justification nailed Athrun in the heart and to the wall, for it summarized what was hurting him. His head fell, and a few tears came to his eyes, "I… I couldn't stop him… I realized it for the first time, just how different things have become with him," Athrun got out, his voice breaking a bit as he spoke.

"Athrun?" questioned Cagalli.

Athrun continued, "I was totally powerless and I didn't understand a thing, even when others tried to tell me how things were. I've been so blind and stupid not to see the changes in him. Tyler tried to soften the blow, to warn and tell me about the change that he saw, but I wasn't willing to see it."

Cagalli grabbed Athrun's left hand and made him meet her eyes, "Everyone feels powerless in the same basic way at some point in their lives. Those who think they understand things as they are that don't experience it themselves, they're only fooling themselves!" Cagalli stated firmly.

"Cagalli," uttered Athrun in surprise, never having expected such from the girl.

"It's still too soon to give up on convincing your father, that his methods aren't the best way to go forward! You still have a chance to talk to him properly, he's your father, so isn't it worth trying," Cagalli continued, the strength of her belief evident.

Athrun got over his surprise at how much sense Cagalli was making at the same time she was showing her strong optimistic view of the world. It wasn't like Kira's naivete, but it ran along the same type of path, the difference was Cagalli knew the world wasn't the simple place that Kira saw. Athrun couldn't help the smile that found itself on to his face, "So, stop standing around alone looking so hesitant, and," Cagalli was saying.

Athrun moved forward and embraced Cagalli with his left arm going around her back. She may have not searched for him and found him to cheer him up, but she certainly had done just that. Cagalli Yula Athha, was like no girl Athrun had ever met; not a Natural, Coordinator or any other type or human being. "Thanks for caring Cagalli, it means a great deal," Athrun said softly.

Cagalli began stuttering up a storm right after Athrun embraced her, for it was the last thing she had expected to come. Yes, she thought Athrun was a nice guy, well-mannered and calm in most situations, yet a kind disposition. But he had never been this forward around her before! She had meant to find him and try to cheer him up however, how it had come to this, Cagalli didn't know.

Her heart rate had shot up when Athrun had hugged her and she felt her cheeks heat up in response. The response brought back to Cagalli's mind a conversation that she had with Ellen months ago. She hadn't thought much about it at the time, for it had been Ellen talking about Cagalli preparing herself for the time when "a boy came along". Cagalli had listened to what Ellen had said, but hadn't really paid much attention to the subject, as spending time with boys wasn't a priority with her. But now, parts of the conversation repeated themselves in her head, for her heart speeding up and cheeks heating up was something particular that had come up in the talk.

And yet, Cagalli for the life of her, couldn't explain why her voice wasn't working right, so couldn't get out more than one to two words, certainly not a full, understandable sentence. It made no sense to her why a boy would have such an effect on her, even though Ellen had said that a boy could have this kind of effect. All she could do was float there and let this happen. Part of her enjoyed the current experience, while another part saying this was far too soon for something like this to happen with a boy, even if Athrun was nice.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

It had been a little over a week since arriving at Mendel within the L4 colony cluster. Things were going fine with the tasks that were being worked on and completed. However, I was getting restless and antsy with each passing day with me having little to do. As is habit for me, when there's idle time, I try to find something to do to occupy that time. as the phrase goes, 'An idle mind is the devil's playground' and I avoid anything like a devil as much as I possibly can. So, even if most thought it was pointless and unneeded, I made the decision that going out for a patrol of the area.

That being said, I suited up and launched out in the Aurora from the Eternal, Aisha didn't see anything wrong with me going out and she had been in command then. Once I cleared the ships, but before I exited the dock, I shifted my suit over to its flight mode and activated the Aurora's phantom stealth system and my suit vanished from all sensors and sight. Where some might see patrolling right now as a waste of time, I disagree. We WILL have company soon enough, of that I'm sure. The real question I believe is left, is who will come first, the Earth Forces or ZAFT, whoever it was, the other won't be far behind I bet.

I cruised around the colony cluster at a fair pace, looking for anything out of the ordinary and for the first thirty minutes, I saw nothing of interest. Nevertheless, that changed when I reached the side of the cluster that faced the moon. I spotted an object for a moment behind an arm of one of the outer colony in the cluster. I came around and swooped to the dark side of the colony in question, need to get a second closer look at what I'd caught a glimpse of. On the dark side, I found myself looking at what was unmistakably an Archangel-class Alliance vessel. The ship was using colony structure to mask their approach, which I would guess is the Mendel colony.

The major difference between this Archangel-class and the Archangel herself, was that the Archangel was white overall and this one is black. For the Earth Forces to build another ship of the class, wasn't shocking, the ship class is powerful, I'll admit it. The downside, the Archangel-class isn't a vessel type that could be mass produced efficiently, quickly or easily. Still, the question of why the Alliance would send only one ship here, says one of two things. Either the one who's in command of the black Archangel, has confidence of their superiors, or the Alliance doesn't know there are three ships at L4. Perhaps there's a different goal altogether, the Alliance has been more unpredictable as of late.

The black ship showed no sign that they had noticed they were being followed by me. So, I connected an encrypted channel to the Archangel, which was audio only. "Archangel, this is the Aurora, be advised, I've found and am following an Alliance ship that has entered the colony cluster from the moon facing side and is using colony structure to mask its approach. I can confirm that the vessel is an Archangel-class and is heading towards the Mendel colony. Hostilities are likely, prepare accordingly, Aurora," I stated clearly, so that there would be no question about what I was saying.

I kept following the black Archangel, coming to be above the ship around where its engines and stern missile tubes were. I was making sure to keep a close and critical eye on this vessel as I figure this ship is here for non-friendly purposes the longer I followed it. In fact, I was more sure that it was here to attack us, and probably something else if it can get away with it. As the black vessel came around the dark side of the colony it was using to hide and came into view of Mendel. The black Archangel deployed it weapons and CIWS, and I noted that the port side stern missile tube opening and prepping missiles for launch. My response was to shift the Aurora out of its flight mode and bring my beam rifle to bear on the port side missile tubes. Switched the rifle over to the stream configuration and then waited to see what this ship to fire its missiles, for I plan to intercept them.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Sai and Kuzzey were on duty on the bridge, with Krystal being in command at this late hour. Everything had been quiet thus far on the shift, but that change with one event. Kuzzey noted an encrypted communication being received, and on further inspection, noticed it was audio only, which was kind of unusual. "Ma'am, we're receiving an encrypted message, it's audio only," Kuzzey announced.

Krystal turned around, curious as to a message at this time, "Well then, let's hear it," she said.

Kuzzey input the commands for the message to be heard of the speaker system on the bridge, " _Archangel, this is the Aurora,_ " came the voice of Tyler, which gained the sharp attention of everyone on the bridge." _Be advised, I've found and am following an Alliance ship that has entered the colony cluster from the moon facing side and is using colony structure to mask its approach. I can confirm that the vessel is an Archangel-class and is heading towards the Mendel colony. Hostilities are likely, prepare accordingly, Aurora out._ "

Kuzzey looked at the transmission, "There is nothing else, just what we heard," he said.

Krystal sighed at comprehending what the message said, "Well, means that peace and quiet time is at its end now." She faced forward and picked up the ship phone, "All hands, level one battle stations, I repeat, all hands, level one battle station!"

Minutes after the announcement, others came onto the bridge and filled the unmanned stations. Murrue floated to the captain's chair, which Krystal vacated as she headed for the elevator to go to the hanger. Those on the bridge, brought Murrue up to speed on what Tyler's warning had iterated. When Murrue had understood what was about to happen, she ordered the message to be sent to the Kusanagi and the Eternal so they could make preparations.

Meanwhile, the pilots on the Archangel suited up and then boarded their mobile suits, waiting for orders to launch out. The Archangel fired up its engines, but before they could exit Mendel's dock, the colony was shaken hard, the cause unknown. The shaking had come from the Dominion, firing one of its Lohengrin at the colony wall behind the docking section itself. The colony wall's integrity took a hit, though the wall itself didn't rupture or melt through from the positron beam.

Inside the colony, Murrue connected com-channels to both the Kusanagi and the Eternal, "What's your ship's status?" She asked.

" _The Kusanagi is ready to go,_ " replied Cagalli, with Kisaka nodding to her statement.

" _We need a little more time to get the Eternal ready,_ " returned Waltfeld.

"Right then, do what you need to for the Eternal to be ready. The Archangel will head out of the colony and face those outside," Murrue stated. The Archangel lifted off and moved forward towards the entrance of Mendel's dock.

On the outside, approaching the Mendel colony's southern dock, the second Archangel-class, Dominion slowly closed the distance between it and its target. However, when Natarle saw the Archangel exiting the colony's dock, the doubts about this mission returned for the second time. Making a split-second decision, Natarle opened a communication channel, "This is the Earth Forces' Mobile Assault Ship Dominion, Archangel, can you hear me?" Natarle announced.

On board the Archangel, hearing a voice that none of the crew of the Archangel thought they would hear again hit them hard. " _Your ship is listed with the Alliance as a rebel ship, therefore, we demand your immediate and unconditional surrender,_ " continued Natarle Badgiruel. " _Should you fail to abide by these demands, we will be forced to destroy your ship._ "

The realization that the opposing commanding officer that they would face in this battle, was to be a former comrade, didn't sit well with anyone. Shortly after the two lines were given by Natarle, video communication connected and Murrue found herself looking at a woman she respected as a friend and an equal. " _It's been a while, Captain Ramius. I regret we should meet again under these circumstances,_ " Natarle greeted.

Murrue gave a sad smile, "Indeed, the feeling is mutual," she replied.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The shot from the Lohengrin had taken me by surprise, I had more figured that missile would be the first weapon to be fired. It was why I had been positioned towards the rear of the ship, ready to intercept projectiles fired. Then, I was thrown an even crazier curveball!

" _This is the Earth Forces' Mobile Assault Ship Dominion, Archangel, can you hear me?_ " Came the voice of none other than Natarle Badgiruel.

Oh boy, of all of those that could be our opponents, it has to be someone that we know… great. Dare I asked how this could get worse? Upon tapping into the communication channel that the Alliance was using, I began hearing the ongoing conversation. " _Your ship is listed with the Alliance as a rebel ship, therefore, we demand your immediate and unconditional surrender._ " Continued Natarle, " _Should you fail to abide by these demands, we will be forced to destroy your ship._ "

What a prompted answer I receive, this situation is going to be difficult and complicated. At least now, I know what kind of tactics I'll need to watch for. " _It's been a while, Captain Ramius. I regret we should meet again under these circumstances,_ " Natarle said.

" _Indeed, the feeling is mutual,_ " Murrue replied.

To say this conversation is as painful to listen to as it is sad, would be an understatement from my position. Natarle does has some of the worst luck I've seen when it comes to those she has to take orders from. It's sad as the woman, as much as I may disagree with her views, is a capable and decent commanding officer and the Alliance doesn't have a great deal of those types. Her biggest fault that trips her up, is she's blindly loyal and faithful to the Alliance and most of them have clearly shown they don't deserve such loyalty.

" _I heard about what went on at Alaska, it was a complicated decision and the results were horrible. However, I strongly suggest that you surrender and talk things over with the top brass. I don't know what help I can be, but I'll do everything I can to assist you. You are fully aware of what this ship is capable of doing, please, make this easier on yourselves._ " Natarle pled.

Natarle heard about what happened at Alaska did she? What she knows all depends who she was told the information by, for there are two completely different accounts for that event. The two versions are vastly different, with one being the truth of the Alliance's actions and views, compared to them 'fighting the good fight' and making the ultimate sacrifice. But, what I'm more curious about, is what the real reason Natarle was sent here for. Destroying the Archangel is possible, yet it doesn't fit entirely, which gets me thinking what else there was to this.

" _Natarle, thank you, but we cannot do that! This isn't only about what happened at Alaska, but what they've done throughout this war,_ " Murrue replied.

Amen to that! I only wish that those on board the Archangel had understood sooner, but better they know the truth now than not at all.

" _Harsh things occur in war, but even so, it isn't worth what you're doing,_ " Natarle attempted to reason.

I kind of wish that Natarle understood that those in control of the Alliance, but she clearly doesn't. And while I would agree with the first part of what the former first officer of the Archangel was saying, the second I don't. There are things worth staking your life for, and standing up against those who will do nearly anything to fulfill their vendettas to bring about the extinction to a part of humanity if not stopped is one of them. Or as my mother so eloquently put it, ' _… those, who are more intent on pursuing their vendetta, than seeking peace for the innocent that they are supposed to be representing.'_ It is those kinds of people that will be the end of us all if they aren't stopped!

" _Then, you even condone the Alliance's attacks on member nations of the Federation,_ " Murrue posed.

Wow, now that's quite the counter, and completely valid! " _That's not what,_ " Natarle began saying.

However, before the conversation could go further, another voice came over the com-line and it was one I didn't recognize, " _This is a very rousing conversation, but honestly, enough with the foolish bravado. If we could solve everything by talking, then there would be no conflict in this world. Enemies are made through fools voicing their views, and enemies are to be destroyed. It's the way things are and there is no other way that things can change, things will never work that way._ "

I don't like how this 'man' was talking, for it sounds more like a justification of someone doing horrible things and saying they're right. Yet, I haven't a clue who the man is, never heard the voice that I can recall.

" _Director Azrael,_ " said Natarle.

A cold feeling spread through me at hearing the two words that Natarle had just said. Director Azrael? As in the man named Muruta Azrael, the current leader of Blue Cosmos? The man that gathered evidence proves was involved in the nuclear missile strike on Junius Seven? Sure, I had heard of the man by name, read about him in reports and hadn't liked what I'd learned at all. However, I had never thought I would be in close proximity to this dangerous man, who is considered a war criminal by the Federation.

Back at the time that the United Nations created the group that later became the Federation military, there was also a set of rules that the group upheld and enforced. One of those rules, defined what a 'war crime' was and for those who committed such, what types of punishments they would face. So, with Muruta Azrael's involvement in the destruction of Junius Seven, definitely fell under the 'war criminal' category. He was one of the few that had played a part in the Bloody Valentine, who hadn't been taken into custody as of yet.

" _Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider, launch! Today the indestructible Archangel falls, and then this war can then move towards the ending it should have had years ago!_ " ordered Muruta Azrael.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I'll leave off at this point and continue with the actual battle in the next Phase. So, the reason I made the start date what I did, is I feel like I was moving too fast with the passage of time in the story. And I'll go back through and do adjustments when I reach the end of where the Gundam Seed Anime leaves off. In fact, am planning to do some revision once I reach that point, but that's a few Phases away at least. As always, please some of you take the time to write a review, I don't care of the length and tell me what you think, ask question or even tell me I don't know what I'm doing. Until next time, peace out all!**


	22. Phase 22: Battle of Belief

**A/n**

 **Phase 22 is here, the battle with the Dominion! And I can tell you right now, if you think it's going to go like it does in the series, then prepare to enjoy and a different battle scene! Originally this phase was going to have more, but its length was getting to the point it was easier to spilt into two phases instead. Anyway, I don't own anything but my original characters and musings, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 22: Battle of Belief

July 12th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Lagrange 4 Colony Cluster

" _Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider, launch! Today, the indestructible Archangel falls, and then this war can then move towards the ending it should have had years ago!_ " ordered the voice of Muruta Azrael over an open channel.

The battle was unavoidable now and Murrue knew that, but a sick feeling filled her at understanding that she would be facing her former first officer in combat. Murrue saw Natarle Badgiruel as an equal, a friend and respected colleague, so she didn't want to fight her. Honestly, Murrue believed that Natarle had the makings of a great commanding officer, she might be strict yet, that was needed at times. Yet now, the Archangel would face her in battle and all on the Archangel had negative feelings about it, showing that this war was truly a horrible thing! The Republic's Prime Minister had put it quite well, this war only took away, destroyed and ruined and did nothing else really. In hindsight, the evidence was so easy and clear to see of just what the war had done along with the hatred that kept it going. Nonetheless, it didn't make it any easier to swallow the facts or their results.

Murrue gave orders for the Archangel's to ready itself for combat and for pilots to prepare to launch out in their mobile suits. The Archangel's Gottfrieds and Valiants came out from their stored positions, to be at the ready for use. At the same time, all sixteen Igelstellung CIWS guns shifted to active mode and began to slowly sweep, ready to intercept incoming enemy projectiles. The special signal and small equipment launchers, were loaded with anti-beam depth charges in preparation of attacks from the black Archangel, the Dominion. The stern missile launchers were loaded with anti-ship Sledgehammer missiles.

Down in the hanger, the three pilots still on the Archangel were getting ready to go out to the battlefield. The Archangel's mechanics were rushing around, doing as many of the needed tasks as quickly and as efficient as possible so that the mobile suits could head out. Dearka was checking over the tuning that the Buster had received by the techs from Morgenroete, making sure the on-board systems were working like he wanted. He was fairly impressed at what the work done on the Buster, the work done, brought an amount of streamlining to the OS. While Krystal was deciding whether to go with the heavy beam rifle set the Shadow had available or go with the flight system that had been rebuilt instead.

Mu was talking to Chief Murdoch about the finer points of the equipment that he intended to use in this skirmish. Back in Orb at Morgenroete's main complex, Mu's mobile armor had undergone extensive modifications in order to work with the Strike. Mu had been very interested in the idea when it had been suggested by Erica Simmons that his Moebius Zero could combine with the Strike. Plus, his Zero got a more updated arsenal that should be more effective against mobile suits that didn't have phase shift armor. And thus far, the mass production Earth Alliance mobile suits hadn't shown to have phase shift armor, they had laminated armor instead.

Now his Moebius Zero Armor, had a gatling gun exchanged for his linear cannon, and was of an 80mm caliber to help have more oomph. The wire-guided gunbarrel pods were still there, but their autocannons had been switched out for a railgun and a pair of missiles in each pod. The other feature the Moebius Zero armor had gained, it could now combine with the Strike, mounting to the hardpoint like the other striker packs did. The Strike would still have its 57mm beam rifle and its anti-beam coated shield with the combination with the Zero armor. With the mobile armor mounted to the hardpoint, Mu would be able to use the gunbarrels, and the gatling gun could swing around and forward to fire at enemies. The added thrust from the gunbarrels would give the Strike better mobility and pushing power, Mu would take that and use it to do what was needed.

The specific point that was being discussed, was how to launch the Zero armor. A remote-control system, similar to what the Federation military apparently used in their mobile suits/fighters, had been installed in the mobile armor during its modification. Mu had studied the system and understood the basics of how it worked, but he hadn't tried it out yet and until he did, he was hesitant to rely on it. So, Chief Murdoch suggested that after Mu took the Strike out, the Zero launch out. Then, the Strike would just need to line up and have the Zero shift over to the mode it docked to the Strike's hardpoint. Doing the process that way, wouldn't require much remote control for either Mu or someone else to do.

Shortly after the pilots boarded their machines, they were sent to the catapults. The Shadow moved to the right catapult and was equipped with the flight system, which Krystal had decided to use. The Strike was sent to the left catapult, but was given no equipment other than the rifle and shield as it would be using the Zero armor. After the Shadow launched, the Buster went to the right catapult and headed out to the field. Mu flew the Strike out and kept in line with the catapult as his Moebius Zero was quickly loaded and shot out from the Archangel. The Zero's forward section ahead of the thrusters and gunbarrels, folded down and the mobile armor connected to the Strike with a jerk. Mu activated the Strike's phase shift armor, before using the thrust he now had to surge forward.

Three mobile suits launched from the Dominion, the same three that had been involved in both battles the Alliance waged against the Orb Union. Their names, as Muruta Azrael had stated, were the Calamity, the Forbidden and the Raider, which name belonged to which machine, none that were facing them could say. Although, regardless of names, all three had already had shown that they could cause chaos and destruction when they came onto a battlefield.

The Kusanagi made its way outside the dock of the Mendel colony not too long after the Archangel did, planning to aid the Archangel against the Dominion. However, the Dominion fired missiles towards the Kusanagi, but the Orb vessel wasn't the target, the colony support cables they were near were. The thick cables under high tension, when the missiles struck them, whipped backwards and wrapped around the Kusanagi, trapping the ship.

The Kusanagi sent out the M1-Astrays on board it out to use their beam sabers to cut the cables and free the ship. Six Astrays in total got to work as fast as they could to slice the metal cables, while keeping eyes on the battle so as to not get shot. Yet, during the scramble, the Dominion had moved away and vanished from the sight of their opponents… well, most of their opponents.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I'll begrudgingly admit, Natarle managed to take me by surprise and that doesn't happen often with me. First, I had predicted the first attack wrong and so had been caught off-guard and now Natarle had gotten me with her passenger onboard. She'd shaken me after I'd lost focus at hearing Muruta Azrael's voice and now I was playing catch up. However, I was paying sharp attention and wouldn't let myself be caught off guard a third time!

I reacquired the location of the black ship just as it launched missiles towards the Kusanagi. Yet, they didn't hit the ship, but the large colony support cable they were near, which due to the heavy tension they were under, whipped back and wrapped around the Kusanagi. And Natarle shows her talent for battle tactics, by disabling one ship for a time, so that she can focus on the Archangel. I started following the black Archangel as it used the colony as a shield and a way to hide coming up behind the Archangel. The ship still as far as I could tell, had no idea that I was following them, invisible from sensors and prying eyes. Once again, Federation stealth technology is top notch and is certainly the best at the business! Anyways, I'm not going to wait and see what this ship does this time, such inaction had nearly came with a cost that was unacceptable.

I barrel rolled the Aurora to move to the starboard side of the black ship and focused my rifle, which was still in its stream mode and aimed back at the stern missile tubes. Without further hesitation, I pulled the trigger and my rifle fired its continuous stream and I carved a good deep line along the row of launching tubes. The explosions that followed my cutting beam a short way behind it, made me think that at least some of the tubes were loaded. Still, I got the result I was going for as the starboard side missile tubes of this ship were out of commission.

Next, I swung my mobile suit into a roll over the 'Dominion' as Natarle had called it, to its port side. I pointed my rifle at the stern launchers and sliced a line down them like I had on the starboard side, disabling them as well. Yet, the crew and their captain had taken noticed of my action of disabling the missile launchers. That came in the form of the defenses of the ship beginning to fire in a random manner. I took that to mean that Natarle figured out that she was dealing with an invisible enemy a.k.a. little old me. Now normally, I would applaud the effort and say that such a tactic would be one of the better options to go with, but I wouldn't in this situation. And it's mostly due to the simple fact that I know the specs of the Archangel-class better than most. I know its weaknesses and its strengths, and every single blind spot it has.

So, I dropped downward, keeping close to the ship and positioned the Aurora along the underside of the black vessel. I kept my mobile suit feet away from the outer hull of the Dominion, easily in one of the blind spots and by matching my speed and direction to keep where I was in respect with the rest of the ship. I quickly found a system junction and used it to connect to the Dominion's internal control and operating systems.

You see, the other neat point that I happened to know about the Archangel-class, the types of system attacks that had been tested against this ship class. I got my hands on the report that had been written by those that had done the testing against the system. The list included programs or coding that would simply slow the system down to the kind that would take over the system and control it. The report even mentioned which attacks the on-board systems were more vulnerable to than others. It was for me, literally a guide to messing with the ship to any degree that I wanted. And let me tell you, after one or two lectures I'd be forced to listen to from Natarle Badgiruel, I'd been tempted to test just how effective some of the stuff was, but I had restrained myself before now.

Interestingly, after doing a little research, I found out that not only was the report pretty much ignored by those in the Alliance, little to anything had been done by anyone. I've come to expect a higher standard from work from Morgenroete… or maybe the Alliance personnel were getting too impatient and telling them to hurry up. Although, in the defense of Morgenroete's technicians and engineers, they did note the issues and they had fixed the vulnerabilities in the Izumo-class's systems as I understand it. It leaves one to wonder sometimes, if those in the Earth Alliance will ever learn the lesson that sabotage is never something to be ignored or dismissed as nothing to worry about. Sabotage, is an ever changing and fine art, and it's one that I know well and am an expert in. I've used the art against the Alliance on a few occasions to great effect, even if they don't learn from those events.

Whatever the reason is, I knew what vulnerabilities there were in the Archangel-class and I would exploit them as I saw reason to. Besides, the designers of this ship class never planned for someone like me to make attempts to mess with the ship! I'm a security designer's worst nightmare incarnated, a system architect's darkest machination realized and I'll prove why I can be seen that way using the Dominion! What I've in mind, will put the Dominion's onboard systems through the worst beating and stress that they have ever gone through, I personally guarantee that!

I brought the keyboard out that is stored on the right side of the seat when not in use, and it took me seconds to gain access to the ships on board systems. How might I have gotten access to the ship's system so quick you would ask? Well apparently, some idiot thought there was no issue, danger or element of stupidity in leaving the default system access codes active and usable. Seriously, if this isn't just down right dumb and ridiculous, I don't know of a way it can be more so, other than having no defenses or security at all! Whoever did the security for this ship needs to be fired and punished, because they made one of the simplest mistakes that can be made!

It's yet another prime example of how those within the Alliance screw themselves, the little things that they dismiss or ignored come back to bite the hardest normally. It's no wonder why they're having such difficulty fighting against ZAFT, they give their opponents so much opportunity. I mean hell, with the codes I used, I had free reign to do whatever I damn well please and the other part of this, there will be little that the crew on board could do to stop me from their end. So, that being said, I got down to setting up a "gift" for the woman that I've had a number of run ins with and needs to be given a less of just how ridiculous the Earth Alliance was being these days.

Not too long after I started to lay the groundwork for the program I would set loose, I connected a com-channel to the unit in my helmet. I did this so that, my typing won't be heard at all, don't what to spoil the "surprise" I'm making. But, I'd some things that I wanted to say to the Archangel's former first officer. I connected the channel to the Dominion's bridge's speaker system and gave my greeting, "I have to say Natarle, you have some really bad luck with who you take orders from, my heartfelt condolences."

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Dominion bridge

At seeing the white vessel that belonged to Orb, which had been moving to support the Archangel, now tangled up in the colony support cable, Natarle focused back on the task at hand. The mission that the Dominion had been assigned, was still to sink the Archangel and that wouldn't be easy.

Right now, the number of mobile suits that were facing off, were five versing seven. So, when it came to numbers, the Dominion had the advantage, but Natarle had learned on the Archangel that numbers weren't a good statistic to go with. The machines from the Dominion, the Forbidden, Calamity and Raider, were by their specs powerful, but their "pilots" were questionable in her opinion. It was especially true, with the possible pilots they would go against, and Natarle knew that fact. Then, four other mobile suits were also sent out, two were the new version mass production Dagger suit. The first Dagger was equipped with the Strike's Aile set, while the second was given the Launcher set including a 320mm beam cannon.

One of the other two mobile suits, was a variation based on the X103 Buster. There were two real differences other than coloration came with its arsenal, the missile pods specifically. Where the Buster had six missiles per pod, the Dagger variation had only three missiles per pod. The second, was that this suit could equip two beam sabers on their forearms, though it was optional equipment. Then the Buster Dagger, like other Dagger models didn't have phase shift armor, but laminated armor like the Archangel-class did.

The other of the two Dagger model suits, was based on the X102 Duel. The frame was the same as the GAT-01 Strike Dagger and not the Duel's. Its equipment was made with data acquired on the Duel's extra equipment that ZAFT had given it. The "Fortrestra" equipment included a Linear Cannon, missile launcher and beam sabers. The linear cannon was like the railgun that the Duel possessed, except that it was limited as it used clips fed into it with each shot. The missile pod, had eight missiles instead of five as the Duel did. And there was also the shield and the beam rifle that was built from the design of the Duels on rifle. The rifle was 57mm and put out a high-energy beam, and had a single shot grenade launcher under the main rifle barrel.

The Dominion's seven machines were going against five opposing mobile suits, of those five, three of them, Natarle didn't think she would see again. The Strike, had new equipment that looked like part of one of the Zero mobile armors, which had been modified to combine together. The X103 Buster also came out of the Archangel, and Natarle couldn't guess who would the pilot now. However, the last of the three mobile suits, was one that she thought to be destroyed and gone, the X209 Shadow, equipped with its flight system. The other two suits that came out from the colony, she assumed to be the two that director Azrael had mentioned, the Freedom and the Justice. The white and black one appeared to be built with range in mind by what she could see. The red one Natarle guessed was similar or complimented the other by covering ranges that it was less good with.

Natarle ignored her growing doubts and ordered the Dominion to use the colony to get behind the Archangel after the mobile suits had gone out, she wanted to end this quickly. Natarle had hoped that Murrue would have surrender when she had asked her to, but the offer was refused. Of course, Natarle had not taken the first refusal as the final answer, she had said that she would do whatever she could to help their situation and had meant it. What had gone down at JOSH-A… Natarle had felt it wrong. Captain Sutherland should've been court marshaled for all the lives lost there that he claimed were necessary sacrifices, when nothing had been done for them at all. The man's claims of the lives lost were unavoidable were bias, for a select few of the lost lives had been personnel from the Atlantic Federation, the vast majority was their allies from the Eurasian Federation. Natarle wasn't the only one who felt that way within the Earth Forces, but the higher ups disagreed and that stopped the argument. But, for that event, twisted as it might have been, to lead the Archangel and her crew to go rouge… Natarle wanted to believe that stress and/or other factors played a part of the mistake that she didn't know.

Things had become worse and fueled her doubts, when Murrue had implied that the Earth Alliance had done more in the war than was on record. Murrue Ramius had been fighting in this war between ZAFT and the Alliance long enough to know that horrible things happened in war and this one was no exception. Yet, Natarle had been taken completely by surprise when Murrue had stated the Alliance had attacked the member nations of the Federation. There had been no reports or any information that had suggested anything like that, the very thought of the Alliance attacking the Federation was ridiculous! The assumption within the Alliance, was that the Federation and its military were stronger than ZAFT by a slight margin at the very least. There was little solid evidence to prove how strong the Federation was, but what was known inferred that. So, confrontation with them had been avoided as much as possible for that and other reasons.

However, if what Murrue said was true, and Natarle had gotten to know her well enough with the amount of time they'd worked together, to know that this subject wasn't something she would joke about. Then there was information being kept from the Alliance forces in space by those on Earth, which shouldn't be happening. If the claim was true, it would potentially explain the recent change in the Federation Military's space forces and their strikes against the Alliance orbital fleets. But, before anything else could be mentioned that would provide an explanation, director Azrael had interrupted, and the battle had started.

The sight of the Archangel came back into view, with its back facing the Dominion, Natarle was about to give the order to fire missiles from the stern launchers, intending to just disable the Archangel. She wouldn't destroy the Archangel unless SHE deemed that necessary, no matter what Director Muruta Azrael 'suggested' she do to the Archangel. However, Natarle never gave the order to fire the missile. She was interrupted as the Dominion was shaken and rocked, before one of the bridge operator called out that the starboard missile tubes had sustained major damage. It was an unexpected turn, and Natarle was attempting to figure out what had taken the shot to do the damage. There had been nothing that would suggest that an enemy had made it close enough to make a precision strike on the Dominion.

Nevertheless, she didn't have time to think hard about how the hit had come, because less than minute later, the ship was rocked again, and the report of the port side missile launchers being disabled came. That said enough to Natarle for her to comprehend that there was an enemy around that had a stealth system. So, she ordered the defenses to begin interception at random as a response and perhaps reveal the enemies position. The next few minutes passed by slowly, and nothing to show for it, no mobile suit revealing itself as she had hoped. It wasn't until a voice came over the speaker system for the bridge that caught all's attention that things made more sense.

" _I_ _have to say Natarle, you have some really bad luck with who you take orders from, my heartfelt condolences,_ " said a young male voice.

Shock filled Natarle at hearing the voice, for the voice belonged to Tyler McGregor. But that was impossible, the teen was supposed to have died in the explosion of the X209 Shadow outside of the Orb Union when the Aegis self-destructed! True, no body had been recovered, yet that explosion was more than enough to kill someone. Yet, apparently, somehow the older teen had managed to survive the event… how, Natarle couldn't even guess. But, Tyler had proven more than once, he was resourceful and had a knack to come out of situations that most would have great difficulty doing the same. Still, with him around the Dominion now, that meant that he wasn't piloting the Shadow, but some other mobile suit that hadn't likely been seen. "Tyler McGregor?" Natarle uttered.

" _The one and only as far as I still know, you sound shocked to hear me Natarle. Rest assured, I'm no ghost, nor would I haunt you if given the choice. The Grim Reaper missed me when he took his swing a few months ago, but that is life for some. Nevertheless, as I was saying, you have really bad luck at whom you take orders from these days, and it's clearly been going downhill fast by what I can tell,_ " Tyler replied almost lazily.

Natarle felt the familiar twinge of annoyance shoot through her at Tyler's attitude and showing of what she saw as disrespect. Both of which, appeared to be unchanged since the last time she had dealt with the teen, meaning that his near-death experience hadn't improved any of his quirks. Honestly, Tyler had real potential, he could act responsible and like an adult and Natarle couldn't deny that, as much as she might want to sometimes. Yet, he was the definition of a rebellious teenager the majority of the time around her, and it irked her. "And what are you trying to imply McGregor?" She challenged.

" _Well, nice to see you are the same as ever Natarle, brings a smile to my face to hear you attempt to practice Anger Management, you certainly need it sometimes. But as I was saying, it has to be very unpleasant as well as demeaning to have to listen to a high and might idiot. I've unfortunately had a bit of experience in that, so can say it's not nice to deal with, but one is sometimes forced to cope with it. But, it's worse when the said idiot, is also a scumbag, and trust me when I tell you that you got yourself a hell of scumbag you're being forced to listen to, it has to suck. Your skills at commanding are being wasted right now, so again, I send my heartfelt condolences to you Natarle, your position is truly a horrible one, in more ways than one,_ " Tyler answered.

Natarle could picture clearly in her mind the calm expression as if he was talking about nothing of real consequence and doing so right in front of herself. It was believable that he had experienced having to listen to someone that he didn't wish to, his attitude towards those in command inferred that. But, Tyler wasn't normally as blatantly rude as he was being right now when he was referring to director Azrael. Then for the teen to actually say that she had skills as an officer and that they were being wasted was a first. Tyler hadn't ever said to Natarle that she had skills as an officer out loud that she had heard.

"Watch that mouth of yours boy," growled Azrael, anger evident, meaning that he was aware that Tyler was referring to him when he said 'scumbag'. "You're biting more off than you'll ever be able to handle, quit before you pay the price for it."

" _Oh ho, the one in the position to be the king of scumbag speaks,_ " Tyler announced sarcastically.

Natarle felt further shock and embarrassment at how Tyler was speaking to Director Azrael of the Earth Alliance's National Defense Industry Association. Granted, Tyler had made it clear that he didn't have much respect for those in the position of command. It was that, which had been the root of most issues between the teen and herself. But, this went beyond disrespect, especially with the influence Azrael had, it was dangerous! "Tyler, rein in that attitude of yours right now!" Natarle commanded.

There came a snort in response, " _Natarle apparently, you've forgotten already, though how you can with the number of times that we've discussed this subject, I couldn't say. But, I don't follow orders of just anyone or commands that I don't agree with. So, I'll repeat what I told you before now, in the vain hope it will sink in and I don't have to say it again. I won't jump when I'm told, only when I feel the urge or need to do so. I won't dance when I'm commanded to, only if there is an awesome beat going for me to bust out my awesome dance moves. I won't snap too or salute if I don't feel like it, no matter who it is in the room. And most of all, I won't take orders unless it's from one whose EARNED my respect and said order makes sense to me. That hasn't and won't change anytime in the near future, so shut up, accept it and deal,_ " Tyler returned.

A hand hit Natarle's forehead in the developed response that had come with dealing with Tyler and his attitude. "I see your behavior hasn't gotten any better Tyler," Natarle remarked, containing the frustration that the line he spouted had flared up. Tyler had been an ongoing pain in her neck while she had been on the Archangel. It got to the point when Natarle swore that he was going out of his way on purpose to infuriate her, just to see if he could get her to react.

" _What you see is what you get with me Natarle, I can't see any way I can put it simpler than that. And besides, you really expect me to be nice to the quality of scumbag that your illustrious Alliance's National Defense Industry Association director is? I'll give the man a bit of civility due to manners that have been drilled into and taught to me since I was young, but that's all he gets from me. If I had my wish, he'd be in restraints and standing trail for the stunts he's pulled, for he is one that can be properly called humankind's true enemy,_ " Tyler shot back.

Natarle was somewhat confused by Tyler's last line, but Director Azrael wasn't please at all by the comment, especially the last three words that had come from the bi**h Ellen Blass. However, Azrael reined in his emotions before replying, "You've quite a mouth boy, I'll give you that, comparable to the one who's words you use," the blonde man stated evenly. "But, I recommend you watch what you say, or you suffer a great deal for it."

The sound of Tyler chuckling was heard, " _I don't know what's funnier, how rich it is for this to come from a genuine war criminal, or the subject matter of what you said. But, I would say to you that you just gave some real wisdom, you should apply to yourself first. Or perhaps you aren't aware that's your status with the Federation military? Although, how you can't know that you're classified as a war criminal, when a couple of attempts to take you into custody have happened before now, I can't begin to guess,_ " Tyler replied, then there was a pause, before he continued. " _Yet, back to the present situation, with the caliber and quality of person that I am, I'll attempt to be nice and polite by saying that it's in your best interest to give up or tuck tail and run, the choice is up to you Natarle._ "

Natarle felt a mixture of incredulity and denial from her pride and sense of duty at Tyler telling her to either give up or run and say he was being nice. Still, part of her was whispering that it meant that there was something going on that most weren't seeing right now. "And how is that advice you being nice Tyler?" Natarle posed.

There was a slight pause, " _Need I remind you Natarle? I know the specs of the Archangel-class probably better than you do. That being said, I know the strengths and weaknesses of the ship and can exploit any of them when and as it strikes my fancy. You do the figuring on what I can potentially do with that information Natarle, I doubt it will take you long to come to the correct conclusion,_ " Tyler said in reply.

That statement caused Natarle to hesitate, for thus far, she hadn't been able to accurately estimate how much Tyler knew about the Archangel-class. Yet, by what he just said, he knew a great deal of information about the ship class and that made him a very dangerous and potentially lethal opponent. Natarle had been grateful that she hadn't been going against Tyler McGregor from just seeing how good a fighter he had shown himself to be. But now, she had growing fear knowing that she was about to see what it's like to fight the teenaged Federation pilot as a serious opponent. " _By the way Natarle,_ " Tyler said in a business-toned voice, _"before I go, I'm leaving you a gift. Think of it as a way to remember and commemorate all the times we had on the Archangel. I don't doubt you'll be able to appreciate it properly, especially as it's coming from me. Enjoy~_ " finished Tyler, singing the last word.

Natarle was left to rack her brain on what kind of 'gift' Tyler would leave, good or bad. Assuming that he was defending the Archangel and his second to last line, then the gift would unlikely be of help, more likely a hindrance. But even knowing that much didn't help narrow down what Tyler could've done to the Dominion. Knowing those facts, worried Natarle greatly!

Moments later, the sensor station operator announced that there was a mobile suit ahead of them. Natarle looked to the forward viewing screen and saw a red mobile suit with wings flying from under the Dominion. It had two long cannons connected to the insides of the wings and who knows what power those could put out. The machine had a unique beam rifle that was wider from top to bottom. There was also a short shield that was white, on the left arm. It was certainly different than any mobile suit that Natarle had ever seen before now.

The suit glanced directly at the bridge and then transformed into what was more shaped like an atmospheric aircraft and very slowly began orienting itself to go forward towards the battle. The mobile suit hung in front of the Dominion as it oriented, as if daring the ship to shoot at it. If Tyler was the pilot as Natarle suspected he was, then the teen could very well be doing just that, she wouldn't put it past him. " _Hey Natarle, the line of not being able to hit the broad side of a warship is coming to my mind right now. I can't say exactly why it does, but hey, take your best shot and we'll see if I'm having the correct line for this situation._ " Tyler said over an open channel.

Natarle felt the desire to get ahold of Tyler and shake him hard for his obvious attempt to taunt her, for it was ticking her off. However, she shook her head and ordered the Gottfrieds to aim at the mobile suit. The beam turrets moved to bear on the red suit and they were sent the command to fire. However, the cannons swiveled to be off sight and fired beams, which wasn't supposed to happen. And it was that, which helped Natarle understand what possible range of effects Tyler's 'gift' could have.

 **-Line Break-**

In Mendel's main dock, the Eternal's final preparations were completed, and the engines were fired up and the ship headed out to the battlefield. Even though the Freedom and the Justice had launched out to fight already, the Eternal wasn't clueless as to what was going on. Over the open com-lines, those on board the Eternal had been putting together parts of the ongoing battle. The Astrays were still working on freeing the Kusanagi from the colony's support cables and they were making progress. The Archangel was fending off the second Archangel-class, but was having difficulty doing so. All five mobile suits were in combat with the same three mobile suits that had appeared during the first battle of Orb and four other Alliance suits. There had been no word from the Aurora since it had launched, other than the single message to the Archangel, warning of the approaching Alliance vessel. But, it was assumed that Tyler was somewhere on the battlefield, and would assist as he could.

Once getting away from the dock, the Eternal turned it's bow towards the battle that was going on. The other mobile suit that the ship carried, hadn't been ready previously, but now with the final needed adjustments done. The ZGMF-X11A Regenerate was set to go out for it first skirmish and just needed a pilot. The suit was given the same type and make of beam rifle that the Freedom and the Justice carried, the "Lupus" rifle. The clear and obvious choice for the pilot would've been Andrew Waltfeld, but he was sticking with the captain's chair and the responsibility that came with the position.

Lacus then spoke up and stepped forward volunteering to pilot the mobile suit, even mentioning that her older sister had given her some lessons. That had been enough for Andrew Waltfeld and Aisha to say that she could pilot the mobile suit. If Lacus's older sister Sakura Clyne, the Black Zephyr herself had given her lessons, that said a lot. Sakura was arguably one of the best pilots ZAFT had, other than perhaps Lanus Treize and the one known as the "Comet". And with the Comet having disappeared years ago without a trace and Admiral Treize not going out himself much anymore, Sakura was seen as the best ZAFT currently had. To be informed that the woman had taken the time to give her little sister a few lessons on piloting a mobile suit, when there were many who would do nearly anything for that opportunity, was reason enough to let Lacus do as she asked.

So, Lacus put on a pilot suit and went to the Eternal's hanger and boarded the X11A Regenerate. The Strike had been the last mobile suit that Lacus had used and though, this suit's cockpit was similar, it wasn't the same. She took a bit of time to look over and take in where the important controls were. She noted that this cockpit was more like a cross of the same series that the X105 Strike was a part of and a ZAFT CGUE mobile suit.

Once she had the layout of the cockpit down, Lacus signaled that she was ready, and her mobile suit was moved to the Eternal's catapult. She launched out and joined Athrun and Kira on the battlefield, along with the others from the Archangel. Even though Lacus disliked fighting, hated this war and what it had done, more so after listening to Ellen Blass's message for it rang true with her. Lacus didn't want to see those who were friends, who she cared about and loved, to die and she not have tried to help them, no matter what the cost.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Mendel colony, three Nazca-class vessels which had been chasing the Eternal arrived on site. The signs of the battle playing out was visible even from where they were and so caution was being exercised. The Vesalius was still in the lead of the three with the Helderton and Heusinger following it. While the ships took in what they could of what was going on in the battle on the other side of the colony, they exchanged information to create a more complete picture. As that was happening, Rau Le Creuset was studying what they saw even with the distance from the fighting and having his own thoughts about how things were going.

It didn't take long, for Creuset to make the decision that he would sortie to gather more viable information. Yzak would accompany him, in case something unexpected came up and trouble needed to be faced. Creuset would've had Nicol do so as he was calm and cooler under most situations. However, as he had said he was unable do this mission, Creuset would have to make due with just Yzak. The other ships would be on standby in case something went really wrong and assistance became necessary.

Le Creuset was going to pilot a mobile suit from a new series of ZAFT mobile suits, the ZGMF-600 GuAIZ. The suit was developed from data from the Earth Alliance prototype mobile suits as well as the CGUE. The frame was similar to the CGUE overall, but had parts that were based on the Alliance suits. Its arsenal was made up of 76mm CIWS guns in the head, a composite shield, two guns at its waist and a beam rifle. The CIWS were much the same as some of the Alliance prototypes had. While the shield did have anti-beam coating, it also had two beam claws emitted at the shield's tip on either side of the center.

The beam rifle was made from specs from the GAT-X series stolen from the Alliance and had much the same qualities. The pair of guns at the suit's hips, called "EEQ7R Extensional Arrestors" and they were equipped with rocket anchors. Due to the weapons short range, it is used to generate a beam spike to use as a projectile. However, when the gun's rocket anchor is connected to the suit's backpack in order to grapple onto an enemy unit, its range while limited to fifteen meters or less, can restrain the machine.

The suit that Creuset was given to use, was grey with some white, which were normal commander pilot colors that weren't custom. Both Creuset and Yzak launched out from the Vesalius and flew into the back dock of the colony. There was an atmosphere still and the sight of the ruins that had once be the home of those who had worked in Mendel. Yzak was glancing around the silent colony layout, feeling an ominous foreboding creeping into his mind.

Creuset wasn't very happy to be in this colony, he had been here before and it hadn't been a pleasant experience. So, the masked man's mood was not high at all yet, until he felt an odd tingling sensation. A smirk appeared on his face, knowing that it meant something specific and that kicked Creuset's mood way up. The last time he had the feeling, was back at the JOSH-A base and that had been entertaining. Creuset expected this meeting with Mu La Flaga to be hysterical, more so with this location as it held significance to both Mu La Flaga and Creuset himself. Creuset gave orders to Yzak to scout around, and once the Duel had gone to do as ordered, he landed at a particular complex and began planning out how this would play out.

On the other side of the colony, in the battle playing out, Mu was battling the Launcher Strike Dagger. The increased mobility that came from the Zero armor, was giving the original Strike a serious advantage over the mass production model. Krystal was going against the Duel Dagger, and clearly showing that she had more real-world experience in piloting a mobile suit than her opponent. Dearka was fighting the Strike Dagger equipped with the Aile striker pack and was holding his own. The fight was easier than the times that he had to go against the original Strike, and so Dearka was doing fine against the Alliance machine.

The Freedom and the Justice were keeping the three custom Alliance mobile suits occupied. Then, with the addition of the Regenerate, the odds became even more equal. As both Strike Daggers were shot down, leaving the two new suits and the three mobile suits they had seen in Orb, Mu paused. The feeling that had washed over him was all too familiar for him to ignore. The question of how Le Creuset could be around here and why ran through his mind and there was only one way to answer either question. Mu retracted the gunbarrels back to their docks, before turning towards the colony as that's the direction the feeling had come from. He then flew off towards the dock so that he could go through the airlock system that led into the colony interior. He would find Le Creuset and hopefully get to the masked man before he causes trouble for anyone else.

Krystal sliced one of the Buster Dagger's gun into two pieces, forcing the suit to fall back and retreat. And as the suit did so, she caught sight of Mu heading for the main dock of Mendel. Wondering what he was thinking to go that way at this time, Krystal shot off after the Strike. Dearka managed to send the Duel Dagger running, he saw the remaining three Alliance suits were fighting the others. That was before he spotted the Shadow flying towards the Mendel colony's dock, and that made him curious, "Where could the old lady be going? And where's the old man anyway? Wasn't he fighting out here a few minutes ago?" Dearka muttered to himself, before he flew after the Shadow.

As he passed through the dock, the Eternal contacted him and asked what was going on. He said that Mu had disappeared, and the Krystal was going into the colony and was more than likely following Mu. Dearka said that he was going to find out what the two were doing and would make it quick as possible. After telling the Eternal what he knew, Dearka headed for the airlock tunnel system that led into the colony interior.

When Mu came into the main dock Mendel had, he entered the system of airlocks that would take him to the colony's interior. Once inside, he saw that it was mostly brown, no green to be seen, there were structures that were in varying states of disrepair. The signs of the long-standing absence of life of any kind was eerie, more so with there being a breathable atmosphere that sensors displayed was present.

The sensation came again to Mu and he headed for a particular complex of buildings. Once closer to the place, Mu saw an unknown mobile suit, a new ZAFT model more than likely. Mu landed the Strike by the complex and exited the mobile suit, then touching down on the ground. He made sure that the pistol he had with him was loaded and the safety was off before looking forward to the place he would start searching. With Rau Le Creuset involved, anything could happen, and it paid to be prepared and Creuset also probably had a gun too.

Mu went Inside the structure, it was dark, but there was enough light to see the shape of the hallways and interior of the place. Mu kept in the corners, looking around them, so as to not be caught unaware by Le Creuset. He worked way further inside, but after a few minutes, Mu was forces to duck behind a wall as gunshots came his way.

"Mu La Flaga, fate seems to be set on us meeting to settle our issues, doesn't it?" came the voice of Rau Le Creuset ahead of where Mu was currently.

Mu gritted his teeth, "What the hell are you doing here Creuset?!" he shouted.

"Follow me Mu La Flaga, I'll personally show you the truth," replied Creuset.

At the same time outside of the complex, Krystal and Dearka spotted the Strike and the unknown mobile suit. Krystal suggested that they check the area out to make sure it was somewhat safe, to which Dearka begrudgingly agreed. Dearka didn't have anything personally against Krystal McAlester, but she could be bossy sometimes. They split up and circled the group of buildings, as Dearka rounded a structure, he came face to face with a mobile suit he didn't expect, the Duel.

Yzak was shocked to see the Buster, but quickly felt anger at seeing the machine. When he had heard Dearka had been captured, Yzak hadn't taken it very well, he might not had shown that he cared about his comrades much, but he didn't like losing them. Now, right in front of himself, was glaring evidence of Dearka's absents and irked him badly! The Buster had been Dearka's and for some Natural to think that they could take that seat and use it like it was nothing, wouldn't stand with Yzak.

Dearka was about to open a com-channel to speak with Yzak, but the Duel shot at the Buster, forcing Dearka to evade. He couldn't open a channel, with the moves he was being forced to do to not be shot down. It wasn't until the Shadow attacked the Duel from the side that the barrage let up on Dearka. The Duel countered the Shadow, and Dearka could see that Yzak was fighting more angry than usual, and that wasn't a good thing with him. Dearka was trying to figure out how to break up the fight without either mobile suit taking damage, when he spotted the Blitz flying towards the skirmish. The Blitz got a hold of the Duel and began pulling it back, while Dearka shot forward and did the same with the Shadow.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After coming up from under the Dominion, I made sure to disengage my suit's stealth system so that those on the ship could see me. I even looked straight at the navigation bridge's forward viewing ports and hung out for a short period. I was giving time for Natarle to tell her crew to aim for me, I thought about showing the Aurora's back side and wave it to imitate waving one's rear end to dare someone, but I restrained myself doing that. Still, I couldn't resist doing something to goad Natarle in this, "Hey Natarle, the line of not being able to hit the broad side of a warship is coming to my mind right now. I can't say exactly why it does, but hey, take your best shot and we'll see if I'm having the correct line for this situation." I said over an open channel.

I was to test the effects of my 'gift' or rather the devil I made and set loose and confirm that it was doing as intended. I'm confident things are going just like I intend them to, it's the reason that I'm giving this opportunity to the Dominion, for I don't present this kind opportunity often. You see, as I'd been chatting away with Natarle, my fingers continued typing and writing the program that would mess with the Dominion's systems when I unleashed it. Simply put, the program I was whipping up, was nasty with a serious capitol "N" for what it could potentially do. My program can be considered the same as a gremlin that there are myths and stories about from history. Apparently, gremlins are mischievous creatures that sabotaged aircraft and machines and what I'm made will do that with VIGOR! My gift will mess with as many systems as it can get to and since I'm going to attach it to the onboard root system the Dominion has, there will be nothing it won't be able to reach. I did put in lines of code to make sure this little gremlin would leave the life-support systems alone, but that's the only system it was not to touch.

So, if inquired on how much damage could my program could do, my answer is that depends on a few things. First, time, the more time that my gremlin has to work, the more hell it will raise and create. Second, the response of those on the ship, the more they try to get rid of it, the worse things become. The only real way that my gremlin can be ousted, is to reset the entire on-board system, not part, but the whole system. I have no doubt that Natarle will resort to doing that at some point, but it won't be the first option that she goes with, she'll avoid it for a period. Then the last thing, I gave my program some points of priority to go for after release, some of those being the targeting systems and move on to other systems that depend on that, then keep going on from there. However long my gremlin is doing its job, is time earned for this fight to be a tad easier for those of us defending.

Now, with me, dare I say flaunting and daring those on the Dominion to, take a shot at me and adding my taunt, I was asking for trouble many might say. My actions weren't going as far as to paint or present a big red and white target for them to use. Yet, what I'm implying isn't all that different from making the message 'go ahead and try to hit me' any more plain and obvious. I think the only way was to do what I was holding back and I'm being nice right now.

While making myself a target, I shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and slowly oriented myself to go forward to the battle. I was waiting for the shot that I'm sure would come my way and disappointed, I most certainly was not! The Dominion's Gottfrieds swiveled to set their sites on me, yet before they let loose a round the turned in different directions then fired. It was freaking hilarious to see how well my gremlin was fulfilling the intentions I had for it. After having proof that my gift was working, I headed off to where the mobile suit brawl was being thrown down. When I got into visual range of the skirmish, I noted that four of the suits that had launched from the Dominion were gone. I couldn't say whether they had been destroyed or had retreated back to their ship from what I saw, but it's the same in the end. But what has me mystified, was the Strike, Shadow and Buster were missing from the field as well and there were no clues as to where they went.

With the Dominion's fighting effectiveness thrown out of whack for the time being, I dove in and joined Lacus in the Regenerate, Kira and Athrun in their fight. They were dancing with the three Alliance mobile suits that I had been told about and reports had iterated things on. The three mobile suits had similar qualities as the three I had faced during the fight for the Republic. One suit was geared for artillery, one is for high-speed combat and then one for a more rounded assault.

The assault suit, the X370 Raider I believe if the information I happened to copy from the Dominion is correct. It was red and black, looked near identical to the blue and black machine that could change to a mobile armor that had been in the attack on the Republic, it just had different equipment. It had what looked like an ancient ball and chain like weapon, rather not test how effective the weapon is. Kira had said it had a good amount of force when it made solid contact when he had fought this machine around Orb. It also had a shield with guns built into it, wasn't much information on those. Also, as I approached the skirmish, I saw a beam cannon that fired from the head of this suit which I noted.

The artillery wielder, the X131 Calamity, was heavier and beefier, and had cannons over the shoulders like the other artillery suit. However, it had half the number of rifles and cannons than the one I'd seen during the Alliance's assault on the Republic. The two cannons over the shoulders were mounted on a backpack like section. Like the other artillery machine, there was a shield and a two-barrel cannons built into it, just bigger than the other. Then there was an emitter in the upper torso of the machine and if it was a cannon, it was like the Aegis's multi-phase cannon, so I assume it has the same purpose.

The high-speed suit, X252 Forbidden, was the most different of the three. It had a backpack unit which included two shields, a long rail between the shield and backpack that looked to be like magnetic capabilities. Then the central section of the backpack was made up of a part that seemed to be able to swing over the head maybe, with a beam emitter in the front center. I would have to watch myself with that one a bit, supposedly the rails had railguns in them. Then, there was the feature of a 'bending beam', according to Kira and Athrun. That had been all they had said about it, the plasma beam this suit fires can changes it direction somehow. The shields can also deflect beams, meaning they likely had the Alliance's Geschmeidig Panzer in them.

Once I joined my allies on to the battlefield, the machines on our side regrouped. I got close to the Justice, whereas the Freedom was next to the suit that the Eternal had carried out with its escape, the ZGMF-X11A Regenerate. It was another suit from the same series that the Freedom and the Justice belonged to. The three Alliance machines charged us quickly after we regrouped, we dodged in two different directions, Athrun and I in one, Kira and Lacus in another.

Athrun went for the Raider as it was close to us, he combined his beam sabers and clashed with the Alliance suit. I found myself face to face with the Forbidden, I was still a distance from my opponent. I brought up and aimed my beam rifle, pulling the trigger, shooting a bolt at the green suit, more to see what kind of reaction the pilot had. The Forbidden moved its shields forward and my shot was deflected away. So then, the shields are equipped with the Earth Alliance's Geschmedig Panzer like that Duel like unit's shield had been. And I can now see another example of why the "Homura Deflector" my suit's shield has, is comparable, both deflect beams. I believe the deflection system that my suit has does the idea better, but there isn't enough information to make a clear decision if that's true or not.

I sent a couple more shots at the mobile suit, even though I knew they would be deflected, yet I wanted to see if the angle of deflection was consistent or changed with each shot that bounced. The result was that the beams deflect off consistently at a range of seventy-five to ninety-five-degree angles from the original bolt vector. Hitting the left shield went right and the other shield went left, and I'll probably test that in this fight.

After learned this information, I applied it and made a calculation, using the position of the Raider in comparison with the Forbidden and found that that black and red machine was within the deflection angle range. So, I brought out one of my plasma cannons, took aim at the right shield the Forbidden had, charged up the cannon to close to a third its capacity and fired. The plasma beam was deflected, bouncing off at a near perfect ninety-degree angle. The shot then nailed the Raider's shield, forcing the suit back a distance as it blocked.

I heard laughing over the radio, though this time the voice wasn't female like the last Alliance custom model I'd faced at the Republic. Still, it sounded around my own age, yet a tad crazier than the last one and that worried me a bit. I rushed forward, storing my beam rifle and plasma cannon, then taking out both of my beam sabers. The Forbidden swung a scythe at me, which I evaded on reflex, came from some of the spars I've done with Kurt. I'll say this for the guy, when he's coming at you with his beam scythe, you get a major shot of adrenaline and that can help you dodge better. And this pilot, whoever they were, was not as fast as Kurt or near as scary to be swinging a scythe at you!

I parried the second swing with a beam saber and got a shallow slice on one of the shields, but not much damage and hadn't gotten near its emitter. I put away both of my beam sabers and when the next swing came, I grabbed the pole the weapon was attached to and stopped the swing with one arm after a moment. Then, I grabbed the shoulder of the Forbidden, then sent a knee into the torso of the machine hard. Next, I positioned the Aurora's other leg or rather foot on the torso, let go of the pole and shoved hard. The Forbidden went flying away from me, and it was very satisfying to watch!

An alarm going off, caught my attention, and when I looked down at the displays in the cockpit, I quickly figured out what the alarm was telling me. My gremlin that I had unleashed on Natarle, had just been ousted from the Dominion, meaning the ship's on-board systems had been hard and fully reset. My gremlin messing with the ship's systems had bought time, just not as much as I had hoped it would. Oh well, my gremlin had enough time to do things, and something tells me Natarle will be rather mad at me when next we meet. However, that's how things go sometimes so, make do with what you get as the phrase goes.

The Calamity fired its backpack mounted cannons at Athrun, then turned and fired a multi-phased cannon from the suit's torso at Kira. I was forced to dodge as the Raider came at me and sent its ball weapon in my direction. Still, I caught sight of Lacus rushing the Calamity with the Regenerate, firing the beam rifle she had. Then she stored the rifle, the sections behind the shoulders of the suit moved forward, the left arm of the Regenerate folded into the section and a beam sword ignited. I was rather surprised at the sight, I mean the suit's arm had changed into a beam sword, not something you see often. The right arm went through the same transformation and ignited a second beam sword. Lacus's attack didn't stop there, the Regenerate's legs went through a similar change as the arms had, before pointing at the Calamity, and shooting beams from the lower limbs. Three beams came from each leg and at point blank range, they didn't miss much at all.

I was forced to pay attention to the Raider as the mobile suit started attacking me again and again. And yet, from what I had observed thus far with these three Alliance machines or rather their pilots, there was some points about them that stood out. There was a growing number of similarities between these pilots and the ones that were faced around the Republic. Those 'girls' had been odd and unlike most that you meet on any given day, these guys are much the same in that respect. However, these guys were more towards the crazy side than those girls had been, whether that was due to restraint or something else, I can't say.

We met in a clash and I managed to shove back against the Raider and send them back, but the Forbidden took that opportunity to get closer to me. Next thing I see, the Justice appeared above the Forbidden and Athrun kicked the Alliance machine downward. The Raider targeted the Justice, whereas the Forbidden came back to attack me. Athrun and I came to be next to each other, and just before the Raider and Forbidden attacked us both, we got out of the way, causing the two to crash into one another.

The two broke apart from each other and came at us again. I'll give these three one thing, they're persistent and dogmatic about not giving up. I got my beam rifle back out and aimed at the Forbidden, taking into account the deflection angle and where the beam would go with that in mind. I began shooting at the Forbidden, with its pilot cackling and saying how futile my attacks were. Little does the guy understand, he isn't the target I'm shooting for, that would be the Raider. And I was scoring hit after hit on that machine even as the pilot of the Forbidden was laughing it up about my 'useless attacks'.

I adjusted where I was firing a small margin, and kept going, yet now my shots were deflecting to strike the Calamity. And by what I was seeing, the other two Alliance mobile suits could see what I was doing and were clearly unhappy with the actions or non-action of their comrade. I can't say that I blame them, their comrade is acting as a bouncing point for weapon fire that then hits them. The sadder thing, the Forbidden's pilot shows no sign that he even knows that I'm using his defense as an offense against his allies.

My method was interrupted, when one of the other pilots shouted over the radio, " _Shani, you idiot! The machine you're fighting is using your shields to hit Clotho and me with their beams. So, stop laughing and stop helping the enemy!_ "

The Calamity then fired its multi-phased cannon in my direction. I spun the Aurora around, activating the deflection system in my shield. The shield expanded a meter, in the center was an emitter which had been covered up by the shield. Also, on either side of the center, two red fins slid out, forming an 'X' with the emitter in the center of the shield.

The deflection shielding that the Aurora's shield has, actually uses colloid particles, same stuff that the Blitz and Shadow used for stealth systems. When I'd asked Carlos to explain the idea to me in a way that I would understand, he had gone off on a rant, which was confusing. The methodology apparently behind deflection shielding, was that colloid particles were released in front of the multiple emitters used by the system. Some of the particles are positively charged and others are negatively charged. The device that makes the deflection possible, somehow spontaneously align the particles into a three-dimensional cubic lattice or something. These lattice work together to function as a kind of a force field which deflects incoming energy, at least that's one of the few things I'd gotten from Carlos.

Anyways, after activating the deflection system, I set my shield ahead of me to block the incoming shot. I redirected the beam away from me, and towards the Forbidden. The Forbidden blocked, but was forced back from where it was.

My shield collapsed down as the deflection shielding had done what I needed it to and I turned my attention back to the rest of the battle. And by the time I had, the Raider had closed most of the distance between it and myself. I was forced to use my shield to stop the Raider's ball and the force I felt wasn't small and I was fell back a small margin. I lined up my mobile suit's head with the Raider and began firing the Aurora's 50mm CIWS guns, which were loaded with anti-phase shift rounds.

I peppered the Alliance suit with those rounds as fast as I could fire them, they may not penetrate the suit, but it was draining the power through the phase shift armor. That alone will help this fight draw closer towards its end, for this is a battle of endurance. The odds are on our side as the four mobile suits we had are all powered by nuclear reactors, our opponents had ultracompact batteries. And these pilots are making mistakes that experienced pilots don't make often if at all, further screwing them. Need I say more on who it will be that will last the longest in this fight?

As if there was any more needed to shove the odds against the Alliance, the Astrays that had been working on cutting the cable that he Kusanagi had been trapped in, finished and their ship was freed. The Kusanagi came around and pointed towards the Dominion and began attacking the black ship. The Dominion in response, launched two suits that looked similar to some of the original Alliance prototypes. One was like the Buster, then there was one that looked like the Duel.

It was clear to me that the need to end the brawl with the three custom model suits was big. I pushed the Raider back from me, brought out both plasma cannons and began charging them. I charged them both up to half their capacity, and that was the highest I charge them to thus far. I brought them to bear on the Raider and fired. The two plasma beams nailed the Raider's shield and the ball and there was a second that is appeared that they would block the beams. However, it was not to be, for the first sign was that the surface of Raider's Mjoinir began to warp and melt, before the plasma beam punched through the weapon. The Raider's shield was having the same problem, and the pilot detached the shield and quickly go out way. The shield was destroyed and vanished from existence as the plasma beam disintegrated it.

The Raider stared at where the two pieces of equipment it'd had to sacrifice to get out of being nailed and destroyed by me. Then, the mobile suit turned and flew back towards the Dominion and I let him go. With one down and two to go, I moved and joined with the others to take care the other two Alliance mobile suits. Athrun and Kira focused in on the Calamity while Lacus and I turned our attention on the Forbidden.

It didn't take long for it to become apparent, that the two against one fights weren't going well for the Alliance mobile suits. Even the Astrays were forcing the Earth Forces machines back from those we defended. The beat down kept being handed out, until three different colored flare signals were seen from the Dominion's direction. The Alliance mobile suits, including the Calamity and the Forbidden headed back to the Dominion.

With the battle ended, all mobile suits returned to their respective ships, meaning that I went back to the Eternal. Once back on the ship, I learned that the Strike, Shadow and the Buster had gone into the colony interior for some reason. The only explanation that I heard was given was that Dearka Elsman had said something about Krystal following Mu inside. There was nothing else real to say what was going on in the colony's interior. Unfortunately, communication wasn't possible to any in the colony's interior, there was too much between us and the inside that caused interference or blocked signals.

Then there were two other issues that added to the current problems that we faced right now. There were three ZAFT vessels on the opposite side of the Mendel colony and there was no movement yet from them. Then, the Dominion had backed off, but I doubt left the area, as the one calling the shots wanted something, who knows what, and hadn't gotten it. So, as things stood, we were three mobile suits down, had at least four other vessels and an unknown number of mobile suits that can be considered enemies at this time. Where we had four custom model suits, six Astrays and three ships to go against those odds.

It wasn't a nice position to be in, even I have to admit that this is one of the harsher situations that I've been in. It was the general consensus that more information was needed to make any calls as to what to do going forward. Kira volunteered to head inside and see what was going on with those that were missing. Whereas I took the job of spying on who and where those we would have to worry about were. I was the best choice as my machine could travel around quickly and stealthily without notice. Even though I was getting tired and my healing injuries were still making sure I didn't forget them, I still got back in my mobile suit and launched out again.

My first objective, was to find the Dominion and it wasn't hard or take me all that long. I found the black ship just out of sensor range and hiding in the shadows of a neighboring colony. And it looked to be having issues, which my gremlin is likely responsible for, by what I was observing. After confirming the Dominion's location, I headed to the backside of the Mendel colony to see what was to be expected from ZAFT. I got a view of the three Nazca-class vessels, and they looked like three of the standard destroyer that ZAFT uses. So, I assumed that they had the standard loadout of mobile suits as well, which meant six mobile suits per ship, eighteen suits total.

I was about to turn and head back to the dock and report what odd we had going against us and they weren't pretty. Yet, I caught sight of the lead ZAFT vessel, opening its hanger and bringing out its catapult rails. Then I saw, of all machines, the X207 Blitz, coming out of the ship, and head into the colony, likely into the interior. I don't like what the Blitz being here infers, for it strongly suggests that Rau Le Creuset is around here. That could explain why Mu went into the colony interior, he has mentioned that he gets a tingling feeling whenever the masked man is around him.

If Rau Le Creuset is here, then me thinks the rat is up to something again! Yes, I'm convinced that the rat that I've been seeing the actions of is none other than Rau Le Creuset! For him to be around here when an Alliance big shot is, I highly doubt is a coincidence. This is a very problematic development, that's for sure! I hauled my rear along with my mobile suit back to the ships and tell them what problems we have to deal with now.

 **-Line Break**

-Neutral pov-

Mendel Colony Interior

Inside the colony, the four mobile suits, three from the GAT series and then the Shadow, landed in an open area around the group of structures that they had encountered each other. Dearka exited the Buster's cockpit and lowered to the ground with the zip-line. Yzak got down to the ground and was glaring at Dearka. The tension was palpable in the air between the two who had once been comrades.

Nicol got down from the Blitz's cockpit, and when he saw Dearka, he smiled as he was glad to see that Dearka was alive. It was questionable fact when Dearka was captured, there had been no word about him at all. So, when Yzak and Nicol himself were sent back up to space and back to the homeland, it hadn't sat well with either of them.

Krystal touched down to the ground and glanced over the trio of young Coordinators, thinking that these teens were too young to be involved in this war. They were at an age where it was more the custom to be interested in girls and dating, or that's how it was before the war had started. And now this very war had pitted these teen against each other, it was wrong and sad at the same time.

Yzak ended the stare off by raising a gun and pointing it at Dearka, who stopped and looked at the gun. "Yzak, what are you doing?" asked Dearka.

"I can ask you the same question, you came in with the Strike and the Black mobile suit," Yzak said loudly while pointing at the Shadow. "So, how do you explain that Dearka?!"

"Yzak, calm down," said Nicol, coming over to be next to Yzak. "If you want an explanation, then you have to give him an opportunity to actually give one." Nicol turned and gave a smile to Dearka, "It's good to know that you're alive Dearka, after you were captured… well, it was hard to accept that we wouldn't see you again."

Dearka returned the smile to Nicol, "Thanks Nicol, it's nice to know that I was missed," he replied.

Yzak, gritted his teeth, "Nicol, if he's alive, then it means that he's a traitor!"

Dearka faced Yzak with a serious expression, "I have not gone against the things I believe. But, with what I've seen and been through, I can't go back to just following orders blindly like before. There was so much that we didn't know before and it makes a huge difference," Dearka began.

Nicol put a hand on Yzak's shoulder and gave him a look that said to listen and Yzak begrudgingly agreed. Dearka continued, "The pilot of the winged suit, his name is Kira Yamato and he's currently piloting of the X10A Freedom. He's one of the most naïve guys I ever met, and I doubt he has a mean bone in his body. Kira is also best friends with Athrun since they were kids…"

Dearka told them about how he had come to learn how wrong they had been, that those on the Archangel weren't bad or even mean people at all. Dearka had even found out that the pilot that had flown the Strike to the battle where Dearka had been capture was also a Coordinator. Meaning all three of the pilot that they had been going against for the first half of their pursuit had been Coordinators like them. Dearka kept telling them what he had seen and learned while he had been on and with the Archangel.

While that was going on, Kira entered the colony interior and flew around looking for evidence of any of the three missing during the battle. Neither the Strike, Shadow or Buster had been in contact or had returned yet and it had been a lengthy period of time. He spotted the Strike around one the larger collection of buildings and landed next to the mobile suit. Kira locked the cockpit and then quickly took the Freedom's zip-line to get to the ground, made sure he had the hand gun pilots were equipped with. When he was ready, Kira made his way inside the building to search for Mu.

As Kira entered the complex, Mu was already chasing Le Creuset as the masked man kept going deeper into this place. Mu was getting more annoyed the longer this chase went on, Creuset was leading him into something, and Mu was betting it could end out with him getting killed if he wasn't very carefully.

"Do you have any idea what this place is, Mu?" Creuset shouted.

The masked man was stringing him along and Mu was getting angry at Le Creuset, "Why would I, you idiot?" he yelled back.

Mu had been making progress at closing the distance between himself and where Creuset was. This was made clear, as bullets were sent his way and they forced Mu to duck behind objects to not get a bullet in him. Of course, Mu shot back at Creuset, but there was no sign that he had made any hits on Creuset. Still, a sudden burning sensation in his right shoulder, told him that one of Creuset's bullets had hit him. "What a crime it is, for you not to know! Why it's almost like he didn't trust you, oh, but then you were a disappointment to him after all," Creuset bellowed back with tones of mirth.

Mu didn't understand what Le Creuset was getting at, but assumed that it was some kind of insult against him. He began to work his way forward slowly, but then the whole situation changed in an instant.

"Mu!" shouted Kira from behind Mu's positions.

Mu turned and looked behind where he was, "Kira?!" he replied.

For Rau Le Creuset, hearing that one name brought many emotions, surprise, complete disbelief and shock being some of them. It seemed impossible, no, it was beyond impossible that the "child", the "perfect result" of Hibiki's wasn't only alive, against the most horrendous odds, but had also been one of those he'd been dealing with and hunting. It was ridiculous and ludicrous considering all the contributing factors! Nonetheless, if this was truly Hibiki's 'perfect child', for him to have made this far, it made Creuset wonder if there wasn't really something to the mad dream that had been born in this place. In fact, the very thought was becoming hilarious as Le Creuset considered the chances of this coming to pass which were slim. "Kira Yamato, what an honor and pleasure that you can join us here. Now previous events and data make much more sense, you're the pilot of the Freedom and one of the Legged ship's suits. However, I highly doubt you're the one that stole the Freedom, but I bet you would know who it was, I'm quite curious as to who it might have been," Creuset mused.

Kira made his way quickly to reach where Mu was, and noted that Mu had a red splotch on his right shoulder. "Mu are you alright?" Asked Kira.

Mu waved off the concern, "I'll be fine, stray bullet stung me, it's nothing to worry about right now. I'll get it looked at later," Mu remarked.

Mu glanced at Kira's gun and saw proof the kid had very unlikely used a gun before now, "Kira, if you are going to use a gun, you need to switch off the safety first you know," Mu commented.

Kira looked at his gun and gained a flustered expression as he saw that Mu was right that the safety was still on. Granted, Kira understood the mechanics of how guns worked, but in all reality, this was the first time he was using one to defend himself. He turned off the safety and focused back on the situation at handed.

"Now don't hesitate either of you, come and I'll show you where the tale that we three play a part in all began!" Creuset shouted from further inside this complex.

Both Mu and Kira began moving forward from where they had been hiding and went forward room by room, searching for the masked man. All the while, Rau Le Creuset teased them as he stayed ahead of them, "Why Kira, did you know that this is where you were born, or didn't you know that already? Perhaps you don't know of your origins yet? Tis a shame really, for you represent so much, both good and bad to humanity, but so little know the truth about you," he called

Kira hesitated at hearing that, but Mu put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't let the things Creuset says get to you Kira. He would lie if it benefits him and his schemes, don't fall for his tricks," Mu said to Kira.

Kira nodded slowly, but somehow, the things that Le Creuset said wouldn't leave Kira's mind. The two worked their way through rooms that looked like waiting rooms at a doctor's office, as well as hallways with offices on both sides. Yet, it was as they came into a room with two pools filled with liquid, that had nine tanks in the liquid in each pool and there was a walkway between the two pools. Kira glanced over the displays on top of the tanks and saw that the reading were of something he could only guess to be embryos of some sort. On the edges of the room were shelves with containers with partially grown embryos that looked… human. While taking in the elements of the room, they were setting off things in Kira's mind, but he didn't understand why that was happening. "Does seeing all of this bring back memories for you Kira? For you should know this place," posed Creuset.

Vague ideas were popping up, none of which made sense to Kira and it scared him a bit, "Me, know this place? Why should I know," Kira started to say, but upon seeing a name plate on the wall he stopped. The plate said "Prof. Ulen Hibiki M.D., Ph D." and that name was one that he'd heard once before. His parents had mentioned it before, it had been when they had thought he was asleep when he was young, and the name hadn't been said in a nice way. Kira hadn't understood why at the time as he had been really young back then, but the memory was one of the earliest he could remember.

Mu kept moving forward and Kira followed him, even as confused as Kira was at the moment. Kira was snapped out of his confusion as there was a bang and Mu fell to the floor, the blood coming from his right side, Mu had been hit. Kira rushed forward and placed himself in front of Mu, gun at the ready.

Rau Le Creuset stepped out of the shadows, gun in hand, pointing at Kira, "I don't intend to kill either of you, not yet at least. Not with all you've gone through and all that effort and trouble to get here after all, it would be a waste. There is so much for you both to still learn," Le Creuset said calmly.

Kira kept his gun pointed at Creuset, but something on the floor caught his eye. Looking down he felt shook at seeing a copy of the same picture that Cagalli had shown Athrun and himself. She had shown it to him as potential proof that they were siblings, but what would a copy of the picture be doing here?!

Mu was glaring at the masked man, who grabbed a book and tossed it at them. The book hit the floor and slide next to them, several pictures coming out of the book. One picture held Mu's attentions, for it was one of himself when he was a child, and he was with his father Al Da Flaga. It had been back when he got along extremely well with his father, much happier days in Mu's memory.

Both Kira and Mu focused back on Rau Le Creuset, "And how do you have these pictures here, Creuset?" demanded Mu angrily.

"They were here all the time, Mu," Creuset replied, before he continued. "This place can be seen as a forbidden, yet sacred sanctuary. The remains of a dream created by fools that believed themselves to be as a god." Creuset turned to look directly at Kira, "Or didn't you know that those you call 'mother' and 'father' aren't the one who originally brought you into the world or even had you made, Kira Yamato? Or would you prefer your real name, Kira Hibiki?"

Kira was dumbfounded at the questions. Yes, there had been times that Kira had wondered if he was the child of his parents, but he normally attributed differences to him being a Coordinator. He had never thought about or asked either of his parents about where he had come from before.

Mu raised up to his knees and quickly brought up his gun and was about to shot Creuset, but the masked man beat him to it. A sharp pain in Mu's left shoulder came, it wasn't as bad as the wound in his right shoulder, so Mu assumed the bullet nicked him.

"Keep your opinion to yourself Mu, I'll get to you soon enough," Creuset commented, before turning back to Kira, who was pointing his gun at the man. "I figured as much, if you knew the truth, then you wouldn't have turned out the way you are. You wouldn't have turned out so _normal_ , with no signs of the tainted past that you possess. Quite honestly, it never occurred to me when Athrun first brought you name up, that you could possibly be Hibiki's 'dream child'."

The way that Creuset said 'dream child' didn't sit well with either Mu or Kira, for it was extremely derogatory. Kira's hands were shaking as he kept the gun set on Creuset, the confusion had returned and was doing a number on him. Kira was becoming a little scared as what Creuset could say next, "Really, I had assumed that the twins the man was supposed to have had died, whether it was by accident or design, didn't really matter in the end. As long as you didn't survive, it was fine with others and myself. Your death along with your real father, Doctor Hibiki was sought by a number of people, to destroy what you represent. Blue Cosmos especially wanted you to cease to exist and, so you were a big target for them back then."

None of what Creuset had said made sense, Kira was no one any should be interested in. He was a Coordinator true, but that was it, other than that he was a normal kid, "What you say doesn't make sense… I'm no one of interest," Kira shot back.

Creuset began laughing at Kira's answer, "No one of interest you say? Oh, far from it Kira Yamato, you are a person of extreme interest. Still, you grew up and survived, even through the war as it is thus far, aren't you curious as to why that is?" Creuset asked. Then his face gained a near crazy expression as he spoke again, "Hell, looking back on events, what you've done even leads me to believe that there may be something to their crazy, mad dream."

Kira was getting frustrated at being led on, "Get to the point, what are you saying that I am?!" he demanded.

Creuset broke out laughing, "Why dear boy, you are the dream of humanity that so many have dismissed as complete fantasy. You're the Ultimate Coordinator, the culmination of mad men's ambitions, a view of perfection that none can reach! The perfect human being," he stated insanely.

That was one of the last answers that Kira expected to hear. It made little sense to him, the terms 'Ultimate Coordinator' and 'perfect human being' meant nothing of significance to him. But the descriptions that went with the terms, weren't nice ones to Kira at all. Kira didn't consider himself anyone out of the ordinary, certainly not ultimate or perfect. He made mistakes like anyone else could, and he learned from each of them, so what would Rau Le Creuset say he was these things?

But things didn't end there, Creuset continued, "It was Doctor Hibiki who created the artificial womb, built and designed to make the perfect human child. And after his failed attempts, he made you, the only real successful birth that came. The man was so obsessed with this 'dream child' of his, that he saw nothing wrong at all with using other children to produce you."

The more Creuset said, the more confused Kira became. All that was being said, was crazy, but there was a whisper in the back of Kira's mind that kept saying 'what if', what if it was true. That whisper wasn't helping Kira at all, it was only making his confusion worse. "Today will be the day that the secrets I know will be revealed. You see, I was not born naturally at all, but nor am I a true Coordinator. Oh, I was altered at an early in the embryonic stage as some Coordinators are, but there's so much more to the story. And it all goes back to the first one, George Glenn, humanity's first enhanced human Coordinator," Creuset proclaimed.

Lights suddenly came on, revealing the room they were in currently, in its entirety. The room was of a laboratory, and the equipment said that it was geared for genetic engineering. Mu got up to his feet and both he and Kira moved into hiding behind consoles. Mu was shaking Kira, trying to get him out of the daze he was in currently, not that Mu blamed the kid. All the things that were being said by Creuset, they had to confuse Kira in more ways than one, whether any of it was true or not.

"Can you comprehend how much chaos that the man and what he represented spreads even today, the darkness that he let loose on humanity?! What so many people began doing after what he revealed what he was?!" Pose Creuset in growing volume, the tone of growing insanity becoming clearer.

One of the displays lit up and videos began playing: _"Video record, dated August 9_ _th_ _year 52 of the Cosmic Era"_ said a female voice.

Then, the sound of people talking echoed throughout the things that they were saying suggested they were talking to doctors about their unborn child they were intending to be a Coordinator. There were also angry shouts of mistakes made according to what was requested. All the sounds were only adding to Kira's daze of confusion as it kept going. Mu took the gun in Kira's hands, knowing the kid wouldn't be able to use the weapon effectively as he was.

As the videos continued playing, Creuset spoke again, "Oh the things that people would do for the dreams of the child they wanted, the greed they had and showed. And that's where Doctor Hibiki and others like him come in. Hibiki was the one who created the artificial womb to make all the dreams of people even more possible. That invention of his was made to cut down on mistakes made and it did just that, oh, but it came at a price that none know, nor will ever admit! And in the end, what have people gained for obtaining their dreams? The world as it is now and all the horrors and violence that it includes, that's what has come from fulfilling dreams!"

The logic was sick and twist, Mu knew the man was a certifiable nut case, but he hadn't thought Rau Le Creuset had lost this much of his mind and he was screeching rubbish! Such a man was dangerous in so many different ways, Mu prepared himself to pop up and shoot the man. Yet, Creuset kept screeching, "The twists and turns that came because of this obsession, could trump the 'progress' made in earlier times with ease! Humanity is so amazing, isn't it? So much potential and so many things they can create yet, what do they use their potential for, to try and take what another has that they want no matter what is requires! They even come up with ways to make others miserable and then kill them, that's what humans bring to one another! None can escape this fate, and yet still some foolishly try. The stupid Human Federation is probably the closest group to succeed so far, but they too will fail! THIS CYCLE WILL CONTINUE INDEFINITELY UNTIL THE HUMAN RACE BRINGS ABOUT ITS END!"

Mu had more than enough by this point, the ravings of this mad masked man were ridiculous and need to come to a close! "And what gives you the right to be a judge of any of us Creuset?!" shouted Mu.

Creuset laughed manically, "I HAVE EVERY RIGHT MU! I'M THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN JUDGE HUMANUTY AS IT IS!"

Mu popped up and shot off some rounds at Creuset, and moved to a different hiding spot. Mu did this to draw attention away from Kira, but Creuset had a hanging piece of equipment fall and provide a smoke screen and a shield for him.

"Don't you remember Mu? We met one before, long ago before we ever came into contact with one another on the battlefield," claimed Creuset in less volume than he had been screeching in before, then he started to laugh madly, "Your father, Al Da Flaga was an arrogant fool, who believed he could cheat death. And I curse that I'm a clone of that man, but I got him back by burning down his house with him inside, it was a fitting form of revenge! It would have been better if you were in there with him and his wife too, but then we wouldn't be here like this if that had been the case," shouted Creuset.

The reminder of having to watch the place he had called home burn down, infuriated Mu. Both his parents had been in the house when it had burned, and even if Mu hadn't been getting along the best with his father at the time, that didn't mean Mu wanted him dead. And by what Rau Le Creuset just claimed, he was the one who set the blaze on its way. "You expect me to believe that my dad had a clone made and that it's you, like anyone would believe such a fairytale!" yelled Mu, rage in his voice.

"Rest assured Mu, I don't want to believe it any more than you do, it is that crazy. However, it's a fact that can't be denied! The same horrible DNA that the fool had in himself, runs in me," bellow Creuset in return.

Kira managed to shake himself out of the confused daze and refocused on the current situation. He looked around for something to work with as Mu had taken his gun and was a distance away from him now. Kira spotted a scalpel on the floor that could be thrown at the man that was shooting at them. So, Kira listened and waited for the opportunity to rush out, grab the tool and send it Creuset's way. "It is because of fools like Hibiki and Da Flaga, that humanity must come to an end, these foolish and insane ambitions will do the job anyways! And in the end, the conceited fools floundering in the chaos and destruction will get exactly what they wished for!" shouted Creuset to the room at large.

Kira sprinted out and grabbed the scalpel from the floor, but felt a bullet nick his left shoulder as he went. There was a gunshot from behind Kira and the grunt from Creuset said that Mu had hit the man. Kira twisted his body and took aim and threw the medical tool at Creuset's face, and the blade caught the mask and the face wear came off Creuset's face. Everything went silent just after the mask hit the floor, Mu and Kira stared at the full face of the man that had always had a mask on it. For Mu, it was as if he was staring at the face of his father when he was a child. It showed that his claim to being his father's clone was pretty much true and it gave Mu a sick feeling. From Kira's perspective, it was strange, there was resemblance between the face and Mu's own, but they weren't the exact same.

Creuset had an angry expression on his face, "Do you seriously think that you can change the world from the direction its going now? No one can change the war or stop it from bringing an end to humanity!" Creuset began cackling madly, "Voices of reason go unheeded, and nothing changes, fools like Ellen Blass think that a rousing speech can sway the minds and hearts of people. The whirlpool of hatred is spreading far and wide and can't be stopped by anyone! It can only be destroyed and everything else with it, that is humanity's destiny!"

After shouting that, Creuset turned and ran off. Mu tried to pursue the man, but his injuries stopped him from doing so. Kira went to Mu and asked if he was okay, Mu was breathing hard, "I'll be fine Kira. Don't listen to anything that mad man said kid, he's insane and made it very plain right now," Mu replied.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **I'm leaving off there, and will continue in the next phase. Now some of you might have noticed that there are a few major events that I still do include, even if they don't play out the exact same. I have reasons for doing so and it will make sense soon enough. I do admit that I'm filling in on some of the history between Mu and Creuset. But, I also doing the same to an extent with Kira's origins as here really isn't lots of solid information on the idea, so I've come up with some as I've gone along. Please some of you, take the time to write a review, I got good responses with the last phase. I would love that to keep going, I value the views and the points and questions that are brought up, they are helpful. Until the next Phase!**


	23. Phase 23: The Sins of the Past

**A/n**

 **Here's phase 23! Turned out an amount longer than I had originally though it would when I started, but that happens. Now, nothing has changed in the fact that I own nothing in the Gundam universe, as much as I would love to, I don't. I just got my characters, ideas and musing, that be all I have to call mine in this. On with the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 23: The Sins of the Past

July 13th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Dominion

The retreat from battle hadn't been pleasant, but having to run from a fight is never easy to do, yet the Dominion and all on board were alive because of the action. Overall, the damage to the Dominion was not all that bad if one just went by physical damage. However, there was enough done during the battle that was now causing problems that need to be seen to before fighting came again. Natarle had left the damage report and the responses to them to her second in command, who had been proving to be a competent man and officer. She went to her quarters, the one place she was finding she could have peace and could be away from Muruta Azrael.

The previous battle hadn't been anything like Natarle had thought her first battle would be, but there had been a number of valuable lessons taken away from it. First, she hadn't expected that she would be ordered to fight the vessel her first assignment was with. And if she could've spoken more with Murrue Ramius, then she was fairly confident that she could have convinced her to stand down, but Director Azrael had cut over before she could. Then, there had been the appearance of Tyler McGregor, and he brought issues all of his own to the table that she hadn't imagined thought of at all. Things had just changed so much from information that had been supplied to her before arriving on site, that the situation had just gone careening down hill quickly.

In fact, there were three standing problems as Natarle saw it; the ships, the mobile suits and their pilots, then Tyler McGregor himself. For ships, the information she had received, was that the Archangel was considered rouge and was to be hunted down. There had been nothing about there being two other ships, which there was little on records about the orb vessel, one had been seen visually by Earth Forces a couple time and was considered to be from the Orb Union, but that was all. The other ship there was nothing at all on, it was the first time anything like it had been encountered, just assumed that ZAFT was responsible for its construction. Both of those ships had made things more difficult to handle the Archangel. Yes, it was an instance that you adapted, but there were limits to how much that could help. Then, the Archangel herself, was a good, well-built and well-armed ship and Natarle knew that from the start. After all, she had been around the ship somewhat before she was halfway through the construction process. Still, the Dominion was of the same class, even if Natarle believed the crew needed more training. That was the one thing the Archangel had in her favor, the crew knew what they were doing and could adapt as the need arose. That made her a strong opponent and that made fighting her a challenge, Natarle knew.

The second problem, the mobile suits on the battlefield had been something else, but that was an understatement for most of them. There was two out of the four remaining G-weapons, the Strike and the Buster, along with the Shadow, the Strike with new equipment. The addition of the two mobile suits that director Azrael was interested in, were armed well and seemed to have a power supply that didn't run out added to the difficulty they presented. Then, the other unknown purple machine that had appeared a little bit into the battle, had only added to the difficulty on the Alliance's end as it had similar qualities to the two Azrael was after. And of course, there was the mobile suit that Natarle suspected Tyler had been piloting, and like the other unknown, was powerful and had an endless power supply.

Who was piloting what mobile suit, Natarle couldn't guess with what she knew at this time. However, assuming that the crew was relatively unchanged, Kira would be in one, and Tyler was clearly of the red machine. But, with there being seven suits, they made up only two of the pilots, leaving five unknowns. Perhaps if someone had come up with a Natural-use OS, then maybe Mu and Krystal could be two out of those five. Yet, even if that was true, there was three pilots unknown and Natarle couldn't begin to guess who the pilots could possibly be.

Then the final problem of the battle was Tyler McGregor, the teenager that had bugged and frustrated Natarle to no end while on board the Archangel. The male teenager had from the moment of coming onto the Archangel, irritated Natarle in a way that no one had before with his actions of disrespect and his attitude. More than once, Natarle had entertained thoughts of throttling Tyler McGregor around the neck out of sheer frustration that he caused her from time to time. Whether the teen did such things to goad her on purpose or just did what he did without regard to those around him, she couldn't decide. He had possible done things to the Archangel, but even she had to admit, there had been no proof of an act of betrayal by him. Natarle may not appreciate the things he did to seemingly to annoy her to no end, but Tyler had been a good kid over all, she had to admit.

But, for him to appear on the battlefield, after going through the injuries that being in an explosion no doubt gave him, it was a miracle in its own way. Nevertheless, Tyler hadn't only shown that his regard towards authority and attitude were unchanged, but that his sense of humor that Natarle had gotten to unfortunately see, could be much more troublesome that she'd surmised before. Not only had he had fun at her expense, insulted a high position holding person, being ruder than he had ever been to Natarle and done so sounding like there was nothing wrong with his actions, he had done so much more.

Tyler then had flown in front of the Dominion and had flaunted being there, asking to be shot at and then taunted and literally dared her to shoot him. Honestly, Natarle wished to know who his parents were, then she would have a talk with them on how their parenting had produced Tyler McGregor! But unfortunately, there was no information on the identity of his parents, Natarle had looked more than once, normally when she was thoroughly irritated by the teen. Anyways, next came Tyler's 'gift', which he had claimed she would appreciate. Natarle hadn't been amused with it at all, the teen had probably causing the most serious damage to the Dominion in the battle, specifically the onboard systems!

She had known that the second Tyler had mentioned a 'gift', there was more than a little worried about in what he could mean. Yet, when the Gottfrieds' aim had gone off what they were being programed, Natarle had another of those moments that she wanted to strangle Tyler and shake him hard while yelling obscenities at him while telling him exactly what he did wrong. The desire had increased as the bridge operators discovered more details of Tyler had put on the Dominion they faced. Tyler had managed to create something that caused target designators systems to change its horizontal angle and vertical pitch, so the weapons couldn't fire straight. Things hadn't stopped there, oh no, the issue had spread beyond just targeting systems. At first, Natarle had thought that just resetting the weapon systems would solve the issue.

Yet apparently, Tyler had planned ahead for most of her responses ahead of time. The teen had clearly had made whatever he did, difficult to be rid of, but Natarle wouldn't let herself or her ship be beaten by this joke created by the rebellious teenager! However, after the weapons systems had been reset, problems had spread to other systems and hadn't gone away from the targeting at all, it had only gotten worse. The image of Tyler laughing at what was happening, had been clear in her head at the time and it fed her fury and stubbornness to not be beaten by Tyler.

There came a point, when there were so many issues appearing, that Natarle could see no other option and ordered the Dominion to initiate a full system reset. It was the only way that Natarle could come up with to get rid of Tyler's work, which she now believed was some kind of program embedded somewhere in the ship's systems. Once done the Dominion had gotten back to working as it was supposed to and not a moment too soon in Natarle's opinion. The ship wasn't working perfectly, but it was far better than it had been doing before the reset.

The problem had been solved enough to work with, but she hadn't expected that Tyler's program to have done the damage it had before being rid of. When the initial damage reports had begun coming in… oh, how she wanted hunt Tyler McGregor down, throttle him for a while and then toss him into a brig cell and rip off the key pad, then throw it out the nearest airlock and leave the teen in there for a long while. The program, or whatever it was that Tyler had made, had done far more than just mess with the targeting. It had been doing damage in the background by messing with most other systems and the number it had affected wasn't small, life-support was the only system untouched. The repairs were already under way, but it would take some time to undo the work that Tyler had done to the Dominion, it would far better to go back to Lunar HQ, but that wasn't possible right now.

The loss of the battle against the Archangel and her allies, wasn't completely unexpected, but had not been nice. Two of the Strike Daggers had been lost, damage had been sustained to the others. Then the three machines that had come with director Azrael hadn't done that much better. Although, their pilots were half the problem in Natarle's view, as they had been fighting each other, weren't using teamwork at all and they'd paid for their actions. Then, by what she had been told, once the pilots had been brought back on board, they had been taken to the sickbay. Something about medication running out and that they need time to recover was said to her.

The three custom machines had still taken some harsh damage. The X370 Raider had lost its shield and the spherical breaker "Mijoinir", destroyed by the Tyler's mobile suit by its plasma cannons. The X252 Forbidden had put a lot of strain on the scythe it wielded, and it would need work to fix. The Calamity hadn't taken any major or serious damage, but there were still repairs made on it. The Forbidden's Geschmedig Panzers had been used to bounce beams to hit the Raider and Calamity by the red suit and the system needed more adjustments in hopes to prevent that.

The abilities of the suit Tyler piloted as well as the purple unknown mobile suit had been impossible to predict. Tyler's machine especially been unpredictable, from its weapons to its defenses. It even had some kind of device that did a near identical job as the Forbidden's Geschmedig Panzers, along with the two plasma cannons it possessed which had more power behind them than other weapons like them. The purple machine had a few points of worry for Natarle, even if others didn't agree with her. First, it could transform like the X303 Aegis could, even had beam sabers in the forward joints like the GAT prototype had. The other real problem with the suit, by what she viewed, its body parts could change, exposing hidden weaponry. So, who knows what arsenal that suit had to work with.

Nevertheless, none of the clear facts she iterated made any difference, she might as well not had said anything at all. No, all she'd had to listen to, was director Azrael saying how disappointing it was to have lost the battle. Never mind they had been clearly outgunned, outmatched and outdone, in a way that even a rookie could see, apparently none of that mattered. Then, the information they were given on their outset was incomplete and from the PLANTs by Azrael's own words, therefore they hadn't been able to prepare adequately. No, none of that mattered at all to Director Azrael, the man hadn't any idea how things worked on the battlefield. Still, he kept reminding her that she was supposed to follow his orders and not deviate. Natarle had gotten close to telling the blonde to shove his opinion up his rear and screw him, she hadn't felt like that about another, not even Tyler McGregor.

Natarle, knowing that sitting around and leaving her mind to go off on tangents that were ridiculous, was a bad thing to do, headed back to the bridge. Her ongoing conundrum didn't go away, for element of it were on the bridge, namely Muruta Azrael. She ignored the man as she sat down in her chair, "What's our status?" she asked.

"Major repairs are mostly done on both for the ship and the mobile suits, though the suit would do better with more adjusting. Then the ship's onboard systems are okay, but still not in full working order, whatever did the damage, did more than we estimated originally," reported the vice-captain.

"There's still the three Nazca-class vessels at a distance of 122, captain, they haven't changed their position," the sensor operator added.

Natarle thought for a moment, with the ZAFT ships staying where they were, and likely the three ships in the colony that they were supposed to defeat, but the Dominion's position wasn't good right now. "Taking on all three at once would put us at a disadvantage, especially if we were to go against the three ships that we were before at the same time. With us not being at full strength, the chances of success are slim," Natarle muttered.

"The goal is still the same, the acquisition of one of those two, or I suppose I can say four of those unique mobile suits. I would prefer more than one, but one would do if it's enough intact, then that's fine. The destruction of the Archangel would be nice, but as long as we get one of those machines, then the mission is accomplished," remarked Azrael.

Natarle turned and faced Azrael, "Director, while I can understand your interest, with what is available with just the Dominion on site, what you 'suggest' we do is pretty much suicidal," Natarle replied.

"It is so easy for someone to say that something is impossible, whether it is such or not Miss Captain. But, it's quite another matter to make things that seem or are impossible, possible, is it not?" Azrael posed.

Frustration flared up in Natarle at hearing the justification that the one she was supposed to be taking orders and suggestions from. He wasn't looking at the facts or the odds they were facing, he was just waving them off as a 'challenge' to be overcome and not using common sense at all. "That's easy for you to say, but this is the battlefield, failure here means death," reasoned Natarle.

"Oh, it is no different in the business world Natarle Badgiruel, to lose in business is death as well. So, are you one of those people that fights battles that you know you'll win only?" Azrael asked.

The answer was not helpful to Natarle, to say that the business world and the war were the same, was ridiculous. As far as Natarle could tell, Muruta Azrael was far more intent on fulfilling some vendetta which she couldn't see, than anything else. With him being a member of Blue Cosmos, the vendetta had something to do with killing Coordinators. Azrael was looking at her, waiting for an answer, "No director, but I fight all battles with survival being the first priority in mind, even if that means the objectives I'm working to achieve have to be delayed," Natarle said carefully.

"Not that I can't understand doing that, after all, you've got to do what you've got to do to be victorious. Still, we can't sit here and do nothing forever, now can we? That being said, give it your best shot and remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained." Azrael returned.

Natarle saw that there was no reasoning with this man as things stood. Perhaps looking death in the eyes would make the man understand, but it wasn't the time for that. And though, it went against her better judgement right now, she ordered her crew to make themselves ready for combat. The engines were fired up and the Dominion moved out from its hiding spot behind a nearby colony in the cluster by Mendel.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

It had been over an hour since the retreat of the Dominion and its mobile suits. However, I doubt that Natarle will stay away for long. And yet, with what my gremlin probably did, it will be a bit of time before that ship is in decent working order. Admittedly, I may have gone a tad far with the program I whipped up, I mean, yeah it messed with targeting for weapons at first. But, the gremlin I let lose was a freaking nasty devil, I made sure of that, so would it wreak havoc with as many ship systems as it could get to in the background. Still, with the particular scumbag onboard that ship, Muruta Azrael, it was hard to not give my best efforts in the sabotaging done. I hated the man that was the current leader of Blue Cosmos and with a passion so, I designed my gremlin with vigor! It's because of that guy and others like him that Bloody Valentine came to pass in the first place. Yes, I know there were many involved, but Azrael was one of the main people that planned and helped carried out the event. So, I couldn't help it that my program did all it had to Natarle's ship, I wanted that punk she's being forced to listen to get a lesson that he can't always have his way!

I was back on the Eternal, the Aurora was resupplied, and I was just sitting in the cockpit, waiting for whatever should happen next. There was still no word from those inside the colony, neither the Dominion or the ZAFT vessels had moved yet. In other words, we were in a kind of stalemate, waiting to see who would make the next move. I was getting a tad worried as time moved forward, since neither Kira, Mu or Krystal were the type to fool around to kill time. Nor had the ZAFT pilot Dearka Elsman come off as someone that wasted time when the chips were down on the table. And I wasn't the only one that was showing signs of apprehension as to what was going on or rather the lack of things happening most were.

" _The Dominion is approaching, distance 50, Green, Bravo, steadily closing. Three enemy mobile suits out in front,_ " announced the voice of Miriallia.

The tension shifted at that word from the Archangel that the Dominion was coming our way once more. Yet this time, those three custom Alliance machines were already launched while the Dominion was a fair distance away. I wouldn't doubt those pilots want some payback on those of us who beat them recently, I'm guessing that is serving as their motivation. Since I was already in my mobile suit and ready to go, I was the first to head out, Lacus followed not too long after me and Athrun came out after her. We noted the eight M1-Astrays that had launched from the Kusanagi and Athrun told them to say and defend the ships, which I agreed with. The fight that was about to be started, wouldn't be small or pretty in any way, that was clear to me.

" _It's those three again,_ " Lacus commented over the radio, catching Athrun's and my own attention and refocusing it back on the battle looming.

Looking ahead, I saw the three machines in question; the Calamity, Raider and Forbidden. They appeared to have been repaired from the damage that they had received from us last time. At least I saw that the Raider had been supplied with another shield and mace, that I'd destroyed in the last skirmish. "It is them indeed Lacus, and I've a hunch they're going to be doing what they can to get payback on us for the results of the last fight," I replied.

" _Three of us verse three of them, is it?"_ Athrun posed.

I sighed, "For the moment, so it would seem my friend. However, this is the Earth Alliance we're talking about here. They have a reputation they've gained recently of not playing fair if they don't have to so, who can say how long it will stay fair odds? Great, this is going to be interesting in a non-good way to say the least," I mused flatly.

" _Yeah, but that's how it goes. Keep eyes peeled for any movement from the Nazca-class ships._ " Athrun warned.

"Yeah, right then, let's get this over and done with shall we," I said, not really looking forward to this skirmish.

The Archangel moved out of the dock, followed by the Kusanagi and the Eternal, still no sign of any of those who went off into the colony. I began to weigh the option of going directly for the Dominion, put her out of commission and then hope Natarle would be smart and surrenders, or whether it would be faster to destroy the mobile suits and let the ships deal with the Dominion. Like I told Natarle before, I know the weaknesses of the Archangel-class, so I can disable one quicker than another who doesn't know where to shoot the ship to get the best results.

The Eternal started the battle by firing a swarm of missiles at the black ship, but the missiles were intercepted. And as the ships got started shooting at each other, Lacus, Athrun and I got into range of the Alliance machines and our brawl began once again.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Mendel Interior

Inside the colony, the four pilots were still standing, facing each other down. Nicol was quite shocked by the information that Dearka gave. And yet, it did explain some of the standing questions with the legged ship and their pilots he had. If they were Coordinators, then there the radical improvement was easier to understand. There was still the pilot of the Blitz's twin and Nicol would be interested in an opportunity to meet and speak with them or him as Dearka had implied they were male. However, before more questions could be asked, the colony shook them all and the change in situation became apparent.

Dearka, and Krystal who had remained on the sidelines, moved towards their mobile suits, Yzak made one last entreaty. "Dearka, you're being deceived!"

Dearka stopped, "Am I? I wonder which one of us is really being deceived," Dearka replied. Then he looked Yzak straight in the eye, "I don't know for sure what I'm doing is right, but I've made up my mind in this. With the things I've seen, I can't turn a blind eye anymore and live with myself. I cannot agree that all Natural-types are inherently evil, because I've seen that they are not, so I can't just blame all Naturals are to blame anymore."

Nicol stepped forward, a thought and resolve set in his mind, "Then perhaps you could use some help?" he asked.

Dearka came to a halt at hearing Nicol's offer, for it was nuts! Dearka knew what consequences he would most likely face when he returned to the PLANTs and wasn't looking forward to them. But, if Nicol helped him, he was put in the same boat as Dearka was in pretty much. Not to say that Dearka was against the help, and he appreciated Nicol offering to do so, but still. "Nicol, why would you," Dearka started to ask, but Nicol cut him off.

"We're friends, and I want to hear Athrun's side of this story of what has happened before I judge whether he did right or wrong. Besides, we're going against the Alliance, so I see nothing wrong with that, do you?" posed Nicol.

Dearka stared for a moment longer, before he let out a laugh. Nicol was using his usual, simplistic logic that was not worth arguing with, "No, no I can't say I do. See your normal logic can still confound the foolish and shut up us idiots Nicol," he replied.

Nicol smiled before he jogged back to the Blitz and boarded the suit, at the same time Dearka ascended the zip-line to the Buster's cockpit. Krystal gazed at Yzak, "So convinced that your comrade is being deceived? Then ask yourself who is the greater fool in this? The one that goes forward with their eyes open, the one that follows them, or the one who just does what they're told by others with their eyes shut?" she asked rhetorically.

Krystal then turned and left Yzak standing where he was as she ran to the Shadow and boarded the machine. The Blitz, Buster and Shadow lifted off the ground and turned in the direction of the main docking facility in the south side of the colony. Yzak stood where he was, an internal battle with his sense of honor and duty versing his conscience and loyalty. On the one hand, Dearka had came in with an enemy mobile suit, so therefore, that would mean he would be a traitor and enemy. However, the way Dearka had told it, he hadn't done anything technically wrong yet and Yazk couldn't deny that. The whole situation was confusing and it frustrated Yzak a great deal, in the end, he went for the Duel. If anything helped him vent his frustration, it was fighting the Earth Forces, and by the sound of it, if he followed the rest, then he would get to do just that.

Once in the Duel, Yzak lifted off and shot off after the others and shortly caught up with them. Nicol smiled when he spotted the Duel falling in with them, " _Decided to join us then Yzak?_ " he asked.

" _Don't even start with that Nicol, I going to fight the Earth Forces group on the south side of the colony and you all happen to be going in the same direction,_ " Yzak replied hotly.

Dearka smiled and held in the snicker that he felt, hearing Yzak blatantly deny why he was doing what he was just so that he didn't have to tell the truth was still funny. As the four made it halfway to the airlock tunnel, the Strike and the Freedom flew in from bellow and got slightly ahead of their group, heading for the dock too.

 **-Line Break-**

Outside of the colony, the initial clash broke up and the six suits separated, getting into pairs to fight one on one. The Forbidden went for the Aurora, since Shani wanted to get the red suit's pilot back for using his machine like it had during the last skirmish. Both Clotho and Orga had gotten on his case for what had happened, and it had infuriated him to be blamed for things. The Raider when for the Regenerate, since he hadn't had the chance in the last battle and he wanted a go at the purple machine. That left the Calamity to take on the Justice and Orga didn't have an issue with that, it was one of the mobile suits that had embarrassed them before.

For around a minute, the fighting between the six mobile suits continued and the conflict with the ships kept going as well. Then, those that had been in the colony interior came out of the dock and there were two extra suits that hadn't gone in initially. The extras were the Duel and the Blitz, which none had expected, but no one brought up a complaint about them being with the others. As the phrase goes, beggars can't really be choosers in situations that people can find themselves in.

The fighters weren't the only ones who noticed the new arrivals to the battlefield, the ships on both sides saw the new comers to skirmish. Natarle's eyes widened a bit at the sight of five mobile suits coming out from the Mendel colony's dock. Although, the Strike did land inside the Archangel, but that still left the other four who didn't. There was the white and black one from the last battle, yet also, the Shadow and the Buster were approaching the battle as well. However, the mobile suits that Natarle hadn't expected, were the X209 Blitz and the X102 Duel. The two prototypes hadn't been seen since the glimpse around the Marshall Islands as far as Natarle could remember.

Nonetheless, with one side receiving four more mobile suits as reinforcement, the odds shifted to the Archangel and her allies favor. That quickly became apparent, as the Raider, Forbidden and Calamity were forced onto the defensive by their opponents. In fact, the battle morphed into a two against one, with one exception, with the Calamity having three opponents. Yet, just after giving orders to move the Dominion into a better position, Natarle only saw seven suits fighting, not the eight there had just been. It took her under ten seconds to comprehend that the mobile suit that was missing was the red mobile suit that Tyler was using. And that fact alone, not knowing where the older teen was, more than worrisome to Natarle, it scared her!

There were a few reasons why Natarle was scared not knowing where Tyler was at this time. He had proven that what he said and what he intended, could differ greatly depending on who he spoke to. Tyler was also a very good pilot, how good a caliber a pilot was still undetermined thus far, but an experienced one nonetheless. Then, the teen had proven that his knowledge of the Archangel-class ship, was extremely dangerous and could be used to do great to the Dominion. So, for Tyler to vanish, that wasn't a good thing at all, more a standing threat really! He could strike the Dominion with little to no warning beforehand and the defenses wouldn't be able to intercept or slow him down.

Natarle kept the worry in the back of her mind and focused on the skirmish as it continued, but the fact nagged at her. It was more than a minute later, when the Dominion was rocked and there was a flash from close by in front. Natarle focused forward and to her horror, one of the Gottfrieds had taken a shot and was now unusable. One of the bridge officers, reported that fires had broken out along maintenance corridors near the turret that was not out of commission. " _Guess who Mon Capitan,"_ greeted the voice of Tyler, and it had a different tone to it than the last time, a far more serious and emotionless tone. But, he continued before Natarle could decide as to why there was a difference, " _Hey Natarle, did you ever question why some of the clear design flaws and screw ups that the Archangel-class possesses from the designing and construction stages, are still in the architectural blueprints for the ship class? I would be quite shocked if you hadn't spotted a number them and brought them to the attention of the builders to address and/or fix. Although, if it hasn't become obvious by this point, the majority of them were either ignored or dismissed as nothing to worry about and so, are still present,_ " posed Tyler over the speakers on the Dominion's bridge in something of a mix of a sing-song voice and someone that was leading one on into something non-nice.

Hearing the older teen's voice, not only confirmed to Natarle, that Tyler was most likely responsible for the damaged Gottfried the Dominion had now, but that there was more to come. The question and its subject matter didn't sit well with Natarle at all as it inferred, a weakness that Tyler knew about and could use against the Dominion. Still, Tyler wasn't exactly wrong, she had seen issues with the ships design that were hazardous if they failed. A few of those she had told the original captain and vice-captain, were returning to her mind at this time.

Azrael grumbled audibly, "What is the point you are getting at boy?" He said flatly.

" _I wasn't talking to you prince scumbag, so pipe down would you, we adults are talking about things that don't concern you. So shut up, you're bothering everyone else with you clucking,"_ Tyler replied, in an cold emotionless tone.

Natarle barely managed to keep her eyes from rolling at the worsening behavior Tyler was showing towards Azrael. She was about to ask what Tyler was referring to, but the teen beat her to the punch, " _Back to what I was saying Natarle, did you know that as this ship is designed, all the Igelstellungs control systems are wired to run through conduits, which all pass through a specific junction?_ " There was a pause and what Tyler was saying started to sink into Natarle's mind." _So, if that said junction were to be damaged in some way, then logically speaking, that would result in every single Igelstellung ceasing to function correctly, if they work at all that is. At least that's the theory, shall we find out whether that is true or not in practice?_ "

Natarle quickly realized what Tyler was talking about, and an expression of horror formed on her face. She knew that what the teen was not only implying would be very bad if it were to happen, but also what he was more than likely in the position to do right now. The thought made her go pale, "Tyler wait, don't," Natarle started, but it was too late.

There was a dull thud and shaking, then shortly afterward, an operator from the CIC announced that all CIWS Igelstellungs stopped responding and were either not taking commands or were shutting down. Now, the Dominion had lost most of its interception system. Meaning as Tyler had inferred, the junction he had just done in, was necessary for the CIWS systems to work right and so had taken them out of working order. The older teen had just crippled the interception capabilities of the Dominion with one precise strike, more effectively than shooting each Igelstellungs from a distance. Natarle didn't see how this situation could become much worse than it was now.

Nonetheless, Natarle was proven just how wrong she was less than a minute later. That came in the form of the red mobile suit that had put things the way they currently were, appearing in front of the Dominion's bridge's forward viewing ports. The suit pointed its beam rifle directly at the bridge, which froze the crew where they were, even Muruta Azrael stiffened from the sight of a gun barrel being pointed in his direction. " _This would be checkmate Mon Capitan, now you have a serious decision to make. Either call off your mobile suits and give me your unconditional surrender, or else I'll pull the trigger of my rifle. I doubt I need to state what would happen if I do, pointing the gun in the direction I am. So then, which will it be_ _ **Captain**_ _Badgiruel, I don't got all day for you to think about it,_ " posed Tyler flatly.

Natarle swallowed harder than she had done in a very long while, for this was a bind that she hadn't thought she'd be in any time soon. She could tell just from the tone, Tyler was being completely serious, he would shoot his beam rifle at the bridge of the Dominion… should she not do as he said and surrender. This teenager, Tyler McGregor had just shown skills that pretty much beat many pilots, both within ZAFT and the Alliance, and had outdone Natarle completely! Should she wish to live and save her crew, then surrender was the only option she had. Yet, before the situation progress further, and all find out what would happen, things changed a sizable margin.

Three Earth Alliance vessels came into sensor range, one Agamemnon-class and two Nelson-classes. Attention shifted to the three new comers to the battle, Tyler cursed the timing of these new arrivals and the potential complications that came with them. There had been some changes and refitting done to both ship classes from what they had been before. The changes were mostly for the purpose of working with mobile suits. As such, both classes had mobile suit catapults built into them. The Agamemnon-class, now had a catapult down its forward center line of the ship itself. Whereas, the Nelson-class has two smaller suit catapults, one on either side of the vessels.

Once the three Alliance vessels came into view of the battle, they began to send out their own mobile suits. Among those machines, were three more custom suits namely, the Raptor, the Sinister and the Bandit. Tyler could see that the tables would quickly turn on them, in favor of the Earth Forces with these reinforcements they were getting. The three mobile suits that had been a part of the attack on the Republic would make things harder for the defenders. Plus, odds were now a reversed three to one if not almost four to one and those were good right now.

Tyler decided that it was the better part of valor and loyalty, to help his friends, so he backed away from the Dominion's bridge. Natarle was about to breathe a sigh of relief but then, Tyler took the opportunity and shot the working Gottfried, taking it out of commission. Next, he made two shots, on at each leg of the Dominion, disabling both Lohengrins as well. That left only the Valiant linear cannons and some of the partially working stern missile tubes to work with. Tyler had effectively almost disarmed the Dominion of both defensive and offensive options single handedly.

Tyler after that, shot off back to the skirmish of mobile suits, giving up the chance to take down the Dominion and cripple the fight for the Alliance. Tyler flew back and dove in, supporting all the mobile suits defending the Archangel, Kusanagi and Eternal, even the Duel and the Blitz. The defenders were being pushed up to a metaphorical wall, which they couldn't give any more ground for.

Things started looking grim for the non-Alliance ships and their mobile suits as the Earth Forces kept pressing forward. Then, another shift came, yet this time, it wasn't in favor of the Alliance. The initial sign of this, was some of the Alliance suits were shot from behind and either damaged or destroyed. This was followed by the appearance of Federation Delta fighters, which shifted into mobile suits as they came baring down on the Earth Forces machines and ships. The sight of several Federation ships popping up, discarding their optical camouflage, boosted the morale of the defenders of the Archangel, Kusanagi and Eternal. It wasn't the same for the Alliance forces, when they saw the sudden appearance of Federation forces, it was more the opposite.

In fact, when Natarle saw that the Federation force was made up of six of their cruisers class vessels and not one, but three Federation dreadnoughts, she seriously wondered if the Dominion would survive this battle alive for the second time in this battle. Federation cruisers were strong in their groups they traveled in, the same could be said of the Federation's frigates that accompanied them normally. Federation dreadnoughts however, were a different matter entirely from other Federation ship classes. They were more powerful than the Agamemnon-class vessel, by a decent margin and Earth Forces top brass couldn't deny the fact without lying. The largest vessel the Federation used, had heavy armaments and cared upwards of eight or more of the Federation mobile fighters, more than any cruiser had. Honestly, Natarle knew that any chance that there had been for the Alliance forces, including the reinforcements, had all but disappeared now. They were outgunned, outnumbered now and outclassed in a way ZAFT could do so rarely. In short, the Earth Forces present, were screwed! Then with the Federation force also came two other unique, custom mobile fighters, didn't help the falling morale of the Alliance fighting force. One of the two machines, was a neutral over all blue and had one long gun and two shorter cannons. The other fighter, was a darker blue and white mixture, also had one long gun and two shorter ones. And if the other Federation fighters were anything to go by, the two custom machines could also could become mobile suits as well.

The defenders were in much higher spirits at seeing the reinforcements that had come to the battlefield to assist them. The speed and efficiency of which the Federation forces were pushing back the Earth Forces, was quite impressive. Tyler himself was quite pleased to see the Thanatos and the Athena again, even if he didn't look forward to time around Graham, due to the man's tendency to show off. Especially, watching him send Alliance mobile suits running… and made it look easy, showing off how skilled a pilot he was, that annoyed Tyler a bit. But, he was concentrating on the fight as he, along with Kira, Athrun and Lacus were popular with the custom Alliance machines.

It didn't take long for the Alliance forces to be not only put on the defensive standing, but being pushed back. That didn't deter any of the pilots of the custom models, yet it was clear, there was a difference of fighting style between the two trios. As they had shown, the Bandit, Sinister and Raptor worked together as a team and did so respectably. The other trio did not work as a team and were a hindrance to their allies around as much as their enemies.

The fact of the style differences was making Deborah increasingly ticked off. She and her younger sisters, were doing what they were assigned to do by their mother and doing their best. And yet, those boys were causing issues by fighting among themselves and just being general idiots like they normally were. The problem was, their actions didn't just affect themselves, but it also affected those around them. The three boys had always been reckless, even if they got good results more than half the time. Deborah told her sisters to pick a suit and focus on that one, but to watch out for the three male idiots as they weren't helping much.

The longer the battle kept going, the further downhill it went, Federation pilots were showing the difference that experience in operating a mobile suit makes and the Alliance forces couldn't contradict it. The six Alliance custom machines were targeting the suit of their choosing. The Forbidden went for the Freedom, while the Calamity fought the Athena, and the Raider shot at the Aurora. The Sinister began going after the Justice, the Raptor faced off against the Regenerate and the Bandit fought against the Shadow. The Blitz and the Duel were battling the other Alliance suits which the Federation were pushing back.

Clotho fighting the Aurora, was trying whatever he could think of to score a solid hit on the red mobile suit. He wanted payback on this enemy machine for what it did in the last encounter. Not only had it interrupted the good fair fight he and the others had been having with the other three odd suits, but he had also done things that were unfair! Because of this red machine, he had gotten a lecture and gone through lots of pain while the Raider had undergone repairs. Clotho's anger had festered, and he would vent it and shoot down the red mobile suit no matter what!

Shani was slashing at the Freedom, laughing manically as he did, though his laughter changed into angry snarling as the Freedom danced out of the way of the Forbidden's scythe. The punishment that had been endured by Shani, Clotho and Orga, hadn't been nice or pleasant in any way. He knew like the others, that if they achieved nothing in this skirmish that the punishments would be worse than the last experience. That was motivation for all three of them not to fail and at least get something out of this fight. Damaging one or more of the suits, destroying one or more, bringing one of them back, if they could do one of those things, then they wouldn't fail, therefore, they wouldn't be punished like before.

Orga remembered the objectives that he, Clotho and Shani had been told they needed to achieve on this outing. But, as he fought one of the new blue machines, he began to enjoy himself a bit. When his opponent's machine shifted into a mobile suit, the fight got even more fun for him for the difficulty increased. Orga had always liked a challenge, even if the other two hadn't, to him a challenge made things less dull.

Lafter was swinging her long anti-ship sword at the Justice, yet her opponent kept weaving out of the path of her blade. She remembered this crimson machine, back from the battle around all the weird planes that would change into mobile suits. Her mama had called the place the Republic of East Asia, and said the people there hadn't listened to the ones that gave her mama money to work. Granted, it frustrated her that she didn't get another chance to cleave the red mobile suit she had faced against before in two. But, the crimson machine would do fine as well, she would impress her mama and then mama would praise her for her efforts.

Rossweisse, chose to go against the purple mobile suit, mostly to say that she had made the choice. All she had to do was shoot the machine down and then she could move on to doing other things. She used the Raptor's six cannons and the bazooka she had been given for this assignment, which was a 337mm plasma-sabot. Yet, the enemy wasn't getting trapped so Rossweisse could blast them and be done with this. Rossweisse redoubled her efforts, but the result didn't change as they had before, and it frustrated her for this machine to not be shot down like other enemies before. She quickly lost her temper and began to attack the Regenerate more aggressively.

Deborah had let her sister and the foolish boys choose which of the custom machines they wanted to fight. Honestly, she herself hadn't really cared who she fought against, the sooner this job was done the better. So, in the end, she had gone for one of the black mobile suits, the one that had a shield on the left arm. It took Deborah less than a minute to figure out that the pilot of the suit was fairly skilled and that Deborah herself would've to be careful. But then, Deborah had always been the more aware and smartest among her and her sisters.

After a few minutes, Clotho's frustration and rage at the machine he faced and its pilot, were coming to boiling point. Not one hit, Clotho hadn't managed to get in a good successful strike against the red mobile suit. Hell, not even a nick or glancing blow had Clotho made. Enraged as he was becoming, Clotho ended out sending the Raider's Mjolnir at the enemy mobile suit, to which the red suit evaded like the attacks before. Clotho just wanted to land one hit on this red suit that was a growing pain in the neck, he would accept that for now. However, he gave the command for the Mjolnir to retract, he received a jerk in response. When Clotho looked forward, he was shocked to see that the red suit had grabbed the cable that was attached the Mjolnir to its launcher.

Tyler after dodging the mace weapon that the Raider had, didn't feel inclined to be nice right now, so he took the opportunity presented. The Aurora took the cable the mace was connected to and held it firmly, and once the cable started pulling the sphere back towards the Raider, Tyler jerked it and stopped the cable's retraction. Once Tyler had gotten the Raider's attention, he tugged the cable hard and pulled the other mobile suit into a spinning arc. Tyler did what he had done to the Blitz earlier this year when Le Creuset's team had been hunting down the Archangel. That being using the cabled weapon to swing the connected machine around in a circle, therefore confusing the pilot and getting them to panic.

Half a minute later, the Aurora let go of the cable and the Raider went sailing away, tumbling as it went. The Raider began the process of righting itself and get out of the sailing tumble it was in, at the same time, the Aurora brought out both its plasma cannons. Tyler aimed at the Raider and fired red beams at the suit. One beam hit one of the Raider's legs, which quickly warped from the heat and power of the plasma beam and was ripped apart. The other beam struck the Raider's shield and pushed the suit back a bit. The Raider detached the shield and moved to the to the left of the shield. The shield for a moment, appeared to block the beam, but then the plasma beam then melted past the anti-beam coating and ripped through the rest of the shield, destroying it.

The Raider finished righting itself, and looked back at where the shield had been moments ago and then down at the missing leg section. Clotho was breathing hard, his eyes wide as kept staring at where parts of his mobile suit were now missing. Clotho began to realize just how close he got to dying from that last attack. The red mobile suit had been the most aggravating out of these mobile suits they were fighting. But, with the two cannons that it had, forced Clotho to lose most of one of the Raider's legs and the shield, he had been forced to sacrifice it to not take the other beam directly.

Then as Clotho looked down at the display screens for his suit's vital systems, only made matters worse. For, upon looking down at the screens, Clotho saw that they were low, and he would need to go and resupply soon or he would die. He was trying to think of what to do to get away from this machine, Clotho would come back to finish the job, that was a promise. But then, there came a voice that scared Clotho more than any other, " _Clotho Buer, Shani Andras, Orga Sabnak._ "

Clotho stiffened at hearing the cold voice of Mina Moss calling out his and the other two by name, "Doctor Moss," he whispered, tones of fear clear.

Yes, with the appearance of the Raptor, the Sinister and the Bandit, Clotho knew that there was a good chance that Dr. Moss was around, since she traveled with those girls. Still, he had hoped that she hadn't been here, that's how scared Clotho was of the woman and he wasn't the only one that felt that way about her. Both Shani and Orga feared the head of Lodonia labs as much as he did, it was one of the things they had in common. Most, if not all candidates feared the head of Lodonia labs, because they all understood that she could make life beyond miserable and the worst kind of living hell possible and not kill you!

" _The three of you are to return to the ship you are assigned to immediately, this fight is decided and is done, now go,_ " Dr. Moss ordered.

Clotho pulled back and then headed towards the Dominion, not wanting the wrath of the woman he feared the most. Shani did the same as Clotho, for the same basic reasons. Orga also began heading back towards the Dominion as well. However, before any of them got back to the black ship, there appeared a ZAFT shuttle on the field. " _Kira, please help me,_ " announced the voice of Flay Allster, which surprised everyone on the battle field.

The call caught Kira's attention, he hadn't seen or heard anything about Flay since the events around Alaska. Lacus was also paying attention to what was happening as she had only heard that the redhead had been separated from the Archangel shortly after reaching the JOSH-A base. Then her voice came over an open com-channel again, " _I have something that can end this war for good._ "

Tyler became very interested at hearing that, for both good and bad reasons, it really depended upon what the 'something' was. Kira shot towards the shuttle, but he was stopped by the Forbidden. The Regenerate also tried to get to the shuttle, but the Raider blocked it. The other mobile suits were kept busy, by the desperate Alliance mobile suits that still remained. And while they were stopped, the Calamity retrieved the ZAFT shuttle and then continued towards the Dominion. The Raider, Forbidden and Calamity got away while what remained of the Alliance forces kept those who tried to stop them busy.

Shortly after that, a signal was fired from the Agamemnon-class, to say that all Alliance forces were to retreat and that they wouldn't make aggressive actions against the Federation. In other words, the Alliance surrendered this territory. And that meant that the hands of the defenders and their allies were tied for the time being, due to an agreement between all three factions. That was that if a non-aggression signal was displayed, it was seen as an acceptance of defeat by the senders. Thus, they didn't have to suffer heavier losses, though it did mean that 'winners' gained the territory or place that the battle was taking place. There was no argument of fairness or that giving territory can't be taken from their previous owner.

So, by launching the non-aggression signal, the Alliance had given up any claim they had to the L4 colony cluster. And unless they gave a sign that they were going to violate that agreement, that would have to be accepted by both the defender and the Alliance. Still, a serious feeling of unease and restlessness remained over all there.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The battle hadn't gone as well as could been hoped, though it hadn't gone badly either. In the end, we, the defending forces had won, but it had been questionable for a time and the victory hadn't come without a price. The three ships that the pilots, including myself had been defending had taken some damage from the skirmish. The Eternal had lost the functionality with four out of its six small beam cannons. Also, two of the Eternal's engines had taken enough damage that they would need repair. The Kusanagi had come out of the fight with the least damaged taken overall. Yet still, a number of its missile launchers and Igelstellungs had been taken out of commission and would need to be fixed or replaced.

The Archangel on the other hand, had gotten the worse from the battle. Three of the eight small engines and one of the large engines the Archangel possessed, had gone through a forced shutdown, to prevent them from exploding after taking some 'lucky shots'. One Gottfried had been damaged and wasn't working, and would need work done to have it operational again. Four of the Igelstellungs had taken hits and would need serious repair before they could be counted on again. Then, the port side missile launchers had taken a beating and had gone offline as a result of the damage.

As for us pilots and our mobile suits, the Freedom and the Aurora had only incurred minor damage, nothing that mechanics couldn't handle. The Justice would need work on its shield, since Athrun had used it to block the Calamity's multi-phased beam cannon. The shield had warped a good amount, but other than that, there was little damage with the Justice to note. The Regenerate would need some beam guns replaced as it had lost one of its extra limbs. But apparently, there were spare parts onboard the Eternal, so the missing parts could be replaced.

The Shadow, my original mobile suits, had performed well with Krystal piloting. I believe that her choice in equipping the flight system as she had used it to great effect, so the mobile suit was fine overall. There was still minor damage and the shield's railgun would an overhaul, but other than that, nothing major that couldn't be undone by mechanics on the Archangel. The Blitz and the Duel needed more minor repairs than the Shadow, but nothing major. I hadn't expected that those two would not only pop up, but help us out and return to the Archangel. Not after the work and effort they had made to take the ship down, but none of us are really in a position to complain about the extra help. The Strike was the most undamaged as it hadn't been in the second skirmish as Mu had been shot multiple times by Le Creuset inside the colony by what I'm told.

The blonde man had been wrapped up in bandages and was being kept from doing any strenuous activities, assigned to bedrest for recovery instead. I felt for the man, he's experiencing what the last few months have been for me. However, I have to say, it was funny to watch Murrue lecture Mu about how foolish he had been and for that lecture to shift into a reprimand. Yet, after taking in what the situation was, I went looking for Kira, since I wouldn't doubt he's not doing so good. I had caught sight of my friend walking off somewhere, Lacus not too far behind him. With Lacus on his tail, I was less worried about Kira, still am worried about him though.

I was left to ponder the mentioning from Mu and Kira that they had encountered the rat-I mean, Rau Le Creuset. His appearance wasn't completely unexpected to me, but it certainly wasn't welcome and never has been. But, with him around, I'm more suspicious of what the rat is up to. It was unlikely that he was around L4 at the same time Alliance forces are just by coincidence, it's as likely as the hatred between both Coordinators and Naturals these day going way completely.

I had wandered to the into the port facilities as I had been deep in thought, considering the standing we were in. Since we had solved or rid ourselves of some issues, there were still those that hadn't been dealt with fully and those that had been gained. Yet, my attention was caught by something coming into the dock, and upon looking up, I saw that the 'something' was one of the Federation Voyager-class dreadnoughts.

Decided that I might as well go check in with the one in charge, get that point over and done with, do my due diligence. So, I headed to the Federation vessel and waited for the ship to connect to a tunnel to get on board from the port itself. Once a tunnel was linked and pressurized, I made my way over to the Voyager-class. Floated to the lift that led to the command bridge and rode it up, yet the second the door opened, I came to regret my decision of coming to report to the one in charge.

Why might one ask? It's because one who was clearly in control, was someone that I knew, due to the fact that I wasn't fond of the woman and… honestly, she scares me an amount. The woman was about the same height as me and was also a Coordinator. She had long, mid-back length golden blonde hair, which looked silky in its texture, not that I've been willing to get close enough to see if it was as it looked. The upper right third of her face was covered by her hair, the rest of her face would be seen by most as pretty, if not for the serious expression that I swear is permanently affixed. The single eye that was visible was light blue in color and her figure showed that she was active and not one you mess with if you want to have a peaceful life.

The woman's name was Angela Raine, she was an Admiral in the Federation military and a member of the Admiralty that led it. She was in her mid-forties I believe, but I've never asked her, how old she is, I know better than to do something that stupid. Like Admiral Moses, Admiral Raine hailed from the Euros Coalition. And the biggest reason that I knew this lady… is she's the head of SOLAS. Yep, Angela Raine is my boss, the one I tend to report to, and her personality makes my mom, appear quite flamboyant comparably when it comes to seriousness. My question is what is she doing out here? She is normally around the Federation's military's central command that's up here in space, named Echowas.

Echowas is not only the biggest Federation base, with the forces it houses, but also just in sheer size. ZAFT's Jachin Due base is smaller and that base is not what one would call small really. Its location was a secret from the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, not for a lack of trying on their part, for both have been looking for it to have leverage on the Federation. Thus far, neither side has collected any creditable information on the location or strength that the base has.

Really, only those who have been to Echowas know where it actually is, for like the vessels of the Federation military, the base is invisible due to the optical camouflage that's deployed over the whole base's surface. Then, its location isn't where the Alliance or ZAFT have thought to look, though by what I understand, there have been some ships from both factions that have passed the base and not even known it. All sides accept that there are officially five Lagrange points, but unofficially, the Federation came up with two other Lagrange points, L6 and L7. Both Lagrange points are along Earth's orbit halfway between the moon and L3. But, while L6 is on the east side of Earth's orbit, a short distance from the PLANTs at L5, L7 is on the west, a moderate distance from the L4 colony cluster.

Echowas is positioned at L7, and stays in geosynchronous orbit with the Earth. The base itself, is made from what was believed to be an asteroid as sometime in the past, oblong in overall shape. The main mass of the asteroid had been hollowed out, but maintained the structural strength and integrity to be able to withstand a heavy assault. There was also an array of defensive guns and laser interceptors to defend the base itself. The docking facilities were large and took up a third of the base's area. And then, there were still docking points on the outside of the east side of the base's structure of which, didn't just exist inside the space rock. No, there were metal structures that came out of the asteroid itself as well on the sides and the back side of the rock.

The Admiralty that led the Federation military, tended to be at Echowas and their orders were distributed from there, at least, most of the Admiralty spent their time there as far as I knew. The Admiralty was made up of fourteen individuals, two to represent each branch of the Federation military and their subsidiaries plus, two who were the head of the Admiralty as a group. The branches of the Federation military are; the Space Forces, the Earthbound Defense Forces, the Intelligence Agency, Mobile Suit Core, SOLAS and Research and Development association.

Admiral Raine, was one of the two who represented SOLAS and was the one that pretty much called the shots for the organization. The other does more the day to day background things and is good at it by what I hear, I've never actually Admiral Frederick Algreus personally. So, I was kind of nervous, and I don't think any can blame me, and if there are some that do, they don't know the woman that I was seeing! Said nervousness shot up when Admiral Raine's gaze came to land on me, "McGregor, your appearance is unexpected, but with you here you can report what is going on," the woman said in a midrange alto with a serious voice.

I flinched a bit and stiffened at being addressed by my 'boss', "I could certainly do that ma'am, I'm here as I thought I should check in with the one in charge, being a good thing as well as the right thing to do ma'am." My voice was slightly shaky as I gave my answer, I knew that I would need to choose my words carefully with this woman.

I received a stern look, which said to get on with my report among other things it was saying. So, I went into what had gone on for the last month or so, since quite a lot of things had occurred during the timeframe. Plus, I ended out going earlier and giving an account and justification for my actions from the time I had been next to an explosion outside of Orb months ago. The report… well, I told the truth as I knew it and hoped that Admiral Raine didn't find a reason to do something to me for something I did. I was chastised for 'goofing off' during the first battle with the Dominion as my boss put it. Let's just say that I was covering sensitive parts of my body while being told how foolish I'd been. And I did note that there were a few commanding officers that gave me looks of pity, meaning they didn't blame me for what I was defending. For the record, I like my family jewels where they are and working as they do, I don't want that to change! Yes, I wouldn't put it past Admiral Raine to nail me between my nuts and do damage to them, and I don't want to know how that would feel first hand!

Anyways, once I was done, I was released from the interrogation session with the woman and I left quickly. When I had gotten away from Admiral Raine, I decided to resume my search for Kira and find out how he was doing with recent events. Even though we had won the last skirmish, it didn't exactly feel like we had entirely, not with the redhead Flay Allster being taken to the Dominion. It hadn't been the fault of any one of us, circumstances hadn't allowed us to get to the girl before our opponents did.

It took me a little while to find Kira, off in the upper observation lounge the port facilities. I found both Kira and Lacus there with him, clearly trying to comfort our friend, which I would expect from Lacus. I waited for a short period of time, taking in the feel in the room, but after a bit, I made my presence known by clearing my throat. "Um, hope I'm not interrupting, but I did have a question for you Kira," I said.

Kira looked up at me and I could see he had been crying, meaning that he was doing worse than I'd expected him to be. I rubbed the back of my head with a hand and said nothing more, not knowing what I could say to help in this. Kira had always been the one that had been good with comforting another, he had done it with Athrun and me before now. Kira managed to calm himself down a margin and nodded towards me to ask the question I had, "What happened inside the Mendel colony Kira?" I inquired.

There had been nothing said by him or Mu, other than an encounter with Rau Le Creuset and I feel there was more to the story. Kira glanced over at Lacus, she nodded and then left the room, leaving Kira and me alone. Once Lacus had left the room, Kira looked back to me, and I asked the question that had come to my mind, "So then Kira, I take it that this talk will be a more private one then?"

Kira nodded in reply, and so, I waited for my friend to start saying what he wanted to say. My friend went into his encounter with the masked man, Rau Le Creuset and what had been said during the event. The description of the complex Kira and Mu had been in within Mendel, sounded like one of the medical facilities. Specifically, one of the rooms Kira talked about, was a genetic laboratory, used to create and improve the artificial womb. The reason I knew that, was that I had read some of the reports that concerned the work done at Mendel, and what I'd read hadn't been nice to imagine at all. A lot of the research and experiments done at Mendel were wrong, both morally and ethical, though the morale points were often ignored.

Mu and Kira had been strung along by Creuset further into the complex, asking questions of both of them to imply things. However, when Kira had mentioned seeing the name plate of one of the most famous scientist at Mendel, "Ulen Hibiki", my attention sharpened. The said man was considered the one who had advanced genetic engineering and DNA manipulation to where it is today. Not to say that Ulen Hibiki wasn't brilliant, for he was, he created the artificial womb after all and that wasn't a simple device in the slightest. Yet, Kira seemed to be familiar with the name, though didn't know a great deal about the man himself. My dad had known the man as I understand it, but dad did say something along the lines of Ulen Hibiki losing himself in his obsession, I don't know what that exactly meant.

The desire to punch Creuset came to me, when I was told he made Kira question who his parents were and therefore, his own identity. Nevertheless, I recalled reading about someone of interest to those who had things against Coordinators and that they wanted them dead in the reports about Mendel. It's also assumed to be the reason that what had brought about the end of the colony had been introduced. Still, Creuset mentioning of a crazy and mad dream worried me and that man is insane enough already.

When Kira said the term "Ultimate Coordinator" and "Perfect Human", that struck something in me, for I had read something on the terms in the reports. In the said records, there had been data that had been decrypted that had been written by Ulen Hibiki himself. The experiments he did aside from those that created the artificial womb, were even more sick and wrong than what some of the other scientist there said. The man had shown a clear workaholic attitude and an unhealthy obsession to which I believe my father was referring to, was creating someone that could achieve the highest potential humanity can, or at least what he view as such. There had been many bodies found at Mendel when the Federation team that had inspected the place after the "plague" had stormed through the colony. There had been scientist and other inhabitance of Mendel, but there was also a number that had clearly not belonged. Those were later believed to have been 'attempts' at making a different type of Coordinator that Hibiki wanted, according to the data acquired.

From what I know, I was inclined to believe that Ulen Hibiki was indeed Kira's male sire as Creuset said. My mother told me once about the man's wife Via Hibiki, as they had met a few times. The difference between her and her spouse, Via had a conscience unlike her husband. The records found at Mendel, which the rest that exist have since the finding of the originals been destroyed, tell of the fact. I mean, Ulen Hibiki had extracted, one of his unborn child, a.k.a. Kira, from his wife, putting not only Kira at serious risk, but also his wife and other child, and all for his obsession. The man was clearly beyond feeling emotion like most human beings do, and his work was the likely cause.

The fact of Creuset admitting that he is a clone among the types of human he could be, was interesting. The reason that's the case, is the process and work of cloning is not just illegal, but seen as seriously criminal by pretty much all three factions. The punishments that are attached to the crime aren't light, even if they vary a bit depending which faction is doing the judging. The odd thing though, is Doctor Hibiki would have been very well aware of the dangers and foolishness of even getting into cloning someone. That being said, for the one to be the clone of, be Mu's father… that complicates the matter. First, the price couldn't have been cheap for Mr. Flaga, not with what he wanted. And so, Hibiki had to have been extremely desperate for funding for his work, so would have charged a high price for cloning. Those are the only reason I can come up with for what happened.

I clenched my jaw, when Kira told me the rat had not only said that no one could change the war or stop it, but also took a shot at my mom and her heart felt message. My mother had put her heart and soul into that speech and pretty much anyone could see that! To call her a fool, let's just say when next time Creuset crosses my path, I'll make him squirm, I'll make sure of that! Kira summed up the finish of the encounter, with Creuset running and Kira helping Mu get back to his mobile suit.

Kira was silent after that, just staring at the floor, while I let out long sigh, "Well, first Kira, don't let Creuset get to you my friend. The 'masked man' is more a dirty rat than a man and is a horrible trouble maker that needs a permanent leash attached to him that can't be removed in my opinion," I remarked. I paused, gathering my thought and getting them into order, "The things that Creuset said, I can't say that all of it are lies, for an amount of it is true, but again, don't take what Creuset says as he says it. He was clearly trying to get a reaction out of you Kira," I reasoned.

My friend didn't really respond to me, so I kept going, "The Mendel colony… well, a lot happened there, and because of that, many have skewed what historical records say about the place and what those there did. So, let me cover the salient points that concern the place for you, to help set you straight. Mendel was a medical research facility overall, specifically genetic engineering and DNA manipulation. There has been debate whether the work and the experiments involved were morally and/or ethically right. Arguments for both sides of the work being right or wrong are heated and are really stupid."

After laying down the foundation, I continued in telling what I knew of Mendel, "The name plate you saw that said 'Ulen Hibiki' refers to the most well-known scientist at Mendel. He is regarded as the man who has advanced genetic engineering to what it is now, the artificial womb being the biggest contribution from him. I never met the man personally, that I can recall at least, supposedly, he and his wife visited the Republic when I was really young. Apparently, he knew my dad and was on decent terms with him or something like that," I shrugged. "But, like I said, I was young and don't remember the encounter, the man was a serious workaholic by what I'm told."

I gained a serious expression on my face and that got Kira's attention, "However Kira, I'm appalled and shocked that you let that rat Creuset, shake you into questioning who your parents are." Kira looked to the floor, but I grabbed his shoulders and made him look at me, "You listen to me Kira Yamato, your parents are Haruma and Caridad Yamato. Those two raised you and they care about you period, don't let anything that anyone else says to you, make you doubt that fact! We don't get to choose our sires, but we can decide who we consider our parents to be, you got that?" I stated firmly.

Kira smile a bit at what I said, "As usual Tye, your reasoning is blunt and right, I shouldn't have let what was said hit me like it did," Kira admitted. "So then, clearly you have knowledge on what happened at Mendel, what is meant by 'Ultimate Coordinator' and 'Perfect Human' that Creuset mentioned?"

I brought a hand to my chin, "To be honest, I can't say for sure. As far as I know, it's a reference that came up a number of times in records that Ulen Hibiki kept, which were decrypted by Federation personnel after they were acquired. The man was brilliant, no denying that, but," I iterated, yet I paused with the thoughts of what the man had done and thought nothing of it. I shook my head and continued. "Ulen Hibiki did things that are wrong, even if he claims that it was necessary for progress, he's a scientist that went wrong to achieve his goals. There was evidence found, indicating he did human experimentation, and not just on unborn children, but also on living children too."

Kira gasped at my last sentence, most didn't know that doctor Hibiki had done such work, for he did it behind closed doors and the records had been well hidden. Then the record… written and video of him taking out one of the developing fetuses from his wife, had angered many, myself included. I took the time to calm myself and kept going, "Whether Ulen Hibiki is your sire or not shouldn't matter, the man showed he cares nothing about anyone but himself in any way. Obsessions such as his, are unhealthy and never end well for those who have them or for those around them."

Kira nodded at my statement, "Creuset being a clone is kind of surprising, but with that man, I say there ain't nothing that I would put past him. It's more surprising that his DNA donator insisted for a clone, since cloning isn't just illegal, but also a serious crime in the eyes of all three factions," I muse. Then I thought for a moment, "I mean, the consequence of doing the idea aren't small, just depends who catches you. The odd thing is Dr. Hibiki would have known that, so either he had to have been really desperate or thought he wouldn't have been caught. Who knows which explanation it is?"

"But, how did the colony end up being like it is now? As I understand it, some sort of plague came around, yet it didn't look like that inside," asked Kira.

"Ah that, yes, history does denote that plague was the downfall of Mendel, and I suppose it's a believable enough story. However, plague wasn't what swept through the colony, killing most there, that would be the biological concoction someone else came up with. Samples of the stuff, showed that the synthetic agent was one seriously nasty customer. I don't want to imagine the agony that those in the colony had to be in when the stuff was introduced to the colony interior, it can't have been pretty at all," I said.

Kira seemed to be down about from the subject matter of our chat, so I pulled Kira into a hug, "Kira, I've said it before and I'll say it again, you are who you choose to be and act. No one else can change that, nor can what kind of human you are, it is our choices that determine who we are," I stated.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Creuset exited the Mendel colony, heading back towards the Vesalius. Yzak wasn't with him, where the young pilot had gone, he didn't know and wasn't that interested in knowing. After what had gone on inside the colony, progress in Creuset's plans, were going along fine. They could be going better, but things were moving along at a respectable pace.

When he had felt Mu La Flaga's presence, it instilled a feeling of amusement, especially with where they were. It gave a change for Le Creuset to make an attempt to deal a serious blow to Mu and Creuset certainly wouldn't refuse a chance to do that. But, never had Creuset imagined that he would encounter "the child", Kira Yamato, there had been mixed feelings with that meeting. Hatred had come of course, but the boy himself wasn't exactly, more the man that had brought him into existence. Ulen Hibiki, the man that had created Rau Le Creuset at the behest of Al Da Flaga and began his miserable life. The hatred of those two men was beyond dislike, they were part of the reason that Rau Le Creuset wanted the world, the colonies and all of humanity to end.

Kira Yamato was more a reminder of Creuset's motivation to see his plans through to the end. And yet, the irony of it all, the boy that was the Ultimate Coordinator and the Perfect Human, wasn't aware of what he was or what his existence represented. No, the boy was so naïve and clueless, that his innocence was so ridiculous that it was hysterical. Creuset would've like to just get rid of Kira Yamato, but circumstances hadn't allowed it, the same with Mu La Flaga. But, there was still future opportunity to destroy the both of them, so Creuset was willing to be patient.

Even with those results, the designs for the N-jammer canceller was likely in the hands of the Alliance through Muruta Azrael. The way that Azrael did things, there was no way that the man wouldn't use the device in order to send nuclear weapons at the PLANTs. And with Patrick Zala building his nuclear gamma beam, or "GENESIS" as it was being called, the ending result would be destruction aplenty! It would be an amazing show to say the least and Creuset was looking forward to seeing it all play out.

Not to say that there hadn't been delays for Creuset's plans to this point. The Human Federation had provided many of the delays with their interference in the war. Then, there were people like the Prime Minister of the Republic, Ellen Blass, who didn't know how to keep their mouths shut. When Creuset had viewed the woman's "speech", he had been irritated and somewhat worried. The subject matter had been ridiculous and yet, the way it had been presented, as a plea and call to the masses had been dangerous. Creuset knew that such could influence the masses, those from the Clyne family had the same gift of rousing the masses to action.

That was the reason the Creuset had made it look like Siegel Clyne was the one to leak the information to the Alliance about Operation Spitbreak. The man's disappearance along with his youngest daughter, had been problematic to Creuset. If there was no body, then don't assume that the person is dead, a lesson that Creuset knew personally. So, there was a chance that both Siegel Clyne and his daughter were alive, a rather high chance in fact. That meant there were some things to do to account for the event that either or both would appear.

The sight of the three Nazca-classes brought a smile to Creuset's face, since overall, things were going well enough for him. There was a GINN in front of the ships, but that isn't unexpected. With the battle on the opposite side of the colony, a mobile suit was probably sent out to keep an eye and give warning if things took a turn. So, Creuset didn't think anything of the GINN and kept going towards the Vesalius.

When Creuset was halfway to the Vesalius, he heard an alarm and then was shaken as his mobile suit was struck from behind. Creuset looked around, searching for the source of the attack, yet he saw nothing behind him. But then, one of the newly seen Federation mobile suits appear out of nowhere and ram the GuAIZ Creuset was piloting. Creuset took a defensive stance, but then he was forced to evade as weapon's fire came from behind. When Creuset turned, he saw that the attack had come from the GINN, who was pointing their rifle at Creuset.

Then, before Creuset's eyes, the "GINN's" appearance began changing, it turned grey over all with white outlining along the shoulders and its shield. In fact, the shape of the mobile suit was very similar to Creuset's GuAIZ prototype. But, what was disturbing Creuset, was that he had seen the mobile suit before now, for it was a custom model for a particular ZAFT pilot. However, that pilot had gone down at Endymion, at least that's what Creuset and thought… and planned for that to be the case. To see the ZGMF-575 InTREY again, Creuset was starting to think there was something going on he didn't know about. The InTREY was designed for infiltration and avoiding detection, mostly as the one who had been piloting it, specialized in.

The reason that Creuset had been tricked by the "GINN" was unique equipment, which he had tried hard to get his hands on, but never had. There was whatever made the mobile suit look like another and was seamless at doing so, then also had something that could make it undetectable or even register as an enemy unit. The arsenal was nothing to laugh at either, for the masked man had seen some of it and even had been somewhat impressed. Although a portion of the performance was due to the pilot and he knew that.

Next thing that Creuset registered, the InTREY brought out the four hidden machine guns and aimed at Creuset himself. Two of the guns were MMI-M7S 76mm Heavy Assault Machine Gun and the other two were MMI-M7B4 60mm Assault Vulcans, which either set could be loaded with different types of ammunition. The InTREY began firing its guns at Creuset, which were evaded, but then the Federation suit brought out a pole with a weapon built into the back end of it. The suit ignited the beam weapon at the top of the pole and a long scythe shaped blade came into being.

Creuset avoided the few swings made by the "beam scythe" however, then attacks from the InTREY hit him and forced Creuset to stop. Before Creuset could move out of the line of fire, his mobile suit was restrained as the Federation suit latched on to Creuset's machine. It was clear to Creuset, he was being out done and there was nothing he could do about it right now. The two mobile suits held Creuset's suit and began dragging it forward. Creuset glanced forward and noticed two more Nazca-class vessels had come into view and his mood fell further. One of them, was the Black Jade, meaning that he would have to deal with Sakura Clyne. The other was known as the Osprey, another ship that wouldn't help Creuset as the crew of that ship were, like the Black Jade, loyal to the commander they worked with.

Creuset stopped struggling and began to think about how he could talk his way out of whatever had brought the Black Zephyr and the ship of the Mocking Jay here. It solidified the fact that the InTREY appearing, said that the pilot, was likely still the ZAFT Champion "Mocking Jay". The Federation suit, used a fighting style that was reminiscent of the ZAFT Champion the "Roc" used. Creuset couldn't say if the pilot of that machine was the man that was the Roc, but like the Mocking Jay, he hoped not. During the battle of Endymion, Creuset had made arrangements for the two champions to go down and be killed. Yet, another lesson of not assuming someone was dead without seeing physical evidence.

The mobile suits approached the Black Jade's hanger, which opened for them as they got close. The Federation mobile suit stopped and stayed a short distance from the ship as the InTREY pulled Creuset's machine inside the Black Jade. Once the hanger was pressurized, Creuset exited his mobile suit and looked around the hanger. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he saw the Black Zephyr herself come into the hanger. The man knew there was something going on when out of the cockpit of the InTREY came a person in a Federation pilot suit.

No details could be gleamed from the appearance of the pilot, but if it was who Creuset thought they were, that was a given. The ZAFT Champion called the "Mocking Jay", was well known for not letting any detail about themselves be truthfully known. They had a device that could change their voice, so few if any knew what the Mocking Jay's real voice sounded like, they didn't say anything. They could appear as anyone anywhere and you wouldn't know it was the Mocking Jay, it was why they were so good and infiltrating and spying. The few records that might give any details about the Mocking Jay, were encrypted to the point that it would take far too long to reveal the information.

"It's a displeasure to have you on board my ship again Le Creuset," Sakura stated coldly.

Creuset smiled a bit, "You wound me ma'am," he replied.

His smile disappeared with the cold glare he received from Sakura, "I'm not interested to hear any flattery from you Rau Le Creuset. If not for the orders I have, I wouldn't be here, but Lanus requested that I be on hand and now I'm starting to see a bit as to why," she returned.

"Oh, and why might Admiral Treize ask you to be on hand?" asked Creuset evenly with effort as he was not liking what he heard.

"Your presence is required for an inquiry Rau Le Creuset," said the Federation pilot, though their voice modulated changed in tone and pitch continuously. "Lanus felt that you might not come if you were asked or told to, so a number of us came to make sure you attend the inquiry."

The Federation pilot then turned to Sakura, "Also, he is to have no use of any kind of communication methods while traveling back to the homeland," the changing voice stated.

Sakura nodded once, and then had a sinister smile that made Creuset fear that he was about to face something VERY unpleasant. The woman turned to the masked man, "You couldn't know how long I've wanted to give the order I'm about to Creuset," Sakura said maliciously, then she turned to those beside her, "Take Le Creuset and lock him in the brig! He is not to have any contact with anyone until we arrive back at the homeland. Now take him away!"

Crew members moved forward and grabbed Creuset and began to pull him towards the brig on the Black Jade. Creuset knew that there was no point to argue, none of the crew here would go against Sakura Clyne. He could only use the time to figure out how he could get through the inquiry, that was planned.

 **-Line Break-**

The Dominion

The small group of Alliance vessels were moving away from the Mendel colony after they had "surrendered" and gave up the territory to the Federation. Natarle had left the bridge of the Dominion and headed down the hanger where the pod would be. Hearing Flay Allster's voice had been a shock, but what worried Natarle was what she had said. ' _I have something that can end this war for good'_ could mean anything or nothing, there simply was not enough information from that one line.

Then, there was apparently, someone coming from one of the other ships that had something to do with the custom mobile suit pilots. Natarle would like to have a few words with them, for the three young pilots that the Dominion had didn't act well at all. Anyways, when Natarle got to the Dominion's hanger, she saw that mechanics were working on opening the ZAFT pod. It was a few more minutes for the pod to be unlocked, and then, out came the redhead, Flay Allster.

Flay looked around and for a moment, she believed she was on board the Archangel, which gave her a warm feeling. However, as she kept scanning the hanger area, taking in the unknown mobile suit models, she knew that this wasn't the Archangel. A few of the mechanics did ask if she was okay, and she told them she was fine. However, Flay was getting the feeling that whatever ship she was on now, wasn't an ally of the Archangel. She got a shock though, when she saw Natarle Badgiruel. That last Flay knew, Natarle was going to board a submarine like she Flay herself was originally supposed to.

Natarle approached Flay, "Are you alright Flay?" she asked.

Flay nodded slowly, "Um… yes, I am. Please, where am I?" she inquired.

"You are on board the Archangel-class vessel Dominion, I'm the captain of this ship, so you can be at ease," replied Natarle.

Flay took out the disk she had been given by Rau Le Creuset, "This disk has information that can end the war. I don't know what it is, but I think it's important," she got out.

Natarle took the disk, looked at it curiously, before she pocketed it and then guided Flay out of the hanger, having one of her crew show the girl to quarters. Natarle was about to go and look at the disk, when the airtight shutters to both catapults opened and two of the other custom mobile suits came into the hanger. The two suits were those other than the model that was like the X370 Raider. Out of the one that sort of looked like the Duel, came a woman that Natarle had never seen before. She was dressed in a white doctor or scientist coat with a black shirt under the coat. The expression on the woman's face was one of irritation and shattered any appearance of beauty, of which this woman had a fair amount, Natarle had to admit.

Natarle came face to face with the woman, even as the two pilots of the new machines came out of their suits. The two pilots, Natarle noticed that they were both female and seemed to be around the same age as the three young men who were the pilots for the Dominion. "You are the captain of this vessel, are you not?" posed the woman that came with the two suits.

There was a moment of incredulity and apprehension of this woman with Natarle, but she got ahold of herself and gave her answer. "Yes, I am, Natarle Badgiruel, welcome on board the Dominion ma'am."

"My name is Mina Moss," Mina replied.

The name did ring a bell for Natarle, for director Azrael had mentioned it a few times, but not much more than the name itself. So, to understand that this was to whom Azrael had been referring to, gave a swirl of emotions to Natarle. The feel that came from this woman wasn't very nice at all, it was cold more than anything else.

"Should you wish for a short tour," Natarle began.

However, Mina cut her off, "That will not be necessary, I will be seeing to the three candidates you have on this ship. Then, once that is done to my satisfaction, I'll be having some words with director Azrael. You needn't concern yourself about attempting to impress me."

After stating that, Mina floated past Natarle, "Girls, come with me, there is work to be done," Mina called.

The two pilots, who had taken off their helmets off, revealing that they were indeed young women, and by the resemblance, they were related, began following this woman, Mina Moss.

"Coming mama," said the light brown-haired girl.

"Understood mom," the other black-haired girl replied.

Natarle didn't know what to think of the three that had come on board her ship, they were very different than most she'd encountered before now. Mina, followed by Lafter and Rossweisse, headed to the infirmary and found as she suspected, the three candidates on this ship. They were being inspected at the time Mina and the girls entered the room. And the second that they came in, it felt like the temperature dipped in the room. All the people in the room looked at Mina and all showed visible signs of fear at seeing the woman.

Mina quickly took charge of the activities in the infirmary and had the medical personnel organized at doing the tasks she was assigning them. When it was mentioned that Azrael had told them to do what Mina considered 'sloppy work', her expression stopped that excuse from being uttered a second time. And the longer Mina heard Muruta Azrael said for these 'doctors' to do with her candidates, the more bad tempted she was to make the man suffer. Yet another reason that Lori Kall usually did the go between, with those who funded the lab and not Mina herself. She watched as the medication was administered to the three male candidates, more to make sure the least amount of problems would come later.

Once the work was done, Mina told the three boys to return to their quarters, which they did so without arguing. But, Clotho, Shani and Orga knew, it was stupid to argue with Dr. Moss, and it only ended with a punishment and they didn't want to face that!

Meanwhile, Natarle had returned to the bridge, and found that things were pretty much unchanged, other than director Azrael was there when he wasn't before. In fact, the man turned to Natarle, "So, what did you find in the pod that was picked up?" he asked.

Natarle took out the disk, "The occupant had this with them," she replied.

Azrael took the disk and looked at it, "And did they say anything as to what data might be on this disk?" he questioned.

Natarle shook her head, Azrael looked at the disk again, before he put it in a pocket, "Well, let us hope that it was worth not only tucking tail and running, but also giving up territory," Azrael said evenly.

Azrael then quickly left the bridge, likely to look at the disk and the data that was on it. Once again, Natarle was left to wonder why she didn't toss the man out of an airlock. Dealing with the man wasn't the same as it had been handling Tyler McGregor's attitude and antics, but it certainly brought many of the same feelings to her. After an hour, Natarle's shift came to a close and she returned to her quarters. Sleep wouldn't embrace her, Natarle's mind wouldn't stop working. Natarle's thought processes were interrupted with a knock at the door, and when she answered it, Natarle found the odd woman from before, Mina Moss.

"My apologies for being brisk before, I had my reasons for doing so. But, perhaps now, we can have a word between one another, without others listening in," Mina greeted.

Natarle nodded and stepped aside to let Mina in, closing the door to her quarters after Mina entered. Mina took the only other chair in the room, while Natarle took the seat at the desk, "You said you had reason for acting the way you did before, what did you mean?" Natarle asked.

Mina rolled her eyes, which Natarle hadn't expected to see, "Yes, let's just say that I have some past experience with Muruta Azrael, and that experience tells me that I should never assume that he will keep out of things that don't concern him. So, I felt the need to check on the condition of the candidates and do so as soon as possible," Mina iterated.

Two things caught Natarle's interest, those were that this woman had past experience of some kind with director Azrael and the term 'candidates'. "When you say candidates, who are you referring to?" Natarle questioned.

Mina sighed, "The pilots for the Calamity, Forbidden and Raider, they are candidates that are being _lent_ to Azrael, even if he says otherwise."

This confused Natarle a bit, the personnel files inferred that the three young men were more equipment, yet this woman didn't treat them like equipment, but nor did she see them as people either. "Okay, what kind of experience do you have with director Azrael?" asked Natarle.

Mina shuddered a bit, "That depends what you mean, if you're asking on a professional level, I know who he is and the kind of things he does, even some that aren't publicly known," Mina said.

Natarle understood this woman less and less the more she talked. It was clear that Mina Moss wasn't much of a people person, if at all that is. Then the even some that aren't 'publicly known' referring to Muruta Azrael's actions, left Natarle to wonder what she meant. Tyler, when he had talked about this recent, had said that Tyler believed that Muruta Azrael had done serious things before now, but not what said actions could have been. The teen had even called the director a war criminal and that wasn't something that was applied to another lightly.

Mina kept going, "On a personally level… let's just say that I don't like him much and it's the same with him. I'm here not because I wish to be, but for the reason that Azrael 'requested' for me to be. I wouldn't doubt that you have noticed, that Muruta Azrael doesn't exactly see the world as it really is. He comes off as someone that can't be wrong and that if he says something can be done, it's not a matter of whether it is wise to do, but if he says to do it, you do it, no matter how much is lost doing so. That sound like the man you've been around?"

Natarle couldn't deny the way that Mina had described Muruta Azrael was fairly accurate, but she wouldn't say that to his face. But Natarle's frown, seemed to answer Mina more than the silence did, "So, I'm right then. My recommendation, just ignore the man when he's in his bouts of stupidity," Mina said.

"What's your part in this Mina Moss?" Asked Natarle.

Mina shrugged, "I'm not a member of the Earth Alliance Captain, the work of my candidates and contribution to the construction of the six custom mobile suits that are being used, is more a paid service. As such, it is grounds for testing that normally is difficult to replicate in a lab, you don't say no to such an opportunity when it comes. For me, the three candidates on your ship as well as the three with me, represent an invested interest that have had years of work put in. Azrael couldn't care less about that, as long as they can get him what he wants, they're 'expendable'. I would bet that most are like that to Muruta Azrael, either you help him, or you are against him," Mina finished.

That was all Natarle got, the conversation ended and Mina left, to where, Natarle couldn't say. But the chat, had left Natarle even more to think about than before and she didn't know what to do going forward.

While that was going on, Azrael had been going through the data on the disk that Natarle had and he was elated with the more of the data he went through. The disk contained specs on the two odd machines that had caused problems and Azrael say that his assumption of them being nuclear powered was indeed correct. Not only that, the device that allowed them to have a nuclear reactor had blueprints as well. That meant that they could be mass produced in no time and then the nuclear arsenal could be made.

Azrael had never given up on making a nuclear strike on the PLANTs. What had happened with Junius Seven had shown him just how effective the method was. But, before that plan could be carried out, ZAFT had dropped the Neutron Jammers on Earth. Azrael suspected that the Federation military had been involved with the operation, it was the only way that ZAFT could had dropped their devices in every spot that made building a nuclear arsenal possible. But, with the technology on the disk, N-jammers were a fear and frustration of the past.

Azrael got up and was going to tell Miss Captain to head back to Lunar HQ, but when he opened the door to his quarters, there was someone already there. "Mina, quite a surprise to see you here," Azrael said.

Mina glowered at the man, "The feeling isn't mutual Azrael."

Mina closed the rest of the distance and got up in Azrael's face, "Listen up Muruta Azrael, I don't care that you're the leader of Blue Cosmos, you are to not interfere in my work! Don't make 'suggestions' that are threats to those doing the maintenance on my candidates. They know what they're doing, while you don't have a clue about the work that goes into such. Don't you dare forget, that Lodonia Lab is NOT an Earth Alliance facility, which you can use and abuse as you see fit. As a business man, you can understand that our transactions can be ended at any time, regardless of your thoughts about it. So, back off from my lab's personnel, give them room to do their job and don't blame them if things don't go as you imagine," Mina snapped, then she turned and stalked off.

Azrael glowered at what had just happened, it had been clear that Mina had an attitude, it had been somewhat refreshing for Azrael. But, it was getting out of hand, still Azrael had to admit, that the woman's candidates were incredible pilots. The problem for Azrael, was that those candidates, followed Mina before anyone else and that was annoying. Still, Mina could be dealt with at a later point, there was work to be done. Azrael headed for the bridge and told Miss Captain to head for the Ptolemaeus base as quickly as was possible.

 **-Line Break-**

The Black Jade

It was a week in the brig for Le Creuset on the Black Jade, with no privileges given to him or allowed. When he had been told that he was going to be facing an inquiry, it had worried him. The feeling grew when he learned that said inquiry would be done in front of Admiral Lanus Treize and likely with others of his choosing, though Creuset didn't show it outwardly. He knew that an inquiry meant that some of his actions had likely been discovered and that wasn't good for Creuset himself. His plans were at a crucial stage and it would be best if he were seeing to events, though things would likely happen the way he wanted even if he wasn't overseeing things.

When they arrived at Aprilius One, Creuset was met by soldiers that were clearly loyal to Treize and they took him directly to the place that the inquiry was going to be held. Upon entering the large room, Creuset saw that it had the setting of a legal courtroom, with a raised level that had a stand where the witnesses/questioners would sit. There was a seat in the center of the square room with a desk in front of it, the position of the accused. Le Creuset glanced from left to right on the stand and didn't like the five he saw up behind the stand as the questioners. The man that was on the far left, Creuset didn't know, but by the clothes he wore, was a member of the PLANT's Legislative committee.

The next in line, to the right of the first man, was someone that Creuset had a few run ins with, and was certainly not one he wanted to be around. The woman was around five foot seven and was dressed in a crisp business suit and had a no nonsense expression on her face. Her neutral brown hair went just below her neck and was straight. Her eyes, which were gazing at him coldly, were a lighter brown than her hair. The woman's name was Maria Lotoths and she was the director and Chief Attorney of the Justice Department and ran things in the said department. The woman had been trying for a while now to charge Creuset with crimes, but she hadn't managed to do it yet, mostly as others would block her.

In the center of the five, was the man that Creuset was worried about when it came to his current plan he was working on. Lanus Treize, the unofficial leader of the ZAFT military, called by most 'Admiral' or that's how he was treated. He was a man that followed his views and beliefs rather than take orders from the National Defense Committee. He was close to six feet tall and had an average figure overall. His short ginger colored hair was combed back as it normally was, which brought attention to his ice blue eyes. Treize was handsome for being in his early forties and had the respect of many within the PLANTs, which Le Creuset wasn't pleased about. He was wearing his custom blue ZAFT commander's uniform and was looking at Creuset as he was brought into the room.

To Treize left, was the silver haired Ezalia Joule, the current chair of the National Defense Committee, a position she had since Patrick Zala had taken over as Supreme Council Chairman. Where she would normally be at the command of Patrick Zala, for her to be here when the Chairman wasn't, it didn't bode well for Creuset. The last on the stand was a man Creuset didn't know, but like the first one, by the clothing he wore, was clear to which part of the government the PLANTs had. The man was a member of the Administration committee, which meant that representatives from four out of the five committees that made up the Supreme Council were present. And it was unlikely that any here would be taking answer that Creuset might give to asked questions and move on.

Where Rau Le Creuset would have gotten Chairman Zala to get him out of something like this, with Treize, that wouldn't be an option. It was clear, the leader of the ZAFT military, had gone through the trouble to exclude the Supreme Council Chairman from this, so Creuset wouldn't be getting any favors. It more meant that Treize could expect that Creuset had been manipulating Patrick Zala and that was troublesome.

Rau Le Creuset was sat down in the center chair/desk, then the soldiers walked back to the door and left the room, closing the door behind them. Creuset looked to the stand, "Admiral Treize, it's always a pleasure to see you sir," Creuset greeted evenly.

"Indeed Rau Le Creuset, let us hope that you hold the same view by the end of this inquiry," Treize replied.

Creuset took a moment to think carefully what he said in this room, "Your right and privilege to hold an inquiry is of course, fine sir. However, if I might ask what the reason is for you to be holding such a thing at this time with the war against the Earth Alliance escalating."

"I assume, that you have noticed Creuset, there have been leaks of information recently," posed Treize.

Ezalia Joule looked to Treize, "Lanus, I would hardly call the serious breaches of security and the Earth Forces acquiring sensitive and critical information, merely leaks of information," she insisted.

Treize nodded, "I agree Ezalia, it is why I've been holding these Inquiries, to track down the source of these leaks as quickly as possible. The Council and its members have been busy as of late with recent events, so those of us that are able should take up the slack, would you not agree?"

All on the stand turned and focused back on Creuset, who was internal sweating. For truth be told, he Creuset had been the one who had been supplying information to the Alliance, even if none knew that as fact right now. Chairman Zala had thus far, prevented any investigation on him, but now, that was in jeopardy. Treize brought his hand up and set his chin on them, "Surely Creuset, you can understand the necessity to find the one who is responsible to the leak as soon as possible so that the leaks stop. If you are not responsible for the leaks, then you have nothing to worry about with this inquiry. We are here to discover the truth, so that we can better uphold the interest of the PLANTs and its citizens," Treize reasoned.

"Since you are among the individuals that had access to all of the information that has been leaked so far, you are here to account for how you handled the information that you had. You can see this as part of the process of elimination if you want, and now it's your turn to be either eliminated or remain a suspect, Rau Le Creuset," Maria Lotoths spoke up flatly.

"Let us begin the inquiry then," stated Treize.

There was the sound of shuffling papers for a moment, then Treize spoke first, "Rau Le Creuset, your service record within the ZAFT military is good overall however, you also have a history of questionable judgement and actions. Still, your performance speaks well of you."

"But," said Attorney Lotoths, "You are also one of the few that was entrusted with all the information that has been leaked to the Alliance. And you Rau Le Creuset, are one of those that haven't been cleared of suspicion."

Ezalia Joule focused her gaze on the masked man, "You're held in high regard Creuset, but there is history with you that you use unorthodox methods to accomplish your goals. I would hope that with all that you've done for ZAFT and the PLANTs, it doesn't turn out that you gave the Alliance information."

"I can assure you ma'am, my loyalty is to ZAFT and the PLANTs," Creuset answered firmly.

"So then Creuset," said Treize, regaining the masked man's attention. "A point I would ask you to clarify, within the last year, you've made several trips to Earth, both on and off duty. During those trips, you did not spend it in ZAFT control territory, nor Human Federation nations, but Earth Alliance territory, why might that be?"

Le Creuset had expected this particular question to come up, one of those that he had considered while he had been in the brig on the Black Jade. "A fair question Admiral, for several of those trips, I was making contact with trusted informants that gave me intel on the Alliance's activities, which I reported afterwards. Others, I was visiting acquaintances that happen to live in Earth Alliance areas," Creuset replied.

There was muttering between the all but Treize, he was staring at Creuset, "Was that also the case with your trip in December of last year?" asked Treize.

Creuset hesitated for a moment, "Of course Admiral, as I stated, my visits to Earth were for seeing acquaintances and gathering intel," the masked man answered, seriously hoping for that to be the end of this tangent of questioning.

The inferred trip, was one that Creuset REALLY didn't want to go into detail about, for it could easily incriminate him. And this setting wasn't one to appear incriminated in, not with those present! The only one here that might bail him out, was Ezalia Joule and Creuset wasn't very confident that the woman would. The two men here… well, Creuset just assumed that they would go with the majority in this. Treize and Lotoths, if they learned the truth, then Creuset knew he would likely be branded a traitor and never see the light of day again. There within, laid the issue with this "Inquiry", two out of the five were already set against him.

Lanus Treize had said Creuset's service record was good, but the times he had "questionable judgement and actions" as he had put it, had put Creuset at odds with the unofficial head of the ZAFT military. Maria Lotoths had never been fond of Creuset and he knew that, with the number of times he had gotten out of the consequences of breaking the rules and not get charged for it. The woman was the kind of person who saw that the rules applied to everyone, no exception and tried to enforce that. So, the woman had issues with Creuset, but had been silent, mostly because Chairman Zala had said to drop the issue.

"Then tell me Creuset, after landing in Victoria, your destination was supposed to be Carpentaria, yet you arrived there more than a week after you were scheduled to. Instead, you traveled to Alaska, specifically to the area that Earth Alliance's headquarters JOSH-A is. Why would lie about your intended destination and then go to such a place Creuset?" Posed Treize.

Creuset began doing some quick thinking, for the question was dangerous for him! That trip had been to meet with Muruta Azrael and give him the information Creuset had been told about Operation Spitbreak. He had done a great deal of effort to hide the truth of the trip, even appearing in Carpentaria and just saying he had been delayed. But apparently, somehow Treize had found or figured out there was more to what had gone on. Yet, there was still a chance he could get this waved off. Creuset bowed to those on the stand, "I apologize for my conduct during that time. An informant that had contacted me, said they had critical information, but needed to meet me in person. The person was posing as a double agent within the Alliance, and so, was at JOSH-A at the time. I thought it best I go and see what data they had acquired as soon as possible, so I made the detour," Creuset explained.

Treize hummed, "I see, moving on then."

Creuset let out a quiet sigh of relief at the subject begin dropped. The excuse he had come up with had worked better than he'd hoped. Treize continued, "During Operation Spitbreak, the final reports say you discovered the Cyclops system setup under the base before it was activated. Yet, after learning of this, you mentioned nothing to any of the field commanders Creuset. I can understand that one might not get along with fellow officers, but to not mention such a critical fact… it's as if you wanted for a good portion of the brave men and women in our forces to die."

If there was ever a strike against Rau Le Creuset, then this was a big one right now. Treize wasn't wrong, but that's one of the reason that it made Creuset look guilty in this right now. Ezalia Joule was gazing at Creuset in growing horror, "Is this true Creuset? Did you discover the Cyclops and say nothing about it to anyone else, knowing what it would do when activated?" she uttered.

Lotoths huffed, "Yet another example of one of your biggest shortcomings Creuset," she said coldly, drawing Creuset's attention. "Your loyalty as you've claimed is to ZAFT, is in reality, to yourself first and foremost. Another point to add to the growing list of things I want answer from you about."

Treize calmed the others, and that worried Creuset more than the veiled threats from the director of the Justice department. "Creuset, during that December visit, did you happen to make any reference in any way to Operation Spitbreak to this informant you were seeing even if indirectly? For the target was originally meant to be Panama and it was believed that the Earth Forces were convinced it. However, for them to have installed a Cyclops system of the size there, implies that they found out that JOSH-A was the real target and had known for a number of months."

Creuset felt the first real drops of sweat forming as the question was being asked by Treize. He was cornered, trapped and Creuset could see little way out of this! It would take a miracle for him to have any chance to not be found out for what he'd done. Suddenly, there came the sounds of muffled voices on the other side of the doors Creuset had entered through. Then, the doors burst opened and in came Patrick Zala, the current Chairman of the Supreme Council. Creuset smiled internally, for fate appeared to be on his side right now, for a miracle had come in his time of great need.

"What is the meaning of this?!" demanded Zala.

Treize stood and bowed slightly, "Patrick, what a nice surprise for you to take the time to visit, with all the responsibilities you have taken on as of late my friend, it has to be hard to make the time," Treize said in a friendly tone.

Zala gazed to the man, "Lanus, what is going on here?!" he growled.

Treize smiled, "With you being so busy, I thought it would be nice of me to look into the leaks that have been happening and handle the issue for you. Tis what a friend does, eases the burden of his companion, is it not?"

Patrick Zala's expression became one of growing irritation, "That won't be necessary, I'm having others looking into the issue Treize, so it would be appreciated if you stay out of it."

Maria Lotoths stood up then, "On the contrary Chairman, this inquiry thus far, has brought facts to light that need more investigation. Should you breakup this inquiry, then the action can be considered an obstruction of justice. By this time, I would hope that you understand how serious an offense that such is, more so for one in an influential position, such as yourself," she stated clearly.

Zala didn't even seem to hear Maria at all, "This farce is to end and all of you are to return to your duties immediately," he ordered.

Creuset walked out of the room behind Patrick Zala and the doors closed behind them. Treize exhaled, "That is unfortunate, I fear that Creuset is manipulating Patrick and leading him on, to what I can't guess yet," he said.

Maria turned to Treize as did the rest on the stand, "What do you mean Lanus?" Maria asked.

"Creuset was lying about his activities in Alaska, he was not seeing an informant as he claims," Treize remarked.

"Do you have proof of that?" inquired Ezalia seriously.

Treize input a command and a display screen lit up on the right side of the room. A video began playing, showing Creuset in the JOSH-A base. Creuset was seen going up to a man in a business suit, before Treize paused the recording, "The man that Creuset is talking to, is named Muruta Azrael. He is the director of the Alliance National Defense Industry Association, as well as the current leader of the anti-Coordinator Organization Blue Cosmos. For Creuset to be in contact with a man like Azrael, is very troubling and I come to conclude that Creuset is not acting in the best interest of the PLANTs."

Having such facts revealed about Rau Le Creuset, had made the silence somber, but Maria broke it. "I've seen enough, there is enough evidence to arrest and prosecute the man on several charges, the foremost being treason. I didn't wish to believe that he had gone so far when you came to me Lanus, but the evidence presents a far more telling accounting of events than what comes out of Creuset's mouth. So, forgive me if I seem abrupt, but there is work to do, good day," Maria said before she left the room.

The other three bid farewell to Treize and left the room as well, while Treize stayed in his seat, contemplating facts as they stood. The change that had occurred in Patrick Zala had been worrisome. Patrick had been a friend for many years, even before the war with the Earth Alliance, so this change had been hard to watch for Lanus. He could still recall the kind of man Patrick Zala had once been, and it made the difference starker. Patrick use to have a view of a bright future for himself, his family and for the PLANTs. But, the Bloody Valentine had hit Patrick hard, he had been unable to let go of the pain that the loss of his wife had brought.

However, recent event showed in Treize's mind, that Rau Le Creuset was manipulating his friend Patrick Zala. The man had gained the 'unwavering' faith of the current Chairman and that was far more dangerous that just ignorance of what a subordinate is doing when you send them out. The way things were being decided, the path forward was looking bleak and dark than at the beginning of this war and it had looked harsh then. Patrick was hell bent on doing harm of some sort to Earth and that would come back to do harm to the PLANTs. Treize couldn't in good conscience sit and do nothing while the man he still saw as a friend, one who had lost his way, do something worse that the event that took his wife from him.

So, with that in mind, Treize made his way out of the court room and began making arrangements and preparations for what he believed would come. Treize knew that when it came to authority, Patrick could trump Lanus himself, officially at least, but when it came to influence in the ZAFT military, Treize could do better. So, before things became too much more volatile, best to delegate and make the least force available to try to carry out whatever was planned. Treize covertly sent out orders to those he trusted, and from them, the distribution of the orders would keep going and not reach any that were a part of the National Defense Committee or any other's that reported to the Supreme Council.

The orders that Treize sent, was one that he had come up with and gave a name that would only make sense to a select few. That name was "Protocol 66", and it was the initiation command for a plan that would separate the ZAFT military command structure from the Supreme Council's control and influence. Any that wouldn't be a part of it, wouldn't have access to the command structure or any benefits that came with it.

 **-Line Break-**

Days passed by since Patrick Zala broke up the inquiry on Rau Le Creuset, the event never mentioned to the media, more it was kept quiet. Ezalia Joule didn't speak of what had happened, even if some of the facts mentioned and shown nagged at the back of her mind. There were other things to attend to and so she focused on her work, much like the other participants of the inquiry.

Only Maria Lotoths wouldn't let what facts she had learned about Rau Le Creuset go. With all her years working in the Justice Department, she had put away a number of criminals, but Creuset was one that had consistently wormed his way out of facing the consequences of his actions. Maria would nail the masked man this time and she would make sure that none could bail the man out of facing Justice! She openly admitted that she had a problem with Rau Le Creuset, but it was people like him that got her into the legal stage to begin with. Maria disliked those who did whatever the hell they felt like and then didn't face ANY of the repercussions that anyone else would.

The only difficultly at the moment that face Maria, was that the Justice Department's work load had gotten heavier than was normal. With the actions of the current council and its leader, things had picked up for everyone, especially for the Justice Department. Maria wasn't one to let personal feuds blind her to the duties she had to fill. Ever since she took over as the head of the Justice Department, things had been much more efficient in the processing of cases and other things that came to them. And she along with those who worked within the department were proud with the efficiency that they had achieved.

Maria had been going through the current list of standing cases that the Justice Department had, when the door to her office opened. Looking up, Maria was slightly surprised to see none other than the man who was in one of the standing cases. "Chairman Zala, this is a rare sight, usually you send someone else to deliver instructions from you," Maria greeted.

"Well, yes, but I'm here to have you do something rather specific," Chairman Zala replied.

Patrick Zala came forward and placed a small pile of papers in front of Maria, she picked up the top page and scanned it over. The page Maria found was a form to accuse someone of the crime of treason officially. For a split second, Maria thought that perhaps the Chairman had seen the light and was charging Creuset with the crime she intended to pin to him. But, when Maria got to the bottom and saw the name of the one that Patrick Zala wanted to arrest and imprisoned, her hope disappeared. She was incredulous as well as irritated as she read the name a second time, for the name was Lanus Treize. Maria put the page down and stared at chairman Zala, "If I wasn't aware that you have little to no sense of humor, I would think you were trying to pull some sort of joke with this form. So, what are you trying to do with this action chairman?" she posed.

"As the form states, you are to arrest Lanus Treize for the crime of treason," Chairman Zala said.

Maria, quickly scanned the other pages in the stack and found ridiculous lies and clear false accusations that could be disproved in less than a minute with a look into records kept of military service. For this to be done to one of the most decorated and exonerated, military officers that ZAFT had, made this feel like some sort of sick joke! Lanus Treize had made the ZAFT military into what it was now and that was extremely difficult to argue. For anyone to accuse that man of a crime with the kind of record Treize had, was crazy, few would accept or believe such claims. And of all crimes that was chosen to try to sully the amazing reputation of Lanus Treize, it was the one that was the most ridiculous to suspect him of, the crime of treason. The "evidence" that was provided, was clearly made up and Maria could pick out a few points that she knew for a fact were wrong without checking any facts.

Maria was reining in her anger as she put down the rest of the pages, "Tell me chairman, what do you think the purpose of the Justice Department is?" she asked evenly, containing the feelings of disgust that accompanied the anger she felt.

"The Justice Department is to arrest criminals and so you have one, these forms show you that the job needs to be done," returned Zala.

Maria picked up the pile of papers, "If you truly believe that bring criminals to justice is our job, then you wouldn't bring such garbage here! This form is beyond a poorly written insult chairman!" she snapped. "Yet, claiming you know the purpose of this department, you come here and tell me to charge Lanus Treize, a man that has a record that few can say something bad about, with treason. Not only that, you supply 'evidence' that is ridiculous and for the majority of it, clearly false!"

Maria took a breath to calm down before she continued, "Let me state this so that you understand, the Justice Department are not the Supreme Council's attack dogs for you to sick on whoever disagrees with your view or intentions. The department upholds the laws the PLANTs have and oversee legal matters when the need comes up. We are autonomous from the council, since we also make sure that members of the council don't violate the laws. So, I cannot and will not accuse Lanus Treize of treason as I know he has committed nothing of the sort. You will have to provide me solid evidence and not this drivel written on this form to even have me think about accusing someone of treason. If you don't chairman, then I will charge you with both obstruction of justice and abuse of authority before the end of the day. Then I'll see you removed from you position as by these kinds of actions like this show you are clearly unfit for it!"

Chairman Zala wasn't happy with what Maria told or threatened him with, and left in a huff. Maria noted the reaction Zala had, and knew that it wasn't the end of the issues that she had with Patrick Zala. And it wasn't more than a few minutes later, that Maria's deputy attorney, Charles Manning came into her office. Charles smiled, "I assume whatever the Chairman came to have the department do, wasn't something that we would normally do then chief? He certainly appeared displeased as he was leaving," he said.

Maria sighed, "That's putting it mildly Charles. Honestly, I'll be amazed and shocked if by tomorrow, I'm not relieved of my position as Director and Chief Attorney of the Justice Department," she replied.

Charles Manning gawked a bit as he saw that the woman he respected and was glad he worked with, wasn't joking. "Chief, are you really serious?" he questioned without being able to stop himself.

"With the reaction the chairman gave when I told him that the Justice Department isn't his attack dog that he can send after those he commands, yes Charles, I'm serious. I wouldn't doubt I'll be removed from being Chief Attorney soon," Maria returned.

Charles brought up his hands and rubbed his temples, "That won't change things, I'm of the same mind when it comes to the purpose of the Justice Department. That means that Chairman Zala will do the same for me as well. Without either of us, I doubt that any of the others would come in to work at all," he answered.

Maria was about to agree, but then at the thought of the stated situation, she chuckled, "Well, perhaps it would do the current chairman and the other members of the council good, to understand just how much that we in the Justice Department do to help in the governing of the PLANTs. And I can think of little better way than for the department to shut down to get that across. Plus, I'm a tad curious as to how much of the laws the chairman actually knows. For if he knows as little as I believe he does, then the chaos that he's dealing with now, will become much worse rather fast," she said.

The next day, as had been predicted, a group of soldiers came into the Justice Department and relieve Maria Lotoths of her position of Chief Attorney. A day later, Charles Manning went through the same experience as he also refused to accuse Treize of the crime of treason. The result of these actions, the rest of those who worked in the Justice Department refused to go into work. This cause the Justice Department as a whole, to come to a standstill and stop functioning.

 **-Line Break-**

Unused Dock, Aprilius One

"Protocol 66" was in full swing and moving along at a good pace and hadn't drawn any notice of those who reported to the Council. Treize had vanished from those who had tried to look for him, and he had kept himself from being found. Soldiers that kept to the original ideals that the ZAFT military stood for, to serve and protect the PLANTs and their citizens, were taking commands from Treize himself. They were also keeping him informed on what was happening while the military was shifting away from the control of Chairman Zala.

Information that came to Treize that several people had been working within the PLANT's government had been "relieved" of duty. Maria Lotoths was the most notable one of the group of individuals, for with the relieving of her and her deputy attorney, the Justice Department had effectively shut down. That event had a cascading effect, by the work the Justice Department did being shoved upon the Legislative Committee and the Administration Committee.

Among the chaos that had been created, Treize saw signs that showed that Patrick was taking care of any who either disagreed or didn't think Patrick was going about dealing with the Alliance the right way. Lanus Treize knew that should he be found, he would be incarcerated by his friend at this point. And so, Treize knew that it best that he leaves the PLANTs for the time being and do what he could. He discreetly took a shuttle and silently vanished from the colonies, traveling to some random space rocks and debris. Hidden among the rock and metal was a ship, waiting for Treize and it was the ship that he would commanded exclusively when he took the battlefield. The Salong-class ZAFT command battleship, the only one of its kind currently, was three-hundred-fifty meters in length and was red overall. Its shape was similar to the FFMH-Y101 Eternal, with the central ship length being connected to a wing structure at the back section.

The armaments included three duel barrel high-energy beam turrets, a 150mm cannon, two plasma cannons, twenty missile launchers, and a total of fifteen CIWS 60 mm turrets, which were spread over the ship for defense. The 150mm cannon was below the bridge in the center of the ship, the bridge being in the upper central section that was above where the engines were located. The missile launchers were set in the wings, ten on each side of center. Two of the three high-energy beam turrets were on the top of the center section, one towards the front of the ship, while the other was above the 150mm cannon. The third beam turret was on the underside of the center of the ship towards the nose of the vessel. The two plasma cannons were mounted in the pontoon on either end of the wings.

The Salong could carry up to eight mobile suits and had two catapults that were on either side of the center on the underside of the ship. With the system and equipment onboard, this vessel was a self-contained command center. It had been some time since Treize had been onboard to command the Salong and he had missed the faithful vessel that was seen as his.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **And that's where I'll leave off for the time being. Now I'm aware, that this is kind of a filler chapter, and I don't deny that. But, I'm setting up for the battle climax that we all know comes soon enough! I'm planning for there to be two more phases before I shift over to Seed Destiny's material, don't hold me to just two, for that could change. I just don't know until I actually write the phases how they go exactly. Anyways don't expect me to be able keep up the pace of writing that I've been doing as of late. School is going to be starting for me soon and that takes priority, as much as I wish I could just write this and my other stories, life doesn't work that way. Now, like always, some of you please write a review and tell me your thoughts. Reviews help those who write more than most would know. Peace out all!**

 **Davycrockett100**

Glad you are enjoying the story!

 **KakeruPB**

If my PM didn't answer any questions, then tell me. And sorry, in this Phase not much with Kira and Lacus's relationship, but I promise you, next Phase, I got a scene planned that will have you laughing hard, as well as being fluffy. That's the hope at least, we'll see how it goes.


	24. Phase 24: Entering a Nightmare

**A/n**

 **This chapter just came in spurts, I don't know why, but that's how some go. Anyways, here is Phase 24. Standard disclaimer applies so on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 24: Entering a Nightmare

July 24th, 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Classified Location, Atlantic Federation

Weeks after the retaking of Victoria, Azrael had given the plans for the Neutron Jammer Canceller over to Alliance scientists to make them mass producible. The sooner that nuclear weapons could be made at a good fast pace, the better in Azrael's mind. Once the PLANTs were destroyed, the sooner the rest of the dirty Coordinators could be hunted down and exterminated. When all Coordinators were gone, then things would become peaceful and anything that was out of place could be arranged as needed.

Now, Azrael had been called for a meeting of the Earth Alliance's leadership, to decided what was next. Azrael didn't see a reason for this meeting other than it being a formality, but he chose to humor the others in the leadership. It was obvious that the next step for the Earth Forces, was to produce nuclear warheads and then send them at the PLANTs, it was logical. And so, Azrael sat in his chair listening to the boring report of what had been going on here on Earth. The basic message of the report was that the Earth Forces were doing well against ZAFT. The employment of mobile suits had changed the flow of battles with ZAFT, where the enemy pilots might have better skill, they could be overwhelmed numbers.

However, even with the fight against ZAFT going better, especially with the taking of Carpentaria and its mass driver. But, all that progress was overshadowed an amount by the losses against the Federation. Thus far, there hadn't been a single notable victory against the Federation forces, though there had been a sizable number of attempts made. Not one of the three mass drivers they controlled had been obtained and that irked Azrael internally. Oh, he had read some of the reports upon previous encounters with the Federation, but there was nothing that told of why the Earth Forces couldn't beat them.

But finally, the reporting portion finished up and the meeting moved on to the standing business and that was what Azrael want to get to, so he could leave. The discussion started with an admittance of gratitude to Azrael for his contribution of the N-Jammer Canceller. Azrael managed to hold back on the magnitude of the smirk that formed on his face at the compliment, "Please gentleman, it was nothing, just doing my part to the cause we fight for, though the thanks is appreciated," Azrael remarked.

"Yes, well done Azrael, but I disagree with your insistence that the building a nuclear arsenal being what should be done next," said one of the other leaders.

Azrael blinked at the last part of the statement, for he hadn't expected it to be said outright, muttered from some of the weaker willed here sure, but not said. "I see, what then, would you suggest should be done next?" Azrael asked evenly, containing his rising annoyance. It was important that he keep up his appearance right now with this group.

The same man that had spoken about not building a nuclear arsenal, looked Azrael directly in the eyes, "With the ability to cancel out the effects of the N-Jammers, there is now more than just a slim chance to solve the worsening energy crisis that parts of Earth have been suffering through for years to decades and beyond. With nuclear power available, that crisis can be a thing of the past and then quality of life for those who live on Earth overall, would go up by a sizable amount." He said.

There were mutterings of agreement from all around the table, "So then, you would rather solve a crisis that effects a small part of the population on Earth, rather than bringing peace by ending the ongoing war?" Azrael posed.

"That's not what is being suggested," said another man.

Azrael put a hand to his chin, "But, that's what you're saying. We now have nuclear technology again, and that can be used to end this war. All that needs to be done, is to produce nuclear warheads and then fire them at the PLANTs, then the war comes to an end," he stated.

"Muruta Azrael, have you forgotten what came when the nuclear strike was made on Junius Seven? That action is what brought about this war down on us, why nuclear technology has been became unavailable. The N-Jammers were dropped upon Earth because of the destruction of the colony, along with the military sanctions that ended out causing many of the problems faced today," said a different man insistently.

"And then, your "negotiations" with the member nations of the Federation have resulted with nothing other than issues and they are still being felt Azrael. Losses throughout the seaborne fleets and then three full orbital fleets have been wiped out and the majority of a fourth as well. That has been the response of the Federation military to your methods of diplomacy and negotiation, nearly half of the Earth Forces' space force eliminate and an amount of the earthbound fleets, all in the period of just under two months. And yet, you say that fighting both the Federation and ZAFT at the same time isn't enough? We should go and stir up even more trouble by going for the PLANTs themselves, which means that we would be throwing all we have at the majority ZAFT's fighting force," said yet another member of the leadership at the table.

Azrael wasn't happy hearing about the response and interference that the Federation. They had managed to cut down a good portion of the Alliance's fighting force, but had also repelled the Earth Forces from taking any of their territory thus far. The attempts to force them to conform to the rightful leaders of Earth, had yet to succeed in any way other than ending in embarrassing the Alliance. They had turned out to be a bigger issue than he had expected, even Azrael had to admit it. But then an idea came to Azrael, perhaps it could shift attention from what was being suggested back to where things should be. "Your idea to solve the energy crisis is good, my apologies in ever saying that it was not. However, why just use nuclear power in one way ladies and gentlemen? I suggest that we do a test, perhaps one of ZAFT defending bases, either Boaz or Jachin Due. Would that be agreeable?" Azrael suggested.

There was silence around the table for a moment, "A test against one of the ZAFT bases you say, and what purpose would that serve other than satisfying your interests?" Asked an another at the table.

Azrael shrugged, "Why, to show ZAFT that where we stand in protecting those we represent. The phase from the far reaches of history, 'kill one to warn a hundred' and that I would think is still valid. Show where we stand, is that not a good thing to do? Hopefully, that message will sink in and they surrender, then the war can come to an end without an serious incident," posed Azrael.

"Well, yes, showing our standing is good and everything, but," said a woman

But, Azrael cut her off, "A showing a strength is needed now, I can handle the operation and I promise I will do better than the… mistakes that were made with the Federation. Meanwhile, you all can concentrate on the upcoming operation to acquire a third mass driver. I mean, with how far we have come, we can't stop now. The Federation have been proving more difficult than previously expected, so serious preparation will be needed."

The meeting pretty much ended on that note and Azrael took the opportunity to head back up to space before any changed their minds. When he got to the Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, he delivered the orders to start refitting ships there to be able to carry nuclear missiles. While Azrael's plans had experienced some steps back, overall, it was still moving forward and that's what counted to him. He would personally see that at least one nuclear warhead hit one of the PLANTs, he preferred to see much more, but a ZAFT base was a start in the right direction.

 **-Line Break-**

PLANTs, L5

A few days after relieving both the Chief Attorney and Deputy Attorney from their responsibilities within the Justice Department, Patrick Zala used the media and publicly announced that Lanus Treize was a traitor to the PLANTs. He even went into details that painted a picture that were lies about the unofficial leader of the ZAFT military and were contrary to his well-known reputation. The reactions to the accusation of treason against Lanus Treize were mixed, but fell into two different responses overall that became clear in a period of two weeks. Nevertheless, the reactions were just the start, for they set off other events that had been slowly developing. The announcement had more been a more a boiling point for the building tension within the PLANTs. The two sides that formed after the announcement were, on one side shouts of contradiction to the claims that Lanus Treize was guilty of treason. Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, cries for the man to face justice for the crimes that he was being accused of.

Those who believed that Treize was innocent, defended him by shouting of all the good Treize had done for ZAFT and the PLANTs, and Treize's defenders had no shortage of material to use to show that Treize had done much in order to protect the PLANTs. The man's military record was a shining example and had little bad things to say about him. While those believed Lanus Treize was a traitor, countered the facts that defended him with the lies that were fed to them from the government. Overall, the argument brought chaos and turmoil to the PLANTs and was dividing the citizens and made it worse.

The issues that this caused for the Supreme Council, didn't just come with the citizens of the PLANTs being divided on the issue of Lanus Treize. Not when the National Defense Committee began seeing signs that a growing portion of the military forces were no longer listening to those on the committee or any other members of the government. There was even dissension within the government itself and it was growing at an alarming rate. Yet, even with all of this resulting from the public announcement of Lanus Treize being a criminal, Patrick Zala didn't seem to notice this growing problem. Although, the percentage of the ZAFT military that wasn't taking commands from the PLANTs government was increasing with each passing week.

But, there was still more trouble for the PLANTs government, for the growing schism between different parts within ZAFT, made things even harder to run things. When the Justice Department shut down after their leaders were kick out and the employees refused to come into work, it took only a few days for the effects to be felt by many. The work that the Justice Department would normally do, was redirected to the Legislative and Administrative committees and they became quickly swamped. Yet, those leading the Supreme Council kept pushing forwards even as others yelled for them to stop. This in turn, cause alienation among many and that encouraged more to refuse to follow Chairman Zala's leadership.

Nonetheless, there was yet even more bad news, even if it was external rather than internal. The reports coming in from ZAFT military forces stationed on Earth, didn't instill confidence or help morale at all, the opposite really. With the Earth Alliance gaining access to mobile suit, they had been getting bolder as time went on. Their attempts against the Federation hadn't been fruitful, but that wasn't the case with ZAFT. Their most recent action was to attack the Carpentaria base in the Oceanic Union and in the end, the Alliance had pushed back ZAFT forces. As a result, the Earth Alliance had gained a second Mass driver to use. All of this, just caused the war between ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, to keep getting more bloody and gruesome each passing day.

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Western Coast of the Euros Coalition

Close to two months since the pacific member nations of the Human Federation had been attacked by the Alliance. The day dawned as the view of the south-western coastline of the Human Federation's Euros Coalition, came to the sight of the large Alliance seaborne fleet drawing closer to the Federation territory. They were moving from the south, up the African coastline towards the Strait of Gibraltar that was the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. The mission of the Earth Alliance's fifth Seaborne fleet, was to assault the facilities around the Federation's mass driver Chronos, and take control of it. A simple task to say, but was unlikely to be an easy objective to fulfill in any way.

Those in command of the fleet, had been studying the three previous attempts made to seize Federation territory, specifically the endeavors to take the other mass drivers that the Federation controlled in both the Republic and Orb. The captain of the fleet, wasn't one that agreed with the members of the current Earth Alliance leadership. The Human Federation and their military were not to be taken lightly, that was a mistake which came with a heavy price. The attacks on the three Federation member nations in the Pacific Ocean was proof of that, and the Euros Coalition was seen as the strong power of the Atlantic Ocean by most.

One of the major issues the Alliance faced, there was little known about what kind of defense the Euros Coalition had set in place. The biggest reason that was the case, was the Federation military's Asgard Base that was on the large island that had been known as Iceland in earlier times prevented it. That base had stood in the way of the Earth Forces doing anything in the area of the Euros Coalition. Every single assault made on that base never got to the island itself and always came with terrible losses. Because of that, the fifth fleet had been forced to come up from the south to avoid the base, and still reach the Strait of Gibraltar. ZAFT's base which they had there, was ignored as that wasn't the Alliance's target, but that didn't stop the commanders in the fleet from watching the base for activity as they passed at a sizable distance.

The fleet moved towards the first collection of islands in the sea and they soon came into view and the tension grew at a faster pace as they did. It wasn't that the leaders of the fleet wondered if there would be a response to their approach, but rather what it would be from the defending forces of the Federation, just little to nothing to say what it would be or when it would come. Mobile suits were now a given and that would make things more difficult, as the Federation mobile suits had proven to be a small margin better than ZAFT's GINN models. They were also equal, if not slightly better with their experienced pilot, to the Alliance's Strike Daggers were now with the acquired battle experience.

And yet, as the Earth Forces fleet closed more distance between them and the mass driver, it didn't go unnoticed by the Federation defense forces. They were getting ready to receive them, and the first thing that was done, was to protect the mass driver itself. Chronos was designed so that the tracks could submerge in sections, to only leave the port and the tracks on land reachable. Even the end of the mass driver could submerge, by first flattening then lowering into the water. And so, Chronos sunk underwater as the Alliance forces drew closer, which was noted by both ZAFT and the Alliance.

The next task to solidify the defenses the Coalition had, was to activate the network of defensive guns, missiles and interception systems. All of that made up what was called the "Sentinel Defense Network", which protected against anything that approached by sea or air from the west or south. The network was managed by a control system that was considered to be a serious step towards artificial intelligence. The system could learn and modify its performance during any given situation and so could improve its tactics and methodology it employed. The guns, missiles and other things that were a part of Sentinel, were built to be hidden when not in use. It was so that neither the Earth Alliance nor ZAFT would have any idea of the network's existence. And thus far, neither side had tested the defenses that surrounded Chronos fully, meaning that the coming Earth Forces fleet would be the first real test of the network.

The defenses were set along the western coastline of the Leeian peninsula, formerly the Italian peninsula, as well as the three islands that were close to the peninsula itself. West of the peninsula, the two islands, the center that had been known as Sardinia while the northern was previously named Corsica, before the Reconstruction War, were where the forward line of defense. The two islands had the majority of the guns and interceptors for stopping any coming from the west. The southern island and large of the two that had been called Sicilia provided the same basic function and setup for the south. The heavier guns were on the sides of the islands facing away from the mass driver, while the interception system equipment was on the nearer side.

The types of guns that were employed were; positron cannons, plasma turrets, beam cannons, railguns and a long-range artillery cannon. There were four positron cannons, two on each of the western islands. The northern island cannons placed in the Gulf of Sagone and the other in the Ajaccio Gulf. On the western island, one positron cannon was on a cape of land that was called the Caccia Cape that was at the northwestern part of the island. The other cannon was set on a small landmass off the southwestern end of the island, which had once been called St. Peter's Island. The single long-range artillery cannon was located in the Gulf of Oristano and it was contained in an underwater complex that would rise up and out of the water to be used. The cannon itself, was made up of the swiveling turret with the fifty-meter-long barrel, and the cannon fired large shells, which varied in type.

Along the rest of the western shoreline of both islands, was a mixture of either caliber twin barreled turrets, plasma turrets, duel railguns, beam cannons and multi-barreled CIWS guns. Each plasma turret, was a double barreled heavy plasma cannon connected to a pivoting platform by the support frame. Then on the east side of the island, was an array of gatling guns and laser interception guns.

There was much the same set along the coastline of the peninsula, minus the positron cannons and artillery. But in addition, there were a number of fields that housed batteries of multi-ranged missiles. And all these weapons were made and developed by the "Koovos" Weapons development Complex that was in the Coalition. That was only the fixed defenses, for there was also the mobile suits the Federation had stationed for the protection of the Euros Coalition. Those were readying to fly out and halt the advance of the Earth Forces towards their land.

With the Earth Forces fleet that was approaching, half the mobile suits were being assigned to take out any that tried to get to land, while the other half would start shooting the Alliance ships from the side along the southern coast. Combined with the military forces doing that, Sentinel would work on cutting down the Alliance fleet's numbers. And as Sentinel was switched to its active mode, the control system of the network linked to Federation satellites that were in orbit, invisible to the human eye and sensors. The satellites were a part of the Federation's information network and also gave access to the network itself. The data from the satellites, were being fed into the targeting sub-systems Sentinel had, for the purpose of tracking targets in real time. This was also being done for increased accuracy for the defensive weapons on their targets. All the cannons and guns were raised from the storage and standby positions below ground to their active positions.

The operators in the control center that was in close proximity to the Chronos mass driver itself, were working at a quick pace. The one in charge there was a Federation captain, he was keeping calm even with the growing tension. "Sentinel, Status," he said.

"Chronos has been lowered to submerged position. Links to the information network have been established. All defenses have been switched to active mode. Fighter squadrons are in the final stages of preparation to launch out. Military command has declared conflict unavoidable and are sending out final orders," said a mechanical baritone masculine voice in response, without any emotional tones in it.

The captain nodded at hearing things were going according to procedure, "And what information is there on the Earth Forces fleet coming our way?" he asked.

There was a pause for a moment, "The Earth Forces fleet is identified as the OMNI Enforcer's fifth seaborne fleet. The fleet consists of thirty-nine vessels; ten Spengler-class Carriers, ten Arkansas-class vessels, nine Des Moines-class vessels, and ten Fraser-class vessels. The flagship of the fleet is designated as the Henry Johnson, according to available information it is under the command of Captain Christopher Robinson. The fleet is currently approaching the outer defense perimeter, estimated time until they come into defensive weapons' range with current speed, is thirty minutes." iterated Sentinel.

All that heard the calculated timeframe that Sentinel had stated, knew those thirty or so minutes needed to count. Not only were they facing the largest of the Earth Alliance's seaborne fleets, which had been added to from what the Alliance had it before, but it was clear they were determined to reach mass driver. There was faith in the fact that Sentinel would take down a portion of the fleet as it came, but with how aggressive the Earth Alliance had increased recently, predicting their behavior was far more complicated than it used to be.

The thirty minutes passed slowly and only allowed the tension to get higher and thicker. But then came the dreaded announcement, "Alliance fleet has come into weapons' firing range, fighter squadrons have been given the order to scramble, awaiting orders," Sentinel stated.

The Federation captain took a deep breath, "Very well then, since the Earth Forces are so determined, then we shall show them that we have no intention to give them satisfaction. The Alliance will not obtain control of Chronos and they will not be taking over the management of the Euros Coalition. Sentinel, commence interception protocol Alpha, no Earth Forces ships are to reach effective firing range of this facility nor inhabited areas," ordered the captain.

"Acknowledged, commencing hostile target interception," Sentinel returned.

The largest display changed from showing the location and status of the defense network to showing the Earth Forces fleet as they approached. Each ship now was identified by its class and even displaying the ship's name. Lines appeared, using satellite data to connect the defensive guns to the ship they were targeting in real time, this got the weapons turning to point at their designated target. Then began the barrage, which was kicked off by the artillery cannon. The cannon aimed at the group of lead Arkansas-class ship and fired the high-yield explosive shell it was loaded with. The shot hit the forward most vessel, and caused an explosion that threw shrapnel in all directions.

After the first few shots from the artillery cannon, the Alliance fleet then came into range of the positron cannons and they were quick to join the assault to get the Alliance to leave the Coalition alone. The barrage didn't stop the Earth Forces fleet in their advance, yet it did slow their movement forward a margin. But, as the Alliance fleet kept pushing forward, losses taken climbed at an increasing rate. However, they were slowed to a crawl when the railguns, plasma turrets and beam cannons added their shots to the barrage.

It was as the Alliance got within firing distance of the islands off of the peninsula and in view of the coastline of the peninsula itself, when the battle became worse. The Alliance were being battered and shot at, but it was being done with a high amount of accuracy. Nevertheless, the advancement of the Alliance fleet had gotten the Spengler-classes close to the longest range they needed to be in to send mobile suits to the mainland. The Strike Daggers began lifting off from their ships, heading for the Coalition's mainland. Should they get there, then they could start disabling the Federation's defense that were ripping into the Earth Forces' fleet.

A percentage of the Alliance mobile suits were destroyed before they reached either of the islands that he defense were placed on. But a number of the Daggers landed on the the southern western island and began shooting the turrets and other defensive guns. More of the Alliance mobile suits flew forward toward the peninsula and the control and command structures. For a moment, the Alliance thought that maybe they could achieve the objectives they were here to do. However, that didn't last long, as the approaching mobile suit started being shot down by Federation machines that came down upon them.

Then there the Alliance fleet came under attack from the southern coast of the Euros Coalition, which came from linear tanks and mobile suits. More Strike Daggers were deployed to counter the attacks, and that hampered the Federation's strike a margin. Yet next, the Federation employed the missile launchers they had hidden. Multiple missile pod batteries were raised up from underground in different places close to the coast, then they all swiveled to point in the direction of the Earth Forces. Each battery, was loaded with three SM7 hawk type missiles. The missile type had a varying range and carried a rather unique payload to their assigned target. The defenders began launching missile from their batteries, and the sight of seven-meter missiles flying towards the intruders quickly became visible to the defenders of the Coalition.

All the missiles shortly reached the top of their launching arc before they turned towards the Alliance fleet. The ships had their CIWS attempt to intercept the missile as they were coming into range and some exploded when they were hit. However, those missile that were not intercepted, went into their second stage. The SM7 Hawk missile or Swarm Missile 7 as its full name is, were designed as two-stage weapons, where the first was used to get the payload in range of the target and the second stage would do the damage. So, when the top sections of the missiles came off, the beholders were wondering what was about to happen. A moment later, seven micro missiles launch out of the remaining missiles. The explosives on each micro missile are positioned in the midsection rather than at the head, because of the other piece of equipment on the forward section of the missile. That equipment was an optic sensor along with an onboard computer, which could home in on a target or changed direction while in flight.

The micro missiles shot forward and zoomed forward towards the ships ahead of them. This turned the remaining missiles into seven times what there had been before. With the increased number of incoming projectiles, the Earth Forces' CIWS systems were extremely hard pressed to keep up. Missile after missile kept rocketed at the ships on the outside of the Alliance fleet and for the Fraser-classes and a few of the Arkansas-classes, it only took five to up to seven missiles being intercepted, the CIWS turrets would be overwhelmed and destroyed. At the end of the missile barrage, more than half the Fraser-class were in serious trouble, either by sinking or was out of commission.

The captain of the Alliance's fifth fleet could see that the chances of them getting much farther was shrinking with alarming speed. Even though, the Alliance forces had gotten to the southwestern of the first island that the Federation used in the Federation's defenses, the resistance from the Federation forces were increasing. The fleet was being attacked from both ahead and to the north, being hard pressed to keep advancing. The Strike Daggers had disabled a portion of Federation's defenses, but a percentage higher than half were being taken out before they reached the mainland of the Coalition. And for those that weren't shot down faced the Federation's own mobile suits, which outnumbered them by a sizable margin. And there seemed to be no end to the Federation mobile suits, each one that was destroyed, two appeared in its place.

The defending Federation forces dug in and halted the progress the Alliance suits, aircraft and vessels attempted to make. Then attacks started coming from behind the Earth Forces fleet, and when they looked back, the sight of Federation sea vessels added to the degenerating situation. The ships and fighters that were flying above them had come from the Federation's Asgard base. This added to the sides that the Alliance forces were being attacked from and increased the odds against any victory for the Earth Alliance.

Back in the control center for Chronos, those there were supplying information to those on the field as the battle kept going. The Earth Forces had been stopped in their advance, the loss of a good portion of the defenses had strained things for those defending, but they had stood firm. The Alliance's mobile suits had not been anything to scoff at and had proved that they were trouble if underestimated. Then there was a secondary force approaching from the Eurasia Federation territory, though fighter squadrons were on their way to intercept them. However, an announcement from Sentinel changed the feel in the room, "Mobile Suit Core special forces groups have begun descent through the atmosphere. Entry vector calculations indicate that one group will land near the border between the Euros Coalition and the Eurasia Federation. The other group will land off the southern coastline in the combat zone."

To hear that reinforcements were on the way was boosting morale alone, to know that help would be mobile suit core special forces pilots increased the boost. The Mobile Suit Core or the MSC was the Federation Military branch that was over training, use and deployment of mobile suits. Their special forces were made up of veteran pilots and could out do average pilots from both sides. Minutes later, the arrival of the reinforcements was made clear as the Earth Forces were struck from above, both the seaborne fleet and the mobile suits. The work of pushing the Alliance back and out sped up with the MSC special forces on the battlefield. It was by this time, that the Alliance forces fully understood that the Federation had been ready for them, even though they had bypassed the Federation's Asgard base, it hadn't helped enough. And now the Earth Forces fleet couldn't deny that they were being whipped and it was being done better than how ZAFT forced beat them in previous battles during the war.

The captain of the Alliance fleet, made the decision for the fleet to retreat by heading for the Suez Canal and get to Earth Alliance territory. Close to half the 5th fleet had been taken out and more would be lost if they stayed in this fight. He gave the orders to make course for the Suez Canal to the south-east and as many ships that could followed. The attacks on the Alliance vessels let up and the Federation forces focused on those who had made it to the mainland. Yet, the defenders didn't ignore the Earth Forces that were running away, too many times had the Alliance fainted retreat and then would attack. So, their progress was monitor as they headed toward the Suez Canal and Alliance territory.

 **-Line Break-**

The Salong

The Salong was moving within to the side of the debris belt that was closer to the PLANTs and was using the debris to evade those searching for the ship and Treize himself. Treize was still commanding those in the ZAFT military that due to "Protocol 66", stopped listening and taking orders from the Supreme Council, even as he avoided capture. He was positioning forces in the effort to be able to protect the PLANTs and stop possible attacks if the need arose. However, with the actions of Patrick Zala, protecting the PLANTs was becoming harder to do.

Things came to the point that Treize decided it would be better if he would see if the Federation Military would be willing to work together, as he had seen that the Federation didn't have anything against the PLANTs themselves. He knew how to get ahold of the Federation Military leaders when he needed to. So, when he contacted the Federation Admiralty, Treize laid out what had been happening in ZAFT and the PLANTs. He also informed them of what he was doing and that there was a growing split in the ZAFT and the Supreme Council. The condition that Treize had to assist the Federation in their efforts to try to bring peace, was that the PLANTs were kept safe. The leadership of the Federation was more than willing to agree to help Treize and in exchange, Treize was given access to the Federation's information network.

With that source of information, Treize was able to more effectively order movements of the ships and forces listening to him. Honestly, he was impressed just how much and how accurate the network actually was. Sure, he had come to understand that the Federation guarded their information network and relied on it quite a bit and from what he was seeing, he didn't blame them for that, for it was a force to be reckoned with. The number of informants and agents there were, and the places they were positioned and were around to get the information, was amazing! There were people that Treize wouldn't have suspected of giving information to another side, that were supplying the Federation's network. As an example, there were one if not more secretary per committee of the Supreme Council was an agent for the Federation's information network. It gave Treize an amount of understanding of why the network was as good as it was, and rumors implied.

And after Treize had looked over some of the more recent information that the network had, he could see the sense to the recent actions of the Federation military. Their attacks on the Earth Alliance had baffled him when they started, but now with events Treize hadn't known about fully that changed. The attacks on their member nations by the Alliance hadn't been nice, though due to the preparation that had been made beforehand, the amount of damage had been curtailed and minimized. Their response to those attacks were logical and sound, even by Treize's standards, taking away your opponent's ability to fight, was an effective way to protect what you were trying to.

The sighting of both the X09A Justice and the X10A Freedom, did catch Treize attention. There had been reports of the Freedom being stolen, which Treize had investigated, he had even seen the video of the theft itself. Then the Justice had been assigned to Athrun Zala in order to search out and bring the Freedom back. The theft was strange, but there had been clear evidence that it had not gone to the Earth Alliance, so once fact was established, Treize had delegated the ongoing investigation to others and lowered the priority of the investigation. Treize had been made aware that Patrick had been displeased about that and had brought the investigation back to an extremely high priority.

Then, the most recent attack on the Federation's member nation, the Euros Coalition, that the Alliance had made within the last few days. It was obviously done in order to take their mass driver, and had been a failure in the end like the other attacks against the Federation. However, it was interesting to Treize to observe for it was very informative. He had seen the event from two points of view, one from the Federation's end and the other from ZAFT's Gibraltar base. The Earth Forces had ignored the ZAFT base that had guard the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, which showed they were focused on the Human Federation more than ZAFT for the time being.

The defense system that had been in place for the Federation, quite another matter, for there had been no hint before this of it and that wasn't a small feat. The size and scale of the defense network, and then for that it had been kept hidden for so long was impressive. Then the performance and teamwork that the Federation pilots and their mobile suits was refreshing to view for Treize. He had to applaud the Federation military and its leaders, for them to have made all the preparation for the time came that they would be attack, and have none find out about it, amazing work. None of the tasks could have been easy and yet, they had managed to do it.

Next, there were rumors, which the information network confirmed, that the Earth Alliance was now capable of building nuclear weapons and were busy doing just that. This meant that, yet another leak had occurred and this was a serious one! Treize suspected now more than ever, that Rau Le Creuset was the source of the leaks. Because of the leak of the N-Jammer Canceller, the Earth Forces were working at a feverous pace building up an arsenal of nuclear weapons. Treize preferred not to dwell on the potential targets, which he had no doubt would include the PLANTs themselves, but that was part of war. The current leadership of the Alliance, were unlikely to hesitate to send nuclear warheads at colonies, it had happened before with Junius Seven.

The validity of the Earth Forces' willingness to use such destructive weapons, came within a week of the loss the Alliance took from their assault on the Euros Coalition. That was the Alliance's attack on the Boaz base that was one of the defenses that the PLANTs had. A strike from the Earth Forces wasn't unheard of, it happened a few times, and each time the Alliance had lost. In this skirmish, there were a few points of note, the first of which was the Earth Forces mobile suit pilots were getting more skilled, though there was still clearly a gap in skill in piloting. The second point, was there were six custom model mobile suits and they were more effective than the Alliance mass production models. Treize had seen records on the six mobile suits and they had confirmed that they were dangerous. The third point was the harshest of all, the Alliance fired a small number of nuclear missiles at the base. Unfortunately, where Boaz could take a few nuclear missile, the Alliance fired more than the base had been designed to handle.

Treize ordered that the Salong and the other ZAFT ships that were in reasonable close proximity, to head in the direction of Boaz when the battle began. By the time the vessel had come into range to see the battle from a distance it was clear that the ZAFT had the upper hand by a small margin. Yet, that was the time that the nukes were launched and pounded Boaz to its destruction. Any view of the base was gone as a blinding light of the nuclear explosion went off, once the light faded, the view of the damage done, was horrifying to behold. Boaz was now nothing more than chucks of rock and wreckage floating, most of the ZAFT forces were in the same position.

The majority of the Alliance force moved forward, leaving a very small force left to go through what was left to clean up. Treize ordered all those there forward to eliminate what Earth Forces were still in the area and look for any survivors. Even Treize himself went out in his custom mobile suit, which was based on the 1017 GINN, but was blue with the torso and white over the rest. The machine had much more efficient thrusters and his preference of equipment as well. The thrusters gave the mobile suit superior mobility over even most current models suits. It also had heavier armor on several areas of the suit, but the extra mass and weight was compensated by the thrusters' power and so didn't affect the machine's performance. The equipment had changed a bit from what it had been the last time Treize had sortied, the GINN swords being changed to beam sabers, the addition of a beam rifle being the other. That still left the long-range railgun that was mounted on the outside of the left shoulder.

The Earth Forces that were left to clean up, were taken by surprise when GINNs appeared, but they quickly fought back against the ZAFT forces. However, there was serious hesitation when Treize mobile suit was seen on the field. All the Earth Forces soldiers knew the coloration of the mobile suit and who the pilot was, showing that there was still serious fear of Treize. Things became worse, when a number of the 'beaten' GINNs suddenly began moving and attacking the Alliance suits. The Earth Forces machines were deftly dealt with along with the couple of ships that had been there to support the Strike Daggers.

After that, the search for survivors began and from that, Treize found out that around seventy percent of the forces that had been stationed at Boaz had been destroyed. Knowing that so many good people had been killed pained Treize, for their deaths didn't just affect them, but all those who knew them. He himself, had assigned a number of those who had been at Boaz and so, Treize felt partially responsible for their deaths. The ship captains that were still alive reported the state of their ships, as did the pilot did for their mobile suits. Treize only returned to the Salong when all the surviving pilots were on board ships and all the ships were heading away from what had become a graveyard.

When he was back on the Salong, Treize was informed that those back at the PLANTs believe that there had been no survivors from the attack on Boaz. It proved to Treize that those in control were either doing what they were told or didn't care about the soldiers that were giving their lives to protect the homeland. That thought was painful to accept, for Treize remembered a time that was the opposite. If Treize had his wish, ZAFT would go back to how it used to be, and he would give his all to see that come to pass.

 **-Line Break-**

Near the moon

One of the Federation's fleets was making its way toward the Earth Alliance's Lunar Headquarters, Ptolemaeus. The base was the highest probable target of ZAFT with the super weapon they had been building by the calculation of the Federation. With that in mind, a group was sent in the hope that some if not all could be convinced to leave the base before the attack came. The person changed with this task, was none other than Duane Halberton, the former commander of the Alliance's late Orbital 8th fleet. Federation forces that had been on site of the battle in Earth's orbit had rescued those who were still alive at the time and Halberton had been among them.

Halberton, after hearing the Federation's side of this war, along with the evidence that they had to the actions of those who were keeping the war going. He had asked to give his service to the cause of ending the war for as many people possible. He had been put in command of an Enterprise-class cruiser, that was until this mission to the Ptolemaeus lunar base came up. With the influence that Halberton had previously with many in the Alliance, the chances that he could convince others to leave before ZAFT's attack came were higher than others. And so, Halberton was reassigned to a Voyager-class dreadnought and sent on his way, since time was of the essence.

The surprising thing to Halberton, came with one of the pilots that was assigned to the Dreadnought he was put in command of. The man was name Cormag Swift, a name Halberton had heard during the earlier years of the war with ZAFT. However, the nickname he had was one that Halberton had heard far more, the "Silver Eagle". He was still arguably the most amazing mobile armor pilot in the history of the Earth Alliance. The things he could make a mobile armor do, were crazy to insane! Yes, the man clearly had high spatial awareness along with raw talent, but his awareness was on a different level than other mobile armor pilots. To understand that after he had disappeared, he had joined up with the Federation military, was unexpected.

The approach that Halberton chose, was going through the Procellarum Ocean, south of Copernicus City. That would make it less likely Alliance forces would attack at just the sight of the fleet, since attacks from the west of Ptolemaeus were rare. Halberton might not agree with the ones leading the Earth Alliance, but he didn't believe for a second that fact should then mean many good people should have to die. It was around an hour before the sight of the edge of the crater that the lunar base was in came into view.

Halberton hailed the base, and it took a little time to convince those in charge of his identity. Nonetheless, it wasn't entirely surprising, with the battle in orbit and the results, Halberton himself would have expected most if not all to be dead. But, once he had the commanding officers' attention, Halberton bluntly laid out the coming danger. Some believed what Halberton said, others did not, there was nearly an even division among them. In the end, around sixty-five percent of the total number of Earth Forces at the base agreed to leave with Halberton. All of them launched from Ptolemaeus base in the ships that were there, though their comrades were telling them that what Halberton said was impossible.

So, those who had heeded Halberton's warnings, were making distance from the Ptolemaeus base, when there came a light from the direction of L5. That light turned into a large beam that was a reddish magenta overall and had arcs of magenta energy around the edges, which appear much like what came from a Cyclops system. Seconds after seeing the first light of the beam, it slammed into the base and its top structure at the level of the moon's surface, obscuring the entire base from sight. A concussive force expanded out from the contact point the beam with the moon and the wave dug into the surface of the moon and as it went out from the beam, the crater was being level. Once the beam faded and the blinding light that came from it died down, those who looked back at where Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, saw only melted wreckage and debris. The largest Earth Alliance base had stood as a symbol of the Alliance's influence and presence on the moon and space was gone. Now, the entire Ptolemaeus crater had been flattened from what had struck it, of whatever the beam had been.

Halberton simply stared at the results of the unknown attack with a mix of emotions flowing within him. The first was the sorrow of those who hadn't listened and their deaths that had just happened. The second was anger at those who had contributed to this event coming to pass, for the cost was lives and they thought nothing of it. Then, one of the bridge operators reported that the 'beam', according to the readouts, was made up of dense gamma radiation, having similar effects to what a cyclops system or what came from a nuclear explosion. What worried Halberton, and he knew he wouldn't be the only one, was the possibilities of what such a weapon could do if it were turned upon Earth.

Were this gamma radiation based beam to strike anywhere on Earth, the damage would be catastrophic at a bare minimum! The lives that would be lost would be beyond staggering and horrifying! The odds of Earth being able to continue to support life in a viable way, wouldn't be very high and that was scary! Then, the far-reaching effect that went beyond Earth to the colonies and the moon, were just as bad as those for Earth, the PLANTs included, just would come afterwards.

The bad news kept coming as Halberton was informed by some within the Alliance forces that he had convinced to leave Ptolemaeus, that those who weren't there were heading towards the PLANTs. Their objective, was to deliver their payload they were carrying to the PLANTs, what was more worrisome, was the payload was nuclear warheads. It made the situation worse, as the beam that destroyed the Alliance Lunar base was possibly derived from nuclear energy as well. If that was true, then both the Alliance and ZAFT had nuclear weapons and showed they weren't afraid to use them against each other and would like fire them at one another without hesitation.

Tension was definitely skyrocketing at a dangerous pace, so Halberton gave orders to the remaining Alliance forces to follow those with him. All of them began heading towards the coalition fleet that was heading towards Jachin Due. The Federation vessels flying in a formation to use their optical camouflage to cover the Alliance ships as they moved through space.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Voyager-class, Roosevelt

The stress had been building with each passing day for me, and every time I looked at the Information Network just made it worse. I had developed bags under my eyes and my health which had only recently gotten back to stable AND kind of normal at the same time to a reasonable extent. Things were going careening downhill, and the war was escalating at an alarming rate and that was putting it mildly. When the Archangel, Kusanagi and Eternal finally joined to the large coalition fleet that had been building, there wasn't many sighs of relief. Granted, attacks on any of the three ships had gone way down now, but that was little comfort with the battle clearly looming ahead. The fleet itself was made up of Federation ships of all classes, numbering over a hundred, a growing number of ZAFT ships and there were even Earth Alliance vessels. The coalition fleet was growing close to two-hundred vessels in total. And the fleet was formed up in such a way that an optic camouflage field covered both the ZAFT and Alliance ships in the fleet. So, neither the PLANTs nor the Earth Forces knew this fleet existed or that it was moving towards Jachin Due.

I was on the dreadnought known as the Roosevelt, had been required to do some reporting on past events. It hadn't been pleasant, but then, that's what it tends to be like around my boss most of the time. …I seriously need a vacation in the near future, for my sanity as much for stress relief. The fight coming wouldn't be an easy one, that was clear to see. Yes, numbers would be on our side, but there will probably be two groups that we will be going against, namely ZAFT and the Earth Forces. ZAFT will be doing ALL they can do to stop anyone getting near the PLANTs, while the Alliance forces will be trying to shoot nuke bearing missiles at the PLANTs. Our job would be to halt both from advancing and preventing them from firing their nuclear weapons at each other or at the colonies or Earth. Neither side would make the task simple and therein lies one of the difficulties.

I was sitting it the mess hall, mulling over whether I should go back to the Eternal and get some sleep, or stay here for the first preemptive tactical planning meetings. It was only me in the room, everyone else was busy and it wasn't the time meals were served. Yet, the sound of the door opening got me to look up and see who it was coming around and to my surprise, I saw it was Lisa. I hadn't seen her in person for weeks, the suit she's piloting yes, but not her and a friend's company, is never a bad thing. She came to sit next to me, "So then Tyler, should I ask how things are going for you, or just take the distinct bags under eyes as you've gotten little sleep and you're not at your best." Lisa posed.

I let a heavy exhale, "I'm doing terrible, thanks for asking," I replied, letting my head sink to the table. "As for the sleep aspect, over the last few days, I've an average of three to four hours of sleep per day."

Lisa put a hand on my shoulder and rubbed gently, "There are days like that unfortunately, but they pass, I promise," she assured.

We were quiet for a bit, before I asked a question that had been coming to my mind with increasingly as of late. "Lisa, what even started this war? And why does it keep going when all it brings is horrible feelings and regret?"

Lisa didn't answer me right away, but she did give a reply, "I can't say for sure however, there are a few things that I believed contribute to it. The Coordinators were introduced to the rest of the human race was done in a way that many took offense to. After all, I would doubt that anyone wants to be told that a person can be 'made' and made to be better than all Natural born humans."

My friend continued, by saying that the idea of what Coordinators could do and compared to what others could had been focused on instead of noting what was the same, which was rarely if ever mentioned. So as gossip and rumor have a talent of doing, stories were told that were ridiculous and even some ludicrous. Those fueled the terrorist actions that came in increasing frequency and the death toll just kept climbing and didn't stop. The chain of events that had occurred did keep the revenge philosophy alive and healthy, which is if I'm attacked, then I have to attack the attackers back. And revenge is not only a vicious cycle, but also the most dangerous poison that exists. It's slow, it's guarantees more deaths than any other venom and spreads quicker than any plague known. The only cure, is to forgive the one that did whatever to you and let go of the grudge.

The other point that I hadn't come to my mind that Lisa brought up, was human potential and all that comes with that. Humans have always had the urge to fulfill their potential, whether they heed it or not is a different matter. More than half the time, people work towards seeing where their potential can take them unknowingly. The ability to adapt is a part of this and often comes into play while someone is exploring their potential. There are several ways to move in the direction of one's potential, but most people don't have the patience or are willing to put forth the effort required. And yet, as horrible as it is, both historically and from current evidence available, there is one idea that seems to be effective at pushing people towards their full potential at a much smaller amount of time. That idea of course, is war, fighting one another and trying to kill the other and at the same time staying alive.

What was said made sense, but it didn't make it easy to swallow or to accept. It was horrible, that some are so convinced that killing another is the only way to move forward! Junius Seven was a good example, the actions of a few steal everything from many and much from even more. And yet, there are still others that are unmoving in their position that one part of humanity has to be exterminated!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Eternal

Kira had been helping in any way he could, and yet, even after talking with Tyler about what had happened in the Mendel colony, it still wouldn't leave his mind. He did his best not to let it show outwardly, and Kira didn't think anyone on the Eternal noticed. However, he was proved wrong when Lacus managed to get Kira himself aside and alone in an empty room.

Once Lacus had gotten Kira alone, she faced him her mind firmly set on getting an explanation on what had gone on inside the L4 colony Mendel. "Kira, what did you talk to Tye about when I left the room back at Mendel? And don't just say that what happened inside the colony was nothing, I can tell it was something that's been bothering you," Lacus demanded.

Kira hesitated at what Lacus was not asking by demanding of him. The things that Kira had learned inside Mendel had shaken Kira, more than he had thought originally. Granted, talking with Tyler had helped, still some of it bothered Kira. And it wasn't that he didn't trust Lacus, for he did trust her, but he was having trouble accepting what he learned at Mendel himself. He couldn't look at Lacus, "It's nothing to worry about," Kira muttered unconvincingly.

Lacus closed the distance between the two of them, grabbed Kira's shoulders and forced him to face her, "I don't believe that Kira! Whatever happened there is important and it's still affecting you even now, now tell me please," Lacus stated firmly, not letting Kira back away from her.

Kira was stuck and he knew it, the only thing for him to do was tell Lacus what had happened inside Mendel. So, he began with the encounter had occurred with the man Rau Le Creuset and what had he and Mu had learned. The key points that caused Kira issues, were that his male sire, Ulen Hibiki and his work that involved Kira himself. It was embarrassing as well as disgusting, to have to explain what the man had done, even if Kira hadn't known about it until recently.

For Lacus, to hear Kira tell her about how he had chased after Mu and then was led by Le Creuset further into the laboratory was painful. It became more painful the longer Lacus listened to Kira tell her the facts that came to light. It was clear to see that being this "Ultimate Coordinator" and "Perfect Human" hurt him, Lacus saw that clearly. But then, to have to understand that someone did horrible things to unborn and young children to make you the way you are was terrible. And yet, it wasn't Kira's fault that he was made as this "Ultimate Coordinator" or this "Perfect Human", he didn't choose any of that. But, with how Rau Le Creuset had put the ideas, it was hard to see being the "Ultimate Coordinator" and "Perfect Human" as anything by horrible.

Nonetheless, Kira wasn't a bad person at all, if anything, he was one of the nicest people she had met. He always thought of others before himself, didn't wish to hurt anyone and though he was pretty clueless, he was a good person. Still it was obvious to her, that Kira was beating himself up for the bad things that were done to give him the abilities he had. The urge to hug Kira came to Lacus and she couldn't stop herself, she just moved forward and embraced Kira.

When Lacus hugged Kira, he stopped talking and looked down at Lacus, wondering why she had suddenly hugged him. "Lacus?" he questioned

"Kira, you are not evil, nor was your birth a mistake. No one gets to choose how they come into the world, all we get to decide is what we do with ourselves," Lacus said soothingly.

Kira felt the disgust and the other terrible feelings fade away with Lacus telling him what she had as she embraced him. He didn't have the words to say how glad he was to have Lacus as a friend right now. Kira didn't know how Lacus somehow knew just the right thing to say to help, but this certainly wasn't the first time that she had done this. So, Kira simply wrapped his arms around Lacus to return her gesture.

Lacus smiled as she felt Kira's arms circle around her back, she was happy that she could help comfort him. And yet… the mood between them had become really good by what she could tell. She had tried to tell Kira without words what she felt when it came to him before now, but he hadn't gotten any of the messages she had sent him. There was no one else around, so only Kira would hear her. It wasn't that she was embarrassed that she felt what she did for Kira, but it wasn't something she wanted to say in front of a large number of people. Then with the battle that loomed ahead of them, the future was uncertain and Lacus didn't want to have the regret of not telling Kira that she loved him. So, she released Kira and locked her gaze on him, "Kira… there is one thing I've wanted to tell you and now is as good a time as any before we go into this upcoming battle," Lacus said evenly.

Kira looked at Lacus, and became a tad worried, at the sudden change without any warning that he could figure. She was trembling a tiny bit and yet, was also giving off an air of being totally serious. "Um Lacus, are you okay?" asked Kira.

Lacus wished with all of her heart, at times like this, that Kira wasn't as clueless and naïve as he was. It made what she was trying to do and say so much harder, and it was already hard enough for her. Yes, Lacus could stand in front of crowds of people and give speeches, feel no nervousness or stage fright. However, it was for some reason an entirely a different thing to say how she felt about Kira. Still, Lacus gathered all the courage she could muster, looked Kira directly in the eyes, before she took a deep breath and said what she considered to be very hard to put into words. "Kira, I… I…"

Kira putting his hands on her shoulders, in an effort to steady and comfort her as her head lowered. At the same time, he was trying to figure out what was making Lacus be like this. She trailed off into mumbling so that Kira couldn't understand what she was saying, "Lacus, whatever it is that's bothering you, tell me. You always are there for me, so now I can be here for you, just tell me and I'll help however I can," Kira assured.

Hearing Kira say that, caused Lacus to become frustrated to an extreme. The guy that she more than just liked and wanted to be more than 'just friends' with, still didn't understand! There were limits to how clueless and naïve one can or should be able to be, and Kira was pushing beyond those limits! All the fear and doubts that Lacus had, vanished from her mind, her head shot back up and she glared at Kira. "I love you! I love you! Do you hear me Kira Yamato, I love you! You're such a clueless idiot sometimes, I've been trying to tell you without words, but you never took in or understood any of the hints I've been giving!" Lacus got out, the volume of her voice rising to a near shout by the end. She had also clenched her hands into fists and used them to beat against Kira's chest.

Kira was stunned at hearing Lacus say what she did, so much so that he couldn't think of what to say. Nor did he do anything to stop her "assault" she was doing with her fist, for it wasn't exactly gentle. Granted, what she said did kind of explain some of her actions that she had been doing lately, even some that had started showing when visiting Heliopolis. But, Kira never thought that those things Lacus had been doing, was her telling Kira she more than liked him. Sure, Kira considered Lacus a friend, a great friend and he valued her friendship. Sure, he admitted to himself that he'd had a thought or two about perhaps going further with Lacus. Yet, he valued her friendship far too much to make a stupid mistake and do something that might make her hate him. However, for Lacus to say she loved him, Kira didn't know what to say to that.

Lacus had tears coming from her eyes, "Your naiveté can be a strength sometime, but during others, it's more a hindrance and holds you back Kira." Lacus ceased pounding her fists against Kira and moved forward, hugging Kira, "But with the battle coming, I wanted to tell you… as well as admit it out loud, since there is a chance that one or both of us might not come back from the skirmish."

Her statements… were something that Kira couldn't exactly deny, not with how many time Tyler and Athrun had reminded him of the idea. Kira's 'naiveté' or 'innocence from ignorance' as both of his best friends had put it, had provided confusion on more than one occasion. He didn't think it was as bad as Tye and Athrun said it was, for they had more than once said that he had a lot to learn. Athrun had put the point nicer than Tyler, by saying stuff like 'Kira, you need to interact with others more' or 'Kira, take more time to think about the situation'. Then there was Tyler's way of informing Kira of his "naiveté", 'Kira, come on, even a kid would be able to understand this' or 'Kira, you really need to find the marbles you're missing'.

Of course, Kira knew Tyler never meant what he said to be an insult to Kira, but there were some lines that went too far in Kira's opinion. Still, no matter Kira's answer or retort, it didn't ever stop them from calling him out on his 'lack of understanding' and teasing Kira about it. Both of them kept getting frustrated that Kira didn't see things, that they say should be obvious, to which Kira disagreed. Why Athrun and Tyler had such issues with this so-called naiveté, Kira had never been able to figure it out.

Kira was happy that Lacus had said that she… loved him, he hadn't thought it would happen. Honestly, he had thought that if it wasn't Lacus moving on to someone else, it would've likely been her older sister scaring him off that would get them apart. Sakura wasn't known for being nice or polite to those who tried to get close to Lacus and she had proven that more than once! Kira was more surprised that Sakura hadn't done something to him already, he doubted it had anything to do with her being busy. Such a thing as being busy with military duty hadn't stopped the woman from being protective of Lacus before.

So, the question that Kira was left to answer for himself, what did he feel when it came to Lacus? He liked her, no question about that, but was that love? It wasn't the same feeling that he felt towards his parents, but nor was it what he felt towards their friends from Heliopolis. And at times like this, talking out loud had always helped, "Well Lacus, I'm happy that you feel that way, but I don't know what I exactly feel. Being with you feels different than anyone else and I always enjoy the time we spend together, yet, I don't know if that's the same as love," Kira began.

Kira kept going and quickly began to unknowingly ramble on. As Lacus listened, she had to put forth effort not to laugh. Kira was once again, being as clueless as he normally was, it was kind of cute to her, even if it frustrated her so. He was describing the feelings and other things that were a part of what it is to love someone else, yet, Kira didn't know that. Lacus nuzzled Kira's cheek, which got him to stop talking, and once that was the case, Lacus moved her face to be in front of Kira's. She smiled at him and spoke, "Kira, what you've been describing is what it is to love someone, you silly boy."

Then, Lacus leaned forward and pressed her lips to Kira's, like she had wanted to do for a while. Kira was taken by surprise by her action, but then his arms of their own accord wrapped around Lacus and pulled her to him. The gesture felt good and Kira didn't see a reason to stop it, so he went with it. Lacus smiled a little more as the kiss continued, as Kira embracing her and then pulling her to him, meant that he wasn't against this. So, Lacus kept her lips pressed to Kira's, for she wanted this moment to last for as long as possible. The two began pushing forward against each other, going further into their own world.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After the planning meeting had ended, I had returned to the Eternal. I went looking for Kira, as I wanted to ask him if he was ready for the battle that was ahead of us all, before I have time with the bed in the quarters I had been assigned. I doubt I would get much sleep or good quality sleep either, but it's better than none at all! Concerning Kira, after the talk we'd had, let's just say that I was still concerned for my friend. Kira, being the way that he is, that being naïve and innocent, which is to his credit most of the time, but it isn't always helpful.

Over the years, both Athrun and I, have many times pointed out what Kira keeps missing, but our friend is a slow learner in this. At least, I know that I'd lost count of the amount of times I've tried to help Kira see things. Sadder still, Kira is a speedster in the learning department when it comes to the academic stage, it's just the social area that he has problems. Back to my point, Athrun tended to be nicer when calling Kira out than I am, but that's Athrun for you, the nice guy, it's the personality he has, not mean in the slightest or doesn't mean to be when he appears to be mean. As for me, I'm up front and just say it like I see it, which sometimes embarrasses Kira, but hey, it's good for him I would think in the long run.

Anyways, after I asked around to get some clues as to where I could find Kira, I learned he had gone off wandering while I had been away. It helped a little on narrowing down where my friend could be, but not as much as I'd hoped it would. So, I started peeking into rooms that weren't crew quarters, because Kira going off wandering means he wants to be by himself. It would likely take time to find Kira, but who knows, I might just get lucky and come across the room he chose to use to think. And as it happens, I did get lucky and found Kira within ten minutes or so.

And yet… for the life of me, I never imagined that I would walk in on the scene that I did! I admit, that while I had been gathering information for my search for Kira, I discovered that Lacus was also 'wandering'. Let's say that the thought that they were together had crossed my mind and I was right. However, walking in and seeing them with their arms wrapped around each other AND their lips locked to one another's… got me to have a serious double take and close to me kissing the floor hard, either from me fainting or me face planting! I literally blinked and rubbed my eyes hard to clear them, before looking again to see if what I thought I saw was accurate. To my dumbifying surprise, the sight of Kira and Lacus as they had been, was still clearly there. I couldn't stop my mouth from falling open at this scene, for I just had not thought it would happen anytime soon.

I mean, for these two to have reached this stage is a great thing, don't get me wrong, but I wouldn't have thought it to occur already! Yes, I hadn't missed the non-verbal hints that Lacus had been giving and sending Kira regularly over the last close to two years, even if my friend hadn't noticed a single one of them. But then, Kira's naiveté is to blame for his blindness, and it makes you feel kind of sorry for the guy, at least it does me. It also causes me an amount of frustration, that he learns so little from the assistance that Athrun and I provide, it's like we didn't do anything a good portion of the time.

Now, like I said before, Kira is smart, no disputing that point, more so than me in the academic world, yet when it comes to the social side of things, that's a different matter entirely. The way I would put it, well… Kira is a special kind of stupid when it comes to the social aspect of most given situations. And I mean no insult when I say that my friend's the special kind of stupid, he's just freaking clueless. Kira is just a guy that's the special kind of stupid in some things that he shouldn't be however, you can't help but like the guy nonetheless.

Then the factor that I don't think either of the two in front of me would've considered yet, namely Sakura, Lacus's big over-freaking-protective older sister. Yes, Sakura is way too protective of Lacus, that's a fact and there's a LONG track record documenting what I'm talking about! The things she's done to 'defend' Lacus, would shock and terrify many, but that's Sakura for you, hard to predict and doesn't follow the rules unless she has to, usually by force and under supervision. I can say that Kira certainly hasn't been the first that Lacus would attempt to get closer to or that would try to get closer to her. Still Sakura, with the personality she has, she just scares them away. I've unfortunately seen a couple of instances that she scared another away from Lacus. Sakura has terrorized, scared and outright broken a few people mentally… yes, she's done this to both males and females! It makes me wonder if it was some sort of practice for how she is now, it would certainly explain a few quirks of hers. And yet, I can't deny that Kira is the first that Sakura hadn't done anything to, which to me says that Sakura has no issue with Kira being with Lacus. A vote for the couple from her, and hers isn't the only vote going for them…

So, back to the scene in front of me then. From my perspective, I was having an internal argument on whether I should cheer loudly and egg on one of my best friends, or be the responsible adult and separate the two before things go too far. I could go either way with this, and so is the internal conundrum I'm having right now. Quite honestly, I would've expected that I would sooner walk in on Athrun and Cagalli in this type of position, rather than Kira and Lacus. …My other best friend might be 'trying' to hide his growing relationship from others, but neither of the two are doing very well at it. Yet, here I find Kira and Lacus going at each other, completely oblivious to the world around them, ironic in a way isn't? Or at least, I think so.

So, I closed my mouth, folded my arms and waited for the two to take notice that I had come into the room. But, even after a minute, the two didn't separated any distance from one another and I was starting to feel awkward. They parted a small margin, both were panting and simply kept staring at each other, still unaware of me being in the room, watching them. It was as another minute and a half passed by, that I needed to make my presence known to them. That was until I cleared my throat audibly, "Hey kids, dad's home," I announced flatly.

Lacus and Kira snapped around to face towards the door and both locked their gazes on me, the blushes they already had then deepened. "Tye, how long have you been there?" Kira asked in an embarrassed tone.

Really Kira? That's the question I get after what I saw… OHHHH HO HO, HO Kira ain't getting off easy this time, not with the opportunity he provided for me, it is freaking solid twenty-four karat GOLD! I started by merely stared back at the two for a moment, before I spoke, "How long you ask my good friend, long enough to watch you two smooching with a fair amount of vigor, that's for sure," I stated with a slight smirk, enjoying their expressions that said so much more than words could. So, I continued the momentum, "I wasn't expecting you to have it in you Kira, Lacus sure, but you not so much. Maybe Athrun and I have been wrong that you haven't learn much if anything from the times that we pointed out what you miss. It's nice to feel that all that assistance provided wasn't wasted my dear friend."

Oh, I wonder if Kira's cheeks could get any redder, they were pretty much tomato red now… and yet, the thought encourages me that I must try to get them even redder! Lacus glanced away from me, "Tye, what are you doing here? You're not one for spying on others," she said quietly.

Spying she says, I had some professional training in the area, but really haven't used it much. "Nope, don't see a reason to spy, there are much easier ways of finding out information, besides if I was spying, you won't know it, I've received training for that kind of thing! As for what I'm doing here, I was looking for Kira to ask him a question, and I was told that he disappeared a little while ago. So, I went looking," I replied, before I gave a shrug. "Not to say that you two getting together is a bad thing, just earlier than I would've predicted. Although, I say it's about freaking time, but, don't go too far just yet you two."

I was snickering softly, as Kira replied to me, "What is that supposed to mean Tye?" He questioned.

I stopped snickering and stared at Kira for a long moment, before I let out a sigh, "Alas, it would appear that your naiveté is still hard at work Kira, it's just is good at stunting your growth as ever. I wonder if you'll ever move on from being the special kind of stupid that you are with social stuff," I said in an exhausted tone.

Kira's face became even redder, and I internally patted myself on the back at finishing the challenge of getting Kira redder! Meanwhile, Lacus glared at me, "Kira isn't stupid!" She snapped at me.

I flinched a bit at Lacus's scathing retort to me, since it was showing she didn't understand that I wasn't actually calling Kira 'stupid' per say. It's my way of telling my friend that he still has much to improve on and he knows I'm not saying what I do to be mean. "Lacus, Tye wasn't," Kira started, but he snapped his mouth shut as Lacus glared at him, before she returned back to locking her gaze on me while she clutched Kira to herself defensively.

I swallowed hard, "Um… look Lacus, I would never say things to or about Kira to intentionally be mean, I would hope you would know that by now. So, when I say Kira is a special kind of stupid, it's not implying that he's dumb or unintelligent. It's just… well, when it comes to social things, Kira is clueless, it can be said in several ways, you doubtless know to what I refer. So, me saying to Kira that he's a special kind of stupid is my way of telling him that he's missing things and to try harder to see them, that's all," I justified.

"Tyler's telling the truth Lacus, Athrun does the same thing, just in a different way. They've been doing it for years, so I'm used to it by now," Kira said.

Lacus seemed to calm down after Kira vouched for me, to which I'm grateful, don't want an angry girl around that could stab me in the back. Doubt that Lacus would do that to me, but, I've learned to not tempt a female to try to get back at me. So, to change the subject, I cleared my throat again and spoke up, "Right then, Kira, you and Lacus are still teenagers, and so, you are both too young to be taking your relationship to being completely intimate." I paused, as I thought about the words I had just said, and the realization that I was talking like my mother would, hit me. Without thinking, I slapped myself in the face with a hand, "Good golly, I'm starting to sound like my mother!"

It was the dread of a person, sounding almost exactly like one of their parents, at least that's one way to see it. I respect my mother as a person and for what she does, but for much of my childhood, I was determined to not be like the strict adult my mother was back at the time and still is to a degree. So, it's ironic that I'm speaking like my mother would in this. In response to my outburst, Lacus snickered and she was followed by Kira joining in. I glared at them, "Yeah, go ahead, laugh it up… never thought I would one day sound like my mother used to," I admitted.

After they had settled down I gazed at both Kira and Lacus, "Although I was being quite serious when I said the both of you are too young to be taking thing to being extremely intimate." I said, like a responsible adult would.

Kira looked away, whereas Lacus just looked back at me, "We wouldn't go too far Tye, do give us some credit," she replied.

"You say that now Lacus, but can you really say where the line is drawn and that passion won't blow right past? All I'm saying it to exercise restraint and moderation for the time being. You two aren't to the point that either of you could handle the responsibility of a child, so no doing that," I stated firmly.

Of course… things didn't end there, nope, the next fifteen minutes I got to tease the two nicely and get some laughs. I do it because I care, and I've already done this type of thing to Athrun and Cagalli. Athrun's reaction was fairly similar to Kira's, just no effect of naivete. Oh but, Cagalli's reaction had been neat! She stuttered at first, then she had gone off screeching at me while she chased me around the room we had been in, it was fun! And I'm well-aware that Kira and Athrun will have every right to do the same to me when I find the right girl for myself… I just pray to God it doesn't end out being Sakura!

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **And that's where I'll leave off for this Phase. Yes, I know it's just before the good part coming, but this was the best pausing point and not make it another 20,000 words or more in added length. Anyways, hope that you all liked the setup I laid out for the board that the battlefield will start with. As I seem to always say at the end of pretty much every phase or chapter I write, some of you please take the time to write a review and tell me your thoughts about the story, the phase. Comments help more than most would think, else I take it that there's nothing wrong and no questions at all.**


	25. Phase 25: Fight For the Future

**A/n**

 **Well, he it is at last! The fight that the story has been building up to and the climax of the SEED portion of this story. The standard disclaimer still applies, would love to own Gundam, but I don't just my ideas. Enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 25: Fight for the Future

September 26th 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Lagrange 5

The arrival of the coalition fleet that had amassed to face the threat of a nuclear holocaust, went unnoticed by the PLANTs and the ZAFT forces present. The soon to be battlefield, had ZAFT ready to fight and still no sign of the Earth Forces fleet that were carrying their nuclear weapons. Going by numbers, the coalition fleet outnumbered ZAFT approximately three to one for ships, and an even bigger difference with mobile suits. The target of the fleet was ZAFT's Jachin Due base, as information indicated that ZAFT's weapon was somewhere around the base. There was still little on what the weapon was or what it was capable of other than its single shot at Ptolemaeus Lunar base had provided.

The situation gained an extra tangent, when it was discovered that a message from the Earth Alliance's leadership was being transmitted to ZAFT. The issue was that the message wasn't being received or really blocked completely, rather than just ignoring it. And when the message was inspected, a shock came with it, for it was the Earth Alliance's leadership giving their message of surrender. Granted, after seeing the Alliance's lunar base be wiped out could have had an effect, but for the leadership of the Alliance to surrender… said that the event had scared them to the core! So, it left a serious question in the minds of those in the fleet when it came to the current chairman of ZAFT. Were Patrick Zala to accept the Alliance's surrender, it would end the war that had been going for years, all that would be left would be to find those who had the nuclear warheads and deal with them. So, why then ignore the message and block it from being received by anyone in the PLANTs?

That still left the information that Halberton had brought back with the Earth Forces vessels. The Alliance personnel were convinced that a group of Alliance vessels were on their way to the PLANTs to fire nukes at the colonies. If that was true and there was little reason to disbelieve the claim, then things were indeed grim! With that separate Earth Forces group that were determined to shoot nukes at the PLANTs, even though their leaders were attempting to surrender, there was still danger.

The Archangel, Kusanagi and Eternal were near the front of the fleet, flying between Federation cruisers. Upon the Eternal, the mobile suits were undergoing final preparations. It was planned, for the Freedom and the Justice would use the METEORs, which would give the two an advantage. The Regenerate had been fully repaired, and it was being equipped again with the spare "Lupus" beam rifle. The Aurora hadn't needed as much repair as the other three, but the maintenance was kept up and so the suit was ready to go.

On the Archangel, Chief Murdoch, his engineers and mechanics, were busting their butt off to finish the work on the mobile suits, which had grown in number by two. Mu had decided to go with the Aile pack equipped to the Strike in this battle, for mobility and power usage would be the two keys in this fight. Krystal chose to go with the Shadow's Kale Artillery set, for one it had an extra battery and it had a good amount of firepower too. For the Buster, Duel and Blitz, since there was not optional equipment, there was only the tuning and repairs to be made and those had been finished already.

And then, with the Kusanagi, the M1 Astrays were being made ready to launch out. Meanwhile, Cagalli had stubbornly made it clear that she would be participating in this skirmish and there was nothing that could be said that would stop her. She wasn't denied, though Kisaka was not fond of the idea, Erica Simmons simply laughed and then guided Cagalli to the hanger. There, the woman showed Cagalli that the Asuka had been refitted with new equipment. The flight system had been removed and then redesigned, before it was put back on the main suit. Yet, now there had been quite some changes to the weapon loadout.

Gone was the shield that the Asuka had before, and now a new one was in its place. The new shield had a gatling machine gun built into the bottom section of the shield and a beam boomerang was stored in a holster in the upper part of the shield itself. There were two anti-ship swords that were based of the Strike's "Schwert Gewehr" 9.1 meters in length instead of 15.78 meters as the Strike's is. Those are stored on rails that acted like sheaths on the underside of the backpack that had been added, when they weren't in use. Finally, there were a pair of 155mm railguns and a pair of 105mm cannons. The railguns were mounted to the backpack to be over the shoulders of the mobile suit and the cannons were mounted over the railguns.

Erica Simmons told Cagalli that she could use the Asuka and its new equipment in the battle. Cagalli couldn't stop herself, lunged forward and hugged the woman, thanking her for providing a way for her to help. Cagalli had been so frustrated lately, just sitting around giving out some orders, and the feeling had increased during the last battle. To see people that she had come to care about, go out to a battlefield and risk their lives to protect everyone else had hurt and frustrated her so much. But now, she could go and assist them on the field and though, she might not be an expert or an ace, but she could hold her own! And so, Cagalli collected herself and then went to get a pilot suit on and get ready to go out in a mobile suit.

As final preparations were being made, Treize felt the need to make one last attempt to reason with Patrick Zala. The man had been a friend for years, and Treize couldn't live with himself if he didn't try to save his friend from the lies he had been believing. He wanted to believe that Patrick would see reason, even in his mind said that the man would not. The blocking of the Alliance's surrender, didn't speak well of Patrick Zala or his intentions and he knew it.

Still, Treize found a communication channel that wasn't being blocked that would get him to Patrick Zala. After a minute, the Salong's forward display came up with Patrick Zala's face, and the man's expression was of anger and frustration. It saddened Lanus to see his friend looking like this, to see how much had changed in the last few years. "Patrick, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances than these my friend," Treize greeted, the hint of sadness in his voice

Chairman Zala grunted at the greeting, " _It's quite surprising that a traitor like you would have the courage to show your face around the PLANTs. I'll applaud you for that Treize, and give you the chance to even speak for showing such courage._ "

Treize sighed, "I'm making this communication in the hope that you might see reason my friend in this late hour, as you haven't been showing any modicum of reason as of late. The path you are on now will not end well for anyone Patrick, nuclear weapons will not solve any of the standing issues or conflicts. Such actions will only make this war worse and in your heart, you know this as you've experienced the pain it came bring personally."

" _Your pointless drivel is of no interest to me Treize, get to the point you are trying to make,_ " Zala said coldly.

"This war is no nearer to an end, and your actions are not working towards bringing about a conclusion to this conflict Patrick. Why do this? What changed your view of the bright future you once saw for the PLANTs? You used to say that the PLANTs showed a future that could be free of war, and yet, here you are adding to this war," Treize reasoned.

Patrick Zala snorted, " _That's where your wrong Treize, this war will come to an end very soon. The Earth Alliance will fall, humanity will be purged of those who are as an infection to our species. Coordinators will have the future and it shall be a bright one for all of them, for the dangers they have faced will be vanquished. It is you who do not understand Treize, you have become blind to that which has come to pass,_ " he stated.

Treize felt pain at comprehending just how blind and lost his friend Patrick Zala had become. The end that Patrick claimed was coming, was very likely a nuclear strike against Earth itself and that wouldn't end well for anyone. Hypothetically speaking, were Earth to be hit, those who didn't die from the blast, would die from the fallout, no matter what type of human they were. A nuclear attack on Earth, would not only kill all those there, including the Coordinators living and stationed there, but there would be affects beyond that. Any supplies that had come from Earth would vanish and that would affect all in space, including the PLANTs. Treize knew that the PLANTs weren't fully self-sufficient, even if the citizens had no idea, nor were the colonies up for a population boom that was probably planned.

Then for Coordinators, there was the current standing issue of sterilization that was coming up in third generations and beyond. As far as the situation was understood, the altering of genes had brought about this side effect. Third-generation Coordinators had a fifty percent chance at best of reproducing, normally less than that, and the generations beyond that the percentage with the chances of reproduction only gets smaller and at an alarming rate. ZAFT scientist had been doing everything they could to solve the problem, but thus far there was no cure.

The two main reasons that there were the sizable number of Coordinators that they are currently, was the Coordinator Boom and the freedom that the Federation had in place for its citizens. The Coordinator Boom had started in the early 30's of the Cosmic Era and lasted for close to twenty years, thereby increasing the number of Coordinators. Then, the Human Federation had laws in place that prevented discrimination against people that had Coordinator children. That point had kept the percentage of Coordinators steady, even if it wasn't said by those on the Supreme Council or other leaders of the PLANTs. Were Earth to go, so then too, would the Coordinators that came from the Federation.

Then there were the possible responses that would come the PLANTs' way from both what would be left of the Earth Alliance, but also the Federation. From what Treize had seen on the Federation's information network, what remained of the ZAFT Military, wouldn't be enough to stop the Federation were they to throw everything they had at them. Pretty much any variation of this situation didn't end well for any side, which left Treize to wonder how and why things had gotten this point. If Rau Le Creuset was the one that was influencing and blinding Patrick Zala as Treize suspected, then what was his goal. For as far as he could see, the result was most likely the destruction of humanity as a whole, which is possibly what Creuset wanted.

"Is it I who have become blind Patrick, or is it you? Have you lost sight of who you are supposed to represent and their interests so much that you can't see where what you suggest lead? Should you go through with your plan and attack Earth, the PLANTs won't be unaffected, that I can assure. You know the reasons as well as I do, whether you admit them or not Patrick. Nuclear weapons are not the answer to this conflict, resorting to them demines yourself to the same level as those you fight," Treize replied calmly.

Patrick glowered at Treize's reply, " _How dare you accuse me of losing sight of what my responsibilities are! Once the next attack is made on the Earth Forces, the war will end, and the PLANTs will be safe for the future. Coordinators are the fittest to survive and will inherit the future, while Naturals will become extinct,_ " growled Zala.

"Has your hatred of Naturals really come to the point that you have become no different than terrorist from anti-Coordinator groups like Blue Cosmos? Have you really lowered yourself below the level of thugs and bullies Patrick?" Treize questioned flatly, before he took a breath and continued, "Is your hatred the reason you are refusing to even receive the Earth Alliance's message of surrender?"

" _LIES! A trick to have us lower our guard and allow them an opportunity to fire nuclear warheads at the PLANTs, like they did to Junius Seven!_ " snapped Zala.

Treize shook his head, "If you would have taken the time to confirm through other sources, then you would come to the conclusion that the message is genuine. You have the chance of ending the war without committing mass genocide Patrick. So, why are you refusing to do so in favor of killing billions of innocent lives, just to kill Naturals?" Treize asked.

Patrick Zala was getting very angry at the questions of the man that wouldn't do what he was told. " _Until every Natural is gone, no Coordinator will be safe, there are no innocent Naturals! You say they are trying to surrender, if that was accepted, then how long would it be before they attack Coordinators once again? They have and will always be jealous of how superior we are to them. There can be no peace while Naturals and Hybrids exist, they must all be exterminated, only then can there be peace,_ " Zala stated angrily.

It was after Lanus heard this, he knew and accepted that words could not reach his friend Patrick Zala anymore. All that could be done, was to stop him from making a mistake that would stain him forever. "I see, if that is your view Patrick, then there is only one other thing I can say. I will always see you as a friend and shall treasure the good times we shared," Treize returned, then closed the com-channel.

Treize then gave the orders to go to battle stations and for those under his command to ready themselves, before he left the bridge of the Salong and headed for the hanger of the ship. He fully intended to participate in this battle himself personally, that's how important this skirmish was! It had been close to two years since Treize had gone out to a battlefield like this. It was a set of skills he rarely used and did miss piloting a mobile suit, it brought a kind of satisfaction that not much else did. There was just a sense of elegance in the art of battle that you could only find on a battlefield and it was that, which Lanus Treize found fascination in.

It was just after Treize finished his attempt to convince Patrick Zala to back down, that the standing situation changed dramatically. This came when the optical camouflage that had been hiding the coalition fleet was dropped. The fleet was revealed groups of ships at a time and the more than became visible, the more shock the defending ZAFT forces felt.

Ezalia Joule could only stare and gape as the largest fleet that she had ever seen began appearing a short distance from Jachin Due. It was true that estimations of the Federation military's strength weren't small, not after the one instance that major force the Federation showed just after Junius Seven had been destroyed. But that, was less than what was being seen now by a large margin. Not only was there over a hundred Federation vessels of all their ship classes, but there were also Earth Forces ship and even ZAFT ships as well within this fleet's ranks. There had been no sign or warning that any of these ships had been approaching Jachin Due, let alone them being in range to attack until now.

By what Ezalia saw, her rough guess was that ZAFT defense forces were outnumbered three to one, if not more. If that wasn't a bad enough odd to going into battle with, then having Lanus Treize as an opponent certainly made things worse. Ezalia had known that when Patrick had accused Lanus of being a traitor, there would be serious repercussions. And here and now, was some of those repercussions, the ZAFT military was split and in a degree of chaos. Lanus had been an anchor for the military and had drawn a fair percentage of them away with him, around half in fact. The preparations that had been made, were done in the expectation of Earth Alliance forces coming, not this fleet that was here!

Shortly after the whole coalition fleet was visible, orders were given for mobile suits to launch. The difference in numbers quickly was enforced as Federation fighters, ZAFT and Alliance mobile suits came on to the battlefield. And where numbers do not necessarily make or break a battle, none could really claim that numbers didn't help.

During the launching process, the Freedom and the Justice launched first from the Eternal. The METEOR units were released from there docks on the front of the Eternal, floated forward while they adjusted their orientation. Both units were positioned ready to dock with the Freedom and the Justice, which said mobile suits linked up with the equipment shortly after launching. The Aurora followed the Freedom and Justice, shifting into its flight mode just after clearing the linear catapult on the Eternal. The Regenerate came out after the Aurora and flew forward with the rest of the machines of this coalition fleet. Meanwhile, on the Archangel, the Strike and the Blitz were the first to leave the ship. They were followed by the Buster and the Duel, while the Shadow brought up the rear. The Astrays headed out from the Kusanagi, the Asuka with them with Cagalli in the cockpit.

However, the sight of Treize's custom GINN on the side of the Federation and those with them, certainly had a dampening effect on the defending ZAFT forces. Not only had the one who had led ZAFT's military not been out on a battlefield in a mobile suit for a few years, but most soldiers had heard a story or two about the man's skills and had been amazed.

And yet, the first thing that Treize did upon coming on to the field, was to switch over to a specific com-channel. "My brothers and sisters, fellow defenders and protectors of the homeland, a time has once again come that the PLANTs cry out for their Champions to defend them from the threats that hang over them. The homeland faces threats both that have come before and ones that haven't been faced before. And so, those in the homeland turn to those who have protected them before, calling out for their defenders. Who will answer their call?" Treize pose.

Treize waited for the responses that he knew would come, and he didn't wait long, " _The Zephyr will answer their call_ ," replied Sakura Clyne firmly.

" _The Dragon is ready to protect and serve,_ " came a male voice.

" _The Phoenix is here and will do whatever it takes to protect the homeland!_ " Said a feminine voice.

The responses and the conviction that they were given in, heartened Treize, to know there were still those who remembered what it meant to defend the homeland no matter what, to be a true soldier. The answers kept coming, " _The wolf won't allow any to threaten the PLANTs,_ " said a gruff and deep masculine voice.

" _The Condor is still committed to defending the homeland,_ " returned a soprano pitched female voice.

That was all of the remaining ZAFT Champions that most knew of, but then came answers that few expected. " _The Mocking Jay heeds the call of the Homeland,_ " said a feminine toned voice.

" _The Roc will eliminate those who will threaten the homeland no matter who they are,_ " came the voice of Kurt Gream.

Treize was about to continued when there came a voice that even he hadn't expected to hear, " _The Comet will defend the people of the homeland as their champion!_ "

There was silence at hearing a voice of ZAFT's champion of champions being heard for the first time in over three years. Hearing Graham Aker's voice, had the effect of lifting up the drive to protect their homeland higher.

The battle commenced and quickly, ZAFT defending forces found themselves hard press on the defensive, due to the sheer numbers that they were fighting. The defenders' morale was taking hit after hit as just who and how many they were facing sunk in. It fell even more when the fact that ZAFT's champions, their most skilled and talented pilots, were fighting against them.

Shortly after the fighting started, Jachin Due gained an extra defense, a lightwave barrier that had been installed. The barrier was rougher than what was used by the late Alliance's Artemis base, not as intricate, but still provided the same kind of defense. The lightwave barrier created a difficulty for those assaulting the base as it made ships using their weapons less effective.

Treize knew that the barrier had to go do for this battle to progress, Jachin Due's fall would be necessary. Getting into that base would be hard for anyone, for defending force would be watching for any approaching that weren't allies. With that being the case, there was one person that could get in and disable enough emitters to bring down the barrier. So, Treize ordered Mocking Jay to infiltrate the base's defense perimeter and do what it took to bring the barrier down.

Mocking Jay, activated their suit's system and took on the guise of a GINN and headed for Jachin Due. They bypassed the defenders without much trouble, none even noticed them, but that was one of their defining characteristics of Mocking Jay. So, Mocking Jay got passed the defending forces and the barrier without being stopped. Inside, they were able to locate where a number of the emitters for the lightwave barrier without much difficulty. Once the major emitters were found, Mocking Jay began the job of disabling them by destroying them.

The attacks were noticed quickly, but when Mocking Jay was stopped in their activity, the damage had been done. The lightwave barrier had started to develop holes and those were growing at a rapid rate. Those manning the controls inside of Jachin Due, attempted to reroute power to other emitters and maintain the barrier. Yet, it was in vain, the gaps didn't close or go away, they just increased in size and slowed ever so slightly. The barrier's end and collapse kept approaching faster than any of the defenders could prevent. The shield that had protected the ZAFT base for even a short period, collapsed and the assault on Jachin Due from the coalition fleet resumed.

Mobile suits had divided themselves into smaller groups to fight ZAFT's defending forces, the groups were mixes of all the forces in the coalition fleet. Even the machines that came from the Eternal, Kusanagi and Archangel divide themselves into groups. Most of them were with machines they had not been with before now, with only with two exceptions. The Duel stuck with the Buster in their group as did the Justice and the Blitz, though just those pairs.

Athrun and Nicol started the skirmish somewhat close to the fleet, but soon moved away and head for Jachin Due's east side. Neither of the two liked fighting against other ZAFT pilots, for they had been comrades. However, with how the current leadership of ZAFT was keeping the war going, Athrun nor Nicol could just turn the other way anymore. As they worked their way forward toward the base, the fighting got harder as their opponents became more desperate. Yet, assistance arrived in the form of missiles striking defending GINNs.

When Athrun and Nicol looked in the direction that the missiles came, they saw a GINN model mobile suit. Although, the GINN was customize, colored orange and had a crest on it that was a human skull above two long bones. The suit was armed with a heavy blade, 76mm heavy assault machine gun, a custom shield and the two missile launchers. The shield was thicker than a normal shield that a GINN would carry. While the missile launchers were like those that were a part of the "D" equipment GINNs could use. They were M68 "Pardus" 3-barrel Short-range Guided missile launchers. The custom GINN was the one that their teammate Miguel Aiman used when he had the opportunity. And if any other evidence was needed to say who the pilot was, it came over an open com-channel. " _You two look like you could use an extra pair of hands, so you get an expert pair,_ " said Miguel, wielding his machine gun.

While the others were going toward Jachin Due, Lacus was taking the Regenerate and heading in the direction of the PLANTs. She had seen Athrun and the Blitz moving towards Jachin Due's eastern side as she had gone her way. Lacus had also seen the Buster, Duel, Strike and Shadow going more directly in the base's direction. The Aurora had disappeared not too long after launching from the Eternal, but she had confidence that Tyler would be okay. Kira had gone off to the field to do what he could to help push back the ZAFT defending forces and was keeping an eye out for the Alliance force that was coming to attack the colonies. Lacus was doing much the same, even though she loathed killing another person, the many innocent lives that were at stake, motivated her now.

That didn't prevent or stop Lacus from trying to convince ZAFT pilots to disarm and cease fighting, very few listened at all to her. Lacus's heart ached at the deaths that were happening for such foolish sediment as the hatred of others for being different. And yet, as she fought three GINNs at the same time, Lacus was forced to focus back on the fight completely. One of the GINNs managed to get behind the Regenerate and had raised its beam rifle, but never pulled the trigger. The mobile suit had the arm holding the rifle sliced off by a heavy blade.

The black CGUE that had appeared spun around from behind the GINN and slash the machine in half. The black suit stored its heavy blade on its left outer wing and then drew a beam rifle, pointing it at one of the other GINNs. The GINNs had little to no time to move out of the way as shots came at them from the CGUE and destroyed them. Lacus knew full well, who it was piloting the CGUE, it was customize and colored to her preference. The mobile suit was always referenced to Lacus's older sister Sakura and none other. And though Lacus was happy to know that her sister was close by, a feeling of guilt also came to her at seeing her again.

Sakura had been kept in the dark about the planning of the actions that their father and Lacus herself had done. She'd been down on Earth during the theft and its planning, but that didn't change the fact that neither their father nor Lacus had told her anything. Their actions had been done with the best interests of the PLANTs and their citizens in mind, but that didn't fully pardon what had done. Both their father and Lacus herself had been prepared to face the consequences of what they had done, but Lacus at least, hadn't considered what her sister would have to deal with.

Once the ZAFT defending mobile suits were dealt with, the CGUE turned and face the Regenerate. " _Identify yourself, or face my blade,_ " stated Sakura Clyne, drawing the beam saber again.

"Sakura," said Lacus with tones of sadness, "Please say that you're not siding with the Chairman in this."

" _Lacus? I wouldn't have expected to see you on this battlefield. And do you really think that I would side with Patrick Zala over Lanus, I won't do that for any reason! We do need to catch up and you along with father have some serious explaining to do for yourselves,_ " replied Sakura.

Lacus agreed that Sakura had a point, and Lacus was sorry that she even suggested that she would dismiss the best interests of the citizens of the PLANTs as she had worked towards for years now. Her older sister deserved to know the truth of what their father and Lacus did and why the actions were taken. "I'm here on this battlefield to make a difference, I'm here to fight for the best future humanity can have, not just part of it, but all human beings, no matter the type," Lacus said firmly.

Sakura was taken by surprise, she hadn't expected for her little sister to go this far. Oh, Sakura had seen that she had some of the same qualities as their father and those had been developing. But, where Lacus did have the pacifistic nature and the drive that their father did, Lacus was more idealistic. Yes, Sakura had given her baby sister lessons on how to pilot a mobile suit herself, but it wasn't for her to fight on a battlefield like this. And yet, Sakura also felt pride that Lacus was willing to take such a firm stance as she was right now.

 **-Line Break-**

The Earth Forces' Peacemaker task group and its escort were in route to the PLANTs, though still a distance away. The fleet's mission was to deliver the nuclear payload to the colonies at L5. Hence, the name given to the group, "Peacemaker" in the thought that after the PLANTs were destroyed, the war would come to an end. The escort was to help get the nuclear weapons to be in range of their intended targets. There was the full expectation of ZAFT forces slowing them down, but the determination to end the war was strong within the Alliance.

The destruction of Ptolemaeus Lunar base, had hit those in the group in different ways. It had been a blow to the Earth Forces, to lose their headquarters on the moon and for space. The way it had happened had a number scared, for it had been confirmed that it had been done a nuclear based weapon that caused effects similar to the Cyclops system. There had been no word from Earth Alliance or Earth Forces leaders on Earth, which was somewhat odd.

Among the fleet, was the second Archangel-class Dominion, towards the front of the fleet formation. And it was as they came into the view of L5, that the views of the task they were assigned to do became the clearest it had been before. The battle that was visible from a respectable distance away, was unlike any skirmishes that had occurred in the war thus far. Many Alliance officers gaped at the battle that was already in full swing between ZAFT forces defending their Jachin Due base and another force that was larger than them by a sizable amount.

Natarle herself was shocked into awe more than she had been ever before, for what she was seeing, she simply never thought would happen. The fleet that ZAFT was fighting currently, appeared to be made up of a vast number of Federation vessels, which made up the core of the group and there were more Federation vessels than had been estimated before. But, there weren't just Federation military ships of all known classes, but there was also ZAFT Nazca and Laurasia-class ships and even all classes of Earth Alliance vessels of every class with them too.

Natarle had always heard that such a force as this one would never come together, not with the relationships that existed between the three factions as they were. And yet, here at Lagrange 5, was the largest fleet that history, made up vessels from all three factions, united in their purpose. That purpose which had brought them together was to prevent the use of nuclear weapons against the PLANTs and Earth. Which caused Natarle to feel guilt of the task the group she was with was here to do, to assist in the use of nuclear weapons to destroy the PLANTs.

Azrael himself, was having difficulty hiding his emotions, the sight of the battle and who it involved made him very angry. Granted, he had at some point had expected that the Federation military would meddle in the plan of shooting nuclear warheads at the PLANTs. Yet, if Azrael was honest with himself, he'd been expecting for it to happen before now and certainly not in this way. For them to have gathered this sized fighting force, was completely beyond even the most ludicrous predictions or imaginations. And even if ZAFT was occupying the Federation's force for the time being, there was no way to accurately say how long that would remain the case. The situation would definitely make the current plan of destroying the PLANTs harder in more ways than just interference.

That was what was taken in before the preliminary recon report was received, and when it came, the mood among the Alliance Peacemaker force fell further. The reason that happened, was the report stated the confirmation of the sighting of the blue and white custom GINN that belonged to ZAFT's Admiral Treize. The man Lanus Treize, the leader of the ZAFT military, brilliant tactician and the bane of the Earth Forces in space. The majority of Earth Forces officers feared Treize and for good reason. The man had always beaten the Alliance whether on Earth or in space even if ZAFT took losses in the process, for they were always less than the Earth Forces. For him to be on the battlefield himself, it said how momentous this skirmish could end out being!

Orders were given for mobile suits to launch out and hopefully, keep attention off the main task force. If the task force could attract the least amount of notice from either side for long enough to get into range to deploy the mobile armors, then this mission had a fair chance of success. The stakes had been made clear, failure of this mission could easily spell out the end of the war with the Earth Alliance being defeated. There were those who didn't really agree with using nuclear weapons as was planned. But, their voices were drowned out by those who shouted that destroying the PLANTs was the only way to end the war.

It wasn't long after the Alliance mobile suits, which consisted of the six GAT series custom suits, the Strike Daggers and their other variations, got caught up in the ongoing battle after they launched. However, even that being the case, the presence of the Earth Alliance task force was quickly noticed. A number of ships from the allied coalition fleet moved to intercept the task force, much to the displeasure of those in command of the task force. The Earth Forces fleet was slowed to a crawl and what irked some, some of those ships slowing them down were Alliance vessels. Azrael in particular was enraged that there were any Earth Forces' vessels working with the Federation Military attempting to prevent what should have occurred years ago.

Natarle saw rapidly that as things were going, two outcomes were likely to happen. Either they would get through, many paying a heavy cost, or those carrying nuclear missiles would be neutralized before they got into range to deploy. Even if the task force got through somehow, there was no guarantee that the mission would succeed. And honestly, in Natarle's opinion, the focus shouldn't be on destroying the PLANTs, but the weapon that had obliterated the Ptolemaeus Lunar base. It didn't take long into the fight, that Natarle became fed up and couldn't hold in her opinion any longer. "This is ridiculous! We should be focusing our efforts in finding what destroyed Ptolemaeus base, it's more a threat to Earth than anything else."

Azrael's anger came to a head at hearing the opinion of Natarle, for he was very unhappy with this female captain. Natarle Badgiruel was supposed to be doing what he told her to do and not question him or state her opinions! Azrael grimaced, "Give me a break! I've been more than tolerant, letting you state your opinion," Azrael snapped. He then went over to Natarle and slapped hard across the face, "Now for the last time Bi**h, your only job is to do what I tell you! Not to lecture me on what you think needs to be done!"

The feel on the bridge of the Dominion had was uneasy with the tension that was present. Natarle was glaring back at the man that she had been tolerating, held down the urge to punch Muruta Azrael in the face hard, in response to the slap. The tension was thick, but things moved forward, the task force was slowly making progress towards their target.

Once, the Alliance task force got into range, mobile armors began to launch from their ships, each equipped with a nuclear warhead atop a missile. The custom Alliance mobile suits were stopping any from approaching the crafts and attacking them. The mobile armors began making their way towards the hourglass shaped colonies.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I was going around the battlefield, messy as it was, attempting to make a difference in the outcome of this battle. However, when I caught sight of the Calamity shooting at a Federation cruiser, I was brought to a halt. The Calamity blasted the ship and destroyed it, but what irritated the hell out of me, was that the pilot of that suit was laughing manically about it over an open channel! It made my blood boil beyond what this dumb war had done for a long while and something in me just snapped. The feeling of the onset of SEED mode registered to me, and the one clear thought set itself in the forefront of my mind, that mobile suit had to go away for good! Then to make that prince of scumbags' day the worse that he's ever had, by making sure none of the nukes they're brought strike the PLANTs. Azrael getting caught, arrested and then tried would be even better, but one thing and/or step at a time I say!

I took in that there were still a number of mobile suits, mostly the mass production models the Alliance had been using between the Calamity and myself. I took a beam saber in the Aurora's left hand and kept the beam rifle in the right and moved forward. Slashing and blasting a pathway forward towards the Calamity, I made decent progress closer towards my goal. I even spotted an anti-ship sword in the grasp of one of the Strike Daggers, which gave me an idea. I shot the suit, before storing my beam saber and grabbed the hilt of the anti-ship sword as it spun pass. Then, I began slicing through one suit after another that were still coming at me along with using my beam rifle to do the job.

But, once I got through the group of Alliance mobile suits, I'd an open and clear path to the Calamity for a strike on it and that's what I wanted. As I began my approach, the Calamity noticed me and it began shooting in my direction. I evaded shot after shot, not slowing down my approach, I kept rocketing forward towards the mobile suit, gaining speed and forward momentum behind the thrust I was aiming to make. I stored my beam rifle and grasped the anti-ship sword with both hands as I flew closer towards the Calamity. Just as I was about to reach the mobile suit, I activated the beam dagger point that this sword had at the end and aimed the point for just about center of the torso where the multi-phase beam emitter was. I put on a final burst of speed and plunged that sword where I wanted to put it hard, yet the Calamity managed to nick one of the Aurora's leg vents as I charged. But I didn't let that stop me, I slammed the anti-ship sword into the Calamity's emitter and used the momentum I'd built up to push the weapon deeper. I got to the point that I had the sword all the way through the suit and the hilt in contact the former beam emitter. "Let's see you laugh now punk," I muttered over the radio.

I shoved away the Calamity, making distance between us and shortly after I did, the mobile suit exploded, and the Calamity was no more. With part one of the plan done, it was time to move on to the second phase of it, dealing with the nuke carrying Alliance forces before they get in range of the PLANTs. It wasn't hard to find where the group that was carrying the nukes were. I mean, a large number of Moebius type mobile armors moving in the direction of the PLANTs, all of them carrying a sizable missile with them, sticks out. That's what I was seeing at least, I thought, they were good candidates of being the carriers of the nuclear warheads.

Without further ado, I drew my beam rifle back out and began shooting down the mobile armors as fast I could, the less of them that got close to the PLANTs, the better. The problem was that there was still the Forbidden and the Raider making my task of taking on the nuke carrying mobile armors difficult. One of the few good things right now, if you can consider much about this situation good, the other three custom Alliance suits were helping the Raider or the Forbidden. The task of stopping the nuke strike force would be harder if they were in the mix.

Then, there came weapons' fire from my left and struck the Raider and brought the mobile suit to a halt. When I glanced to my left, I spotted a custom Delta fighter, which had four gunbarrel pods or modules attached to on the diagonal spars at the rear of the machine, kind of like a Moebius Zero armor's gunbarrels. The pods detached and then zoomed forward at the Raider, and while the mobile suit dodged each incoming pod at first, but that didn't last long. Once the pods began to fire their beams at the suit, evading became harder for the Raider to do. And while three of the pods distracted and kept assaulting the machine, the fourth shot forward. Just before the pod reached the mobile suit, the front section split apart becoming a pincer claw. That claw was then used to have the pod to latch on to the Raider around the hips from behind and gripped tightly.

The Raider took notice of the attached pod, but then paid much less attention to the other three pods. Because of that, the Raider's pilot didn't move out of the way when two of the pods took hold at either shoulder joint. The final pod latched on to the mobile suit's head from the back, covering the main optical cameras of the suit. The combined work of the four pods took away the Raider's movement, though the machine still struggled against the restraint imposed upon it. As the struggling continued, the pods that held on to the shoulder joints fired off their beam rifles at the joints. As a result, the Raider's arms were blasted off at the joints, cutting down the weapons available for the mobile suit. The Raider was still being held in place by the two other pods latched on the head and at the hips.

The Delta fighter suit then, drew one of its beam sabers, ignited it and flew forward towards the Raider. I turned away, as the mobile suit thrust its beam saber forward and plunged the weapon into the torso of the mobile suit. The two pods still holding the Raider, lit up their thrusters and threw the suit away and sending the Raider flying from us, the machine had arcs of energy randomly going off from multiple places around the suit. Just under ten seconds later, the Raider exploded and disappeared and only fragments and debris remained.

The one in the custom Delta fighter, was Cormag Swift a former Earth Forces mobile armor pilot, now a Federation pilot. A colleague and somewhat a friend as well, it was Cormag that had 'given me' some lessons on how to fly a mobile armor. His skills were good, no denying that and certainly not after what he just showed. And though I wish battles like this didn't happen and the deaths that come with it could be prevented, I know that some of these events are unavoidable. Killing another still sickens me, even if I've lost count of the number of people that I myself have killed for whatever reasons I had.

Anyways, with the Raider gone, that left only the Forbidden, and that machine was busy with multiple mobile suits trying to get to the mobile armors that were attempting to deliver nukes to the PLANTs. Cormag had his suit's gunbarrel pods dock back to their hard points, before the two of us moved forward towards the Alliance mobile armors. The two of us resumed shooting the mobile armors down, Cormag detaching the pods, though now they had wires connected to them like armor gunbarrels.

It wasn't long, when the Forbidden broke away and came at Cormag and me. I was forced to barrel roll out of the way as the Forbidden's scythe making an arc through where I had been. I fired a few shots from my beam rifle, but those were blocked by the Forbidden's deflection system. Cormag fired the rockets in the pods fired and struck the Forbidden's left side and shook the suit. Then, I saw the Justice coming up from behind a beam sword ignited, clearly aiming for the Forbidden. Athrun blindsided the Forbidden and for a second, the image of the Alliance mobile suit was silhouetted with a thick magenta line behind it. Next moment, the beam sword cut through the suit, essentially cutting the machine in half at the torso. The two halves then exploded and the last of that trio of Alliance mobile suits was destroyed.

With the mobile suits that were hindering those of us that were trying to take out the nuclear payload to the PLANTs, we redoubled our efforts. Athrun used the METEOR's collection of anti-ship missiles to help speed along the process, while Cormag and I were shooting down armor after mobile armor. The three of us intercepted any missiles that were fired off from the Alliance forces, making sure that none got close to striking a colony. As the number of mobile armors decreased, the desperation of the Alliance forces increased. While Athrun, Cormag and others that had joined us were dealing with the mobile armors, I was looking towards the Earth Forces vessels that had come with them.

I brought out both the Aurora's plasma cannons and aimed at the Alliance ships. The destruction of the nuke bearing mobile armors is good, taking care of the ships that likely carry more nuclear weapons is better! It's best to be thorough and make one of the scumbags that brought things to this point have one of the worst days they ever had! I charged the plasma cannons to half power and then started to shoot the ship I was aiming at. I kept firing my cannons and my plasma beams punched through vessel after vessel, destroying the ships and the horrible thing they were carrying.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Agamemnon-class Damocles

The battle between ZAFT and the combined forces that the Federation had brought together was quite something to watch, Mina had to admit it. But, she couldn't help the eye roll that came when the Captain Sutherland was surprised when Federation, ZAFT and Alliance ship moved to stop the Earth Forces' progress towards the PLANTs. However, then things took a turn for the worst as the Federation came down on the Earth Forces. The first problem, Azrael 'panicked' in Mina's view and ordered the mobile armors that were equipped with nuclear warheads, to make their attempt on the colonies. The second problem, was the response from both ZAFT and the Federation forces that moved to intercepted, for it got them to put aside their reason for fighting one another.

Her girls were resupplying their mobile suits currently, and then things became even more volatile just after the Calamity took down a Federation Cruiser. The red mobile suit that her candidates had gone against before, appeared using one of the Strike Daggers' anti-ship sword, and put it through the Calamity's torso. The mobile suit had exploded shortly after that, Mina had considered calling the other two back with that event. But, before she could the Raider was overwhelmed and destroyed, the Forbidden shortly followed the other two to its own demise.

Mina left the bridge at that point, weighing the risks of continuing to assist Azrael, for they were growing far faster than any benefit was and most were diminishing! Then, there came a call for Mina, which was Lori telling her that she had done as Mina had asked and taken their case to others. Lori had managed to make a deal with the Human Federation, and though there were some things that would have to stop, the way Lori put it, the deal was beneficial overall. Mina thanked Lori and then ended the call, before she headed down to the ship's hanger. Along the way, Mina put on a space suit of her own as she fully intended now to leave the ship with the girls. She had begun to realize that all three of the girls had started becoming more than just candidates to her, for she didn't want them to die and it wasn't just because of the work that had gone into them.

Yes, Mina Moss, the cold, unchanging, unyielding and terrifying head of Lodonia, had started opening up to the three girls that she had found in a small town that had been destroyed by the war. Mina couldn't say when the change had began but, the affects were apparent, more so now. And the other reason that she intended to leave, was to get away from Azrael. The man was irritating, intolerable and just plain got on Mina's nerves. Plus, the man had gotten to be seriously hazardous to work for or with, it wasn't worth the funding Blue Cosmos provided any longer.

After Mina finished getting into the space suit, she headed for the hanger and when she got there, she saw that all three of her girls' suits were still here. Deborah was the first to spot Mina making her way towards them and was in a space suit, "Mother? Why have you come down here and in a space suit?" she asked.

Mina stopped in front of Deborah, "I will be leaving with the three of you. Things have changed, and so, there is no reason for any of us to remain on this ship," she answered.

The girls boarded their assigned machine, and Mina entered the Bandit with Deborah, moving behind the pilot seat. The Raptor, the Sinister and the Bandit headed out, heading towards the coalition fleet. But, as they passed the area that the Dominion was in, Mina decided to make things official. She had Deborah open a com-channel to the Dominion, "Muruta Azrael," Mina stated clearly.

" _Mina?_ " Came the response from Azrael.

"Consider our transactions and business officially ended. I, Lodonia Lab and those from it are no longer employed by you or required to provide services to the Earth Forces." Mina said, took a breath before continuing, "And this couldn't come about fast enough in my view. You've always been annoying, frustrating and ridiculous, you're so blind to the real world that it's more than sad. So, I say good riddance to you," Mina finished.

Mina smiled a bit at the image that came to her mind of how Azrael was reacting to her informing him she would have nothing to do with him anymore. With how that man had gotten under her skin and the damage he had done to the work, it felt very satisfying to imagine. Mina and the girls flew over to the Federation fleet, where upon contacting the one in charge of the Alliance forces, Duane Halberton. She informed the man, of the changes and gave simple explanation, and said that her girls were at his disposal.

And as the skirmish continued, there went a shuttle unseen by those on the battlefield, traveling towards the Dominion. On board the shuttle was a full team of SOLAS commandos and their objective was to apprehend Muruta Azrael who was confirmed to be onboard the second Archangel-class. Ever since Tyler McGregor's report on the second Archangel-class put the man on it, several mission plans had been made. The war criminal Muruta Azrael, had evaded capture for years, the two instances that SOLAS teams had been sent to apprehend the man, they had failed like the other attempts. It had become a form of embarrassment to a number within the Federation military. With the opportunity presented during this battle, the motivation that the SOLAS team had in this was high.

Each member of the team had a special type of pilot suit on, similar to what the MSC special forces pilots wore. The differences were the optical camouflage network system built into the suit instead of being a separate piece of equipment, along with the tool set they came with standard. That tool set came with a gun and other offensive equipment of course, but also a small exterior emergency air tank, along with a system hacking tool. The pilot of the shuttle, flew above the Dominion, looking for a airlock to provide a way for the team a way inside. He spotted one and maneuvered the craft to be above the airlock, then gave the signal to the SOLAS team leader a thumbs up for the soldiers to go.

The team moved to the center of the shuttle, opened the hatch and with the team leader in front, floated out and to the airlock. The codes that kept the airlock shut and others from accessing it, were quickly superseded and the outside hatch of the Dominion opened. The SOLAS team moved on to the Alliance vessel, activating their suits' camouflage as they went. The outside airlock closed and the room went through the process of pressurizing to match the rest of the ship. Opening the door, the team moved into the corridor from the maintenance room that the team had come into the ship. They split into two teams, one went right, heading for the engine compartment to take control as needed. The other with the overall SOLAS team leader, began to make their way towards the Dominion's bridge.

Both teams met little resistance and for those soldiers who managed to see something and raise their guns, they were shot without hesitation. Those who were just unknowingly in the way were either directed or pushed into rooms off the corridors. When the team that was heading for the bridge reached the elevator to their intended destination, the lift was sent up without any of them being inside. The doors to the elevator shaft were forced open and the SOLAS team entered the shaft, before using their suits' thrusters to go upward, following the elevator.

Meanwhile, Azrael was livid at the turn of recent events. So close, they had been within freaking spitting distance of destroying the PLANTs and winning the war! But, when victory was in the Alliance's grasp, it was snatched from them by the cursed Human Federation's military! So much panning had come to not, just because a group of fools who thought themselves so high and mighty, believed it was their calling to interfere with a war when they claimed neutrality in, to save abominable Coordinators they wrongfully claimed were human when they weren't. The three male candidates that Mina had supplied had failed and gotten themselves killed. Then Mina herself had the gall to dare tell him that their business was over right in the middle. This day couldn't get worse in Muruta Azrael's mind. All that helped even a little, was the thoughts of what would be done to those in the Federation to make them pay for this.

His rage was boiling when the lift to the bridge reached the bridge level and Azrael flew off his handle. The ship had been at battle stations for a while now, if there was someone that wasn't at them, this would be their unlucky last day! Azrael commanded the soldiers on the bridge that had come to keep order, to shoot their guns at the elevator. Natarle was about to tell the blonde he was crazy and do whatever it took to restrain him, but the soldiers turned and began firing their guns before she could. After ten seconds, the Alliance soldiers stopped using their guns, Natarle twisted back to face Azrael and glared at the man. "What the hell are you think Azrael?! You are not an officer or crew member of this ship, you will stop threaten the crew of this ship, or so help me, I will shove you into one of the brig cells and keep you there until further notice, director of the National Defense Industry Association or not!" Natarle nearly bellowed at Azrael.

Azrael's mood was bad and Natarle's actions weren't helping, "You care to repeat that bi**h," he growled.

The elevator doors opened to show no one inside the lift, but there were lots of new bullet sized holes. After seeing that Natarle refocused back on giving Muruta Azrael a piece of her mind. She had enough of this man, Natarle no longer cared if she would get court marshaled, then she would go to the court martial session like it was the greatest honor!

In the elevator shaft, the SOLAS team had followed the lift up to the top of the shaft and then they waited for a moment. There was the sound of gunshots echoed along with metal being punctured by the bullets being fired. Two team members readied a sonic grenades while two others prepared smoke bombs. The peppering of bullets ceased, then shortly after that, came the swooshing of the elevator doors opening. The SOLAS team leader signaled two with sonic grenades to toss them, and they lifted up one of the floor plates of the elevator and lobbed their grenades into the bridge area. The SOLAS commandos dropped back down into the elevator shaft, letting the floor plates move back into place quietly. Both sonic grenades went tumbling through the air and moved out of the elevator before the doors slid shut. One of the Alliance soldiers stationed on the bridge spotted both objects, "Gren-" the soldier started to call.

However, the warning came too late, both sonic grenades set off the concussive sonic blasts midway through the word. The blast wave threw all but those in the CIC away from the grenades location and stunned the majority of the bridge crew to varying degrees. Natarle was shoved forward and the blast itself, it felt like something had slammed into the back of her head. The world around her blurred, but she could tell things were still happening around her, just not what. Seconds after the sonic grenades went off, smoke bombs were chucked in and added to the maelstrom happening. Smoke filled the bridge, obscuring the vision that any on the Dominion's bridge had before. With the smoke thick and heavy, the SOLAS team came up through the bottom of the elevator and moved into the bridge area. As the SOLAS team's visors had multiple settings to help them see the best in any given situation, their visors switched to inferred. The Alliance soldiers were promptly shot when the team came on to the bridge, ending any problems they could create.

Azrael cleared his head and upon hearing the commotion and the gunfire from behind him, he pulled out the pistol he had. Natarle was floating, trying to regain her bearings, Azrael pointed his gun at the female captain that had annoyed him so. Then, he pulled the trigger, yet to his shock the vise captain of the Dominion had gotten between Natarle and Azrael himself. Azrael gritted his teeth, and intended to shoot at the woman again, but never had the chance to do so. He found his right arm grabbed and wrenched backward, the gun yanked from his grip. The smoke was beginning to settle and so, when Azrael looked to his right, he saw someone in a non-standard Federation space suit. He was quickly surrounded by a small number of these Federation suited people. Azrael struggled against their restraining holds, but the Federation personnel didn't let go at all. The SOLAS team brought out restraints and put Azrael's hands and forearms into them, making the man unable to effectively use his arms.

Natarle began to come back to the world around her and took in what was going on. The first thing that she saw that that her second in command was close by, but he now appeared to be seriously injured. Second, there were people on the bridge that were in Federation space suits that were similar to their pilot suits, but that she'd never seen before. Third, Azrael was being restrained by said Federation personnel. Natarle watched as one of the Federation suited people move to be in front of the blonde man, "Muruta Azrael. For the crimes that you have been involved in and committed that fall under the United Nations Charter, Chapter 4, Article 7, you are hereby placed under arrest. As per Article 7, Clause C, subsection 2, in regard to your involvement in the Bloody Valentine, you no longer have any rights or privileges other than the most basic. You will appear in front of the Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law, where your sentence and punishment will be decided," stated a female voice.

Natarle was processing what had just been said by the Federation soldier, for there were some very significant points to it. First, the Federation had evidence, a great deal by the sound of it, that Muruta Azrael had committed multiple crimes! Second, if Natarle recalled the referenced material right, some of those crimes were considered "war crimes" and those wrongs are much more serious than others. Finally, Azrael had been involved in the Bloody Valentine Incident itself, was apparently fact, meaning Tyler had known what he had been talking about before. And one other fact became clear to Natarle, Muruta Azrael no longer could be covered by any from the Alliance or Blue Cosmos. It was something she had heard rumors about before now, the way the Human Federation could prosecute someone and no others could interfere with them, old standing laws were on their side.

Azrael was tugged upward and then dragged to the elevator, with an escort of six Federation uniformed people around him. That left a few still on the bridge of the Dominion, and the one that Natarle guessed was the leader, turned towards her. "You are the captain of this vessel, are you not?" they posed in the same feminine voice as they had spoken to Azrael.

Natarle nodded, "Then, it would be in the best interest of this ship and its crew, for you to disengage you attempted assault on the PLANTs," the person said simply.

The other Federation people headed for the lift and left the bridge as if nothing had happened. Natarle was now left to decide what to do in the current situation as it stood. She wasn't inclined to keep fighting with the task force the Dominion had come with. Natarle did order that the Dominion's vise captain be taken to the infirmary right away. After that, the best thing she could think to do with all on the bridge looking to her for orders, was to give instructions that would have the Dominion assisting the Archangel.

 **-Line Break-**

Kira was fighting against the ZAFT forces defending Jachin Due, alongside by some ZAFT GINNs, Federations mobile suits and even a few Alliance Strike Daggers. Progress forward was slow, but steady, any distance gained was hard earned. Kira had seen the Regenerate some time ago, but with how intense the skirmish was, he had lost sight of Lacus and hadn't spotted her for a while. Cagalli had also started with Kira at the beginning, but had also gotten separated to somewhere else on the battlefield.

However, Kira's attention was jerked back to the present when some of his allies got shot down. Upon looking in the directions that the shots came from, and quickly spotted the mobile suit responsible. The suit was grey overall, the torso was blue, except for the sides around the lower torso. The vents which were yellow, then area around the neck and collar that was also yellow. There was a circular backpack that had five protuberances coming off of it; two small, three larger ones. On the sides of the hips of the suit, were smaller "pods" attached to docks of some sort. There was a shield on the left arm of the machine that was half the size of the Freedom's shield from top to bottom. It also appeared to have beam guns emitters, two of them, built into the shield along with a beam saber emitter as well. The other visible weapon that this mobile suit had, was a large beam rifle or cannon. The "handheld" weapon was substantially large than the one the Freedom had and looked to need to be supported by the shoulder when used. If the size was anything to judge by, then the power output was higher than the "Lupus" rifle the Freedom and the Justice were equipped with.

The mobile suit looked dangerous and after Kira looked at the power readouts, he felt the danger more so. The information showed that the machine had lots of power to work with, the same kind of levels that the Freedom itself had. That implied that the machine that Kira was facing could and probably had a nuclear reactor as well. If that was true, then this machine could have other similar abilities as the Freedom and the Justice. Kira took up a defensive stance with the Freedom, preparing for whatever was coming. However, Kira did expect to hear the voice he did, " _Is fate not ironic Kira Yamato,_ " said the voice of Rau Le Creuset, " _That we should meet on this battlefield to fight for the futures we wish to see for Humanity?_ "

The protuberances or pods detached from Creuset's mobile suit and moved forward, shooting at Kira and his allies. Kira dodged and evaded the beams that came from the pods that came off of Creuset's mobile suit, but those with him weren't able to. The explosions of his allies' suits being destroyed angered Kira, for none of them deserved to die. And what made this even more frustrating, Rau Le Creuset was cackling like a mad man the whole time he was doing this! " _This is what humankind has worked so hard for Kira Yamato!_ " shouted Creuset.

Creuset leveled his beam rifle on the Freedom and fired. Kira dodged and fired a barrage of missiles at the enemy mobile suit. However, the pods intercepted the projectiles from hitting Creuset's mobile suit. " _You are quite the persistent pest Kira Yamato,_ " Creuset said over an open com-line. " _But then, you are the culmination of mankind's desires and dreams, so of course you would be a serious obstacle to its end._ "

Kira saw the pods turn towards him, knowing that in this situation was going to get harder, he made the decision to undock from the METEOR unit. The Freedom's wings snapped open, the suit's HiMAT mode activating and increasing its mobility. Kira gritted his teeth at Creuset's claims, and now could see what Tyler meant when he said not to take what the masked man said as he said it. Whether what he said was true or not, he was chatting to throw Kira off and Kira wouldn't let it happen again! Not after all those who had sacrificed their lives in this battle thus far! "You may be right but, your view of what **Humankind's** dream is right now, is only in the negative Creuset! That's your fault, focusing on only the negative, ignoring and dismissing the positive!" Kira challenged.

Creuset had a double take at what the boy had said in reply, for it wasn't what he had expected to get from him. He had shaken this teen at Mendel and Creuset had hoped to do so again yet, the child had countered him in a way that was the last Creuset would have thought. Creuset refocused on the battle, and the two mobile suits had barely gotten off their initial attacks when a beam came from above them. " _See you have a new suit Creuset, but your style hasn't changed in the slightest,_ " came a male voice that Creuset never imagined he would hear again.

Creuset looked up and witnessed a blue mobile suit coming down at him at break neck speeds, he barely had time to dodge the suit. Kira was just staring at the blue mobile suit, for he had seen it before. It had been at the second battle outside Mendel, the machine had come with the Federation forces. " _Aker! How are you still alive?!_ " Creuset snarled.

" _Why, you almost sound like you missed me Le Creuset. Still I, Graham Aker, the defender of the people and the one people call the Comet, have arrived and we have a score to settle,_ " replied the voice of Graham Aker.

Le Creuset clenched his jaw at hearing the reply. This man, Graham Aker had been a serious thorn in Creuset's side! Creuset had gone through a lot to get rid of him, to be rid of his bravado and his 'more humble and righteous than thou' air about him as much as everything else. He had even let slip that Aker was a Natural, so that Aker would disappear. The desired result had come and Graham Aker had vanished, Creuset believed that it was the end of the man's interference. And yet, once again, here the pilot called the "Comet" was, interfering with Creuset's goals, it was so frustrating! But, Creuset wasn't an idiot, Aker was no novice pilot, more the opposite, arguably one of the best pilots in history thus far.

Graham drew a beam saber, then shot forward at the Providence, clashing against one another. The two mobile suits quickly became involved fighting with each other, being oblivious to most else. Kira watched the two for a moment, before he headed off to help in this battle elsewhere on the field. As Kira moved to a different area of the field, a sight caught his attention. Out of seemingly nowhere, two objects appeared a short distance from the Jachin Due base, the Mirage Colloid that had hid it deactivating. One of the objects was larger than the other, but they were in line with one in front of the other. The larger object was made up of a huge dark grey ring that appeared to be some kind of emission dish array. That was connected to a cylindrical structure behind the dish. Then the other smaller object looked to be a cone or funnel shape with eight veins that formed the funnel.

The next thing any saw, the color of the ring structure began to change, as phase shift armor was enabled, making the ring a lighter grey and the mirrors that it encircled turn an ocean blue and showing their reflective qualities. There was a small hole in the center of the array of mirrors as well, but the purpose to the coalition fleet was unknown. What was clear, was that this structure was almost certainly the nuclear weapon that ZAFT had. The defending ZAFT forces moved out of the path that the weapon pointed. Then a beam fired from the center of the dish of mirrors, hit the funnel's bottom, then reflected back to the array of mirrors. All were spellbound, as a large magenta beam or wave came from the structure and zoomed towards the opposing forces.

Everything that was engulfed by the wave, quickly vanished in an explosion, ships and mobile suits alike. Once the beam stopped, there was a moment that all remaining on the battlefield took in what had just happened. A portion of the coalition fleet had been destroyed, as well as the majority of what had been left of the Alliance's task force that had been supporting the nuclear carrying force. ZAFT's weapon had taken damage to itself through firing what it had, some of the mirrors had melted and couldn't reflect well anymore. The funnel that was used for aiming and reflecting the initial beam had melted and warped to a twisted metal glop.

Orders were sent to all in the coalition fleet to regroup, then a number were sent to try and destroy the weapon that had just caused the massive destruction. Meanwhile, ZAFT was starting the work of replacing the mirrors and the exterior funnel as quickly as they possibly could. The Kusanagi joined the force moving to attack ZAFT's weapon. However, ZAFT defending forces desperately fought against them and managed to repel the attackers with what they had still. Yet, those opposing ZAFT defending forces, did do some damage to the array of mirrors within the dish structure. So, their efforts did buy time for more action to be taken before GENESIS could fire once more, much to the frustration of Patrick Zala.

While that was happening, the Archangel was fighting the ZAFT defending forces. The Archangel was repelling most of the ZAFT vessels with difficulty, until another ship came onto the scene, the Dominion. Murrue could only stare at the black Archangel as it began attacking the ZAFT forces. However, Murrue wasn't about to complain about help coming, no matter the source. In fact, the Dominion contacted the Archangel, " _Murrue, I know that recent past actions don't speak well for the Dominion or myself, but in this, Humanity's dark hour, let us fight side by side once more,_ " Natarle said over the com-line.

Murrue agreed to that plus, she didn't want to go against Natarle if there wasn't a need to do so. The battle around them was going okay, then, there appeared a ZAFT machine with a heavy plasma cannon, pointing it at the Archangel. The suit fired its weapon, and though Murrue ordered for the Archangel to evade, but it was too late. However, at the last moment, the Strike came out of nowhere and stopped the beam with its shield. There was a moment that time seemed to stand still as the beam was halted by the Strike's shield. " _Like I said, do I not have a knack for making the impossible possible,_ " Mu said over the radio.

But then, the high-powered plasma beam moved forward, first warping the shield, then going through it. The explosion that engulfed the Strike was hard to watch for those on the Archangel. Murrue felt the worst pain that she had ever felt in her life, seeing the Strike vanish in smoke and then see nothing but debris. She couldn't stop the cry of horror, the howl that came out of her that was he screaming the name of the man that she loved, "MUUUUUUUUU!"

Murrue certainly wasn't the only one that felt pain at seeing the Strike destroyed, Krystal felt it as well, even if it wasn't in the same way. The relationship that had developed between Krystal and Mu was a strong friendship. They had been watching one another's back for much of this war and had saved each other multiple times. Of course, neither kept count of how many times one saved the other, there was no real reason to keep score. So, to see Mu go down… it enraged Krystal as much as it hurt her.

Krystal switched the beam rifle over to the Shadow's left hand and brought out its positron cannon. She nailed the GINN with the positron cannon, destroyed the two that were close by with the Shadow's beam rifle. The Nazca-class vessel that had been supporting the mobile suits was what Krystal aimed at next. But, before she got to take a shot, the ship was pierced by two plasma beams that came from the side. Then Krystal caught a glimpse of the Aurora in its flight mode, flying away, making Krystal believe that the mobile suit had shot at the ZAFT vessel.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

With the nukes the Alliance had been trying to use neutralize, I was heading towards the ZAFT nuclear "gamma radiation beam" device. Once that weapon was taken care of, this battle could be settled and brought to a close. However, a sight I saw along the way changed my optimism that I had growing, dropped an amount. That sight, was a high-powered plasma beam being shot at the Archangel's bridge. The Strike suddenly appeared in front of the Bridge, using its shield to block the incoming plasma beam.

" _Like I said, do I not have a knack for making the impossible possible,_ " came the voice of Mu.

Then, the next thing that occurred, was the plasma beam puncturing the Strike's shield and the explosion that engulfed the mobile suit. It took my brain a moment to process what I had seen. The Strike being destroying meant that Mu La Flaga was gone and I had been getting to kind of like the guy. There were so many good people dying in this and it was getting ridiculous! I flew over where the two ZAFT ships, a Nazca and a Laurasia-class, bought out both my plasma cannons and aimed at the bridges of the respective vessels. I caught a glimpse of the Shadow destroying several GINNs and other ZAFT mobile suits. Then, once I locked in my targets, I fired my plasma cannons, making a neat hole through each of them. They exploded shortly after I shot them, but I was already back on course for ZAFT's nuclear weapon.

By what that last shot had shown, the forward funnel was key to getting the weapon to fire off as designed. So, that in mind, if that funnel was out of line with the initial laser path, then the weapon can't fire effectively. By the time I was within close range of the structure, I saw that the "alignment mirror" had been replaced. I stored my beam rifle as kept going towards the mirror funnel and slammed into it with force. Then throwing the throttle forward hard, I had the Aurora's thrusters burn hard, so I was pushing the funnel out of where it was positioned.

It wasn't long after I started shoving the aiming mirror away from where it started, ZAFT mobile suits began coming towards me. Yet, before I had come up with a way to keep going with what I was doing and defend myself, allies appeared between myself and those approaching to stop me. Fighting was initiated between ZAFT forces and those defending me as I continued to move the alignment mirror further out of the laser's firing line. The clash got messy quite quick for both sides when I had the funnel almost out of reach of the laser's barrel.

Yet, moments before I had the aiming mirror out of the way, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Upon looking to the left, my eyes widened at seeing a GINN pointing a high-energy beam cannon directly at the Aurora's torso. The cannon fired, and a green beam was coming at me and time seemed to slow down. But, before the beam hit, a Delta fighter suit appeared between me and the beam's path. There was a period of time that the scene felt frozen, the Delta fighter blocking the beam with its own torso. " _It's up to you now old boy, do not let this weapon fire at Earth. Make it worth a gentleman performing a hero's duty Tyler,_ " said the voice of Alan.

The Delta suit vanished in a fireball and shrapnel. A painful feeling exploded within me at seeing a teammate, a friend sacrifice himself to save me. Tears began coming from my eyes, but at the same time, I was gritting my teeth hard. The pain of loss and sorrow was only matched by the rage that was blazing in me. I slammed the throttle passed where their stops were, and forced them beyond and into the highest speed the Aurora could reach. My mobile suit's thrusters were now putting out more power, what would have the Aurora's flight mode going at Mach four bare minimum, or higher. Also, I had both of the Aurora's plasma cannons start charging up to their FULL capacity while I pushed the alignment mirror.

When the mirror was fully out of line, I pushed myself away a short distance and brought out the plasma cannons. The lower third of the cannon barrels, split open, widening the barrel. Particles of light began gathering at the end of the cannons, much like the effect that the Archangel's Lohengrin blaster cannon did. I brought both cannons to bare on the funnel I had moved, glaring at it with anger, loathing and the utmost hatred. As I pulled the trigger for both cannons, I couldn't stop the roar of pain and rage that came from me. Two beams, that were around the same size as the positron beams that came from the Archangel's Lohengrins, came from the cannons' barrels. The alignment mirror was struck by both plasma beams and the metal that made its structure, quickly began to melt and distort its shape. My shots lasted for nearly five seconds, before the beams died down and faded. All that was left in their wake, was globs of twisted metal and some shards of misshapen glass that had melted like the metal.

I was breathing hard, trying to calm down and ignore the pain of watching Alan take a shot meant for me. The plasma cannons' barrels closed, before they swung back to the stored positions alongside the Aurora's backpack. As beams and other projectiles started coming my way, I was brought back to the present. I shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and activate the optical camouflage, disappearing from sight and headed off to the rear of the ZAFT's nuclear weapon structure.

Behind the mirror dish, where I believe the control section of this weapon, I began searching for a way inside. Once I found the entrance that I was looking for, in the form of an airlock, I positioned the Aurora just above it. I exited the cockpit and floated over to the airlock, and after I managed to get it to open, I entered a tunnel. As I went down the tunnel, I kept glancing down at my left forearm where readouts were being displayed. The specific reading that I was keeping an eye on was the radiation levels, this was a nuclear weapon after all. At the end of the tunnel, there was another airlock, and after cycling, it opened onto a small control center.

I floated over to the closest collection of consoles and scanned them to see what was being done from here. The first point that I saw, this place was being control remotely now, so there was no need of anyone to be here. Second, there was currently being another mirror moved into position to interact with the laser. I quickly began typing out commands, to see what could be done to stop this weapon so it could be broken down, or just destroyed outright. It was as I was looking at the power source of this weapon, a "nuclear cartridge" that an idea came to me. The cartridge was pretty much a contained nuclear explosive, with only one way to go, so eliminate that one way to go, and you have a hell of a pipe bomb! That being stated, I got down to changing the instructions that this system used, to activate the cartridge, but not transfer the energy to the laser and the mirrors.

The second task was to rig a misfire of the rest of this weapon, which the system said was named GENESIS. That proved to be a more work involved task than setting up the ammunition to work incorrectly. One of the reasons that was the case, was _someone_ had already gone through this system and done work. And when I say someone, I mean a no good, rotten dirty rat had tailored the instructions of this weapon! Yep, it was clear to me that Rau Le Creuset had gone through the trouble of making a contingency plan if those in control of ZAFT lost this battle. In essence, by what I was seeing, the rat had setup some real nasty things to occur should a particular person be killed or die. That person was Patrick Zala, and were he to die, whether it be by the heart stopping or some other means that his body stop functioning, that would trigger the 'trap'. Said trap, was for this weapon to fire at Earth, why Creuset set this up, I don't know. Maybe this was some sort of revenge, who can really say with that mad man?

Well, since I wanted GENESIS to vanish forever, and it looked like the nuclear cartridge triggered the be by a firing sequence, I say why change what the rat did. The rat had been kind enough to make sure that this weapon would fire after all and I could use the idea. Yet instead, I created the circumstances that would guarantee a misfire, which would set off the cartridge. Hopefully, that would in turn cause this place to be destroyed entirely. Once I finished arranging the demise that would end this weapon, I then made sure that nothing I'd done would be noticed by any at Jachin Due. After that was finished, I headed back down the tunnel I had entered by, waited for the airlocks to cycle, before floating back to my mobile suit.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Within Jachin Due's main control center, Patrick Zala was enraged and fuming as he watched the Federation's Military forces and their allies keep pushing forward against defending forces. For Treize to have appeared had been infuriating enough without his foolish and blind views, those had caused more problems before this. It had cause chaos throughout true loyal ZAFT soldiers, and then the Champions had foolishly sided with Treize which had made things even more ridiculous. After the one shot from GENESIS should've ended the battle, but it had only spurred the enemy onward.

The enemy had begun an assault on GENESIS directly shortly after the first shot, yet they failed to do serious damage to it, but had destroyed enough of the mirrors to need to fix them. However, mirrors could be replaced, so that was more an annoyance than a hindrance. Nonetheless, when events had started to look up a bit, things went backwards again with the interference of a red mobile suit. The machine had gone for the exterior alignment mirror and started to move it out of position. Patrick Zala had ordered the mobile suit to be shot down, for it quickly became the focus of his fury. But, enemy forces began defending the red suit and allowed it to keep moving the aiming mirror out of firing position.

Just as headway was being made, the red machine had put on a burst of speed and gotten the mirror out of line. And where it would have been simple to tow the mirror back into line, that didn't happen. Instead, the red mobile suit had brought out the two cannons it had and aimed at the exterior alignment mirror, then before anyone could stop it, the cannons were fired at the mirror and it was engulfed. When the light from the beams faded, the alignment mirror was distorted and less than half the original structure remained. Before any could eliminate the troublesome machine, it disappeared from sight and sensors, which served to infuriate Patrick Zala more. Still, he ordered another exterior aiming mirror moved into place so that GENESIS could fire another volley.

Meanwhile, Athrun had been all over the battlefield, even after taking care of the Alliance task force that had been carrying nuclear weapons towards the PLANTs. But, his mind returned to the one of ZAFT's side that kept this insanity going, Patrick Zala. Athrun hadn't forgotten how the last confrontation with his father had gone but, Athrun wanted one more chance to reason with his father. Granted, Athrun didn't kid himself, his father would unlikely listen to him, yet he felt the need to still try one more time deep from within the depths of his soul. And so, he headed to Jachin Due, Nicol and Miguel reuniting with him, fighting along the way.

During the journey, the three got into the thick of things, and Athrun had to undock from the METEOR as more than half its weapons were either gone or didn't respond anymore. That action didn't halt the advancement towards Jachin Due for Athrun or his comrades, other damage was incurred. When they got close to the station, Athrun broke off from both Nicol and Miguel and continued on alone. Athrun found an open dock and headed inside of Jachin Due and landed the Justice. After he popped out of his cockpit, Athrun carefully began making his way towards the main control center of the station. There were none that stopped Athrun along his way, the station appeared mostly deserted and those that he did come across were going the other way.

Around ten minutes later, Athrun came into the central control room, which like the rest of the station, was empty or in the process of becoming so. However, Athrun still saw that his father was present in the room and Athrun brought up his pistol up. "This has gone on long enough chairman," stated Athrun, pointing the pistol he had at Patrick Zala.

Patrick Zala straighten up slowly and turned to face his biological son, "Hmm, in that we can agree," he replied.

Athrun's grip on his gun tightened, the man sounded so calm, like there was little, if anything wrong with the current situation. This man had brought about this battle, the deaths that had happened so far in it and it was still going! "Tell me why, what does the fighting and the goals of this battle accomplish? Killing all Naturals won't solve this conflict, destroying Earth won't end this war, it will only make things worse, it will bring destruction on all! How can you not see that?!" Athrun challenged in growing anger.

"You are still a disappointment, so blind and you haven't learned anything," Chairman Zala. "The extermination of all Non-Coordinators is the only way to end this war and bring about lasting peace. Sacrifices are necessary to achieve this, and they will be honored and never forgotten." Patrick Zala then raised a gun and pointed a gun at Athrun, "Yet, you have lost sight of such a simple fact."

At the same time the standoff happening, the Aurora flew into the largest of Jachin Due's hangers, taking care of the mobile suits that were there. Tyler landed his suit and then exited his suit's cockpit, leaving his helmet in the Aurora's cockpit. When he glanced around the hanger, Tyler felt a bit of surprise when he spotted the Justice at the other end of the hanger. However, from the last time Tyler had seen it, half of the right leg was gone and the METEOR equipment was missing. Of course, fighting here would be difficult, but still, Tyler knew that Athrun was a good pilot, so to see this amount of damage made him wonder about Athrun's condition.

Tyler focused back on the task he had come to do, get to Patrick Zala and either arrest the man, or shoot him, whichever came first. The insanity had gone on for too long and it needed to come to an end, the sooner the better! Azrael had been captured, so the one spurring the Earth Forces on was off the stage, that just left ZAFT's end, Patrick Zala.

Tyler had his SMG in hand and ready to use, before he moved forward into the bowels of Jachin Due. Tyler made his way towards the control room of this base, but those he came across ran passed him, not confronting him. Once outside of the door to the main control room, Tyler stopped and took a deep breath. He had acquired a machine gun from one he had disabled with an extra clip for it. Blasting the controls for the door, Tyler disabled the hydraulics, which caused the door to be forcibly opened. Tyler then, came face to face with some of the console operators that were still alive and were trying to leave. As Tyler tried to be nice to other people, he escorted the small group towards the hanger, until he met a few soldiers. He left the group with the soldiers and headed back to the control room and slipped inside without being noticed.

Tyler listened as there was conversation going on, "The extermination of all Non-Coordinators is the way to end this war and bring about lasting peace. Sacrifices are necessary to achieve this, and they will be honored and never forgotten. Yet, you have lost sight of such a simple fact," said the voice of Patrick Zala.

At the sound of a gun clicking, Tyler rose out of his hiding place and took in the scene he was seeing. Patrick Zala was pointing a gun at his son while Athrun was also aiming a gun at the current Chairman of the PLANTs. Tyler figured that it was time he entered the picture and put in his two-cents, "And who is it that has lost sight of simple fact, Because it is you that has become blind," posed Tyler, coming out from behind equipment he had been hiding from behind.

Patrick Zala twisted around and pointed his gun at Tyler, while the teen raised and then trained his SMG on chairman Zala. The man glared at Tyler, rage evident, "And who are you?!" Zala demanded.

Tyler kept making his way closer, until he was a few meters away from the man, "I surprised that you've forgotten me already. We've met more than once, which makes seeing you as you are now even more a shame," Tyler replied.

Patrick Zala became even more angry, "And why is that?"

"Because, I used to respect and admire what you stood for and believed. I don't anymore with the change in your rhetoric. Still, my name is Tyler McGregor, and if you need another hint," Tyler said, before he raised his left hand, with only the middle finger pointing up and displayed it to Patrick Zala. "Then I would bet that this should give you inspiration."

Chairman Zala's eyes widened at seeing this, "YOU! YOU'RE THE THIEF THAT STOLE THE FREEDOM!" he shouted in rage.

Tyler smiled, "Yes indeed, I'm the one and only, that I wouldn't doubt you want horrible things done to for flipping you off in view of the security cameras during my theft of the X10A Freedom." Tyler's expression became totally serious, "And my view of how you run things hasn't changed in the slightest, other than getting worse than before. Where I can understand the anger you feel with some within the Earth Alliance trying to launch nukes at the PLANTs, for I feel some of the same. Heck, I can even comprehend wanting those responsible for the Bloody Valentine Incident to pay for what they did. But, for you to use a nuclear weapon on the moon and then point it at Earth, it makes you no better or any different than those you hate."

"How dare you compare me to those filthy Naturals!" roared Zala.

"And just how are you different?! They use nuclear weapons against us, you use nuclear weapons against them. They cry for the needs of the deaths of Coordinators, you shout the necessity for Naturals to be exterminated. So again, how are you so different from them chairman?!" Athrun shot back.

"I don't think I could have said it better myself," Tyler added. "How far you have fallen Patrick Zala? Your wife, Lenore Zala would be ashamed and horrified of what kind of man you've become, and who could blame her. You intend to use your nuclear weapon on Earth and you claim that killing innocent people will solve the standing problems when it is more likely to bring about the extinction of the whole human race. And you still question who is blind and/or insane," Tyler reasoned logically.

Patrick Zala gazed murderously at Tyler, then turned back to look at Athrun, "The two of you are fools, and as for you," the man snarled at Athrun. "You are a complete disappointment and failure." Patrick Zala swung back to face Tyler, "Then you… you have the gall to use my late wife against me! I will make you pay!"

Tyler began moving, yet it was already too late, the sound of the gun going off echoed around the room. Tyler felt a stinging in his left shoulder as he aimed his SMG at Patrick Zala. Then, a second gunshot resounded through the room and the face of Patrick Zala contorted from pain and anger. The man looked over to his flesh and blood who had shot him on the left side of his chest, that now blood was slowly leaking out of.

Athrun's hands were shaking a bit, after shooting the man that looked exactly like the one he had known as father, but wasn't the same man as Athrun remembered. Athrun hadn't thought about pulling the trigger of the gun he held, but he had just reacted. He had done so in order to defend his best friend Tyler, as the chairman of the PLANTs had just shot Tyler, attempting to kill him. Patrick Zala growled and brought up his gun to point at Athrun.

Another gunshot sounded and chairman Zala was forced to let go of his gun as his right hand took a bullet. Smoke came from the SMG Tyler was holding, his face was impassive and showed little emotion, "Patrick Zala, under the United Nations Charter, Chapter 4, Article 7, I hereby place you under arrest for the committing of war crimes, and as a war criminal as per Clause C's subsection 1's definition. You have the right to remain silent as anything can be used against you in the Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law," Tyler stated evenly.

Patrick Zala grabbed the pistol he had been using in his left hand and was swinging it up to point at Tyler. "You think you can judge me?!" screeched Patrick Zala.

However, Tyler had adjusted the barrel of his gun and fired another round, which struck the man in the right side of the chest. Chairman Zala, even with blood flowing from multiple wounds, he pointed his gun at the older teen. The man never got off a shot, for Tyler pulled the trigger of his SMG once more, putting a bullet hole in Patrick Zala's forehead.

Tyler lowered his gun, before flicking on his gun's safety back on and stored the gun in its holster along his right thigh. Tyler grabbed his left shoulder as the stinging pain from the bullet that had punched a small neat hole through his shoulder. Blood was trickling out of the wound, but Tyler still had the full range of motion in his left arm as far as he could tell. Then, he made his way over to Athrun, who was just staring at the body of Patrick Zala floating. Just as Tyler reached Athrun, the door behind Athrun slid open and Cagalli came into the room, gun at the ready. She was accompanied by another in an Orb pilot suit who had an assault rifle in their hands.

Cagalli lowered her gun when she realized that Tyler and Athrun were the only ones in the room. She noted that Tyler was developing a red patch on his left shoulder, "What happened here?" she asked.

Athrun didn't respond to her, he was still in shock at having to seeing his father killed to protect Tyler and himself. So, Tyler ended out answering Cagalli, "A mess honestly, but Athrun and I are still alive and that's what counts."

Cagalli moved forward and squeezed Tyler's shoulder, blood staining her pilot suit's glove and making Tyler wince. "And your shoulder?" she posed.

"A bullet found my shoulder and didn't slow down at contact, it happens sometimes. I'm as human as anyone else is and so, am mortal," Tyler replied.

Cagalli reached into the supplies she had with her, took out two bandages, putting one on the front hole torn in Tyler's pilot suit and covering the wound and then did the same on the exit wound. Tyler thanked Cagalli for her action, before he turned towards Athrun, "I'm sorry Athrun, you should've never been put in this position. I just should've taken the shot and kill him so that you wouldn't have to be put in the position of shooting the man," Tyler said with regret.

Athrun shook his head, "No… no, he wouldn't listen anymore… he didn't give either of us any other choice," Athrun choked on his words.

Tyler put his right arm around Athrun's shoulders, "True, but still, you shouldn't have to pull the trigger and shoot that man, it should've just been me. Nevertheless, what's done is done, there's nothing that either of us can do about the event other than put it behind ourselves," Tyler stated.

Cagalli gave her agreement with Tyler's statement and the three headed back towards the station's main hanger. The three launched out, the Asuka assisting the Justice, while the Aurora was starting to run lower on power. They began heading towards the coalition fleet, hoping the battle would come to a swift end.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Cagalli, Athrun and I had left the ZAFT station Jachin Due, Cagalli was supporting the Justice, though it wasn't really needed for flight on Athrun's part. Not saying that the Justice won't need an overhaul with repairs, but the mobile suit wasn't crippled. The Aurora was doing okay, oh, it would need repairs and parts replaced plus, a fresh paint job. My machine was not in serious trouble like others, my biggest issue was low power levels, so I require a recharge sometime soon. I'm not sure about what Cagalli's situation is currently, but I'm assuming that she's okay for the time being.

However, as we were going towards our destination avoiding the still ongoing battle, we came across a faceoff of two locked in battle. Kira in the Freedom fighting a mobile suit that I hadn't seen before. The Freedom had seen much better days, for it was missing some of the wings, both its plasma cannons just to start. The machine also didn't have its right arm, beam rifle, had only half of its right leg still connected and the shield as well as its head were gone. The unknown suit had a round backpack, which was oddly nearly empty, except for four protuberances, kind of like Cormag's mobile suit. It was also missing an arm, yet had a beam rifle in its remaining arm, but other than that, it had some wear and tear and that's it.

I aimed my beam rifle at the unknown mobile suit, "Kira, you okay? You need a hand, or do you got this?" I asked.

The sound of laughter was heard over an open channel, " _Well well, what an amusing thing to hear your voice again McGregor,_ " said the voice of Rau Le Creuset.

So… this mobile suit is being piloted by the rat himself, now I kind of want to destroy this machine slowly, for all the crap the rat's pulled. I want to see him squirm good before he dies! " _Your logic is twisted as it is insane Creuset!_ " shouted Kira.

Huh? I must be missing something, it's the problem with coming in on the middle of a conversation I suppose. Kira is quite right though, Creuset is twisted and insane, that's a dangerous combination. " _That's how humans think Kira Yamato, deny it as you wish, but that's the truth! This is our destiny! People knew where they were heading when they chose to forge this path,_ " Creuset shot back.

Okay… I don't know what this is about, but as the rat twists not only truth, but lies as well, I'm going with Creuset is spouting crap again. However, the ludicrous rhetoric didn't cease only got worse, " _Humanity will never change. Justice and Faith, ignorance and escapism, they never learn, and they never listen! The fighting and this war prove that beyond any shred of reasonable doubt! We've reach the end of that path already, and there is no way to prevent the fall of Humanity now,_ " Creuset continued.

I could only shake my head from side to side, hard not to with Rau Le Creuset displaying how much a nutcase he is. The issue I think all of us here have to some degree, we are left to be forced to listen to the idiot, who was still going. " _Mankind will be vanquished at last with the looming event, just as they deserve for what they've done!_ "

The 'event' that I think he's referring to, is the trap he set up with GENESIS, which I had already changed to do something else. But, the rat doesn't know of the changes I made to cause a misfire and explosive detonation. I had the Aurora move forward, "I'm sick and tired of listening to a rat go on about his crappy views about what he's obviously not taken the time to understand at all!" I growled at Creuset.

" _And what you know McGregor, people have faith in justice and hide from the problems they don't understand! They never learn, and never bother to ask,_ " Creuset stated like a religious preacher. " _This is the path that Humanity forged for itself, there is no longer any way to stop its conclusion! All forms of humanity will become extinct, as they should be!_ " he claimed.

I fired my beam rifle at Creuset, but he dodged. The pods on his machine detached and flew towards me. I evaded the first two, but the third nailed the Aurora's beam rifle and the fourth scored a shot on my suit's head, taking out the main cameras. The rat then cackled manically, " _Face it, no matter what you do now, it's all for not! Earth will burn, and the ensuing tears and screams will make sure the destruction of the rest of humanity will happen! This will be the day of reckoning for all!_ "

I shifted the Aurora over to its flight mode and the second my display screens switched to the flight array, I had the view of the outside again. Kira attacked Creuset and the rat backed off a bit. The man was insane, no question about that now, so why not see if I can throw him a serious curve ball? "Hey Le Creuset, your plan to have GENESIS fire its beam at Earth, isn't going to happen, I personally saw to that myself," I replied.

Kira was forced back by Creuset and then, there was a pause, but I received my answer, " _McGregor, I was almost convinced that you were being serious about GENESIS not firing, but no amount of lying change things,_ " Creuset returned.

I was lining up my sites on Creuset's mobile suit as I snorted, "You should take your own advice, you dirty rat. I saw what you did and how you hid it from everyone else. Rigging GENESIS to fire when Jachin Due is damaged to a certain point or is destroyed. Well guess what, I've rearranged things so that it won't go as you want it to. But, things will certainly go out with a bang though," I shot back.

Creuset didn't answer me after that, which makes me think he's serious considering what I said. Then, the mad man drew a beam saber, spun around and sped towards me. I registered that attack coming at me, I fired the 90mm Vulcans at Creuset as he rushed at me, but he got in close enough to make my Vulcans ineffective. Creuset had raised up and shouted my name, as he was about to kill me. But then out of nowhere, the Freedom rushed at Creuset with both its beam sabers combined into one, and rammed the weapon into Creuset's suit's torso.

Suddenly, energy readout skyrocketed, I reacted by zooming forward, shifting the Aurora into its mobile suit mode and grabbing the Freedom and putting my foot down. I turned my mobile suit towards the mobile suit that was about to explode and hoped that Kira and I would make enough distance to not be forced to take the brunt of the blast. The explosion began, and I was pushed and pounded as the force of the detonation shoved both Kira and I away. The shaking lasted for fifteen seconds before it stopped. I scanned my displays and saw that the nuclear explosion had taken a serious toll on the Aurora. The phase shift had taken the brunt of the blast, but it hadn't been enough. Both plasma cannons were gone, their mounts in shreds, the wings were like swiss cheese now. The back of my mobile suit was in bad shape, yet somehow the nuclear reactor I had wasn't damaged enough for it to explode or have a serious dip in power output, it still was low and wasn't running at 100%. How that was possible or even feasible, I haven't a clue, but I'll take it! I attempted to shift the Aurora back into its flight mode to get a view of what was going outside, but my suit didn't respond to the command. It was really a miracle that my mobile suit had survived at all!

" _Tye,_ " came Kira's voice, filled with concern.

"I'm alive Kira… somehow still alive. Don't ask me how that is possible anymore, I don't know how I'm able to dodge death like this," I replied. "My suit's optics aren't working well or much at all now, even if I have an amount of my thrusters responding, so I'm driving blind. But, perhaps if you can see, then I can provide the thrust for us to make it back to everyone else."

Kira began giving me instructions, and we flew hopefully in the direction of a ship that we could broad and this event could finally come to an end. Yet, Kira stopped for a moment, gasping at something, "Kira, what's going on out there?" I asked.

" _There's an explosion from ZAFT's weapon, it doesn't seem to be going off like it did before,_ " Kira answered.

I felt a smirk form on my face at hearing that, "Like I said to the rat, I personally rearranged things so that ZAFT's nuclear beam would not hit Earth. Instead, as you can see, it went out with a bang after misfiring," I said satisfied at the results that Kira described to me.

We continued along our way towards I would guess either the Kusanagi, the Archangel or the Eternal. I assume that Cagalli was doing the same for Athrun as the Justice hadn't been in the best shape last seen it. After going for a little while, there came a voice over the radio that I wasn't expecting to hear. " _Must say Tyler, you and your friend are looking much worse for ware, do you need some help?_ " asked the voice of Graham Aker.

I may not much like Graham's mannerisms or personality, but there are times when help is offered, that you would be dumb to refuse it no matter who it's coming from. "Yes Graham, we could use some help. One of us has almost no thrusters, I'm flying pretty much blind, so an assist would be appreciated right now," I returned.

There came a jerk from behind, " _Any particular ship you're wanting to be dropped off to?_ ", Graham posed.

"The Eternal would probably be best for the time being Graham," I said.

I kept ahold of the Freedom as we moved forward at a faster pace towards hopefully the Eternal. In a few minutes, Graham announced that he would be sending Kira and me soaring down the catapult the Eternal and into the hanger. A moment later, there was another jerk as we came to a stop, likely from deceleration cables. Kira and I moved into the hanger and there were sounds of scrambling outside the Aurora. I flicked the switch to open the cockpit and was happy to see it still worked.

Once the cockpit was open, I unbuckled my restraints and popped out to find that I was indeed in the Eternal's hanger. The next thing I did, was float over to what was left of the Freedom and bang on the torso, since Kira hadn't come out yet. A long half-a-minute passed, then Kira came up and out of the cockpit and first looks said he was physically okay. I moved closer and found Kira was breathing in a manner that said he was relieved. He opened his eyes and saw me, "We both made it back Tye, right?"

I smiled and nodded, "You better believe we made it back alive my friend," I assured.

And so, the battle for the future of Humanity, Earth and the colonies came to a close, though it didn't feel like there was a side that won exactly. A lot of people had lost their lives in this battle, on all sides of this conflict. I found out that the Justice had been taken back the Kusanagi and that for the most part, only one person that I know well had died. Heck, the Dominion had apparently switched sides and had helped the Archangel, wisest decision that Natarle has made in a while I say.

Of course, Lacus found Kira and they had a teary reunion, the pair was actually pretty cute, and it gives me hope that those two can make progress. As for me, unfortunately, for whatever reason, Sakura was onboard the Eternal and quickly found me. I was too tired to fight the woman for the time being. So, she got to sleep in my quarters as she wouldn't leave me alone. In the end, we pilots were given time to rest and it was sorely needed for each one of us. None of us were looking forward to what would follow later as results of this battle.

Phase end!

 **A/n**

 **That's where I'll leave off to transition to the next Phase! Now, I've spent time, effort and stressed myself to write this chapter, if that isn't obvious with its content. So, I hope you readers liked it and appreciate the work that's gone into this one, it felt like more than the majority of the Phases before this one. Some have asked and told me that I should continue this story into the Destiny part of the Gundam Seed series. I state for the record, that I intended to do that not too long after starting this story. There will be a Phase for transition and setup for going into Destiny from this point, for there is some things I wish to define and setup. BUT, if this story hasn't shown already, don't expect that I will follow the series closely. There will be events that I will keep and have happen, but other than that, I make no promises on what I keep or change. That goes for characters as much as it does for events, that is the warning I give and I'll leave it at that.**

 **Finally, on another note, my story "Sekirei: Battle of the Gods" is currently going through a serious revision. I've been going between this story and that one, it's how I get over writer's block. Anyways, my sekirei story is an idea I like, but I feel in needs major polishing up before I write more for it.**

 **Then as always, some of you please take the time to write a review, they help and are appreciated. It gives me the feeling that I'm not just writing this stuff to keep myself from going looney, and feel welcome to laugh at that. Peace out until next time!**

 **KakeruPB**

Let me say, that I love long reviews, so much can come for those and the thoughts that go into them. Anyways, down to my response! Yes, I thought that a situation like the one in the last Phase would do for the two new love birds, plus, got some comedy out of it too. As for Kira's naivete, it's his best and worst quality, it's hard not to like him. I've not thought about how Siegel would take Lacus getting together with Kira. Sakura on the other hand, I've inferred what she thinks a bit, which came with Tyler noticing Sakura NOT scaring Kira off like she has those that came before.

The Euros Coalition's defenses, well I admit it was somewhat overboard, but in my defense, I've hinted that the Human Federation had been preparing for a long time, like decades for either ZAFT or the Earth Alliance attacking and trying to take the mass driver. That doesn't exactly excuse what I described, but yeah. For the Fleet in this Phase that fought both the Alliance and ZAFT, honestly, I just couldn't see that all those in the Alliance agreed with opinions like Muruta Azrael had, nor all in ZAFT blindly following Patrick Zala. So, with two influential leader figures, Halberton from the Earth Forces side and Treize from ZAFT, it made sense to me when I was writing this Phase.


	26. Phase 26: A Season of Peace

**A/n**

 **Finally! The final Phase before I go into SEED Destiny! I know it took a while for this phase, BUT there are two reasons. The first reason is the full revision that I've been working on for all the Phases before this one. The second… well, I had writer's block as well as I had a hard time deciding what I put in this phase and what can wait for later on. ANYWAYS, I'll go into more detail about those things at the end, the normal disclaimer of me owning nothing from the Gundam Universe still unfortunately stands. Enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 26: A Season of Peace

September 27th 71 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Lagrange 5

The battle to decide the future of the human race had come to a close, yet it had been at the price of lives sacrificed. All three factions felt the effects of the second battle of Jachin Due, both what had brought it and what had ended it. The physical evidence of what came out of the fight was both agonizing and horrifying to view. It was as a glaring example of what blind hatred of differences that existed produced; destruction, ruin and death. That was the field of debris, wreckage and scattered remains of ships, mobile suits and other metal structures in front of the PLANTs around the area that Jachin Due once occupied. The event and the view it made was painful for many, humbling for others and sobering for most.

The Earth Alliance's leadership along with what was left of the Earth Forces' top brass were standing down and asking for peace talks. The comprehension of how close things had come to Earth experiencing a cataclysm the likes of which had never happened before in human history, had shaken the Alliance leaders. Seeing what had befallen the Ptolemaeus Lunar base had been enough to unite them against those from Blue Cosmos, even denouncing Muruta Azrael as the director of the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association.

Meanwhile, the PLANTs there was upheaval as well, for enough of those in the governing body had said enough was enough. Maria Loloths was reinstated after the sixty-day period since her removal from the head of the Justice Department by the Administration and Legislation Committees. Once she was back in the position, Maria got down to work and within hours, those in the Justice Department had documents ready and signed that nullified the orders and authority of Patrick Zala. Most members of the Supreme Council sided with the Justice Department's action and overrode those who did not. Eileen Canaver, as the deputy chair of the Council, took charge and even forced the National Defense Committee to stand down.

During the time that things were being calmed down, the Coalition Fleet was making sure that fighting did not break out. Any differences that had stood between those within the fleet before its formation, were ignored as they worked together. ZAFT mobile suits, Alliance suits and Federation machines worked side by side in the cleanup effort and the ongoing work of preventing further losses. The scene of so many working together brought hope for a bright future for humanity. For the soldiers and mobile suit pilots, their shifts were staggered so that none exhausted themselves. Even with the battle over, there was still much to do for the horrors of the battle to be put into the past for everyone.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Days had gone by, though I couldn't really comprehend the passage of time when it came to the boundaries of days. There were three basic divisions of time for a while, those being; working shifts, off-time and the period one collapsed and 'slept'. When one was on an active duty shift, you went to out and either patrolled, or you helped with the cleanup efforts. On the off-times, the norm was to get a meal, or deal with the grief and sorrow that you had personally. The collapse and sleeping periods, I would think are self-explanatory in how they worked.

At first, when I was on active duty, I borrowed the Athena as Lisa was off most of the time I was on and the Aurora… was not in usable condition. My mobile suit has seen much better days and would need not only a serious overall, but also an amount of reconstruction as well. For the few times that Lisa and I were on at the same time, I asked a favor and got Athrun to let me use the Justice, which has much less damage than the Freedom and the Aurora had taken.

When I was off duty, I normally just ate meals quietly and with the grief that I was dealing with, talking didn't help me much at all. Having to witness Alan sacrifice himself to save my life hurt and the event kept playing over and over in my mind while I was left to my own thoughts. The other scene that repeated in my mind was me shooting and killing Patrick Zala. One of the few times I escaped the memories, was when I slept as I was so exhausted that I didn't remember what I dreamed and that was a mercy for the moment.

The days had become so blurred that I was passed the point of caring much of what others around me were doing. That also included Sakura, and I certainly never thought I'd come to a time that I wouldn't care enough to resist her stalking and showing of affection towards me that she does. It wasn't that I suddenly like what the pink-haired woman did around me, for I still don't appreciate her cuddling and the other things she does, I just don't care enough to do anything about it. Really, the only times that Sakura let me out of her sights, was when one or both of us were on duty or when I went to answer nature's call.

Anyways, back to the aftermath of the Second Battle of Jachin Due. It wasn't all that long after GENESIS misfired and blew itself to kingdom come that the fighting died down. The ZAFT defending forces gave signs of standing down and that they won't resist the coalition fleet. The 'other' Alliance force had been mostly decimated, and what remained was transmitting their message of surrender. The PLANTs and Earth were still standing and were okay, and that's what counted.

Once the fighting stopped, then had begun the messier work that unfortunately needed to be done because of the battle, the cleanup and accounting for the difference of who came into the fight and who made it out. I believe every single pilot, officer and crew member of every surviving ship knew the cleanup wouldn't be pretty, especially figuring out the casualties count and identifying who didn't make it. However, even knowing that, didn't prepare any of us for the magnitude of the lives lost on all sides. It doesn't take an educated person to see that the facts were taking individual tolls on each person, no matter the type of human they were. It was clear to me at least, that there would be many grieving families and friends because of this fight. I know that I wasn't looking forward to going to Alan's family and telling them he had made the ultimate sacrifice.

Nonetheless, for me, there was a different event ahead that came before that task, and that's attending an honoring for Mu La Flaga. The man had protected the Archangel, put his life on the line and in the Second Battle of Jachin Due, he gave his life to accomplish the goal. Men and/or women of such a caliber Mu had shown himself to be is rare, and it's a great loss for him to be gone. Heck I went to Admiral Moses and laid out Mu's case, as I was of the mind that the man deserved recognition that set him apart. That is how much Mu's dedication had changed my view of him since I had first met the Alliance mobile armor pilot.

After an hour-long speech from me, Admiral Moses was convinced of the bravery and valor shown by Mu La Flaga. So impressed was my superior at my defense and respect of Mu, mostly since I don't do or show such a thing often, that Admiral Moses agreed that Mu should be honored. In fact, Admiral Moses did the work while I stood in front of him, for Mu to receive the Federation's Medal of Honor, which is pretty much the highest award that one could get in the Federation Military. I mean, I had come here to insist that Mu is recognized and remembered, but I hadn't been shooting for the Medal of Honor! Although I believe that out of most of those I knew, the man was one of the more deserving of such an award.

When the paperwork was done, I also received the medal itself, which had been fetched while I was waiting. I then began making my way towards the Archangel, and that took some time to reach and I thought about how long it had been since I had been onboard the Archangel for it had been awhile. Upon landing in the Archangel's hanger, I instantly could feel the melancholy mood that was over this ship, not that I don't understand. The Archangel had lost one of the pilots that had been with her from nearly the beginning, that kind of loss is always hard. It was when I reached the mess hall that I encountered some of my friends from Heliopolis. Miriallia rushed forward and hugged me, bursting into tears and I think she was saying something, but I couldn't comprehend what it was with her sobbing like she was.

It took the combined efforts of Tolle and me to calm the girl down enough to have her be coherent and somewhat understandable. "Tye… (sob) I'm s-so glad (sob) and weren't (sob)," cried Miriallia, or at least, that's what I heard and could comprehend.

I looked towards Tolle kind of hoping that he could translate the sobs that I had no clue as to what was being said or implied. Heck, Miriallia could be cursing me for all I know, but I doubt that she is, that isn't like her. Tolle seemed to get my unsaid message, "I believe Mir was saying that she's glad that you're here and okay, not shot down and kill during the fighting Tye, like… Commander La Flaga was."

Ah, so that's what she said, I applaud Tolle for being able to get that out of what Miriallia got out, for I didn't get that message at all. I smiled softly and patted the girl on the head, "Sorry for worrying you all, I don't do it intentionally," I replied.

Next thing any of us knew the door to the room slid open and four more people came in, pretty much the rest of the gang. They came over to the three of us, Lacus moving to be beside Miriallia, the other surrounding us. This showed the camaraderie that those who do or have serve aboard the Archangel have with one another, myself included. We came together at the hard times and stood with each other and losing one of those that a comrade.

Spending less than an hour on the Archangel, a few things became obvious to me. The first, was that Murrue Ramius was taking Mu's death the hardest out of us all. I mean, I was seeing signs that Mu and Murrue were possibly in a relationship, but I'm guessing that it was more than I believe it was. Krystal wasn't taking the blonde man's absence a lot better, yet those two have apparently worked together for a good portion of the war, so I understand the loss of a teammate. There was little than any of us could say to either woman that helped, I kept my mouth shut as elegance with words was not my thing, my mom is better at that.

It was an hour later, that all onboard gathered in the hanger to have a bit of a ceremony to honor Mu La Flaga. For one of the few times that I do it, I had put on the formal Federation uniform as a way to show respect, slipping the medal I had gotten for Mu into a pocket. Upon reaching the hanger, I was a tad surprised to see other Alliance officers that I didn't know and at their head was none other than Natarle Badgiruel. The last time I had faced the former first officer of the Archangel, she was accusing me of being a traitor. Sure, a lot has changed since then, it has been a few months since then after all, but the little interaction we'd had since, wasn't nice.

When everyone was present, Murrue attempted to speak, but nothing came from her. Krystal moved forward and started talking about how good of a man Mu had been, even to the end with giving his life to save the Archangel. The speech she gave was good, I wouldn't doubt that Mu would be modestly beaming at the compliments being awarded to him. Murrue was in tears before the end of Krystal's recognition of Mu and something tells me that what I intend to do will only add to it. When Krystal finished all in the room were silent, until I spoke up, "Pardon me Captain Ramius, if I may, I would like to add something please."

All attention shifted onto me, Murrue nodded slowly, staring at me like everyone else with an expression of curiosity and surprise. I floated forward towards the monument that was made up of a picture of Mu and other things that had been his. I drew out the box that had the medal inside as I went, stopping just in front of the display. I opened the box revealing the Federation medal of honor, which was a made of a gold star with a circular wreath around the edge of the star. Setting down the medal, I took a deep breath, "Commander Mu La Flaga, you have shown courage and valor rare and uncommon. You have gone well above the calling of the duties that you have chosen to bear. For displays such as yours, I am here to award you with the Human Federation's Medal of Honor to recognize your efforts to protect and serve and do so proudly." I move back a bit and then gave a proper salute, "It has been an honor to serve alongside and get to know you Mu La Flaga, I will never forget you."

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Unknown Location

Muruta Azrael could recall times that his mother said to him there would be hard and bad days in his life and he'd certainly had a number of those recently. Mere weeks ago, Azrael had been at the top, director of the Alliance's National Defense Industry Association, pretty much ran the leadership of the Alliance. Everything had been lined up almost picture perfect, ships and mobile armor had been refitted to carry nuclear missiles and all of them had been on their way to take them to the PLANTs. The finish line had been in sight, within reach… but then snatched away just before the climax! All because those in the Human Federation and its accursed military couldn't mind their own business and stay out of others, nor be obedient and wait their turn to be dealt with! The Federation's insistence of being as some put it, "the good guys", holding to their view of nobility and righteousness was sickening and infuriating to Azrael.

If only his father, Bruno Azrael could see him now, he would either laugh at his failure, telling him that he was a good-for-nothing. Or else, would hit him and say how disappointing he was at coming so close and yet tripping and messing up just before crossing the finish line. For currently, Muruta Azrael was sitting in a holding cell, dressed in a blue jumpsuit. His wrists had cuffs around each with a long loose cord going between the two cuffs. There was also a ankle bracelet around his right leg to trace him, along with two guards outside the door to the cell and more down the corridor. He had been brought here after being apprehended by the Federation's SOLAS team to "await trial" for his crimes. Said trial, would not be fair in Azrael's mind in any way, not with the Federation running it.

However, what was irking Muruta Azrael the most as he sat and fumed in the cell, was that he had come so close to succeeding and yet had been foiled. He had been so close to achieving the main goal of Blue Cosmos, so near it that he had been tasting victory! Nonetheless, due to the actions of a few along with the interference the meddling Federation's Military had made, the PLANTs still stood, all of the horrible hourglass shaped colonies remained. All the effort and work, all the planning and dreams had come to not, due to the actions of the blindest of fools and the dumbest of idiots. To say that Azrael was angry and frustrated was a huge understatement! Azrael was beyond mad and enraged, beyond bitter and resentful at those that had contributed to cheating him of his greatest desire of wiping out all Coordinators.

Even as Azrael dwelled on his hatred, the door to his cell slid open and six armed people came inside. He said nothing to them, no curses as there were none that would be enough, no obscenities, for there were none strong enough to be fitting. Five of the soldiers formed a half circle in front of him and pointed their guns at him, while the other moved forward and made the cord connected to Azrael's wrist shackles retract into part of the restraints and have the cuffs come together. Azrael was then ordered to rise so that he could be escorted to where his trial would be held as the time for it was here.

Muruta Azrael rose and walked forward, standing tall, showing that the treatment he had received hadn't broken his spirit at all. Once outside the cell, three soldiers set themselves in front and the other three took of the rear and the party began moving forward. The journey was not very long, and Azrael still said nothing even as he came into a large room that was clearly to be where the trial would take place. The room was set up as a large courtroom, the setup was not unknown to Muruta Azrael, it was one of the rooms that the Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law took place and was as the historic court rooms from the past. The only real difference, there was no group that decide the verdict, the "jury" who could be influenced, no there was a tribunal that did that instead, along with the prosecution and sentencing.

Azrael was brought to a desk that was in the center of the room and sat down in the chair, then the soldiers backed away fading into the shadows at the edges of the room. Muruta Azrael then, looked up to see and face those who would "judge him", glaring with hatred and rage. There were eight of them, most he didn't know, but there were two that he did. One was a representative from the Federation's Euros Coalition, by the name of Irma Beltorchika, their chief diplomat. Then the other was the wench Ellen Blass herself and he already had a lot of enmity against her, not to wish to see her without horrible things occurring first. The rest of the eight, their clothing was telling of where they were from. The man that was in a white dress shirt, maroon suit jacket and same color dress pants was from the Orb Union, it was the same outfit that country's representative council wore, it wasn't Uzumi Athha though. The other two men were dress to say that one was from the Equatorial Union, while the other was representing the Kingdom of Scandinavia. The remaining three were in the Federation's military's uniform, so likely they were part of that group.

"This court is called to order," said the woman in the middle who was Matilda Ajan.

Matilda Ajan was the second person that led the Federation Military's Admiralty with Ben Moses. She was forty-nine, almost fifty. Possessing an average figure and height for a female, Matilda was a Coordinator that hailed from the Kingdom of Scandinavia. With Ben Moses overseeing the cleanup with the mess that the Second battle of Jachin Due had made, the trial of this particular man felt to her. Muruta Azrael had been able to avoid capture for close to four years, and there was no way that a criminal of his caliber would be allowed to worm out of facing justice for his action!

Matilda focused on Azrael, "Muruta Azrael, former leader of the anti-Coordinator organization Blue Cosmos, former director of the Earth Alliance's National Defense Industry Association. You have been brought here to this Ecumenical Humanity Court of Law to stand and be judged for the crimes that you are accused of."

The barreled-chested man named Kaises Buyer, who was to Matilda's right picked up where she left off. "Rest assured Muruta Azrael, the list of the crimes and wrongs that you are held responsible for and/or were involved in is not short."

Buyer took up the collection of papers in front of him, which was evidence that stated just what Azrael had done. It had been compiled by many within the Federation's Intelligence Agency branch, which Buyer was one of the two that was the head over. Buyer began reading the list of crimes, and for those there to do the business of judging and sentencing Muruta Azrael, hearing the list was terrible. The wrongs that Azrael had done that the public suspected of him were bad, but there were more events that Azrael had a part in that the general accusers had little to no clue about. The most condemning 'achievement' that Azrael had made, was his involvement in the planning and carrying out the Bloody Valentine Incident. It was that and the attempted nuclear strike on the PLANTs which made Muruta Azrael a "war criminal".

Azrael said nothing as the "list of 'his' crimes" was read, not like he was given an opportunity to do so anyways. He regretted none of his actions that were being said and implied were "crimes". To Azrael, he was ridding the world of the scourge that Coordinators are, since few apparently saw them for the monsters they were. Azrael had been doing what he saw as necessary, plain and simple, he had been cleansing the world of what didn't belong. So, this "accounting" as it was being titled, was a waste of time to him and was boring. Azrael would rather have these fools give their verdict and their decision on what punishment he would be forced to face and get this over with. However, that is not how this event was going, Azrael was being treated to hearing drivel of the monster loving idiots.

All in the room, listened for close to an hour to Azrael's efforts to end as many Coordinator as he possibly could. It had been going on for close to a decade with Muruta Azrael and it had built to the nuclear strike on Junius Seven in year 66 of the Cosmic Era. The trail of blood that he had left in his wake even before becoming an active member of Blue Cosmos, was not only vast, but much of it had been buried and hidden from the public. Nonetheless, none on the judge bar saw or noted any reaction or form of regret from Muruta Azrael as his accomplishments were repeated and moderate detail supplied. So, it was more procedure that upon the wrapping up the reading of the crimes, that Azrael was given the chance to give a defense for himself. "Now that your actions have been revealed and iterated, is there anything you wish to add, whether in your defense or any other reason," posed Matilda.

Muruta Azrael stood up at the question and every other sound in the room faded as he did. All attention focused on the man that was here to face the consequences of his actions. "I do not deny any of the events that have been stated, nor take back any of it that I helped along," stated Azrael evenly and with little to no emotion. He then took a breath and continued, "You claim what I have done is wrong, when I'm just assisting natural selection do what it's done since history began. The human race has survived up to now because of survival of the fittest without any other interference from science, religion or any other idea anyone cares to mention. So, why should that be thrown away for the unnatural choices that _'science'_ brings simply because it can and gain money for it?"

Azrael looked directly at his accusers, "What has genetic manipulation and alteration that science has made possible, brought the human race as a whole?" he asked. The reaction from some looking at me said that his question was unexpected, so he continued. "How is choosing the exact appearance and qualities of one's child, doing what's best for them? Isn't it more the dreams and greed of the parents that drive them to getting their child's genes 'designed'? That greed and those dreams are what has brought about the 'evil' you speak of." He kept going as none were stopping him, "It feeds the chaos that exists in the world and space today. Coordinators look down on Naturals, because they have been 'engineered to be better than everyone else naturally born'. How long will you blind yourselves into thinking that no Coordinator would do the exact the same things that you state are crimes?! If the nuclear strike hadn't been made on Junius Seven, then it would have been done somewhere on Earth! Done by Coordinators who believed themselves above the rest of the human race and where would any of us be if that was what happened instead?!"

Some of the soldiers came out of the shadows, in order to restrain him as his voice had been rising in volume. "If anything, I am a hero, for I'm working to bring back the system that has proven to work just fine before now, saving other people from foolish lies and machinations told to them by mad men that think science makes them as gods! And along with doing that, I would bring peace for the human species!" he screeched as the soldiers reached him and grabbed him.

There was outrage and indignation at the last few lines that came from Muruta Azrael from all of those who were to judge him. It took some time to restore order in the room, while Azrael was forced back into the chair he had been put in to the start of this by the soldiers. The six stayed around him to keep him in check as needed. Matilda, along with the other two members of the Federation's military did manage to regain order, before they all faced Muruta Azrael. "I am sorry you see things in such a way, Muruta Azrael. I pity you for closing your eyes to the progress that you infer hasn't been made. However, by the definition that is in the United Nations Charter, which is still completely valid, you have committed two counts of war crimes. The consequences of performing such actions are clearly stated to be decided by a council, which we are representative of," said Matilda.

Azrael was kept in the chair as the eight above him left the room to 'discussed' what they said should be done with him. He returned to brooding as he was forced to wait for the verdict, he didn't expect it to be nice in anyway really. So, when the eight reentered the room Azrael had become nearly absolutely despondent. "Muruta Azrael," said Matilda. "Your sentence has been decided by unanimous vote. You will be taken to the Federation Tartarus Containment Facility located on Mars and there you will remain for the rest of your days."

Muruta Azrael was brought out of his despondency, stunned at the sentence handed to him. Granted, he didn't entertain any hope that he would have any real freedom going forward, but to never return to Earth again was out of the blue! Then, for there to be colonies on mars… it proved that the rumors of such were correct. Still, imprisonment for life was what Azrael had suspected he would receive from the Federation, it didn't mean that he liked the outcome though.

 **-Line Break-**

Serenity City, Sea of Tranquility on the Moon

Close to six months went by since the Second Battle of Jachin Due and the cease-fire that ended the battle and bringing the war to a standstill. Then on March 10th of year 72, a peace convention was held at the neutral lunar city, Serenity City. The lunar city was the other major city on the moon other than Copernicus City and is also a neutral even if it was built by the Human Federation. The city was built at the historical site that in the past, the first landing that humans made on the moon. And due to the reputation that the city had for neutrality, the decision to host a peace conference was see as best.

Representatives from the Earth Alliance, the PLANTs, ZAFT and the Federation were in attendance of this convention. Both some from the Alliance's leadership and the Earth Forces' top brass represented the Alliance. For the PLANTs and ZAFT, Eileen Canaver, Lanus Treize and Maria Loloths were chosen for them. Meanwhile, the Human Federation had Uzumi Nara Athha, Foreign Minister Lindermann from the Kingdom of Scandinavia and the Euros Coalition's chief diplomat. There was also two individuals present that acted as mediators between the three factions, those being Siegel Clyne and Reverend all participants were there, the convention started with an overview of the damage that the Alliance-PLANT war had done to Earth, the Moon and the colonies. When that was done, the treaty that had been drafted up known as the Junius, involving five separate points that applied to all three factions.

The first point was that all faction boundaries were returned to restored to status quo ante bellum or what they were before the war officially started. This then meant that the areas the Alliance gained were returned to their previous owners. The same was true for ZAFT, with the two exceptions of their Gibraltar base and their Carpentaria base. While the Federation's territory pretty much stayed the same with not much gain or loss. The second major point, was the banning of the sharing of military related technologies between factions. However, this did not apply to scientific development that could assist in medical or quality of life of people. This was hopefully, going to help with the differences between the quality of living between the factions' citizens.

The two main points that would force changes to happen which were included were ones that there was some argument about. The first was nuclear technologies were to be prohibited from military use for all sides. This included N-Jammers and N-Jammer Cancellers, or any device that performed the same functions as either the jammer or its canceller. The intention behind the point, was to not give the opportunity to build nuclear weapons that could be used against one another. The second main part of the treaty, was a ruling written up by a group of diplomats had agreed upon. That being placing strict limits on the military forces of each faction and their nations, referring to ships, mobile armors and mobile suits specifically. The plan, named the Lindemann Plan, after the Kingdom of Scandinavia's Foreign Minister, are to be imposed proportional to the resources, population and economic output of the nations that made up each faction overall. With this plan, there wouldn't be one faction that would have a large advantage over the others, as the Oceania Union and the North African Community were included with the PLANTs which equaled out the nations that were with the Federation and the Alliance.

The final thing that was added by a majority vote was the use and management of Stealth technology. The use of Mirage Colloid was banned outright, much to the disappointment of some, but they were overruled. Nonetheless, the Federation's military's use and employment of stealth tech was also demanded to change. There were specific areas and places that stealth was to be never used, and jamming was also banned in the same places for all factions. These places were on Earth and in space as well, though they were clearly defined so that no mistake as to where was being referred to was.

Other demands and exchanges were also discussed at the convention, aside from the Treaty of Junius Seven. Yet the treaty itself was carved into a black marble monument that would be placed among the ruins of Junius Seven. This was done for two reasons; first as a way to help keep a remembrance of the new peace and pledge to uphold it, and second, to honor those who had lost their lives in the colony's collapse

The other major subjects that came up were the energy crisis on Earth and the punishments for those that were accused of war crimes they committed during the war. For the energy crisis, nuclear power plants on Earth were fitted with N-Jammer Cancellers so that they could resume energy production to fill the needs of the severely crippled economies of Earth, which helped in the short-term. To assist in the long-term, groups were assigned to begin the process of removing the N-Jammers, which would be a long and costly endeavor. As for those who were accused of war crimes, either proof of the crime was to be provided and then the criminal was to undergo a trail, or the claim would be dismissed. A number of the soldiers accused, would have to face a trial and the following sentence, but it would come at a later date.

After the convention came to a close, the marble monument was escorted to the place that it would be set and the official end of the "First Alliance-PLANT War" was acknowledged. Things settled down from where they had been during the war between the Alliance, the Federation and the PLANTs. The trials of those classified as war criminals came and went without much fuss. Each factions' military handled the conduct of their other soldiers that had done wrong during the fighting. Of note, Athrun Zala and Dearka Elsman were charged with desertion and where Dearka took a rank demotion, Athrun took an official discharge, though it was recorded as an honorable discharge due to the defense others provided. Those who used "unnecessary force" were punished according to the judgment of the leaders of ZAFT.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Onogoro Island, Orb Union

I sat in one of the lounges at the landing facility that was next to Kaguya for large shuttles to land at after descending to Earth, waiting for Athrun. My friend had faced the consequences for his actions during the war, even with the good he had done. Technically, Athrun had deserted ZAFT to fight to end the war, though it was in my view the best choice in a hard situation, but I'm not the one that had judged him. Pretty much those who had been under the command of the Rat had been given a choice by what I understand from what Athrun told me a few days ago. Their punishments varied somewhat, but overall, they either were to take a rank demotion along with the other consequences or be discharged. Athrun had chosen the discharge option, while the others of Creuset's team took the rank demotion.

Athrun had decided to come to Earth once free of military duties, not that I blame him. Being around the PLANTs probably is reminding him of his father, in both good and bad ways and he wants to get away from that at least for a time. And that's why I'm here in Orb, to meet Athrun, there are a few things I want to make clear and show him before he starts whatever he intends to. Two of the facts I intend to tell my friend are ones that I only recently found out about, both curtesy of my mother. Plus, I had stopped by the place Kira had taken up residence in that is on Orb's main island, but out of the way. Kira and Lacus had kind of "gone into hiding" in a fashion, which with how famous Lacus is, completely can agree for the need of privacy and time away from others hounding you. Interestingly, Siegel had done much the same thing, even though he was offered the position of PLANTs Supreme Council Chairman again, he turned that down. He's now living within the Republic, kind of like how Graham had for a time, how long the man will be around home, I haven't the faintest.

The announcement of the shuttle that Athrun was on finally came after close to an hour of waiting, which got me to rise from the chair I had been sitting in. I walked forward and saw the shuttle moving into the spot it would be unloaded. It had been months since I last saw my blue-haired friend as he was required to return to the PLANTs for a while. It was close to ten minutes before the shuttle passengers began departing from the shuttle and entering the port facilities. I spotted Athrun quickly enough and made my way over to him, "Athrun, glad to see you made it my friend," I greeted.

Athrun faced me and gained a small smile, "Hey Tyler, you didn't need to come and meet me you know," he replied.

I took one of the pieces of luggage that he had and put an arm around Athrun, "What are you talking about man, I wouldn't feel right or consider myself your friend if I wasn't willing to come and meet you. Friends do the little things more than the huge things just because they can Athrun, even when it can be a tad inconvenient sometime," I reasoned.

Athrun and I walked to the vehicle I had rented for the time I would be in Orb and loaded in Athrun's things in. We stayed in Orb for the rest of the day, Athrun was tired after his leaving and trip from the PLANTs. However, the topic of Athrun coming by the Republic before he went his way to start fresh after the effects of the war, did come up between us. I managed to get Athrun to agree to at least stop by Shira, since my mom was making the time to see him and that isn't something she does without a good reason.

The next day, Athrun and I boarded an aircraft and we traveled to Shira, it took us a couple of hours to reach the city. We shortly met up with my mother, before the three of us started traveling to a place that was out of the way, but there was a reason for our destination to be what it was. During the car ride, Athrun was told one of the two facts that had taken me by surprise when I learned them. That fact was that my mom had pretty much been providing what Athrun had needed, wether it had been money or other things for the last six to seven years, especially for his education. It should have been his father Patrick Zala, but he had not been doing so and hadn't cared enough to look into who it was providing for his son's needs.

Athrun was taken aback at hearing and comprehending that it had been my mother that had been making sure that he was able to get an education while training in the ZAFT military. Apparently, Athrun had suspected that there was a possibility that someone else had been contributing to help with his education, but he hadn't thought it might be my mother. Not that I blame him, I was shocked at learning that my mother was doing that, I'd seen no sign or hint to her doing it.

The conversation had come to a close by the time we arrived at our destination, which was a grove outside Shira and closed off from outside influence. Athrun was looking around curiously as we entered the grove on foot. I on the other hand, knew what this place was, I had been here some time ago after a visit to the ruins of Junius Seven. In the grove, there were four stone markers, which did kind of surprise me as there were only three the last time I had been here. They were grave stones, one belonged to my dad Lance Blass, the one to the left of his was Lana's. The stone to dad's right was for Lenore Zala, it had been my mom's idea to have a marker made for her. The fourth grave stone, when I glanced at it, read that it was for Patrick Zala, right next to his wife.

Athrun had stopped a short distance from the four stones and stared at them, his voice not working as he saw whom they were commemorating. "It may be more a tradition, but I believe it was right that your father be next to his wife Lenore, even if there is not bodies in some of the graves. It is remembering them for what they worked for that counts going forward. I hope that in this way, you might be able to have a talk with your parents, before going forward with your life Athrun," my mom said.

Athrun was having a hard time, I could see that with how his body was shaking, but my friend finally found use of his voice. "The man tried to kill every Natural-type human, destroy the ancestral home that all human beings share, how can I remember him with anything but shame?"

"Athrun, do not focus on the negative," said the voice of Siegel Clyne.

Upon turning, the man was coming up behind us, accompanied by another. It wasn't the other man's appearance that gave away who he was, it was the air of command that he was putting off that got my attention. The man with Siegel could be none other than Lanus Treize, the unofficial leader of ZAFT. My mother inclined her head to the two men, "Siegel, nice to see you, and Mr. Treize, it is nice to meet you in person at long last, I assume that you are here to honor Patrick?"

Siegel nodded, "I would not be able to call myself his friend if I did not do that at least," he replied.

Lanus Treize inclined his head as well, "Patrick was a dear friend for a long time, it is best he be sent off in this way, than during a battle."

Siegel turned to Athrun, "It is true that Patrick did things that were regrettable, but that is not who Patrick really was. Pain soured him to what he became, that was not the man to be remembered."

"His legacy is his efforts to obtain peace between Natural-types and Coordinators, to show that living in harmony was well within the realm of possibility. That is the man that is your father, that is Patrick Zala that the world should remember. Not for what he did while he became lost, from the pain of losing Lenore," reasoned Treize.

What the two men who defended Patrick Zala had said, had hit Athrun in the heart. But, to hear about the kind of man that had been your parent from those that were their friends, it brought a different perspective that one couldn't see otherwise. After we did what we saw as honoring those whose graves were in the grove, Athrun and I headed back to the airfield. Athrun was determined to go and start fresh with his life as it was, and that's fine, but I did have a few things to tell Athrun before he "disappeared" for a time. So, before Athrun went to board the aircraft that he would leave on, I stopped him. "Hey Athrun, before you go I want to say some things to you, call them parting words of a friend if you want, but still, I think it is better the words be said," I stated.

Athrun gave me his attention and so, I continued, "First, don't go vanishing completely, do keep in touch every now and then. It will keep Kira and me from worrying about what's going on with you and where I can understand the need for time, we both know Kira has a harder time with that."

Athrun nodded, "Okay, that's reasonable."

"Lastly, know that you will always have family here in the Republic with my mom and me, and Kira would tell the same thing in his own way. So, should you ever be in need for good company, you know where to find some. Other than that, all I can think to say, is good luck and I wish you well my friend," I said, thrust out a hand to Athrun.

He took my hand firmly and we shook, "I'll keep all of that in mind Tye, I wish you the same," returned Athrun.

Athrun then boarded the aircraft and went to wherever he planned to go, he hadn't said the places he planned to go. However, I'm confident that Athrun will be okay and will find the path he can tread without regret.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

As time went by since the signing and enacting of the Treaty of Junius Seven, peace was maintained. Even after a year, there was no fighting between the Federation, the Alliance or the PLANTs, arguing and disagreements yes, but that was expected. The standing with the three separate sides did change somewhat, the PLANTs and ZAFT became closer and on much better terms with the Human Federation. The leaders of the member nations of the Federation and its military, as well as ZAFT and the newly instated Supreme Council Chairman, Gilbert Durandal, encouraged the improvement in relations. However, the relationship between both ZAFT and the Federation with the Earth Alliance didn't seem to be able to improve. If anything, the strain with the Alliance seemed to become worse mostly with the Earth Forces, than with the politics.

Nevertheless, the fitting nuclear power plants with neutron jammer cancellers was done and the quick results of the returning availability of energy, became apparent. Economies did bounce back to how they had been, but they improved an amount within weeks and kept going up from there at steady rates. The work of removing N-Jammers from underground was ongoing even if it was slowly progressing. Yet, it was going at an okay pace as the Federation's Intelligence Agency provided the exact location of each of them. Then, with all political power and territories taken by the Earth Alliance during the war, like the United States of South America, was to be returned to the respective government of the countries, humanity began moving forward on its chosen path once again.

Be that as it may, the hatred that had brought on the war didn't disappear completely. Organizations that were against a type of humanity, were watched and observed, but overall little else could be done to them as a whole. Individuals that committed acts of terror were promptly arrested, tried and punished without exception or pity at all. But the groups themselves continued their views and work, simply changing their methods to not be so easily found out.

The care was taken by them because during the peace convention, the agreement was made that there were to be no boundaries, no loopholes, political or otherwise that could protect those that committed acts of terror any longer.

Still, with the limitations set by the Treaties of Junius Seven, buildup of the factions' military was slow, but not stagnant. For ZAFT, they replaced much of what they had lost during the war, though there were somethings that it wasn't possible to replace, such as Boaz or Jachin Due. The other major point that ZAFT and the PLANTs did, was to build a colony within the Lagrange 4 colony cluster, which they named Armory One. The colony itself was a PLANT-type colony and was geared towards military development, and yet still had the conveniences for its inhabitance. There were other changes that were done within ZAFT that the public eye and ear never knew, which happened after Lanus Treize retired and disappeared.

The Earth Forces increased itself in secret mostly, adding to the strain that the Earth Alliance was experiencing with the Human Federation and the PLANTs. This came in two different ways; Blue Cosmos reestablishing its influence within the Earth Alliance and the OMNI Enforcer and another group that was part of Blue Cosmos to an extent making things worse as well. Even though Muruta Azrael had been taken by the Federation and was never seen again, another had taken the vacant position he left, by the name of Lord Djibril. The man was a part of an industrial business organization simply known as LOGOS, which made profits from militaries and wars and was the funder of Blue Cosmos. Then, within the OMNI Enforcer, after about a year of the Treaty of Junius Seven, there were enough in the top brass that saw fit to ignore the banning the use of nuclear technology and Mirage Colloid. Also, a new unit was created called the 81st Independent Mobile Battalion, nicknamed "Phantom Pain". The best were handpicked to be in the unit and they were given the best and newest supplies and equipment.

Meanwhile, the Federation military also built up their forces to replace what losses had been incurred. Although, they were the faction military that kept the closest to the limitations placed by the Treaty of Junius Seven out of the three. Instead, the Federation relied more on scientific developments and advancements to improve their military forces, rather than building lots more equipment and ships and going well over the limitations set by the treaty. The other major difference from ZAFT and the Earth Forces that the Federation made, was the studies into alternative technologies to replace nuclear dependency that could eventually be shared with all the human race.

And yet, tension between the three factions slowly but surely grew as time passed by. The more time that separated the ending of the First Alliance-PLANT War, the further events seemed to be setting themselves to repeat history.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **Okay, lots to say and probably running out of attention from you readers, so here I go. First point, the revision I've been working on. Phase 1 through 25 has gone through work of writing, fluffing up and in some cases making changes in places. The storyline overall hasn't changed, but there are some events that have been rewritten, the last scene in Phase 25 is an example. So, for those who want to see the changes, feel free to go back and read this story again from the beginning. The revision has been done according to me references that I've redone and further detailed, so I streamlined the non-cannon ideas to not have me contradicting myself.**

 **Point number two, the writer's block and decision on what to include with this chapter. Unfortunately, writers block happens to the best of us authors and writers, we don't like it any more than the readers do, but it's a fact of life. Now the subject matter for this Phase was a challenging thing for me to decide, there was so much I could have done. However, I'm also trying to cover a period of around two years in this one Phase so I can start into SEED Destiny timeframe. There are facts I know I didn't address in this Phase, which I intend to go into later, so I apologize but, it's my story and I sticking to it.**

 **Duked**

Glad you liked the Phase, as for a sequel, to say there will be one implies that this story is at its end and I can say that it is not! I don't see a reason to separate SEED and SEED Destiny, they are going to be all in the same story. … And yes, I'll **spoil** the point and for those who don't what to have anything spoiled, stop reading this review reply! Anyways, as I was say, Neo Roanoke will be making an appearance, in the next phase in fact, I won't say more than that.

 **KakeruPB**

I hope you enjoyed the change in the fight with Le Creuset, for you brought up a good point, though I would say that as an author I do have the ability to stretch things a bit, but the thing I don't say, is Phase shift plus the metallic alloy of the Aurora did enough to block the explosion, if you're wondering in the revision. So, as I said in the other review reply, Mu didn't die exactly, I think that Neo Roanoke does play an important part in the early parts of Destiny. I hoped that you enjoyed the transition Phase into Destiny, I had a time with it both good and bad, so lots of work put into it.


	27. Phase 27: The Autumn of Tranquility

**A/n**

 **This Phase is the first that goes into the time and events of Gundam Seed Destiny. I will just state flat out, there will be some events from the series that I will have happen, normally not in the exact same way, and there will be events that I'm just tossing out and putting others in their place. As the author, I write the story so, that's how it goes, this will be the only time I stated that. With that out the way, my standard disclaimer still applies and let's get on with the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 27: The Autumn of Tranquility

September 27th 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Armory One, Lagrange 4 colony cluster

The peaceful times continued for the most part, there were no public conflicts since the drafting and signing of the Treaty of Junius Seven. Nonetheless, that certainly didn't mean that everything was golden for all going forward since the peace conference. Nevertheless, outside of the public eye, events were occurring that weren't to maintain the peace that had come after the first PLANTs war. There were those that were disregarding the agreements made to try to cause another conflict for their own interests. Then, all three factions had been rebuilding their military forces that had been lost in the first war and went further.

At the ZAFT's PLANT-type colony named Armory One, located at the western edge of the L4 colony cluster that was the side facing the moon was seen as peaceful yet, caused an amount of tension. The reason that it wasn't among the cluster, was that had become Human Federation territory at the end of the First PLANT war, but the territory was quiet for the relationship with the Federation and the Alliance was very strained. Inside the colony, the inhabitance was going about their day to day lives thinking nothing about events going on. The colony was originally built for military development, but it quickly became a place for non-military personnel to call home. There were shops and other civilian facilities throughout the colony along with the military controlled areas.

Around the interior dock facility, the newest of ZAFT's ships was docked, soon to be deployed out into space. It was the first of a new ship class that was named the Minerva-class and so, like most ships that are the first of its class had the same name. Designated the LHM-BB01 Minerva, it had an overall length of three-hundred-fifty meters and was a transatmospheric battleship, meaning that it could be operate in space or on Earth equally well. The vessel had a laminated armor layer on the outside for defense as such a technology had proven very useful in the last war with the Alliance's Archangel-class being a good example. The ship had fourteen engine thrusters for propulsion and gave the vessel fair acceleration and speed.

For equipment, the Minerva had two mobile suit catapults, one on either side of the center of the ship, just behind the forward half. There was also a special catapult for one of the mobile suits that was assigned to the Minerva and was built into the back of the forward half of the ship in the center. The other system the Minerva had which was different than previous ZAFT vessels, was what was called the "Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System". The system was meant to work with the new generation of mobile suits that ZAFT produced, which the Minerva would carry the prototypes. The idea was intended to recharge a mobile suit's battery without the machine returning to the ship. It was a way to have powerful mobile suits without using nuclear power as it was banned by the Treaty of Junius Seven.

When it came to Armaments, there were twelve 40mm CIWS defensive guns for intercepting incoming enemy fire. There were also anti-beam depth charge launchers to help against beams being fired at the ship. Then, the series of four missile launchers on either side of the Minerva's hull on the back half of the ship, could fire different types of missiles depending of the situation. Torpedo tubes were also built into the ship for the times that it would go down to Earth and have four of them. For the major weapons, there were three that were available. The first was the two XM47 "Tristan" dual beam cannons, which were mounted above both of the linear mobile suit catapults. Next, was the M10 "Isolde" 42cm triple cannon, which was mounted on the center of the ship. It would be stored under the special catapult when not in use. Finally, the last weapon was the QZX-1 "Tannhäuser" positron cannon. The Minerva was the first ship ZAFT built with a positron cannon, but the former Earth Alliance vessel, the Archangel had shown how effective the weapon could be and the harmful pollutant effects had been fixed for the most part. The cannon was mounted in the front side of the ship, behind a plate to hide it when not active.

For today, one of Minerva's mobile suits was to go out for its final test flight, the ZGMF-X56S Impulse. The mobile suit itself was unique as it was the only modular machine in the second-generation mobile suits ZAFT built. So, could not only take its opponent by surprise, but also change or replace equipment on the field and not have to go back to the ship to do the job at all. The pilot which had been selected for the Impulse, was a young woman by the name of Aila Lakeen. She had a height of 167 centimeters and was twenty years of age. Aila possessed long near-waist length silver hair that framed her pretty face. Her eyes were a light blue which gave off a warm feeling to others. She was one of the pilots the Minerva had, wearer of the ZAFT Elite red uniform, and was the team leader of the mobile suit pilots on board.

Aila had suited up in her pilot suit and had headed for the Minerva's hanger for the final test flight of her mobile suit. When Aila got to the hanger, she saw that her three junior pilots were there waiting for her, they even saluted when she entered the room. Aila considered them juniors mostly since they had little real battlefield experience, so they were fairly green plus, they were a few years younger than herself. The first in the line was a young man that stood slight taller than Aila herself. His name was Shinn Asuka and he was sixteen years old, so four years younger than herself. Shinn's hair was black, went to the bottom of his face everywhere but in the front and was messy. His eyes were a reddish chestnut shade, which complimented his hair color. Thus far, Shinn had been shadowing Aila, showing that he respected and admired her… perhaps as some kind of mentor.

Aila had to admit, Shinn had talent, even if he lacked experience, but his potential was something she hadn't seen in many other pilots. Shinn was also one of the two backup pilots for the Impulse mobile suit, if for some reason Aila was unable to do so. She had been teaching him and the other, also overseeing their practice session in piloting the Impulse through simulations.

The next in line, was a female that was slightly older than Shinn was, by the name of Lunamaria Hawke. She was a tiny bit shorter than Aila herself, but could still look Aila at the same eye level. Her hair was a red-violet and was short overall, but the style fit the girl's appearance and personality. Lunamaria's eyes were indigo and that was the feature that stood out to Aila for they didn't fit the rest. She came off as serious, except with her eyes, they gave off a more relaxed feel. Like Shinn, Lunamaria was still green and hadn't seen real combat yet as she enlisted after the First Alliance-PLANT war.

Then, there was the last in the pilot lineup, a second young man that was the same height as Shinn, whose name was Rey Za Burrel. His hair was of moderate length, not as long as Aila's, but longer than Shinn's or Lunamaria's and was blonde. Rey had blue eyes and was easily the serious one of this trio by a margin. He was also the other backup pilot for the Impulse mobile suit like Shinn was. However, Aila felt that Rey was sometimes a little too serious, but his attitude was also good for a team leader as well.

Aila smiled at the three, "You know, the three of you didn't need to be down here for the test flight," she said in her alto pitched voice.

"Ma'am, when the team leader is heading out, it is customary to see them off," Rey stated flatly.

"The sediment is nice Rey, but really, loosen up, we're not in combat right now," Aila returned.

The chief mechanic approached the group, "Miss Lakeen, the Core Splendor is good to go, just waiting for you to get in," the man said.

Aila nodded at the man, "Thanks chief, I was heading that way," she replied. Aila then turned back to the three pilots, "Have fun watching the test flight it is the last one for the Impulse, and remember, you do have other duties to fulfill as well, so don't goof off all day."

Aila then, turned towards the lift that would take her up to the central elevator for the Impulse, jogged up the stairs to the top platform. Once she got to the top, Aila raced onto the lift that had what looked like a support craft waiting. The blue and white craft was the YFX-M56S Core Splendor, which was the most critical module of the Impulse mobile suit, the cockpit and power supply. Aila leapt into the cockpit by grabbing the edge and then swinging herself over and into the pilot compartment, her legs going to either side of the center control stick. After adjusting her position to what she wanted, then buckling the restraints, keeping her firmly in the pilot seat. She activated the OS of the craft and closed the cockpit, facing forward and taking hold of the control stick with one hand, the throttle with the other. "Bridge, this is Aila, I'm ready to go for the Impulse's final test flight," Aila said over the com-line to the Minerva's bridge as the Core Splendor's closed and sealed the cockpit.

" _All personnel,_ _standby to launch the Impulse for final test flight,_ " announced the voice of Meyrin Hawke, the younger sister of Lunamaria. The girl was assigned to the com-station on the bridge of the Minerva as well as the mobile suit operator. " _Force module selected, opening silhouette hanger 1, silhouette flyer, standby for launch!_ "

At the bottom of the central elevator system, under the three platforms already in the lift shaft, a fourth platform was being added. A storage hanger that had the number "1" on the front, split horizontally open and the fourth platform moved to the central elevator. The platform had what was called the "Force module" silhouette flyer, and was a set of equipment for the Impulse mobile suit. Once the fourth platform was added, another announcement came, " _Platform setup complete, central catapult on-line, opening airtight shutters,_ " stated Meyrin over the speaker system. The airtight shutters were raised up after the order came, enclosing the central elevator shaft. After the shutters lock to the ceiling of the hanger, Meyrin continued, " _Emergency crews, standby at launching positions. Raising central catapult to launch position._ "

The platforms started rising upward towards the catapult, Aila was toggling the last switches to have the OS active and ready. " _Core Splendor, all systems on-line, the hatch is opening, the linear launch system is on-line, catapult power levels normal, you will be clear to initiate launch sequence momentarily._ " Meyrin said to the Aila in the cockpit.

The sight of light became visible to Aila as the Core Splendor reached the top of the central elevator. Thruster vents rose up behind the craft before Meyrin spoke once more, " _Course cleared, Core Splendor go ahead and launch._ "

Aila saw the catapults top and bottom light up, activating to show the takeoff course for her to take out. She moved the throttle forward a little, letting the engines warmup for use, before she looked up to the display to signal timing for launching. The signal came up, "Aila Lakeen, Core Splendor, launching!" she said, before throwing the throttle all the way forward and the Core Splendor shot forward and took off from the catapult. She had the craft climb up higher, keeping an eye on the sensor screen, waiting for the other three module flyers to come out. Aile saw the three flyers come out from the ship one after another, then form up in a line. She maneuvered her craft to be the leader in the line of modules as they finished lining up in the order of the leg flyer, followed by the chest flyer and then the silhouette flyer bring up the rear.

The X56S Impulse was meant to be one of the new variations that the second series of ZAFT mobile suits that were a test platform. The Impulse was a modular suit that had multiple modes, each with a different set of equipment, meant for various situations. With what had been seen from the First Alliance-PLANT War, the Integrated Design Bureau had kept themselves busy with design and development. The Impulse used an Ultracompact Energy Battery, since the Treaty of Junius Seven outlawed the use of N-Jammer Cancellers and so nuclear reactors were not feasible or wise to try and use. The second generation of Phase Shift Armor was equipped to the Impulse like the other prototypes of the second series. Variable phase shift armor being much more efficient than the first phase shift armor when it comes to energy consumption. The disadvantage of this kind of armor, was that it needed to be programed beforehand on when and where it strengthens the output.

One of the newer features that the Impulse had in common with the other second generation mobile suit, was a receiver for the Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System which was onboard the ship it was assigned to, the Minerva. With the receiver, a beam could be shot from the Minerva and recharge the Impulse, thereby doing energy resupply on the field. The last feature was the mounting hardpoint for the silhouette packs, that were based on the Alliance's GAT-X105 Strike's striker packs.

For the armaments, the mobile suit possessed a pair of MMI-GAU25A 20mm CIWS guns mounted in the chest on either side just above the cockpit. At the hips were hidden compartments that held the two M71-AAK "Folding Razor" anti-armor knives that were similar to the Alliance's Strike's "Armor Schneider". For defense, the Impulse had its MMI-RG59V mobile shield, which had anti-beam coating and could either be used collapsed or expanded. The suit's main weapon, was the MA-BAR72 high-energy beam rifle, which was developed from the data from the same rifle that the X10A Freedom and X09A Justice used. And with the machine's current equipment, two MA-M941 "Vajra" Beam sabers were available and stored on the Force Silhouette.

Once Aila reached the height that was agreed upon for this test, she detached the missile launchers that were on the underside of either wing. She then shifted the Core Splendor into it docking mode, which had the wings folded inward and the cockpit fold downward to the underside of the craft. At the same time, the leg flyer came forward, activating its laser docking system and connected with the Core Splendor. The chest flyer moved past both as they docked and rolled into line in front of the Core Splendor. The legs came on-line and linked to the controls in the cockpit. Aila moved forward and lined up with the docking lasers of the chest flyer and docked into it. The arms moved back so that the shoulders aligned as they were supposed to be for use.

With both the leg and chest flyers docked, Aila had a working mobile suit, but there was still one more part, the equipment. And the force silhouette was still coming up behind, so Aila pushed the throttle forward and made the mobile suit rocket upward to be aligned with the docking lasers from the silhouette flyer. The remote steering module the flyer had, detached and the force silhouette connected to the Impulse mobile suit. Wings unfolded, two out to either side and two downward, which had high output thrusters built into their framework.

With the Impulse assembled, Aila started the test flight, which included targets to shoot and points that she had to flight to. All of it to give the mobile suit a rigorous test of its systems and the skills of the pilot and this was to be the final test before the Impulse was officially declared ready. Aila knew that this test was being viewed by more than just those on the Minerva, and she would give this her best. The flight started out simple, no targets just flying from point to point before the targets were added. Aila was calm and kept focused, missing no targets nor going off the course she was take for this test.

Meanwhile, upon the bridge of the Minerva, the crew was watching the Impulse flying with seemingly great ease and hitting each and every target. The man that was the Minerva's second in command and deputy captain, Arthur Trine, was viewing the Impulse's flight from down in the CIC. While he was a couple of years younger than the captain of the Minerva at the age of 26 and with a height 172cm. His hair was a grey-brown and short while his eyes were hazel. Arthur was wearing the normal ZAFT black uniform. Arthur whistled softly, "Aila Lakeen is certainly a skilled pilot captain, we are lucky to have her assigned to the Minerva," he said.

The woman to whom Arthur Trine was speaking was the captain of the Minerva, Talia Gladys.

She was 29 years old with a height of 170cm, her hair color was the same as dandelions, while her eyes were hazel. Talia was wearing the white ZAFT uniform that signified commander status even with her being the captain. Her service record with ZAFT showed she had good instinctive battle tactics and has the mentality of protecting one's ship first and foremost. "Indeed Arthur, Aila is skilled and experienced. It is clear to see that thought went into her being assigned to the Impulse and it appears to be a wise decision," replied Captain Gladys.

The Impulse successfully completed the test flight with flying colors and after seeing the mobile suit in action, the majority of the crew were in high spirits. The Minerva didn't have a mission given it just yet, but morale was good, and expectations were bright.

 **-Line Break-**

Lagrange 4

Through the Lagrange 4 colony cluster, an Earth Alliance vessel moved unseen and undetected by others. The ship was the first of a new class for the Alliance, the Girty Lue-class which was a stealth space battleship. It was three-hundred-eighty meters in length and was built to be able to carry many mobile suits and be used for special operations. The forward section was taken up mostly by the mobile suit hanger and the ship's four launching catapults.

There were three special systems the vessel had, its propulsion, stealth and rocket anchors. The propulsion system, were jets that used gas based fuel which nearly eliminated all heat emissions from engines, therefore couldn't be picked up by thermal sensors. The next system was one that was banned by the Junius Seven treaty, Mirage Colloid stealth system. When combined with the jets fueled by gas, made the Girty Lue-class pretty much undetected. The only ones that weren't fooled thus far were the Federation Military, they had systems that could somehow find those with Mirage Colloid. What those systems or sensors were, the Alliance had yet to find out and it wasn't due to a lack of trying. Then finally, the rocket anchors made it possible for the ship to attach itself to objects in space, to either hide or maneuver.

The Girty Lue wasn't light on armaments at all either, even if it lacked in variety. It had six "Gottfried Mk.71" 225cm high-energy beam cannons, one above and below each catapult and then the other two were on either side the forward section. Girty Lue also had a total of thirty-eight vertical missile launchers that were usually loaded with anti-ship missiles. Lastly, there were sixteen "Igelstellung" multi-barrel CIWS guns over the top and bottom of the ship.

On the bridge, a man stared out of the forward viewing port, observing the appearingly small object getting closer. It was one of the two targets that the ship and its crew were around Lagrange 4. The man was six feet in height when standing, yet much of his face was covered by a grey and red mask, which gave an ominous air to him. The man had blonde hair that went beyond his shoulders, though none of the hair on the top of his hair was visible due to the mask. His name was Neo Roanoke, held the rank of captain and was a member of the special forces unit known as Phantom Pain, which was a part of the Earth Alliance. The unit operated unofficially, funded by Blue Cosmos, but didn't necessarily follow the Earth Forces leadership. With the unit's autonomy, they had no problem ignoring treaties or rules established by any of the three factions.

Neo Roanoke was the mission commander, and he along with those on the ship, had two assignments he had from those he reported to. Those were to somehow acquire particular information that the Federation possessed, and the other was to capture three new mobile suits that ZAFT had developed. Of the two tasks, most would expect capturing the ZAFT machines would be the most daunting and difficult. Yet, Neo knew there was going to be far more variables and complexity with acquiring the information the higher ups wanted. The reason that was the case, was getting the files would require access to the Federation's coveted and cursed "Information Network". What was on the network was unknown overall, but as the Federation relied on it so much, it was assumed that any and all facts they acquired, both in the open and in secrecy were kept in the network. The issue, the Federation zealously guarded their network and allowed no real access to anyone else, not ZAFT or the Alliance. The idea of any from the Alliance going up to the Federation and "asking" to look at or borrow a file from the Information network, was as ludicrous as it was pointless. Those within the Federation would help ZAFT long before agreeing to help the Alliance with something they asked for assistance with, especially if it was to fight against ZAFT.

So, the best chance to obtain success with the theft of the information as well as the mobile suits, Neo chose to raid an outpost that belonged to the Federation that was located at the edge of the Lagrange 4 colony cluster. It wasn't a military facility and so, it should be slightly easier to get in and gain access to the Federation's network. Then, hopefully they could leave with the files before there was a response from the Federation military, since they tended to be rather prompt and timely. After the raid then all that was left, was to go to the other side of the colony cluster to ZAFT's Armory One and take the mobiles, getting out with them. It could be made to sound so simple however, it would be anything but.

The one good thing going for Phantom Pain, was that they had been given some new soldiers that would be able to accomplish tasks that others would have difficulty doing so. The trio had been given to Neo from Lodonia Lab, two males and a female. Apparently, there had been a major change at the place as there had been issues with them before. But now, the lab sent the trio to prove that the lab was still producing valuable work for the Alliance, even if some of their "Good Scientists" had vanished. The evidence that had been provided to show what the three "teens" were capable of, had shown Neo that the young teens had been trained well enough to do as they were required. Their "maintenance" was a tad unusual, as they had to sleep in pods regularly, but if that what was needed for them to perform, then so be it.

It was hours later when the Girty Lue came into communication range of the Federation's Milos Astrological Research Outpost. The small research station controlled by the Federation was out of the way and yet, still was as far as intelligence had been able to acquire, they had a connection to the Federation's Information Network. And as the target of Phantom Pain were a number of files on the network, this smaller facility fit the bill, and it being a non-military complex was a bonus. It would mean there would be little to no near-instant response from the Federation's military being shoved down their throats. Neo knew that there would be a response, but there would be a period of time that work could be done before Federation forces would be come around.

The Girty Lue deactivated its mirage colloid behind one of the last colonies and then moved forward and into view of the station. Mechanics onboard the Girty Lue made adjustments to the ship's systems to make it appear to be having trouble. Then, the vessel's com-officer opened a channel to the outpost and began the rehearsed story of the Girty Lue having system trouble and specifically engine and some life support issues and asking for assistance. Those at the controls of the outpost acknowledged the Girty Lue's troubles and agreed to do what they could. The docking process was routine, but during that time, the raiding party was going through final preparations for the operation about to start. Those from Lodonia were getting their maintenance done so that they would be ready for the capturing of the new ZAFT mobile suits. Neo would move in behind the raiding party, who would be sweeping up and eliminating witnesses, and gain access to the Federation's Information Network and retrieve what they were here for. After that, all would exit quickly and leave before any came around to find out what happened.

Neo headed down towards the airlock, he heard the airlock open and the soldiers rush forward and the sound of gunfire quickly begin to echo. Neo had been sure to tell the raiding party to not damage many of the consoles in the control room as the more of them that were intact, the better chance there was that the information they were here for could be acquired seamlessly. However, when Neo floated onto the station, he could see that issues had already arisen. The raiding team was doing the elimination sweep, but there had been some that had resisted and slowed progress down. For another thing, the control room had been locked down and that would take work to undo. Meanwhile, that would give those here time to make their mission more difficult by contacting Federation forces.

As Neo made his way toward the control room, he was somewhat surprised to see the bodies of children. He had been under the impression that this was a research outpost, meaning scientists and system operators, not children should be here. The murder of children might be deemed necessary by some, but it didn't sit well with Neo, even if they were Coordinators. He would still do the job if it was needed, it just didn't feel right. He came upon two that were working on getting the control room open and accessible and they were making progress.

It took five more minutes for the control room to be forced open and a few members of the raiding party went in with Neo, shot and killed all but one person in the room. The man that was left alive, was forced to provide the needed authorization to get into the Federation's Information Network. Once that was done, Neo got to work as he was the only one that knew what to look for. It was known to the Alliance that the Federation's network was more secure than most other systems, both inside and out, accessing is only the first half of the challenge, finding and then extracting the desired information. The two particular files were simple to find for Neo, but copying them and being able to view their contents would be another matter, but one step at a time. Neo took out a data storage device and hooked it up to the console he was working at and began copying and extracting the data.

When the desired files were copied, the man that was alive was shot and the raiding party began heading back towards the Girty Lue. Time wasn't on their side, it was only a matter of time before Federation Military forces came looking around to see what had happened. And it had been noted that a destress call had gotten out, so the Federation Military was on their way. It would be best if the Girty Lue wasn't around when they came, for Federation detection equipment was better than ZAFT's so mirage colloid wouldn't help. Plus, time was needed to crack the Federation's encryptions that were on the files they had taken.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Echowas, Lagrange 7

I reported to Echowas as I had been asked to, wondering what was up to have me come to central command for the Federation in space. I mean, lately, I've been cleaning up messes that the Earth Forces have been making. They had been trying to be "covert" in their operations, but normally failing at the idea, only making it clear that they had been ignoring more of the Treaty of Junius Seven. The type of job isn't what I want or really like doing, but to get the jobs you prefer, sometimes you get to do the dirty and mundane tasks. A truth that I've learned during my military service with the Federation, which is up to four years now. The other major reason I wasn't exactly happy about being at Echowas… was me meeting with my boss, Admiral Raine. I avoid having contact with the woman, for my own safety as much as anything else! It is because I was meeting my boss that I was in my more formal and horribly stiffer uniform, I was attempted to score brownie points with her, or at least not make things worse for my standing. I'll take either or both anytime with Admiral Raine!

So, I was tense when I knocked and was told to enter her office. I moved to stand in front of my boss' desk, snapped too and gave giving my best salute and formal greeting I could, "Admiral Raine, Commander Tyler McGregor, reporting as per orders ma'am."

Admiral Raine looked up at me, "Commander McGregor, it has been some time since you've stood in my office," she replied.

I swallowed hard, "I've been trying to give you the space and I have not wanted to come here ma'am," I muttered.

Oh, did I get a worrisome and frightening glare for that muttered remark, which I had hoped she hadn't heard! "You care to say your comment louder McGregor?" she posed menacingly.

I flinched and said the first thought that came to my mind, "I said, that I've been doing my best to keep out of trouble ma'am, as well as trying not to make extra paperwork for you to deal with," I replied quickly as well as keeping myself from shouting the reason.

The woman hummed, "Yes, that's what I thought you were saying commander." She paused, then continued, "You are here for a special assignment McGregor, but there is one other thing to get out of the way first." I paid attention, hoping this assignment is better than what I've been doing for a bit now, clean up jobs are the PITS in my humble personal opinion! "A rank change is in order for you McGregor," she continued.

A rank change? That's really odd, I think my performance has been pretty good, exemplary in fact. So, nothing really comes to mind that would get me a demotion or even a promotion, so then why the change? Little did I know how much a surprise I was in for, "Congratulation McGregor, you've been promoted to the rank of Captain. Even I have to admit, your performance has been outstanding for the last year," Admiral Raine stated.

I couldn't help but gaped at the woman that was my boss, for that was the highest compliment that I can remember getting from her! And then, for me to be promoted to captain?! I'm only twenty, pretty much any other captain I've encountered is five years or older than that! This change spells and reeks of problems and issues, "Uh, permission to speak freely ma'am," I asked. She nodded for me to go on, so I did, "I'm not saying that I don't appreciate going up in rank and what comes with it boss, but um, I think most would say that I'm kind of young to hold that rank and position. I mean, doubt you have forgotten the flak I got for being sixteen and a commander. It was harsh, that's until I proved I could hold my own. I would assume this would be even worse ma'am, for the complaints about me come to you, so… forgive me for asking ma'am, but why me?"

Admiral Raine sighed, "Yes, I do indeed recall the complaints that came to me about you being young. And I would be lying if I said I don't expect to receive such again when rumors fly around about this as well. However, this was not my decision and you're being assigned to a ship and to the position of command it, meaning the rank is necessary."

If my jaw could hit the floor, it would have at that last sentence! Not only was I being given the rank of captain, which was rare for someone like me, but I was going to be given a ship to be responsible for too?! Someone is giving me a lot of credit and confidence if they're willing to give me a job like this, or there is something else going on. I'm wondering what's going on for an idea like this to have been put on the table! I guess it would be best for me to see what this "job" I'm being handed is about and what I get to work with. "Okay, it's neat that I'm being trusted with a job like this boss. But uh, what would require someone with a working style like mine that comes from kicking rear down in the trenches, to be in command of a ship, if you don't mind me asking ma'am."

Admiral Raine slid a pile of papers towards me, a tad apprehensive, I walked forward and picked up the papers and scanned the first page.

 _Operation: Methias_

 _Operation type: Seek and Scrub_

 _Priority level: 1_

 _Approximately twenty-four hours ago, an unknown Earth Alliance force assaulted the Milo Astrological Research Outpost. The intent has been confirmed as the Alliance force gaining access to the Information Network. After gaining access, several files were copied, two of those being very sensitive in nature. It is vital that the file do not remain in the hands of the Alliance nor reach their military headquarters on either Earth or the Moon. Whether the files are recovered or destroyed, does not make a foreseeable difference in the outcome. The Earth Alliance force has been code named Phantom Thief and will be referred to that name going forward._

The details I skimmed on the rest of the page and those that followed, weren't nice at all! Not only did this show that the Alliance had extreme interest in getting files from the information network, but that they had ill intent with regard to what they were after. Then, this group, this Phantom Thief had been the first to actual get unauthorized access to the network. Thankfully, protocols were such that any data copied from the network was encrypted for transfer, the strength depending on the sensitivity of the data. So, there was still time before the stolen files reached any who might have the skills needed to decrypt the data and have them readable. There was no information given on those who were maintaining the station or what had happened to them and that worried me. I looked back to Admiral Raine, "Fair enough for an answer ma'am. Last question, when can the ship I'm being given leave," I asked in complete seriousness.

"The new Normandy-class frigate will be able to depart within the next hour, final supplies are being loaded as we speak. The ship is in dock D23," she replied.

With that information, I saluted, then left the office and headed down to the hanger that had been given for the ship I would be commanding. Once I arrived in the lounge above the dock I came to a halt as I saw what would be "my ship" the Normandy as it was the first of its class. The pile of papers I had gotten from Admiral Raine were still in hand and when I flipped through them, I came to the page that gave information on the ship itself.

The Federation frigate Normandy, had an overall length of about two-hundred meters from bow to stern. The majority of the vessel's structure was in the oval shaped cylinder, which had wings coming off the back-quarter section of the ship. The propulsion was made up of six engines, two built into each wing, one on the outside, the other on the inside of the wing's center, while the last two were mounted into the back of the main ship structure. The crew compliment was a maximum of one-hundred-fifty members. The vessel had the standard stealth field system, though the system has been improved over the last year and a half. The Normandy could carry up to five mobile suits if one squeezed, so normally four suits comfortably and had a single catapult along the central underside. The linear catapult was retractable along the underside, and now used magnetic emitter rail to help with acceleration and deceleration instead of cables.

Other standard systems and equipment included defensive options and other ideas that I was kind of surprised the ship has. The first was launchers for anti-beam depth charges and signal flares which wasn't surprising. However, the Normandy was equipped with Ablative Gel, like the Archangel had, mostly for atmospheric reentry, which lent credence to the ship being transatmospheric like the Archangel was. The system that I was most impressed with and both wanted to see it work and also hoped wouldn't ever have to be put to use in serious situations, that being the Deflection field. Sci-fi type fiction has sparked the idea of "shielding" and the deflection field is definitely the closest to the principle of shielding created thus far. According to the specs and reports on it, the field should be able to deflect beams for any direction while its activate. The drawback of the field, it sucked down power like nobody's business, easily could outdo any other system in power consumption.

For an arsenal, there were four high-energy beam cannons, called "Spearnous" and I spotted two of their single barrels under the either wings, four of them in total. Then on the list of weapons was the missile launchers, which numbered thirty in total. By what was written, the missile tubes were mounted in top half of the wings and the rear of the ship above the engines themselves. The Normandy's heavy weapon, was a positron cannon, mounted in the front fourth of the central section of the ship. However, where the first-generation positron cannons had horrible side effects of radioactive pollution, that flaw has been fixed. Then in the defensive aspect, there fifteen "Falcogun" 75mm multi-barreled CIWS guns. There were four in the front, four on each wing and three in the back.

As I looked back to the ship, I got a view of my mobile suit, the Z201 Aurora being loaded on to the Normandy. After taking in the sight of the ship, I went to collect my things and head down towards dock D23. Yet, I came to a halt when I came into the docking bay and got a closer view of the ship I was being assigned to command. The feeling that had me wondering whose "bright idea" it was to put me in charge on one of the newest Federation ship, came to me once more strongly. Still, after I shook off the feeling, I floated through the boarding tunnel and came onto the Normandy in the center of the ship's central structure.

When I got onboard, I headed towards the bridge, and after going up on a lift. Coming out of the lift when it had stopped and opened, into a large room that had console areas on either side which were lower than the center of the room. I assumed that they room I was now in, was indeed the command bridge of the Normandy, as it had stations that I knew the look of enough of them to know they were for ship operation. The helm station was in the front, while the other stations lined the outside of the bridge, with the tactical stations, such as map display in the rear center area. Two chairs were in front of the tactical center, one in the middle the other on the left of the center one, seats clearly for the captain, which is me and the vice-captain who I have yet to meet.

I was finishing my glance around the bridge, when I felt a tap on my shoulder from behind. Upon turning, I found myself looking at someone that I didn't think I would see while on this ship and on duty, for I was looking at my friend Lisa Malto. "Lisa, what are you doing here," I managed to ask when I got my voice to work.

Lisa gave me a smile, "Well, I'm assigned to the Normandy, seems you and I will be resuming the same positions we've had with each other the last time we worked together," she answered.

I took a moment to consider what Lisa had just said, and after a minute, everything fell into place and I felt surprise at comprehending the idea. "Wait, you're saying that you are the vice-captain of the Normandy?"

Lisa nodded, which brought some relief as having Lisa as my second in command would work out well for this ship and its crew. I've been on ships that the captain and vice-captain don't work very well together, and it doesn't go well. The Archangel is a good example, Murrue Ramius and Natarle Badgiruel being one pair that didn't always get along, the good cop bad cop thing just doesn't work. So, to know that the one I would depend on to see that things get done, was someone that I can work with, is nice. But equally, it is also good to have someone that can talk sense into me when I'm getting close to doing something stupid, was comforting. Lisa can and does tell me no and will stop me from being an idiot, it is helpful, even if it doesn't feel nice when she does it.

"So, how did your meeting with Admiral Raine go," inquired Lisa.

My mood fell a bit, "Better than most I've had with her, definitely the best I've had in person. That woman scares me in ways others don't, I usually feel the need to cover sensitive areas for the fear of them getting nailed," I said. Then I kept going, "I mean yes, the promotion to captain is nice, even if it does come out of the blue, but I think she was more looking ahead towards the complaints she'll get about me being young and having the rank I do, nothing new for her I guess."

It was then I realized that I was still in the stiff formal Federation officer uniform that I wore to the meeting with Admiral Raine and didn't need to be. I faced Lisa, "Sorry Lisa, but I have GOT to get out of this stiff clothing, it's starting to feel more and more like a strait jacket. Plus, I probably should drop my things off in the quarters I'll get while on board the Normandy," I stated, before I floated towards the lift.

It took me some time to find "my quarters" but I did find them, they were on the deck below the bridge with the other officer quarters. I must say though, the room was somewhat larger than I had expected, best living quarters I've had other than my own house. There was the general living area with a bed and small sitting area, yet there was also a desk in a separate area along with a bathroom. It was nice to have a room like this, but it felt a tad too much to me, but then, being a captain was more than I'd thought I would be at this point in my life. However, mom will certainly be surprised to hear about the change, probably hoping that the rank would get me into less dangerous situations, I doubt it will though. Anyways, I changed into the less formal officer uniform and took a moment to regain my composure, before I made my way back to the bridge.

Upon entering the command bridge, I noted that Lisa was busy with checking with crew members and other things for the Normandy. I moved to the tactical center and was glancing over the data displayed, when I was interrupted. "Excuse me," said a female voice.

I turned to the source and saw a woman that appeared to be around my age as well as close to a head shorter than me. She had pink hair that wasn't neutral pink like Sakura has, but it was darker than Lacus' hair color. Her hair did compliment her turquoise eyes admittedly. The woman's figure was feminine but more average from what I was seeing… not that I'm looking into a relationship, though Sakura is still trying to rope me into one. "Yes, were you talking to me Miss?" I replied.

"Um, you are Tyler McGregor, the captain assigned to the Normandy, correct?" she asked.

I nodded slowly, "Yep, that's me. I'm still rather new to being a captain as the promotion came earlier today and I've never been a ship officer. So then, what can I do for you Miss," I left the question open to hopefully get her name.

The woman smiled slightly and bowed, "My name is Feldt Grace sir," she introduced herself.

…It is going to take time to get used to being called "sir" and other formal titles by others I work with, and even then, I doubt I will nor do I like it. I returned the bow by inclining my head, "Nice to meet you Miss Grace, but please drop the formalities, Tyler will be fine. However, if you see the need to be formal, then captain will do I guess."

"Well then Captain, I'm here to inform you that the Normandy is almost ready to leave port. The ship is fully supplied, all systems are functioning as they should and we're in the final preparations," she iterated.

Miss Grace gave me a report of the ship's status, which gave me the impression that she knew the Normandy's systems well and that would be helpful. I thanked her for the information when she was done giving her report. As Miss Grace went off, Lisa came up to me, "I take it you were just got a report of the ship's status from Ensign Grace," she inquired.

"Yep, the girl is certainly knowledgeable about the Normandy, that's for sure. So, how close to we on being good to fly out, we have a mission already and the sooner we start, the better," I remarked.

Lisa and I glanced over at Feldt Grace, who had taken one of the CIC consoles, "Well, she was with the Intelligence Agency before being put with the Normandy as I understand it," commented Lisa.

I was sort of impressed, I mean, it fit that Miss Grace could work for the Intelligence Agency, she has the skill set as far as I can see. Yet, that brings up the question, how critical is this mission we're being set with? The Intelligence Agency isn't normally inclined to give or lend any agents or those who work for them to other branches of the Federation Military and most don't blame them. In fact, they are the most notorious with holding onto their personnel. So, that implies that whatever information the Alliance stole is very bad for them to have.

Lisa moved on to telling me that we were pretty much ready to go, all the crew was on board and the Aurora was the last mobile suit to be loaded on the ship and that was done. She also mentioned that our previous teammate Luke Lascy was also assigned to the ship and was the mobile suit team lead. Lisa also gave me a basic rundown of some of the bridge crew. The communication officer, by the name of Millais Alloy, held the rank of Sargent, was a linguist specialist and had a good service record. Most of the bridge crew had good service records and nice skill sets.

Yet, our helmsman was someone that I actually had heard of, named Lars Paris. The reason I had heard of the guy wasn't because others spoke highly of him, more the opposite really. The guy is known for "flamboyant behavior" and not following orders, cut the flamboyant behavior and you have what I can be like, but still. I would have to deal a bit different with him, so we'll see how things goes. Then, when it came to pilots, I only knew Luke and that's because I've worked with him, the other two pilots assigned to the Normandy were women, neither of which I had heard of.

Ten minutes passed, and the Normandy was deemed ready and was released from its dock and… hard as it is to believe, even for me, "my ship" and crew headed out from Echowas and started the hunt from the group "Phantom Thief". The first step in finding the group, was to head to the Milos Astrological Research Outpost, for that's where the trail was traced to last. The trip would take over eight hours, and I already have bad vibes about this group and the trouble they would create, and I haven't even encountered them yet!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Around Lagrange 1

Cagalli Athha was traveling onboard the Kusanagi which was heading towards the Lagrange 4 colony cluster. Two frigates and an Enterprise-class cruiser were traveling with the Kusanagi as an escort. Cagalli had been selected to meet with the PLANT Supreme Council's current Chairman Gilbert Durandal to discuss ZAFT's buildup that had been observed. The war had ended around two years ago, the current atmosphere of tension wasn't helped by the factions building up their military forces.

Of course, Cagalli wasn't traveling by herself, even with Orb in good standing and good care with the representative council, her father still at its head. Athrun was with her, which Cagalli secretly was happy about. He had come to Orb after journeying around for a time after the War came to its close. He was using the name Alex Dino, and not his real name as "Zala" had both a good and bad reputation. What was said about Athrun's action during the First Alliance-PLANT War were mixed, though the majority within ZAFT see him as a sort of hero according to his friend Nicol Amalfi he still kept in contact with.

The other that was traveling with them, who was filling the position of bodyguard like Athrun, was a young man that was slightly younger than Tyler McGregor, by the name of Quatre Winter. Quatre's height was 165cm and he had medium length platinum gold colored hair, which frame and compliment his blue eyes. He was a member of the Federation's Military, but he hadn't gone into much detail as to what he did. However, Cagalli had found him to be a kind and humble person as well as easy to get along with. Quatre was using the alias of Marcus Lune to not arouse suspicion according to him.

Cagalli returned her thoughts back to the meeting that loomed ahead with Gilbert Durandal. The subject matter would be of course, the need of power and building up military strength after the Alliance-PLANT war had ended. Then, there was the point that ZAFT as well as the Earth Alliance had gone over the set limits imposed upon the factions. The Alliance denied any such actions, even when they blatantly ignored the limits and other rules. Cagalli hoped that Chairman Durandal would at least have reasons and would listen to logic and common sense. By what his reputation implied, Gilbert Durandal was a reasonable and worked for peace and Cagalli hoped that was true the closer she came to Armory One.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Far East Side of Lagrange 4

Once we came into visual range of the research outpost, what was seen on the displays wasn't comforting, it was a mess. It appeared that Phantom Thief decided to not only raid a science outpost, they also blasted all the detection sensors as well, likely to buy time to do their work too. As we approached the docking port to the outpost, I let the procedure to Lisa and headed towards the docking tunnel, stopping by my quarters and slipping into my pilot suit that was a darker blue that the one I used to have. I'd made sure to pack, just in case, or rather when I would need to use it. When I reached the corridor that the airlock that the docking tunnel would be on, I saw a group of fifteen space suited people. The suits were pretty much the same design as Federation pilot suits, though they were what soldiers had for being in space or to go over to Alliance or ZAFT ships. One in the group, had gold markings on their suit and I took that to mean that they were the leader of the group.

I approached the group, who quickly took notice of me, "Hope you have room for one more, I intend to go over to the outpost to have a look what happened," I stated.

Some within the group flinched at hearing me while others simply stared, yet the leader did speak after a minute. "No offense Captain, but we can handle things, there is no need for you to go over with us sir."

The voice was a baritone, definitely belonged to someone older than me and there had been a tone of… oh, what is the best way to say it? It wasn't arrogance, but it certainly gave the message to tell me to back off and mind my own business. Not that I can't understand the response, there have been officers that I've worked with had a habit of interfering with the job. Nevertheless, I wasn't trying to overstep the team leader's authority, I simply want to see what had happened on the station with my own eyes, for the preliminary reports hadn't be nice at all. "I wouldn't doubt that you and your team can handle yourselves and the needed tasks perfectly fine. In fact, I'll be counting on that when we find those we're chasing, since I doubt they'll interested in any way to cooperating. However, I still intend to go over to the station, so don't take it personally. I'm the type of person that likes to see and do things myself rather than sit around and wait, especially at times like this. Perhaps other captains aren't like that, but that's how I am, and I see no reason to change that. Its kept me alive thus far and I don't foresee that changing in the near future," I returned in a serious tone.

"And what would a ship officer need that mentality for," challenged one of the other members of the group.

"Jenkins, keep your opinions to yourself if they don't have any relevance to the mission at hand," snapped the leader.

"But, Commander Marks," replied Jenkins.

So, the leader of the boarding part has respect from his team as they follow his orders, but they trust one another enough that opinions are not unwelcome, but have their place. I shrugged, drawing attention to me again, "I don't know whom any of you served with before being assigned to the Normandy, but rest assured, I'm not like most ship captains or officers that you've likely met. Heck, until this post, I worked down in the trenches like you all do, most recently down on Earth, but I've done the same in space. That's what most of my military service has been, field work and a variety of different types of missions, this is the first assignment that I've had that I have been a ship officer, let alone a captain."

I got silence at my remark, so I made one more comment that I believe would tell them who has really had tough jobs. "Okay, let me put it to you this way, you bet all of you have heard of Admiral Angela Raine, the woman is still technically my boss when is all said and done. The stories that I would assume many of you have heard about her, aren't exactly exaggerations. The woman can scare veteran personnel with a look or a few words and any one that's worked for her like myself, will tell you that. Her reputation causes some of the particular reaction some of you might have seen when she's around or mentioned. I know I understand why a number of soldiers and officers cover what they do, no wish to get nailed in sensitive areas if you know what I mean."

There were some that flinched at what I said, but Commander Marks just looked at me, "So, you've work with Admiral Raine then?"

I sighed, then nodded, "Yep, the woman is still my boss, as much as I might wish she wasn't some days. But, she is the one that commands SOLAS and that's what I did before now and still am a part of," I replied, trailing off.

"I see, then you're the young teen that jumped ranks and that there were so many rumors about, Tyler McGregor as I recall the name being," stated Commander Marks.

The number of rumors I've heard about myself are numerous, some are ridiculous, most are stupid and the work of dispelling them is still ongoing even after four years of service. Yet, I'm frustrated and exhausted at being reminded of the work I've done and how much there always seems to remain undone. "Yes, my name is indeed Tyler McGregor and I am the one that the rumors refer to whether rightly or wrongly. No matter how many of the rumors I dispel, there's always many more still to either confirm or disprove," I iterated.

There was silence again, then Commander Marks spoke again, "Very well, I'm sorry for my suggestion that you shouldn't go captain."

I waved it off, "I rather have people around that question and discourage stupid decision making than those that simply agree and keep quiet about things they notice while letting others be oblivious idiots. So, continue to question actions that you see as unwise, and state your opinion out loud please," I returned.

There was a clunk, followed by a series of mechanical sounds of docking tunnel connected as the Normandy locked into the outpost docking area. The light above the airlock was red, but it flashed once and then turned green, signaling that the tunnel was safe to use. Still, ever one of us going over, made sure that our suits and helmets were sealed right just in case, it's the mark of fully understanding what can happen if that isn't the case, usual by seeing recordings of the ideas or know someone that nearly died because of not checking. The airlock opened and all sixteen of us proceeded down the tunnel towards the science outpost. The moment we entered the station itself, a few facts became completely clear. The first was that at least some of the outpost's systems were operating and they had power to do so. There was enough lighting to see by, but not what there had likely been normally. Second, the air filtration and regeneration systems were working, the read outs confirmed that there was a breathable atmosphere still. The third and most frustrating and horrifying fact, when the Alliance had taken their self-guided tour, they had been armed and had gone on a shooting spree. Bullet holes decorated the walls, damaged equipment littered the place and worst of all were the bodies of those who had worked here floating lifeless in small groups.

The sixteen of us spread out to collect evidence to piece together the chain of events that had occurred. I went looking for the control room as I figured that would be where the most crucial evidence would be found. That's where the Alliance would go to access the Information Network and that's what they had been here to do. Along the way to the control room, I saw many dead bodies, and the more I spotted, the angrier I became with "Phantom Thief". It became easy to see that chaos and panic had quickly taken hold on the scientist here, but none had survived. There had been a few that had tried to buy others time, by delaying and sacrificing themselves to do that. However, the Alliance personnel had pretty much been executing everyone here as well as steal information. Gender nor age had made any difference to the killers, the young and old had been gunned down.

When I finally did reach the control room, the scene was the same as everywhere else I had seen around the station; half dim light, damaged equipment and consoles and floating dead people. Nevertheless, by what I could see, the majority of the consoles in the room were working and the important ones were undamaged. I moved forward and typed in a couple of commands to see what I could find out from the records kept. Apparently, Phantom Thief had used the story of their ship having trouble and was asked for assistance. The second the airlock had opened, the death toll started counting up at a rapid rate. The scientist here had done what they could to slow them down and stop them, but in the end, they hadn't been able to do much.

I did confirm that the files that had been taken, were encrypted heavily as they were copied, and they couldn't be view, the head of this outpost had managed that. Yet, there was at least one in Phantom Thief that knew what files they came here to get, even if they probably didn't know the contents. The real question was where would they go from here? Granted, going out of the way to a place that has a connection to the network was smart in that the response time was longer, but I can't see that being the only reason they came out here. The data and evidence we needed was obtained over an hour, before we returned to the Normandy. I was still mulling over what else the Alliance could do around the L4 colony cluster, for they had expended an amount of resource already and more than they have a tendency to as of late.

As what was found was looked through and inspected, I was lost in my thoughts and it was Lisa who noticed and spoke up about it. "Tyler, what are you thinking about? You have a very serious expression on your face and have for longer than you are normally inclined to."

I sighed, "There is something about this that's bugging me. I understand the Alliance selecting a facility that is less watched and has a connection to the Information Network to gain access. However, why go out this far, putting forth this much effort and resources for stealing files that could have been done somewhere closer? I think that there's something else around that our query is interested in doing, at least that's the MO that I've been seeing with some of the better operatives of the Alliance."

"Okay, let's say you're right and they do have something else in mind to do around here, what could that be," asked Lisa.

I shrugged, "That's what I'm having trouble coming up with. There isn't all that much of interest within the L4 colony cluster anymore," I remarked.

There was only the hum of the ship's systems running for a few minutes, but then that changed. "Excuse me captain, I think that I might have a possible idea of what else the Alliance may have an interest in around the L4 colony cluster," spoke up Ensign Grace.

I turned to face her and gestured for her to continue, "Then by all means Miss Grace, we're all listening, what idea do you have," I inquired.

Miss Grace cleared her throat, "Well sir, there is the PLANT-Type colony "Armory One". It is no secret that the colony is used for military development, some of it being mobile suits. According to the intelligence report, ZAFT possibly finished their next generation mobile suit series, they have been working on them for a while," she iterated.

What she said, certainly made sense as a prime target for the Alliance. New mobile suits would be quite the prize, but the would have to have personnel that can pilot ZAFT Suits which don't have natural use OSs. So, the ZAFT colony did fit, I merely forgot about it, but then I've been on Earth for the last ten months doing clean up and trouble management. I nodded, "That sounds like good if not perfect target for our query to go for." I faced forward, looking towards the helm, "Lars Paris, I've heard that you're a hell of a pilot, time for you to prove that right or wrong."

Lars twisted around in his seat and I got my first in person view of the man I'd heard not so nice things about. Of course, I'd seen his picture in his profile, but still is different to see someone in person. He had short brown hair and a more oval face, with his eyes being blue. He certainly did give off an air of cockiness and one who doesn't always follow the rules. He glanced back at me, "You have my attention _sir,_ " he said, saying "Sir" in a disrespectful manner.

A serious expression set itself on my face, "You know where ZAFT's Armory One is, right" I posed.

Paris nodded, "Yeah, sure I do, take it you want to set course there?"

"You catch on quick Mr. Paris. Yes, and put that foot of yours down hard, time is of the essence. As long as your driving keeps us from being noticed and not hitting objects that would damage the ship, the driving style is up to you," I stated. Normandy's pilot stared at me in almost a gape, which non-verbally asked if I was serious in what I'd just said. I kept my gaze focused on Lars Paris, "Is there a problem with what I said needs to be done Mr. Paris?"

Lars Paris came out of his 'daze' and shook his head, "Not in the slightest boss, just immensely surprised at the difference at having cleaned out ears makes with one's hearing." He turned back to face forward at the helm, "I'll have us in the vicinity of Armory One in under three hours. So, everyone hush up, buckle up and hang on," he announced.

After saying that Paris swung the Normandy away from the Milos Outpost and pointed us towards the other side of the L4 colony cluster. Then there was a fair jerk as the Normandy accelerated towards ZAFT's Armory One colony.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Armory One

A few days passed since the Impulse's final test flight, and the final preparations were being made on board the Minerva. It was not stated specifically, but the expectation of receiving the ship's first assignment was approaching. The other job needing to be done was to load the other four second series mobile suits developed here at Armory One on to the Minerva. Their given pilots were to go to the hanger and bring their machines to the Minerva from there. Aila was given the task by Captain Gladys to go and meet with the other four pilots at the mobile suit hanger as she had met them already and recognized them.

The other three pilots; Shinn, Lunamaria and Rey remained on the ship in case an emergency came up, as unlikely as that was. The three had been in the pilot lounge and had watched Aila leave the ship to meet up with the other skilled pilots that were assigned to the Minerva. Shinn then looked to the Core Splendor and the bays that the modules of the Impulse were stored. Lunamaria noticed Shinn staring, "Thinking about the test flight of the Impulse? Aila certainly did make it look easy to do, that's for sure, she was amazing," she remarked.

Shinn sighed wistfully "Yeah she was, and I'm not saying that piloting a ZAKU is bad or anything, but using a custom mobile suit is a dream of mine since I saw a CGUE for the first time. I know that if for some reason, Miss Lakeen is unable to pilot the Impulse that either Rey or I then take it out. But, that doesn't feel the same as being 'the pilot' of a custom model. I'm just wondering if I'll ever get the chance to show that I can make a difference on a battlefield," he said to no one in particular.

Rey put a hand on Shinn's shoulder, "Be patient Shinn, your time will come, you can count on that. The opportunity will arrive and if you keep practicing your piloting skills, then you will be ready for it," Rey assured.

Lunamaria was nodding strongly, "Rey is right Shinn, you'll get a chance and when you do, you will show everyone that you are a great choice to pilot a custom mobile suit," she added.

Meanwhile, Aila drove one of the vehicle from the Minerva over to a hanger at the armory, where she would meet up with the other pilots that were assigned to the Minerva. They would fly the suit they would pilot to the Minerva and that would be the final supply that the Minerva needed, her mobile suits. Aila showed her ID to the security guards at the Armory and they let her in, yet as she kept making her way to the hanger, what she saw was somewhat worrying. Granted, there had been standing peace for close to two years now, ever since the signing of the Treaty of Junius Seven. But that shouldn't mean that one should be lax and that was what Aila was seeing, soldiers being lax and making potential mistakes.

The Earth Alliance had been quiet lately yes, but that was the problem, at least that's how Aila saw it. There had been a number of events that were unexplained, but evidence, as circumstantial as it was, pointed towards the Alliance being responsible. That meant that the Alliance wasn't doing nothing and could attack ZAFT, and Armory One wasn't an exception, even if it was out of the way. Aila put aside these thoughts as she came to the hanger that she had been told about by Captain Gladys. She got out of the vehicle and entered the hanger and found that she was early, and the other pilots weren't at the hanger yet.

To pass the time she had to wait, Aila glanced over the other mobile suits of ZAFT's second generation series that the Impulse was a part. Of this line, there was five so far including the Impulse and all but her mobile suit could transform into another form by what Aila understood. The speculation between some including herself, was that scientist for ZAFT were trying to mimic and match the Federation Military's abilities as their mobile suit all had the ability to shift and change plus, the Federation mobile suits had proven to be somewhat more advanced than ZAFT or Alliance machines. The few features that all the mobile suits in this series had in common, were first they all had a receiver for the Deuterion Beam that the Minerva had that could recharge a mobile suit. Second, they were all powered by a newer version of ultracompact energy battery, as the Treaty of Junius Seven banned nuclear power for mobile suits and everything else. Then third, was the phase shift armor system that they were equipped with. The idea of Phase Shift Armor that the five Earth Alliance prototypes from the last war, had been improved to be more energy efficient and effective overall. The system could also be customized to a pilot's preference now where before they could not.

The first here and closest to the door, was the X24S Chaos, and though it was gray at the moment, that would change when its phase shift armor activated, for then it would be two shades of green. By what Ryan Peters, the pilot assigned to the Chaos had said, the machine could transform into a mobile armor that had high speed and mobility in combat. It had a fair arsenal to work with, a number of CIWS guns, beam sabers, a beam rifle and a multi-phase beam cannon. The Chaos also had a remote operate and control system that the technicians call the DRAGOON, apparently the system had been tested during the Second Battle of Jachin Due in the last war and had been improved since then. The DRAGOON was used for the two weapon pods the suit had or that's what had been said.

Next to the Chaos, was the X28S Osiris which was also gray, but would become mostly gold and a dark blue for the torso when its phase shift came on. It would be the mobile suit that Matt Dems would pilot, Aile knew this as she had been going out with Matt for nearly a year and he had told her. The Osiris was supposedly the suit of this series that was the closest to having a transforming mobile suit like the Federation had, in the form of a fighter. What made the Osiris unique was that most of its weapons were not beams but rapid firing guns. Yet, as the Alliance appeared to use laminated armor and not phase shift, that kind of weaponry would work fine. The Osiris also had a combined weapon system for its main offensive weapon, which had three weapons in one frame.

On the opposite side of the first two suit, farthest from the entryway, was the X31S Abyss which would become two different shades of blue and white as well with its phase shift activated. The Abyss was specialized for underwater combat according to Mare Strode, who was the test pilot and would be the Abyss' pilot going forward. Aila didn't get along with the guy all that much, he had an issue with her, something along the lines of him should be the Impulse's pilot instead of her. The Abyss like the Chaos had an array of CIWS guns, but the suit had more a mix of projectiles cannons and beam weapons.

Last but not least, was the X88S Gaia, which was next to the Abyss and closest to the door on that side of the hanger. It would become black overall with some red and yellow when its phase shift came on. The mobile suit's pilot was to be Lyla Nome, an old classmate of Aila from their time in military training. The Gaia designed for land based combat according to Lyla as it could transform into what looked like a BuCUE. The Gaia's arsenal was made up of CIWS guns and beam weaponry. The four mobile suits here along with the Impulse and a few ZAKU Warriors, the Minerva would be set for whatever mission she would be assigned.

 **-Line Break-**

The shuttle that was carrying those that would participate in the theft of the ZAFT mobile suits at their colony here in the L4 Colony Cluster, cleared the Girty Lue. Onboard were three Alliance soldiers wearing ZAFT uniforms and a trio of teens. The single female, named Sella Loussier, was internally fretting at the moment. She was over five feet, but under five and a half, had golden blonde hair and violet colored eyes. Stella was going through the exercises she had been taught to keep calm and in control. The teen next to Stella was a pale blue haired teen that was around sixteen like she was, he was reining in his excitement of finally about to see action. The teen's name was Azul Neider, and he was seen as most unstable of the trio which he, Stella and the other teen were.

The last of the Trio and the unofficial leader of the trio, who was named Sting Oakley. The reason that he was the leader, he had shown that he tended to be the most calm and stable of the three. Sting had a height was slightly over five and a half feet, he possessed short green hair and light green eyes. Sting was studying Stella, clearly seeing that she was having trouble with something, "Stella, things are going to work out just fine in this, ZAFT isn't expecting us so we can get the jump on them. This will be very much like the practice scenarios that we did back at the lab," he said.

Stella glanced up at Sting, then looked away, "I… I'm not worried about this… I'm worried that Tanya is still missing even after months of her not getting back," she replied.

"Oh my, that sister of yours still gone, good riddance I say, she was annoying," commented Azul.

Stella glared at Azul with close to murderous intent, "Don't talk about Tanya like that! Or else I'll tell Vali what you said and that you're the one that got him punished a few months ago."

Azul drew back a bit, "You won't do that, besides if you do that, then you might just," he started saying, before Sting covered him mouth, stopping him from saying more.

"Enough, both of you," Sting stated. "Tanya is likely just fine, probably got a new assignment before she was able to return to the lab Stella." Sting then looked to Azul, "And you Azul, don't go using the 'word' that another has ingrained, unless you want your own used against you."

The rest of the journey to Armory One was made in silence, getting into the colony was simple as there was little asked of the group. The story that was told, was one of the "soldiers" was showing their sister and her two friends around where he would be assigned soon. That got the group of six to the colony's interior and they got their first view of the grounds that their mission would take place. They quickly found their designated target, the hanger where in the mobile suit they would take.

 **-Line Break-**

A small shuttle left the Kusanagi once the ship was in range of the Armory One. Athrun and Quatre were with her along with two other Federation personnel on the shuttle. The craft took ten minutes to close the distance to be within communications range of the colony. The shuttle pilot contacted the control center of the PLANT colony, "Armory One Control, this is shuttle HFC-010, on approach, waiting for response."

" _HFC-010, we see you, localizing and online,_ " came the reply from Armory One's control center.

"This is HFC-010, confirming nav-com link established, on approach, requesting clearance to dock," the shuttle pilot responded.

" _010, permission to dock granted, keep on current approach vector,_ " returned the colony control.

The shuttle pilot informed the passengers that they would shortly be docking at Armory One. The craft moved forward and lined up between the docking line and floated into the docking area of Armory One. The sight of workers moving around the dock was visible by the shuttle passengers from their windows.

" _Number three deck, standby for receiving status B with incoming shuttle,_ " sounded around the dock, likely from the colony control center.

The shuttle came to a halt as the docking anchors attached to the craft, locking it in place. A tunnel stretched out and connected to the shuttle where the door to exit was and created a seal for a safe pressurized environment. The passenger left the shuttle, thanking the pilot as the exited, before traveling down the tunnel to come on the dock of Armory One itself. Cagalli instantly spotted a couple of men in the PLANT Supreme Council uniforms approaching their group. They greeted Cagalli and directed her towards the exit of the dock and escorted their group to where Chairman Gilbert Durandal was.

As they were being escorted, Athrun was looking over Cagalli, wondering why she had chosen to go with for this meeting with the PLANT's current Chairman. Yes, she was in Orb's representative maroon uniform and that was okay, but she could make a better impression, maybe wearing a dress. There quickly came a point where Athrun couldn't stay silent, "Do you think that's the appropriate attire? Please tell me that you at least brought one dress with you."

Cagalli glanced back at Athrun, "What should it matter how I'm dressed. Isn't my representative uniform good enough for something like this," questioned Cagalli.

"For something like meeting with the Chairman of the PLANTs, a bit of acting doesn't hurt you know," Athrun reasoned.

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted and drew attention back to the "second bodyguard" which had been assigned to Cagalli, Quatre Winters. "Alex, I doubt you're going to change Representative Athha's mind at this point. Besides, her attire is fine, sure it could be better, but complaining isn't going to help right now," he said.

Athrun knew that Quatre was right, but Cagalli is representing not just herself, but also the Orb Union and the Human Federation. She needed to keep that fact in mind with this meeting, "Granted, but portraying that one is a novice at what they do is not good either Marcus," Athrun iterated.

They entered an elevator, which took them down into the colony interior. Cagalli was still amazed at the beauty that these types of colonies had, for it was similar to Earth's. Yet, her gaze settled on the military part of the colony, which was easy to differentiate from the rest. A large number of mobile suits were visible as well as what looked to be a new warship in the port. "It's odd that they are holding a ceremony for launching a warship now, especially with what we're here to discuss," Cagalli said to herself and no one really in particular.

"Where that is true Representative Athha, a ship that's considered a vessel of war by some, may not necessarily be built for that purpose in mind. Like many tools, space going vessels can perform various functions, both good and bad, just like simple tools like a hammer or knife can," explained Quatre in a smooth matter of fact tone.

Quatre continued in his explanation about how ships were as any tool, not having purpose inherently. That a tool's purpose was chosen by its wielder and that they were the one responsible for what the tool does. Athrun then added his thoughts, "Indeed, Marcus does bring up a valid point. And this meeting was made rather last minute, so best to give the benefit of the doubt," he said.

The rest of the journey to where the Chairman was located, was made in silence and took around ten minutes. Cagalli's group was led to an office where she found Chairman Gilbert Durandal and other council personnel by their uniforms. The man she was here to see turned and smiled at her, "Hello Princess, it is good to see you," greeted Gilbert Durandal. "It is always a pleasure to be able to talk and discuss thing with representatives from the Human Federation. I'm sorry that I asked that this meeting be out this far, but as this is close to Federation Territory, I thought it mutually beneficial to both of us."

"No, I should be thanking you for making the time for a meeting Chairman," Cagalli replied. "You do keep yourself busy in these times of peace, so thank you for taking the time.

Both Cagalli and Durandal moved forward and shook hands to complete the greeting. Then Durandal glanced behind her at the others in her group, specifically Athrun and Quatre. Athrun took a step forward, "My name is Alex Dino, Chairman Durandal, a bodyguard for Representative Athha," he said.

Quatre then stepped forward and did the same, "Greetings Chairman Durandal, I'm Marcus Lune, also a bodyguard for Representative Athha."

Chairman Durandal nodded in acknowledgement to the introductions and turned back to Cagalli, "How fair things for the Human Federation member nations these days," asked Durandal. "It is my understanding that though the war took a toll on all of them, things are smoothing out and becoming prosperous again."

Cagalli nodded, "Yes, the damages from the war are being undone, thank you for asking."

Durandal inclined his head, "Not at all, I myself have visited some of the Federation member nations and found them quite pleasant to be around. Plus, I understand and admire the values and principles that the Federation upholds, they are very noble. I know for a fact, that within the PLANTs, Minister Blass's speech she gave towards the end of the war is still talked about and quoted, showing that it struck a chord with many. In fact, as a friend and ally of the Federation, I am happy for you all that things are settling down. If anything, I'm a tad envious at the peace and prosperity that the Federation has achieved and maintains, it can't be easy to do."

"As right as you may be Chairman, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done," reasoned Cagalli, putting the negotiation skills that she'd learned from her father to use. "The leaders of the Human Federation wish for the peace and prosperity that you've referred to, be experienced by all the human race, not just a part."

Durandal gained a thoughtful expression, "What a nice thought, for the leaders of the Federation to wish that. However, if you would pardon the idea, but I have to wonder what could be so urgent that the Federation would send out a representative like yourself out here at this time and unannounced. I was informed by members of the diplomat committee, that there was a matter that was said needed to be discussed, a complex matter in fact."

Cagalli was well-aware that the message that had been sent to the PLANT Supreme Council was something to the effect that there was an urgent matter to talk about. However, other than that, the content of the message wasn't known to her, the subject of discussion was though. And the subject was not a complex matter in her view at all, 'the need of power'. The war was over and had been unofficially for two years, officially for six months less than that. "I suppose that some could see the matter as complex Chairman Durandal, though I don't see it so. The question is do you and those you represent see the matter as complex, for neither you or others you work with have made such clear," Cagalli said.

"Oh? And what might you be referring to Princess," queried Durandal.

"I'm referring to the activities of the PLANTs and ZAFT and what they infer. Building up one's military is all well and good to protect and defend, but going beyond that is worrisome. The war is over, so then, why ignore the agreements and promises made in the Treaty of Junius Seven," posed Cagalli.

Durandal didn't respond immediately and tension built up in the room because of that. "A valid question Princess, perhaps it would be better if I would to show you the answer than to merely say it. Of course, that is if you're interested, for it requires a bit of a walk," returned Durandal, dispelling the tension.

Somewhat surprised at the offer, Cagalli accepted and the whole party in the room rose and headed down to the Armory section of the colony. Walking down a stretch with mobile suits on either side, Durandal continued where he had left off. "You're a woman of courage Princess, no reason to deny that with the proof that there is. You have gone out on a battlefield personally in a mobile suit no less and so, have seen how horrible battle really is. You take the stage of politics, in a way that I wouldn't doubt that your father, Lord Uzumi Athha is proud of. You like the other leaders of the Federation, stay true to your beliefs and values, even when it costs you greatly. Such qualities are to be admired I feel, so then, I would ask, how should we act given the current state of the world and the colonies? For you have no doubt felt the strain and tension that has built up."

Cagalli didn't have an answer to that question, since she couldn't deny that Chairman Durandal had a point about strain and tension. "I'm sure that you know and understand the answer to such a question perfectly," posed Durandal.

Cagalli let out a sigh, "We in the Federation will protect and maintain the ideals and principles that we hold, standing united together."

Durandal nodded, gaining a slight smile, "You will not attack another nation unless all other options have been tried and exhausted. You will not allow others to invade any of the member nations, nor intervene in the conflict of others. The famous ideal of neutrality that the Human Federation holds."

Cagalli nodded slowly, "Yes, that is correct," she said, wondering where this was going.

Durandal swept an arm in a gesture of agreement and respect, "Then we from the PLANTs and ZAFT are in harmony with the Federation, for that noble cause is what we strive for as well." Durandal smile faded, "If it were possible to obtain such without fighting and power, then it would be a perfect world. However, we both know that we live in an imperfect world, so such isn't possible, there is a need for power to defend. After all, is that not the reason the Federation's military maintains its forces and that they are active even today?"

The group kept walking through the armory as the discussion continued, "Still, if I may ask a question, what are you and other leaders of the Federation afraid of," inquired Durandal. He didn't give the opportunity to give and answer as he kept going, "Perhaps you're receive pressure from the Earth Alliance? Or maybe they're accusing the Federation of providing assistance to the PLANTs and ZAFT. It is my understanding that relations between the Alliance and the Federation are almost worse than they were during the war. But of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that any within the Federation have done that."

Cagalli understood Durandal's reasoning, but it still didn't feel right, "Power to defend is good, but too much strength will only invite conflict that could lead to another war," she said.

Durandal shook his head slowly, "While I agree with that sentiment, I would still say that there will always be conflict and so strength is necessary."

 **-Line Break-**

Aila put away the com-unit she had been using to contact Ryan Peters, to see where they were and estimate how long it would be before they arrived. It wasn't that Aila was against waiting, there was just an odd feeling that had been growing in her that something was about to happen. She had tried to wave it off as nothing, but the feeling wouldn't go away.

The sound of voices outside the hanger caught Aila's attention and upon glancing in that direction, she saw a trio of teens accompanying two soldiers. Aila caught the officer in charge and gestured at the group outside, "Is it common for civilians to be in this area, for I had to show ID at the entrance to the Armory?"

The officer looked at the group, "There shouldn't be any around here, but there have some that slip friends and relatives around lately," he replied.

The officer went to the door and muttered instructions to the soldiers guarding the entrance to the hanger. Aila turned her attention back to waiting for the other pilots as the guards shew the teens and two soldiers away from this restricted area. However, the cracking of gun fire snapped Aila back to the entrance to see the three teens with semi-automatic weapons in hand and the two soldiers also with guns, shooting any in the hanger. Aila drew the pistol she had with her and was about to fire back when she suddenly felt a sharp sting around her left shoulder. She ducked behind metal equipment for cover, but she still would pop up and fire back at the attackers.

Other soldiers had taken the same action as Aila and ducked behind objects and were shooting back at the attackers. Aila managed to get her hands on an assault rifle and with it she took down one of the phony soldiers with a shot to his neck. Yet, as the attack kept going, three out of the four mobile suits activated and rose out of their docks, causing destruction as they moved. The three were the Chaos, Abyss and the Gaia, the Osiris was left alone, or at least there had been none that had tried to get into the cockpit. Aila got a lucky shot that killed the other phony soldier while the mobile suits moved towards the entrance of the hanger.

Once the three stolen mobile suits exited the hanger, Aila rose and glanced down at her left shoulder and saw a growing spot of crimson that stood out against her ZAFT Red uniform. Upon looking around, she spotted a length of Cloth, likely used by mechanics, it was the cleanest thing to work with right now, so Aila grabbed the rag. She tied it around where the bullet had hit her and made it the best tourniquet she could, hopefully to stop the bleeding or at least slow it down. When she finished, Aila climbed the docking scaffolding and lowered herself into the Osiris' cockpit. The setup was kind of different than what the Impulse had, but Aila could work with it, this certainly wasn't the time to be picky.

Aila activate the mobile suit's onboard system and the forward display came up with the same starting message as the Impulse did.

 **MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nrestricted  
 **N** etwork  
 **D** rive **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M**  
 **_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_**  
 **Z.A.F.T**

When the system bootup was finished, Aila got the Osiris to rise from its dock and turn towards the gaping hole that the other three made for their exit. Aila made sure to activate the phase shift, changing the Osiris over to being gold everywhere but the torso, which was dark blue. Then, once that was done, Aila piloted the Osiris out to see what could be done.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Lagrange 4

As Paris had said, he had gotten the Normandy in visual range of Armory One in less than three hours, and his driving wasn't half bad in my view. Not only that, we detected our target in the area, even if the vessel was using mirage colloid to hide itself. The outlined matched what was recorded in the system at the Milos Outpost that had trouble and had docked at the facility. It was definitely a new ship class for the Alliance and was some type of mobile suit carrier by what the readouts suggested. The ship also had what appeared to be exterior fuel tanks rotating around the ship and likely allowed the ship to operate even more undetected as it cuts down the heat output.

I told Paris to move us to be in line with them so that we could position the Normandy to disable the Alliance ship and he did so. Yet, before the Normandy could position itself over the Alliance vessel, something came out from the ship. The object was locked onto by sensors and an image was displayed, which showed the machine to be a mobile armor. It was a new model, for I hadn't seen it, but I could tell that his armor was based on the Alliance's Moebius Zero. But, by the image, it had both an updated arsenal and was more streamlined. This one was a purple color overall, with white tips on each gunbarrel and the nose of the main body. The unit also two linear guns, what looked to be missile tubes and who knows what the gunbarrels had for weapons.

With a mobile armor out, I'm inclined to believe that our query had people on the inside of the colony and none of them would be interested or happy with what the Normandy is here to do. The mobile armor was followed by a couple of mobile suits, four to be exact which were the new Alliance strike daggers call "Windams". So, that in mind, I ordered Luke and the other two pilots on the ship to their mobile suits and prepare to launch.

Now, Federation mobiles suits, like ZAFT and Alliance machines, have changed and improved over the last two years. The current mass production mobile suit model is based on the Delta Fighter but has been streamlined and the specs are better than the Delta Fighter by a good margin. For power, the model uses a new version of the Ultracompact Energy Battery, which utilizes two batteries synced together and even has a slow recharging function, derived from the custom suits from Teswa from the last war. The mobile suits also had reinforced Xionium armor plate along with a more simplified version of phase shift that worked much like the kind the Aurora has by what I understand. For stealth, the new system the Federation made and uses, called "Wraith" has already frustrated both the Alliance and ZAFT, as well as them showing jealousy at how effective it is from keeping something undetected. It works similar to how the Specter Optical Camouflage field as it also uses image projection.

When it came to the mobile suit's arsenal, it has a little less than the Delta Fighter, but better oomph. There were the vulcan guns in the head, which were 70mm caliber, meant for interception, but machines without phase shift can still get holes punched in them by these if they are too close. Next, there was the MKII X80 high-energy beam rifle, which was a long rifle with better fire power than the Alliance prototypes from the last war. And it would attach to the fighter's barrier shield in its flight mode. Then the barrier shield, was where the other weapons were as the shield was as much a weapon system as a defensive piece of equipment. Two beam sabers were stored in the shield, while on top of the shield, in hidden compartments, a double-barreled grenade launcher was built into it. Lastly, there was a beam cannon at the forward section of the shield that worked like a plasma cannon and was the heaviest weapon the Excel Fighter had.

The Normandy's linear catapult came out to active position and then the three Excel Fighters the Normandy had onboard began launching out. None of them were noticed as their stealth systems were running as they flew down the catapult. I did open a com-channel shortly after the fighters launched, "Luke, it is more than likely that our query is already causing chaos inside the colony. They will not like what we're here to do to them and if or when they find out we're here, I need you and the others to keep them busy enough, so they can't help their ship at all. Do you understand Luke," I asked.

" _Mate, it will be a pleasure for us to do that. Congrates on the promotion Mate, sorry I haven't gotten to tell ya that before now, you certainly deserve the respect if you ask me,_ " Luke returned.

I couldn't help the smile that came to my face, "Thanks Luke, nice to know I have some who are cheering me on."

With the task of the mobile suit pilots delegated and explained, I turned my attention back to the Alliance vessel. For honestly, with what they had done, are doing violate the Treaty of Junius Seven, which until now, there hadn't been solid evidence that could be used to prove that. There was plenty of material to condemn the Alliance, but all of it before now was classified for a variety of reasons. Accusing them could reveal who held the reins of the Earth Alliance these days and that was something that needed to be identified. The Normandy had moved to be above the ship by this point, and I was going to give the order to disable them, but Lisa was ahead of me, anticipating my thoughts like she had a knack of doing more than half the time. "Fire disruptor and anchor cables at the Alliance vessel, away team, standby to board enemy vessel!"

She can take the words out of my mouth, exactly what I would want and hope for from a second-in-command. Plus, the members of the bridge crew were showing that they clearly knew their stations and could work together well when it was needed and that was extremely good to me. The Alliance ship was disabled within a minute and the Normandy had its bottom center airlock attached to the other vessel so that Marks and his team could board in the next minute. The work was done close to seamlessly and I couldn't stop the smirk of pride that made its way to my face, knowing that this was my crew and they were impressing me, and I liked this feeling! I even heard Lisa snickering quietly, no doubt at seeing my smirk and I knew she was feeling similar to I was right now.

Marks radioed the bridge and said that he and his team was about to board the opposing ship. I replied to him that we acknowledged that, and his priority was to deal with the stolen data and I would leave it to his judgment to decide what that required. I also told him that there was no need for him or any on his team to feel inclined to be all that nice, since the Alliance hadn't been at the Milos Outpost. He told me he understood and agreed, before the com-channel was closed. Then started the wait, while the boarding party went to the Alliance ship and did their mission. As I had told Commander Marks and his team, I had confidence in them, and that confidence had been proven right to me during the inspection at the Milos Outpost. I'd seen enough of the non-verbal responses from a number of them, to tell me that they had all spent time working in the trenches. Having done such myself, that's all I needed to know, to know that they could do what they were asked to.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **Okay, I know leaving off just as the battle is about to start is mean and I'm sorry that I'm pausing here, but it works well in the long run, or this Phase would end out being LONG. This Phase came in chunks and waves starting during my writing Phase 25, so I touched this off and on for a while. I would doubt that a number of you noticed the references to other things, such as me "borrowing" material from other universes, which is fun to apply to the Gundam Universe. As always, reviews are appreciated and encouraged, they do help improve the writing process. Until the next phase, peace out!**

 **KakeruPB**

It's true that the previous Phase was mostly filler and meant for transition to Destiny, but stories do have chapters like that. With Siegel being in the Republic, simply put the reason that he is there instead of the PLANTs, two words, Gilbert Durandal. Like in cannon, he likes control and "taking care of variables". I'll explain further later on in this story, it is the first phase that goes into SEED Destiny.

 **Titanic X**

I'm glad that you like this story, the things I write I put in time and effort. As for what to do about LOGOS, haven't decided how I want to do that whole idea yet, but it's in the works.


	28. Phase 28: The Whispers of War

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 28, the battle within and without Armory One! I would love to keep up this regularity of posting Phases like I have, but I can't promise that I'll be able to keep this up. Anyways, the standard disclaimer applies and on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 28: The Whispers of War

October 2nd, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Armory One Interior

Aila maneuvered the Osiris to the wrecked entrance of the hanger and the scene she took in was horrifying. Debris and bodies littered the area, hangers were on fire, damaged and or in ruins in most of the ways Aila looked. To see how much destruction the three stolen machines had brought, was sickening as it was terrifying. The three teens that had taken the machines, had made the prototype mobile suits into war machines. This shouldn't have happened, for the thieves should know nothing about the mobile suits, yet somehow, they did. This situation was unprecedented and yet, this Alliance force had taken everyone and Armory One by complete surprise and now chaos was the result.

It didn't take long for Aila to spot all three of the stolen suits, as they were going around the Armory destroying hangers, blasting mobile suits and killing people as they went. The sight angered Aila, all what was happening was senseless killing, and this was even more than the Alliance would normally pull. Even with the pain in her left shoulder, the feelings of fury helped Aila to dismiss and ignore the pain. The resolve within her strengthened the goal of stopping the three stolen Gundam-type by whatever means necessary, whether that meant destroying them or just capturing them, Aila would see it through to the end.

Aila moved the Osiris out of the hanger and made her way covertly towards the Chaos as it was the closest to her. None of the three other Gundam-type appeared to notice the Osiris moving out into the open at all. The scenes of the Abyss and the Gaia shooting the hangers and other mobile suits that were approaching to stop them, were painful to witness for Aila. The Chaos was firing off its missiles by the time Aila got into range, she aimed her rifle system and fired the beam rifle at the Chaos. The Chaos managed to evade the shot, but it was close, yet Aila didn't stop there, she used the Osiris' rifle system's machine guns to begin pounding the other machine as she moved the Osiris forward, closing the distance between her and the Chaos. Aila added both 95mm twin barrel Vulcans to the barrage, while she stored the rifle weapon system and use one of the close quarters weapons available.

The Chaos was backing up against the barrage, Sting trying to find an opportunity to counter this golden mobile suit but could see none. It had taken seconds for him to realize that his attacker was the unknown fourth mobile suit that he caught sight of back in the hanger the stolen units were from. It had been odd to find a fourth machine, for until seeing it, Neo's information had been exact and accurate in everything. So, how a fourth machine being missed was unexplainable and it had now brought complications. Then, instead of destroying that mobile suit, he and the others of his trio had been told to go by those remaining and that they would handle the unforeseen machine. Clearly, they had failed in that task, for now this machine was they opponents and made things difficult for Sting himself and would be a problem for the others too.

Once Aila got close enough, she drew the "Vajra" beam saber stored in the Osiris' shield, before she crashed into the Chaos with heavy force. The opposing mobile suit stumbled back from the impact and crashed into the ruins of a hanger. Before Aila could disable the Chaos more fully, an alarm then started going off, signaling danger to the left, when Aila turned, the Abyss was gazing her way. It brought up its dual cannons to point at the Osiris, but Aila raised her shield before the Abyss fired. The impact from the projectiles forced the Osiris to slide back a few meters as the shield deflected the shells. Aila stored the beam saber and retrieve the rifle system, the smoke from the explosive shells covering her actions. Aila fired off a bolt from the beam rifle at the Abyss and would have kept up the pressure on the Abyss, but the Chaos had risen and attacked the Osiris.

Aila was forced to leap back from the two mobile suits however, the Chaos moved to be behind the Osiris and began shooting at Aila. As Aila faced the Chaos and fired back, there was an alarm blaring, followed by the Osiris shaking. The forward display informed Aila that one of the Osiris' flight stabilizers had taken a hit, which would make staying in the air more of a challenge going forward. Aila knew that she was in a tough spot and things didn't look to have much of a chance to improve. With her going against two other Gundam-type mobile suits and possibly a third, she was hard pressed to hold her own against them.

Meanwhile, the group around Chairman Durandal and Cagalli Athha were trying to figure out what was going on. It quickly became clear that there was an attack in progress and that the new ZAFT Gundam-type mobile suits were being utilized for the task. The sight of the three prototype machines which had been designed and constructed here that were a part of the second stage series, said things were going wrong. At seeing one of the mobile suits, Athrun's eyes widened, "That's a," he uttered.

Nevertheless, Cagalli finished his thought, "A Gundam-type?!"

Durandal got down to taking charge, the first thing he did was to assign some soldiers to escort Cagalli to safety. The relationship between the PLANT and ZAFT with the Human Federation needed to be maintained for a good future, it was the view of Gilbert Durandal that it would be necessary. After having the Princess of Orb taken to safety, Durandal turned back to the others around him and gave out orders for needed tasks to be done.

The soldiers escorting Cagalli, Athrun and Quatre, led them in the direction of the port. Athrun was on Cagalli's right side, where Quatre was a short distance to her left, as they were moving forward. As the group turned a corner, the scene of two of the mobile suits that had been attacking, fighting a gold mobile suit popped up in front of them. The clash kicked up dirt and debris, Athrun grabbed Cagalli and rushed into the shelter of a standing hanger close by. Quatre went a different way than them, but the two soldiers that had been escorting them, were caught up in the flying debris and vanished in the destruction.

When the dust settled, Cagalli and Athrun looked around and saw wreckage around themselves. Quatre was gone as were the two that had been escorting them, it was just the two of them. Athrun knew that they were still in danger where they were, more so since their group had been split up if not cut down to just the two of them. Athrun pulled Cagalli out of the structure they had sheltered in to the outside, and they began running away from the fight that had appeared ahead of them. Athrun was looking for something to work with to protect Cagalli but was only seeing wrecked mobile suits. Next thing either he or Cagalli knew, they turned a corner and in front of them was the black mobile suit, shooting down other mobile suits. One of the mobile suits that the black suit damaged, fell and crashed into the hanger that Athrun and Cagalli next to, causing an explosion and something to fall through the wall and hit the ground nearby.

After the air cleared of smoke and dust, Athrun glanced around and saw that what had fallen was a mobile suit. The mobile suit was the new mass production model that ZAFT was using within the last year, the ZGMF-1000 ZAKU Warrior. It was light green except the torso which was the a darker green and had a somewhat similar frame as a GINN. There was a shield mounted on the left shoulder that was the same length as a bit more than half the machines and had three spikes coming out of the upper center of the shield's surface. The mobile suits had thrusters in the legs as well as in the back to give it mobility and power.

Athrun rose up from shielding Cagalli from being harming as chunks of what was left of the hanger fell to the ground. He then looked around then looked down at Cagalli, "Are you alright," he asked.

She looked up, "Why… why is this happening Athrun," Cagalli cried.

"I don't know, but we'll be alright," Athrun assured.

"But, it's just us now, Quatre has vanished and he may be dead," Cagalli replied.

Athrun shook his head, "I doubt that he is gone, just separated from us and he'll likely catch up later."

Athrun looked back at the mobile suit they were close to, "We can't say where we are, come on," he said, grabbing Cagalli and rushed for the mobile suit next to them.

They both entered the cockpit, Cagalli a bit hesitant, but Athrun got her to get in. He took the pilot seat while Cagalli was next to him. Athrun began activating the suit's OS and Cagalli worried about this. It had been sometime since Athrun had piloted a mobile suit, as skilled as he was, he was about to possibly go against dangerous opponents and she didn't want Athrun to die. She may not admit it publicly yet, but she was more than fond of Athrun now and wanted to be more than just friends. She hadn't told him her true feelings yet, always putting them off for whatever reason she would come up with. "Athrun wait, are you sure about this? It's been a while since you piloted," Cagalli asked.

"I'm not about to let you die in a place like this," Athrun stated firmly.

The statement made Cagalli's heart skip a beat, for there was a part of her that liked that Athrun saying that he was willing to fight to protect her life. The visual displays came up showing feeds from the outside, which hadn't changed from what they had seen before. The ZAKU's main optical camera flashed on and the rest of the mobile suit responded to Athrun's input. The suit rose, the torso vent letting out steam as the machine came to life and stood to its full height.

Stella inside the Gaia Gundam, noticed movement, turned and saw the ZAKU stand. "Hmm, looks like I missed one, guess I should fix that," muttered Stella to herself.

She brought up the Gaia's beam rifle and pointed it at the ZAKU, then pulled the trigger, but Athrun fired up the ZAKU's rear thruster and evaded the attack, much to Stella's surprise. Then before she could react, her opponent rushed forward and rammed her with its shield. The enemy pilot had caught her off-guard, but Stella wouldn't let them get the better of her.

While fighting continued, the Minerva which was still in the port, had been contacted and ordered to provide support with the situation that had broken out. Unfortunately, all by one of the Minerva's pilots were out. Rey and Lunamaria had gone out to get mobile suits to use, Aila had gone to meet up with the other pilots assigned to the Minerva. Captain Gladys, had set out to bring the Chairman onboard for safety with the potential danger that was now present. The only pilot on the Minerva was Shinn Asuka, and though he was one of the backup pilots for the Impulse, he had never used the mobile suit outside of simulations. That was scheduled for later, for both Shinn and Rey, under Aila Lakeen's supervision. Yet, it only left one choice left in the deputy captain Arthur Trine's mind, order the remaining pilot to take the Impulse Gundam out to the field.

Arthur declared Condition Red, and for all crew members to report to their battle stations, then ordered Shinn Asuka to ready himself to sortie immediately, assigning him the task of recapturing the Gundam-type mobile suits. Shinn had for a moment, thought he had heard wrong, when he was not only to standby to launch in a mobile suit, but in the Core Splendor inferring that he would be using the Impulse Gundam. Yes, Rey had said that Shinn himself would get a chance to prove he could make a difference, but Shinn hadn't imagined that it would happen this soon! Still, he suited up and made his way quickly to the Core Splendor, took a deep breath and got into the cockpit. Even though he had done this what seemed hundreds of times in simulations and practice under the supervision of Aila, this wouldn't be a drill or simulation. This would be the real deal on an actual battlefield and the realization that he would be doing just that was sinking into Shinn as the cockpit closed and sealed.

Shinn decided to use the Sword Silhouette for this sortie, specifically as this would be more close ranged combat. He informed Meyrin and she acknowledged his choice in equipment, " _All personnel,_ _standby for the launching of the Impulse,_ " announced Meyrin. " _The Sword module has been selected, opening silhouette hanger 2, preparing to load silhouette flyer, standby."  
_

At the bottom of the central elevator system, under the three platforms already in the lift shaft, a fourth platform tracks slid into place for the fourth platform. The storage hanger that had the number "2" on the front, split horizontally open and the fourth platform moved to the central elevator. The platform had what was called the "Sword module" silhouette flyer, a different set of equipment than had been used in the last test flight. The set was intended for close quarters fighting, had two anti-ship swords and two beam boomerangs on the pack. Once the fourth platform was added, the airtight shutters began rising, " _Platform setup complete, central catapult on-line, opening airtight shutters,_ " stated Meyrin over the speaker system. The airtight shutters quickly reached the top of the shaft and locked into place, enclosing the lift system. " _Emergency crews, standby at launching positions. Raising central catapult to launch position,_ " Meyrin continued.

The four platforms started rising upward towards the linear catapult, Shinn was toggling the last switches to have the OS fully up, his nerves settling now that he was moving upward. " _Core Splendor, all systems on-line, the hatch is opening, the linear launch is ready, catapult power levels normal, you will be clear to initiate launch sequence momentarily,_ " Meyrin said to the Shinn in the cockpit. The sight of light became visible to Shinn as the Core Splendor reached the top of the central elevator. Thruster vents rose up behind the craft and the catapult lit up as it activated for launch. " _Course cleared, Core Splendor go ahead and launch._ "

Shinn zoomed out of the Minerva in the Core Splendor and climbed upward after clearing the catapult. Memories of the things that Aila drilled into both Rey and Shinn himself came to mind for Shinn, particularly how he needed to treat the other three fliers as one machine and not separate things. He would need to be the lead for the Impulse modules or the docking sequence would be much more difficult. But, with the amount of times that Shinn had done this exercise, much of this was committed to muscle memory. The three other fliers did take their places up behind the Core Splendor and Shinn flew forward toward the Armory area of the colony.

Back in the Armory section of the colony, Quatre was getting his bearings after getting out of the way of the debris. When the sight of three mobile suits fighting one another had registered, Quatre had followed his instincts and moved into cover. However, doing that had then as a result separated him from Athrun and Representative Athha. Now that Quatre had taken in his immediate surroundings, he found himself alone and debris and panic everywhere, though he was still in the Armory area. With things going the way they were, he knew that he needed to find something to work with, preferably a mobile suit and soon!

So, he moved to the nearest least damaged hanger to see if there was a mobile suit he could pilot. The structure was abandoned, there were dead bodies littering the floor and many of the mobile suits were destroyed or unusable. Yet, then something caught his eye, which got Quatre to move further inside the hanger to get a closer look. The mobile suit Quatre caught sight of from the entrance, was clearly based off of their GUAIZ machine that had been developed close to the end of the First Alliance-PLANT War. It was dark grey overall, with tan for the lighter armored areas such as the joints. The suit had decently powerful looking thrusters on the backpack. There were two railguns, one on either side of the hips along with a shield on the left forearm.

It might not be what Quatre is used to piloting, but it was what there was available, so he would go with it. As a member and part of the Federation Military's Mobile Suit Core, Quatre was no stranger to mobile suits. So, he wasted no more time and got into the cockpit of the suit and brought the machine online. Quatre brought up information on what this suit had for defenses and offensive options. Other than the two railguns that this mobile suit had, there was also a pair of 76mm CIWS guns mounted in the head. For handheld armaments, there as a beam rifle that was decent, not high-energy beam output, but enough. The main defensive article, was a composite shield that was coated with anti-beam coating and it also had beam claws to use.

The main cameras sent their feeds to the surrounding screens, giving the view of the outside. Quatre made the GuAIZ R rise to from where it had fallen to the ground, getting to its feet and looked around. Quatre had gotten outside and taken in his environment, when the blue mobile suit that had been causing chaos came into view and spotted him. The Abyss, soon after seeing the GuAIZ R come out of the hanger, it rushed forward and swung its beam lance at the other suit. Quatre parried the lance with his suit's shield and then punched the Abyss in the torso, forcing it back a short distance. Then the dance between the two mobile suits began in earnest.

While Quatre fought with the Abyss, Athrun was locked in combat with the Gaia. After having forced the opposing mobile suit back, the Gaia stored its beam rifle and drew a beam saber. In response, Athrun had the ZAKU bring out its beam tomahawk and readied himself for close quarters combat. The Gaia charged, but Athrun used his shield to block and tried to get in a hit, but his opponent had more pushing power them he did. Athrun would be okay if he was just going to take on this one suit, but then the green one landed right behind him. Yet, as the Chaos rushed forward to attack the Osiris came down, beam saber in hand, forcing the green unit to dodge and forget Athrun for the time being. Athrun focused back on the Gaia when it was struck from behind and attention shifted to the new comer.

Shinn had flown into the Armory district and instantly had a visual of the destruction and even spotted the Gaia, the Chaos, facing the Osiris and a ZAKU. The Abyss was not within visual range, but Shinn figured that dealing with one machine at a time would be best. He locked in the Gaia as a target and fired the Core Splendor's missiles to take attention off allies. Today would be the day that Shinn showed that he could make a difference, in the same way that Federation mobile suit pilots had for him back when he and his family had lived in Orb, doing so to the best of his abilities. The missiles struck and put the Gaia off balance just before Shinn flew over the battle.

Aila didn't need to look down at the sensor display, she knew the craft well, it was the one she was assigned to pilot after all. The Core Splendor zoomed past the mobile suits on the ground, before moving up and the fliers behind it moved forward. Aila viewed the leg flier me into position to start the docking process, and she couldn't help but wonder who it was in the cockpit, it was likely either Rey or Shinn, they were the backup pilots in an emergency and this certainly qualified as one. The Core Splendor detached its missile launchers and shifted to its docking mode as the leg flier began lining up and activated its laser docking system. Aila hoped and prayed that, whoever it was in the cockpit of the Impulse right now, had been paying attention when she had been explaining the finer points of assembling the mobile suit. For there would unlikely be the opportunity for a second attempt with the stolen machines around.

Shinn maneuvered the Core Splendor in line with the leg flier, remembering what Aila had said about precision and patience being needed for this, the docking process wasn't one to rush and/or screw up. He decelerated as the legs came closer and docked with them and noted that the Impulse's legs connected as they were supposed to and were now responding as expected. Looking ahead, Shinn saw the chest flier already lined up and coming towards him, laser dock aligning started. Shinn then docked the chest flier to complete the Impulse, then readied himself for attaching the Silhouette flier. It came up from behind and connected, flipping the beam boomerangs around and Shinn activated the Impulse's phase shift armor as he descended to the ground. He grabbed both "Excalibur" Anti-Ship laser swords before landing close to the ZAKU facing the Gaia. Shinn then combined the hilts of the swords to have a dual blade, spun the weapon around and readied himself to fight.

Shinn looked from the Gaia and the Chaos, "Whoever you are, this fight stops here, there will not be another war, I won't let that happen!"

Seconds after Shinn had shouted that, the Osiris attacked the Chaos again, " _Shinn! Now's not the time for that, focus on dealing with these mobile suits,_ " ordered Aila.

Shinn was surprised to hear Aila's voice, but he did as she ordered and moved forward, sword shifting in preparation to attack the Gaia, which he was going for. And so, the battle between the mobile suits resumed before the Impulse arrived.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Around Armory One

The moment that the unknown Alliance vessel was disabled, the task of dealing with the stolen data began. We heard the boarding team's side of events as it came through the encrypted channel they were using. They met resistance of course, but it seemed like that this Alliance group hadn't expected anyone boarding them like we were. Every member of the boarding team was armed with an assault rifle and other offensive equipment and they knew how to use them all. It took a little over five minutes for the boarding team to handle dealing with the stolen data and head by to the Normandy. They also managed to hide a tracking beacon on the odd ship, which nullifies mirage colloid as that beacon could announce where they were to those who were tuned in.

However, just before the boarding team finished, the Alliance vessel was able to launch a signal flare, probably done manually. That in turn, got the Alliance mobile suits and mobile armor to look in our direction, and when they came back towards their ship, they were brought to a halt by Luke and his colleagues. Once the boarding team was done, they returned the Normandy, after which, we released the Alliance vessel from the anchor and disruptor cables. Then the Normandy moved forward and away from the Alliance ship. The cleanup part of this job was set to begin, and honestly, I wasn't intending to sit on the bridge and do nothing. I turned to Lisa, "Lisa, can you," I started, but Lisa finished my sentence. "Take over here on the bridge so that you can launch out?"

I blinked twice, then smiled a bit, "I see that you can still anticipate what I'm going to do, even after the time we haven't been working together. You would be correct, can you please," I asked.

She nodded, and that's all I needed to head for the lift to make my way to the hanger, putting on a pilot suit along the way. It took me a few minutes to get to the hanger in a pilot suit, ready to go out. The hanger itself was one of the more organized ones that I've seen or been in and it was kind of unique. There was a rail system on the floor, I assume for the mobile suits to be moved to launch position for the Normandy's catapult. I quickly spotted the one who was running things in the hanger and approached them, "I take it you are the chief here in the hanger and are responsible for keeping this great ship in working order," I posed.

The man I approached looked at me and nodded, "Yeah, darn right I am. Now, who the hell are you and what might your suited rear end be doing in my hanger," he asked bluntly and in a gruff voice.

…Now that's a greeting I can understand and appreciate! I inclined my head, "The name's Tyler McGregor my good man, and I'm down here to launch out to the field."

Most, if not all of those in the hanger had paused and looked my way after my introduction. The man I was talking to stared at me hard for a moment, "McGregor you say, ain't you kind of young to claim you're some kind of war hero kid, let alone the captain of this ship? I can understand fibbin to go out in a mobile suit, but you need to work on the art, cause you are bad at it," the chief said.

I felt irritation shoot through me for a second, for I knew that I would be dealing with others questioning my age in relation to the current position I was in. However, now wasn't the time to do this, "Okay, I know that I look too young to be the captain of this vessel, I flat out told my boss Admiral Raine that when she told me of the promotion and assignment, with a straight face I might add, and that's no small thing with her! I'm well-aware of the annoying rumors about me and what I do, I've spent an unknown amount of time dispelling a great number of them. But, there are people out there under my command and so, are my responsibility and I will not lose anyone that I don't have to period! Now, either you help me by launching my mobile suit, the Aurora, or I launch it myself and you can deal with the mess I make doing so. The choice is up to you," I stated with a deadpanned expression.

There was complete silence except the sounds of battle from the outside for a full half minute, then the chief let out a laugh, "You got serious spunk and moxie kid, I'll give you that. My name is Guy Volyon, and yes, I'm the chief mechanic and boss to all of these and any other mechanics or technicians onboard the Normandy. If you can pilot even half as good as you can talk, then I'll not say no to you going out," he replied, before turning to the rest of those in the hanger. "Right then you slackers, get the Aurora ready to launch now! If I catch any of you shirking off, then you'll do a full double shift under my watch and it ain't going to be comfortable I'll personally make sure of that, now get to your work!"

You know, I think that Chief Volyon and I will get along nicely, he doesn't like taking crap and I can fully agree with that. I checked that my pilot suit was adjusted right and then, floated to my faithful mobile suit, the HFS-Z201 Aurora. I had gotten close to shedding tears when I was told that the Aurora had taken so much damage during the Second Battle of Jachin Due that it couldn't be repaired. Then, said tears had changed to ones of joy when Carlos assured me that the Aurora would be rebuilt instead! I've become fond of the Aurora, we've been through thick and thin together more than once since the last battle of the previous war.

Anyways, I entered the cockpit and settled into the pilot seat and locked into the restraints. Yep, there are on buckles or belts anymore to keep me safe in my seat, now the pilot's suit locked into the seat frame. It might sound odd, but it feels better than the old way of keeping one in their seat, I'll tell you. The familiar bootup of the Aurora's OS was somewhat comforting, even with it updated from what it had been:

 **MOBILE SUIT NEX OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nsubdued  
 **N** uclear  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Intrigue**  
 **_Series GN125-O7 NR 03-13868_**

 **Federation Military**

All the Aurora's systems checked out as green, the nuclear reactor was putting out as it should and safer in my personal opinion than the Freedom's or the Justice's reactor did normally. My mobile suit's equipment was still pretty much what it had been before, but there had been a few nice changes. The Micro-Missile launchers had been modified so that they could carry five missiles instead of three and those missiles had remote detonators that I could activate at any time after firing them. The 90mm Vulcans that the Aurora had in its flight mode, were now loaded with anti-phase shift rounds. My shield was no longer experimental and got streamlined, doesn't suck down the power it used to and the same can be said of the beam rifle. The final "present" the Aurora got, was that the Phantom Stealth system automatically now employs an idea similar to the OIS-X209 Shadow's Echo Trace Emitter.

Just after I finished checking over the Aurora's systems, a mechanic appeared in the view of the hatch, "Everything looks good Captain, we'll move you through the airlock system and to the catapult momentarily," they said.

I looked up and nodded, "Thanks, it's appreciated," I replied.

After they left, I closed the hatched and locked it, throwing the cockpit into darkness, before the panoramic displays came up and the view of what was outside the Aurora came up. There then came a gentle jerk as the Aurora began moving towards the rear of the hanger. Once there, I was spun around one-hundred-eighty degrees then, began to be tilted backwards. I was lowered into the small airlock space between the hanger and the outside of the ship, and I was grateful that I was not claustrophobic, for the space between the two airlocks was tight and could just fit the Aurora. I activated the Aurora's stealth system, just before the cycling of the locks was finished and the view of space came to the side screens as I moved downward to the launching catapult. Once the Aurora came into the launching position, I heard the clamps that held the Aurora to the lift platform release me and my mobile suit started floating free. The launch status display appeared in front or rather above along the ship's hull. I grasped the throttle and control stick and paid attention to the launch status display, waiting for the signal.

The signal came, and I accelerated down the catapult and left the Normandy for the battlefield. I shortly spotted the area where the fighting was taking place, shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and zoomed off in that direction.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Armory One Interior

Inside the colony, Stella, Auel and Sting were having growing difficulty at fending of the mobile suits that were working to stop them. Stella was forced to back up as the the new Gundam-type suit swung one side of its combined blade, then whipped the other end into the Gaia. Sting was still trying to get the gold machine to back off from the Chaos, but the Osiris wasn't letting up. Sting then caught sight of the Abyss but hopes of assistance faded as he saw that Auel was taking on another ZAFT suit, and his opponent was holding their own. Sting made the Chaos leap into the air and shift into its mobile armor mode, hoping that he could make distance from his enemy. He knew that this battle needed to end soon, for two reasons; the longer that it continued, the lower the power of the machines they stole would fall, as well as the chance of missing their ride if they didn't get outside quickly. However, the Osiris also leapt upward and then transformed into its flight mode and chased after the Chaos, which caught Sting off-guard. The Osiris began peppering the Chaos, pinning Sting down and preventing him from countering effectively.

Meanwhile, Talia Gladys reached where Chairman Durandal and after some convincing from her and others with him, they were on their way back to the Minerva. Chairman Durandal would be safer onboard the Minerva than in the colony itself, there was still so much that could go wrong, and the chain of events weren't done yet. It didn't take all that long to arrive back at the port, even taking a different route. However, along the way scenes of mobile suits fighting against the stolen machines, including the Osiris and the Impulse. Seeing those two suits gave some hope to Talia, for at least, two out of the five second stage series were in proper control and not those who were causing mayhem and chaos here. Once onboard the Minerva, Talia made her way to the bridge, heading for her seat, "Arthur, what's the current situation," she asked.

Arthur turned around and was about to answer, when he noticed Chairman Durandal behind the captain. Yet, Talia asked him the same question again, and this time Arthur was able to give a reply, "Sorry ma'am, the Impulse launched out with orders to capture the stolen machines," he said.

"Then Aila was able to make it back to the ship, that's good," Talia remarked.

Arthur hesitated, "No captain, nothing has been heard from Miss Lakeen since she went to meet up with the other pilots. Shinn Asuka is piloting the Impulse, he was the only backup pilot on the ship, since Mr. Za Burrel and Miss Hawke went to the Armory to get the mobile suits they were going to use."

Captain Gladys was about to ask what Arthur was talking about, but Meyrin Hawke spoke up, "Captain, I've managed to connect a com-channel to the Osiris, audio only."

The pilot assigned to work with the X28S Osiris Gundam, was supposed to be Matthew Dems, and Talia hoped he was the one inside. "X28S Osiris, report," she ordered.

" _I'm sorry captain, I'm busy at the moment, so giving a detailed report is something I can't do right now,_ " came the voice of Aila Lakeen.

Aila wasn't trying to be mean or rude to captain Gladys, but she was doing her best to concentrate. The fight against the Chaos was proving harder than first impressions had predicted, the teen that was piloting was hard to read. Plus, they seemed to somehow knew how to pilot a mobile suit that they should have no idea even exists. Changing an operating system isn't easy to do, especially if the system is new and was supposed to have been kept secret.

The Chaos had shifted into its mobile armor mode, which Aila had chased it with the Osiris' flight mode. For a few minutes Aila thought she could force the Chaos down and to power down, then recapture the mobile suit, but the tables quickly flipped. The Abyss pushed the GuAIZ R it had been contending with, Auel very annoyed that the machine he had been fighting wouldn't be destroyed. Then, he spotted the gold mobile suit taking on the machine that Sting had gotten into, to vent his frustration, Auel aimed his Dual Cannons at the enemy suit and fired. A smile came to Auel's face when he saw at least one of his shots strike his target, as signaled by an explosion and smoke coming out of the back of the machine.

Aila felt the impact from the Abyss' shot, but the alarm going off just after the shot had landed, told her more that the shot had created even more problems. Readouts indicated that the second flight stabilizer had been hit and the damage was bad enough that the stabilizer was starting an emergency shutdown. The Osiris began to sink as she attempted using thrusters to stay up and it was taking the majority of her attention.

On the Minerva, some scenes from the battle were viewed, then Burt Heim spoke up, "Captain, the Osiris has taken damage and is going down, it looks like it will crash."

The news announced, didn't sit well with any on the Minerva, even Chairman Durandal frowned at hearing the Osiris was going to crash. Captain Gladys told Meyrin to see if she could contact Aila, but Meyrin said she'd already tried.

Aila had a white-knuckled grip on the throttle and control stick as alarms were blaring around her. The Osiris was gliding downward in a semi-controlled flight, but the smoke streaming out from where the second stabilizer was. The ground came closer rapidly, but before the crash happened, Aila swung the Osiris around, changed it over to mobile suit mode and unloaded at the Chaos. It was less than half a minute later, that the Osiris crashed into the ground and Aila was shaken. It took Aila a bit to regain her bearings, pain forced her to recognize that her shoulder was still a problem. When she looked, the cloth she'd tied her shoulder up with had crimson soaking through which explained the lightheadedness she was experiencing right now. The surrounding displays came back up, showing the view of outside, which Aila saw that she had carved a bit of a path when the Osiris had hit the ground. When she looked over the displays, Aila noted that most of the Osiris' systems were still operational, the stabilizers may be down, but other than that, the mobile suit was doing okay with just minor damage overall. Glancing back to the forward display, Aila got a view that she wasn't glad to see, for the Gaia was approaching her.

Stella was closing the distance between her and the gold mobile suit that had crashed into the ground. Auel's shot had taken it down, but with it still keeping its color, meant that it could still get up and fight. She was about to take out a beam saber and stab the torso of the machine, when a message came. " _Sting, Stella, Auel, we need you outside quickly! Federation Forces have caught up with us sooner than expected and are complicating things,_ " came the voice of Neo Roanoke. " _Hurry_ _and finish up what you're dealing with and get out here!_ "

Stella glanced to the colony's wall at hearing that message, worrying about Neo, for she felt safe around him and there were very few that gave that feeling. Yet, it was during that action, that an alarm went off, and turning, Stella saw the green mobile suit she had been fighting before moving to attack her. She managed to get her shield up and block the tomahawk that was swung at her.

Athrun had moved forward after he saw that the attention of the Gaia had moved from the Osiris to the colony wall. The sooner this battle ended the sooner that Cagalli could be safe. But, the Gaia pushed back and Athrun shifted his shield forward. Nevertheless, the Gaia got the chance to attack as it took two impacts from the right. Athrun looked in that direction and saw a different mobile suit, another mass production model, the one that came before the ZAKU if he recalled correctly.

" _Alex, hope you're doing okay, and the same for Representative Athha too. I think we would both very much prefer to not fail in our bodyguarding job,_ " said the voice of Quatre Winters.

"Qua," Cagalli began saying, but Athrun cut over her, "Marcus, good to hear your voice, and thanks for the help. The quicker that this fight ends, the better for all concerned."

Athrun was forced to use the ZAKU's shield to block the Abyss' multi-phase beam cannon, which destroyed the shield and threw the ZAKU backwards to crash into a wall. Athrun had to catch Cagalli, who without restraints flew forwards and looked to hit something inside the cockpit. At least, that's what Athrun thought after catching her, and finding his hand used to cradle her head had blood on it. Quatre moved to be in front of the ZAKU, ready to block and defend both Athrun and Representative Athha.

At the same time, Shinn was still dancing with the Chaos when the arrival of a red ZAKU and a white ZAKU Phantom and began supporting himself and the other two mobile suits that were fighting the stolen machines did help morale. " _Shinn, are you alright,_ " asked his friend Rey Za Burrel.

"Yeah Rey, I'm okay for the moment, but I don't know if capturing these machines intact will be possible as things stand," Shinn returned.

While the ZAFT pilots were checking with each other, Sting glanced around at the mobile suits that he Stella and Auel were now facing. Even the gold machine was rising back up, and the three of them needed to exit the colony. According to Neo, things were going badly outside and leaving needed to occur. "Stella, Auel, you both heard Neo, we need to be going. There isn't the time to deal with these guys, it will have to be done later," he said reasonably.

" _Leaving? In the middle of a fight?!_ " challenged Auel.

"You want to fight and run out of power and be captured Auel," asked Sting. "Let this go this time. The lack of information cost us, and unforeseen factors have come into play. We fail in our mission if we don't get these mobile suits back to the ship and then we would be punished, better to get fair results than no results and get punished for it."

" _Fine, I still don't like this though, we're running, and I don't like to run,_ " Auel replied, before the Abyss began backing off.

Sting moved the Chaos away from the Impulse, but then noticed the Gaia wasn't following suit. "Stella, Neo told us to get outside, this fight is done," he stated.

" _No, I can destroy at least one of them!_ " Stella cried angrily.

Stella then shot at the two suits that were facing her, which both dodged her attacks. Yet, the Osiris had gotten up and fired its beam rifle at the Gaia, and Stella had to block with her shield.

" _Well then, I guess you'll die here! I'll make sure to tell that sister of yours that you said goodbye,_ " called Auel to Stella in a taunting tone.

Sting knew that things were about to get bad, "Auel, you idiot, you know what that does to her!"

The moment Stella heard the word "die", overwhelming feelings of terror and hysteria flooded her. Flashes of places and scenes that were vaguely familiar to her went through her mind so clearly, that it was like she was there or in the scene herself for a brief moment. The scenes scared her, for some of the places popped up in her worst nightmares. All thoughts of taking down the ZAFT mobile suits, instantly morphed into the need to escape, to run, to hide, do whatever it took to survive and live! Stella hugged her shoulder muttering panic induced thoughts, so afraid was she of her own death and normally, only her sister Tanya could calm her down from this.

" _Auel, I told you not to use another's word, you know what it does,_ " Sting chided irritated.

" _Well, she didn't give us another option, she wouldn't stop, so it was the most efficient way to get her to do what is needed,_ " Auel shot back.

Stella's came to the point that her fear and hysteria got the better of her, "NOOOO!" she screamed in terror and flew the Gaia at the closest colony wall.

The Chaos and the Abyss followed the Gaia, shooting at the mobile suits that attempted to chase them. The Impulse and the ZAKU Phantom went after the stolen machines as they went towards the colony wall. The Osiris was in no condition to follow, nor was the ZAKU that Athrun was piloting, or the GuAIZ R that Quatre was using. The red ZAKU began following the Impulse and the Phantom, but its main thruster started failing and so it headed back to the Minerva.

Athrun shifted the ZAKU to look at the GuAIZ R, "Marcus, are you alright," he asked.

" _There's nothing to write home about for me, but I would suggest that we get to a safer place. Is Representative Athha okay,_ " asked Quatre.

Athrun glanced down at Cagalli to see her waking up, "Overall she should be fine, but she took a fairly hard bang to the back of her head."

There was a pause, " _I see, then said shelter will need some sort of medical assistance available. That could make things somewhat more difficult, yet it is what it is. No rest for the weary as the phrase goes and everything,_ " replied Quatre.

" _Perhaps I could help you two with your issue,_ " said a female voice. Both Athrun and Quatre looked towards the golden mobile suit, the Osiris, " _You two did take the Gaia's attention off of me when it was approaching to kill me, so I do owe you for that._ "

" _It was nothing, more than enough died today, no need or wish to add to it. My name is Marcus Lune and my companion is Alex Dino, and may I inquire as to whom we saved,_ " Quatre asked.

" _My name is Aila Lakeen,_ " answered the other pilot.

Athrun then spoke up as they needed to move things along, Cagalli should get medical attention as soon as possible. "You said that you could help us out with our issue, how might that be?"

" _If you have someone that is in need of medical attention, that should be available on the ship to which I'm assigned. It is currently in the port, and I was going to head that way, so we could go there together. The mobile suit I'm working with isn't doing very good at the moment, so the long way is the only method I can reach the Minerva,_ " replied Aila.

" _That's good enough for me, what about you Alex,_ " asked Quatre. " _We have few options at the moment, going to this Minerva seems the best way to go._ "

Athrun could see that Quatre was right, he would have to be blind not to, "Yeah, certainly does appear to be the best choice."

The three mobile suits then set out for the port of Armory One where the Minerva was, Quatre on the right side of the Osiris as it was showing signs of issues from the damage it had taken. Athrun follow, on the left and slightly behind the Osiris, glad that Cagalli wasn't hurt worse than she was. It took around ten minutes to reach the port and both Athrun and Quatre got their first closeup view of the "Minerva" which had been the warship they had seen while being escorted to see Gilbert Durandal. The linear catapult on the left and right opened and Athrun went in the left one while Quatre and Aila when in the right.

Inside the hanger, the sight of the three mobile suits coming in was unexpected. The chief mechanic of the Minerva did make a comment that at least one of the other new series machines made it on board, damaged but still. Those in the hanger were further baffled when Athrun and Cagalli came out of the ZAKU and Quatre came out of the GuAIZ R. Aila was coming down the zipline, doing her utmost to stay awake as she was so lightheaded, one of the signs of how much blood she had lost so far.

Lunamaria was wondering what the hell was going on, not only was there two mobile suit that weren't assigned to the Minerva, but three people were here that weren't supposed to be. She grabbed one of the guns from the soldiers nearby, and then approached the closet pair of unidentified people, "Hold it you two, don't move," Lunamaria ordered pointing the gun she had at them.

Quatre was seeing issues coming, more so when the one that said they could help was very wobbly on her legs. He spotted that Aila had a cloth around her left shoulder and it was crimson with blood, meaning she had been injured, likely by a gunshot if Quatre was seeing correctly. Bullet wounds were something he had seen enough to know such injuries were not something that you left unattended for long or it would become a serious problem if not a life threatening one. The crimson shades on the ZAFT uniform said that Aila Lakeen needed medical attention and soon, there was little time to waste, and were she to die, then Athrun and Quatre would have far more to deal with than they had already.

Quatre moved forward towards Aila, and he got to her just in time to catch her and keep her from falling to the deck. Quatre then told the nearest mechanic to go get a stretcher over for Aila and the chief mechanic echoed the order. A stretcher was brought over and Aila was lifted onto it and then a few mechanics carried the stretcher off to the sickbay. Quatre then turned his attention to the young woman that was pointing a gun at Athrun and Representative Athha.

Athrun moved in front of Cagalli as the tension in the hanger rose, while on the bridge of the Minerva, the ship's launching procedure was being started. Lunamaria kept the gun she had in her hand pointed at the two strangers that had come out of the ZAKU. "Identify yourselves now, you're clearly not with the military. What were you doing in that machine," she demanded.

Cagalli was going to speak up, but Athrun put an arm in front of her, "Lower your weapons, this is Miss Cagalli Yula Athha, a representative of the Orb Union. I'm one of her attendants and body guards, my name is Alex Dino," he said.

"And I'm Representative Athha's other bodyguard," said Quatre from the right, which everyone turned when he spoke up. "You can call me Marcus Lune." One of the soldiers pointed a gun at Quatre, who put up his hands, "We came onboard this ship at the suggestion of Miss Aila Lakeen. She said that we might get some help for Representative Athha as she has been injured," Quatre iterated.

"We were meeting with Chairman Durandal when we were caught up in all the commotion. Our only option was to take this and that machine," Athrun said, pointing at the GuAIZ R. "And defend ourselves."

Lunamaria was confused and trying to figure out if these two were lying or telling the truth, "Wait, Athha, from Orb?"

"As my colleague stated, the Representative has been injured and needs medical attention. Plus, one of this ship's pilots, did mentioned and offered that medical help could be obtained onboard," Athrun stated.

Lunamaria wasn't buying this story, sure the woman behind this guy could be as he said, Miss Athha from the Orb Union. But, for him to claim that one of the pilots, let alone Aila would tell them to come on board, it was nonsense. "Yeah right, until I hear that directly from Aila, I'm not buying it," Lunamaria challenged.

There was silence for a moment, yet then Quatre spoke, "Hmm, that will be difficult I'm afraid. Miss Lakeen was taken to this ship's sickbay already, and she fainted already, so I doubt she'll be able to vouch for us."

Lunamaria rounded on Quatre, "What are you talking about?"

Quatre shrugged, "Unfortunately, it appeared that Miss Lakeen had taken a bullet through her left shoulder some time ago. She likely fainted due to blood loss, it can happen," he said calmly.

Lunamaria was getting irritated at this guy's calm demeaner, he should be made more aware of his situation! "And how would you know any of that mister, sounds to me more like you're lying to get out of what you've landed yourself in," she snapped.

Quatre smiled, which ticked Lunamaria off more, "It's not like that at all, I assure you. I'm not anything like a doctor or field medic, I've just seen enough gunshot injuries to know what the signs of them are," he said.

Before Lunamaria could give a retort, Athrun spoke up, "The Chairman is on board this ship, isn't he? We need to see him immediately," he urged.

Lunamaria decided that it would perhaps be better to take this group to see the captain, for there was the chance that they were telling the truth. "Fine, I'll take you to the captain, then if you are lying, she can deal with it," she said and lowered her weapon.

She then began escorting the three people to the bridge, where Captain Gladys should be, two other soldiers bringing up the rear. Announcements were sounding throughout the ship, of the launching procedure begin initiated. Cagalli was curious if the damage the mobile suits had made was really so bad that the colony had to be fully evacuated. "Um, is this ship escaping? Is the damage to the colony really to the extent that such drastic measures need to be taken," she asked.

There was no answer, mostly since none actually knew the state of the colony specifically. Meanwhile, the Minerva was lowered into the ports main airlock tunnel system, to transfer it to the outside of the colony. Lunamaria kept moving towards the bridge, focused on dealing with this group and being done with this. She was still angered that someone had stolen mobile suits and wrecked a good portion of the colony as well. However, she was distracted when Condition Red was declared, and General Quarters was announced, for that inferred things were soon to get much tenser.

Quatre was getting somewhat worried, for the announcement meant that battle was likely soon to come. Athrun on the other hand, was incredulous, "Is this ship taking off to go into battle?!" he exclaimed in slight disbelief.

Lunamaria turned and faced Athrun, not sure how to answer this guy or if she even should. But then, Cagalli spoke, "Athrun!"

The single name shocked Lunamaria and the two soldiers with her, for it was one that all had heard of. Most ZAFT soldiers, especially pilots, knew the name Athrun, as in reference to Athrun Zala, one of the war heroes that helped end the First Alliance-PLANT War. Yet, Lunamaria wonder if this guy, could possibly be the same person.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I was closing the distance to where Luke and the others were keeping the Alliance occupied, when a different sight caught my eye. There appeared a hole in the colony itself, and three mobile suits came out through said hole was the what got my attention. I zoomed in and studied the three machines, for they were clearly not mass production models.

The three machines were "Gundam-types" which are modeled somewhat like the Atlantic Federation Prototypes that were made by Morgenroete at Heliopolis. Their coloration strongly suggested they had phase shift armor for defense among other things. One machine was two different shades of green, the second was blue and white, while the third was black and red. I also go the impression that those mobile suits may have belonged to ZAFT, but they aren't the ones using them at the current time. It would fit, this Alliance group had already killed all on an outpost to get information, I don't see them being against doing damage and harm to get mobile suits. I certainly didn't like the idea of this group making it away with the things they'd done and have nothing happen to them.

Next thing I registered, two more mobile suits exited the PLANT colony through the same hole the other three had come through. Only one of the two was a custom model though, blue and white colored, while the other looked to be one of ZAFT's ZAKU suits. So, the plot known thus far, Alliance forces around here, almost certainly up to no good. Three unknown mobile suits, followed by two more, using a means to leave a colony that is very much discouraged. Me thinks that the Alliance force here stole the first three suits and didn't do so quietly at all, this plot is getting worse the more that I learned about it.

The first three did land on the Alliance vessel while the other two kept moving forward, dodging and evading the combat between the Normandy's pilots and the Alliance trouble makers. I spotted the newer looking mobile armor coming up behind the blue and white machine and decided to select that mobile weapon for a target. I flew above the armor and then dove down at it, firing my 90mm Vulcans, shifting the enemy pilot's focus off of the ZAFT mobile suit. And it quickly became apparent to me, that the mobile armor pilot was no average top gun Alliance flyboy. They were experienced, knew how to fly their armor and use the wired gunbarrels their armor was equipped with.

The armor pilot was certainly not making it very easy to not get hit by their weapons, even if I had become visible to my opponent, therefore making it easier for them to aim at me. However, as I was fighting the mobile armor, I spotted a ZAFT vessel that I'd never seen before now. I assume that it was the carrier for the blue and white mobile suit that had come out from the colony through the hole. Then, where this Alliance force had started out with five Alliance production mobile suits, they were down to two now and if time kept going forward as it is, they'll have less. So, I made the decision to test out what kind of pilot this mobile armor had at the wheel, at least, gaging what their reactions and temperament are like.

It may be a bit of a flaw of mine, but for whatever reason, I get a kick out of some that I get "GOOD" reactions from, case and point, Natarle Badgiruel. Don't ask me why, but it's people like her, who give such amusing reactions to my behavior and action, are fun to prod! I know it's wrong, I've been told that multiple times and if such things didn't make me smile like they do, I would drop such a habit. But, that hasn't happened yet, and I doubt it will change, I'm human and so not perfect, don't pin the blame on me.

Soooo, I flew in front of the mobile armor and to start, sent a message to the armor pilot, not audio or video, but something that would give me the first view of this pilot's temperament. The message contents went something along the lines of "catch me and shoot me if you can stupid idiot", while waving my rear end in a taunting manner. I was prodding and watching what response I would get for doing so, it would tell me much about my opponent.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Neo had left dealing with what ZAFT forces were expected to show up to the other in the mobile suits, while he went ahead to find out what was going on with the trio. After seeing them come out and being followed by two machines, it was clear to Neo that unexpected factors had come up. There had been a margin planned for that, mostly for the Federation's response as they were more unpredictable than ZAFT was. Neo got on the line with the Girty Lue and told Ian Lee to pick up the three acquire mobile suits and the current situation was on Neo himself. Things could be going much worse than they were, ZAFT had been taken by surprise and were now in a state of near chaos and that was what was intended to an extent. The Federation Military hadn't caught up to them yet, but that was only a matter of time. Yet, Neo started wondering what was going on when no response came from the Girty Lue.

Then, a single signal flare came from the Girty Lue, saying that there was something going wrong. When the Dagger suits approached the Girty Lue to check what was going on, the came under attack. That was enough to tell Neo that Federation forces had caught up with them much sooner than expected. Neo did send a message to those within the colony to hurry up and get outside and help with the complex issue the Federation was creating. He left keeping the Federation machines busy to the other Dagger pilots, while some kept ZAFT on their toes and he waited for the trio to get outside.

When the three ZAFT mobile suits came out a hole made in the colony, Neo sighed with slight relief. They were followed by another Gundam-type mobile suit and a white ZAKU Phantom.

Neo moved to attack the blue and white gundam-type mobile suit, deploying his armor's gunbarrels to throw the pilot off. To Neo's slight surprise, the assault of the gunbarrels was more effective than he had thought they would be. Yet, then Neo got an odd sensation in his mind, which came from the direction of the white ZAKU. But, Neo had little time to figure out what this odd feeling was as weapon fire came from above and he was forced to dodge. Neo looked around for the one who attacked him, when his eyes fell on a red fighter like craft appeared in front of him. The machine didn't look like it had been made by ZAFT, which would imply it was Federation built, which came with seriously problematic inferences. Federation mobile suits had been proven to be superior to ZAFT's machines in a couple of ways, the Alliance had been learning that the hard way over the last few years. Neo recalled his gunbarrels and focused on the red machine, waiting for them to make the next move.

Nevertheless, what came next was the last thing that Neo had expected, a message flashed on his forward display. Neo read it through twice, to make sure he was seeing correctly, for the message completely different than he had received. The contents of it was as follows:

'Hey stupid Alliance tin can pilot, let's see your cocky driving style be applied to catching yours truly, I double dog dare you! Because I'm so sure that you couldn't even nick my machine with a single thing in your pathetically rinky dinky arsenal that your poor excuse for something that dunces call a mobile armor has. So, Catch me if you can ya idiotic coward!'

After reading the message a second time, Neo became ticked at the blunt insult sent to him. And then, upon glancing forward at the red fighter, the incredulity and irritation grew as he saw that his opponent's machine's back end was waving from side to side a bit, clearly mimicking the taunting gesture of a person waving their rear end at another. This pilot was taunting him, a captain within the handpicked for Phantom Pain and Neo wouldn't let that slide! Yet, then Neo managed to calm down for a moment and realized that this pilot was intentionally prodding him. So, the question was why would they do that? To gage his reaction? Perhaps, but his instincts told him that there was more to this than just that.

One of the remaining Daggers charge forward at the red machine as Neo hung back wondering what the pilot of the red fighter was thinking. The current setup had the looks of a trap set to catch another, but Neo couldn't tell what the trap was meant to do. The Dagger that had charged the red machine closed the distance between it and their opponent, close enough to strike. However, as the Dagger began its attack, the red machine flipped backwards over the Dagger, firing off its guns and destroying the mobile suit. It was a maneuver that some Federation fighter pilots would do against mobile armors, looked more like showing off really. Yet, after the explosion of the mobile suit cleared the red craft had vanished from sight and disappeared completely.

Neo didn't like that the odd craft vanishing, it had shown there was more to it that met the eye. Neo had learned the lesson that knowing where your enemy is located is better than not knowing already, by personal experience. Nevertheless, his attention was diverted as something much larger started becoming visible. It was a ship, shorter in length that the Girty Lue by close to a half at around two-hundred meters in length, with most of its structure in the center. It appeared similar to no previous Federation ship class that Neo had seen or read reports about. Granted, it wasn't the size of a cruiser or a dreadnought, so was likely lighter and not necessarily as well armed. Nonetheless, for it to have caught up so quickly said there was more to it than just being new. Who knew what kind of arsenal or equipment the ship had to work with? There was nothing on the outside of the ship that gave much of a hint of the capabilities of the vessel. Neo even suspected the Federation had already somehow managed to get on board the Girty Lue and get to the data stolen. How much they had done, could complicate things an amount, just couldn't tell how much yet.

The situation was shifting to being unfavorable for the Alliance and Neo knew it, if they got greedy and tried to get more, then they could easily end out lose everything instead. Then, Neo spotted the red craft again, which was closer to the Girty Lue, firing missiles toward the ship. The missiles detonated before reaching the ship, the reason Neo knew this, was the CIWS guns were firing in the missiles' direction. Things went downhill faster when the red craft transformed into a mobile suit that Neo had seen images of. Most of the images came from two separate incidents, which were the attempt to take over the Republic of East Asia and the other was the Second Battle of Jachin Due. In both events, the mobile suit had proven to be powerful and dangerous to its opponents. Little technical information had been acquired on the unit, only that it had two powerful plasma cannons, a beam rifle and a shield that could deflect.

The red suit brought one of the long cannons connected to its backpack section and aimed at the Girty Lue. A few seconds later, a red beam zoomed at the Girty Lue and struck the stern of the ship and from the blasts and fires that Neo could see, the shot had hit an unknown number of aft stern missile launchers. Neo flew forward, intending to get the red mobile suit to back away from the Girty Lue, but even as he deployed his armor's gunbarrels, the machine disappeared once again. Neo would have gone searching for the machine, but the white ZAKU assaulted him again, drawing his attention.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

After I scored a hit on the Alliance vessel's stern missile launchers, I had one of those mental, "I wonder" moments. You see, the Alliance ship appeared to me to look quite an amount like the Archangel-class. The reason that comes to my mind, is my curiosity if the Alliance "fixed" the issues in that ship class, or if they ignored them like they have a tendency to. I personally know the majority of the Archangel-class' flaws, and if this ship class was based off of the Archangel, then it could have a range of the same problems waiting to happen. The thought intrigued me more than average, and it just was too tempting to resist, so I didn't at all.

With my decision to test my assumption, I first made the Aurora disappear from sight, then began making my way towards the Alliance ship. As the ship wasn't using its beam turrets just its collection of missiles, and those were easy to avoid, approaching the vessel wasn't that difficult. I did note that the mobile armor was I believe, looking for little old me, at least looking for something, but then got attacked by a white ZAKU. I let them go at each other and focused on my intention and it didn't take me all that long to come into range of my target. And in a move that I know would irk and bring back infuriating memories for a certain former black-haired Alliance captain that I know, I positioned myself slightly behind the ship's bridge tower. I then took out a beam saber and stabbed a junction right in front of me, waiting to see the results. The results were as quick as they were hysterical to me, for they brought back memories. Why one might ask, because I was watching this ship's CIWS guns either stop working or shutdown, much like I had caused for the Dominion years ago, showing that I had been right in my expectations. The CIWS junction issue as I refer to it as, was still around and hadn't been fixed in the slightest. The only real difference in this situation compared to the previous time I did this stunt, I have no problem ticking off any on this ship at all!

I leapt off of where I was, and headed back to the rest of the battlefield, leaving the Alliance vessel to the Normandy. Lisa started firing swarms of missiles at our prey and I would bet would use the Normandy's beam cannons, if not for the anti-beam depth charge spread that had been put out. Then the new ZAFT ship moved forward and joined the Normandy in the attack against the Alliance vessel. And with its interception system in shambles due to what I did, a number of the missiles were having visible effects on the ship. Along with the ZAFT's ship's projectile weapon on the front of it added to the barrage, the Alliance ship was shaking and rocking. The mobile armor zoomed back to its ship and got back on board, while the ship was turning around, not as easy a task as one might think.

Then, when the Alliance ship began to move away from those pursuing them, the enemy vessel detached both of the spars with tanks on them, which floated backward towards us. Lisa used the Normandy's positron blaster cannon "Thor" to nail one of the spars collection of tanks, which exploded in response. The other collection of tanks exploded close to the ZAFT vessel but didn't do visible damage. However, the event did provide enough of a distraction for the Alliance forces or what was left of them to run a short distance away. Luckily, the tracking beacon was transmitting loud and clear and so, they would be hard pressed to get away.

With the Alliance force tucking tail and running away, Luke and the other two Normandy pilots, began to assist in rescue operations that ZAFT was now starting. They had lost some ships and mobile suits, clearly the Alliance had managed to blindside them and take them by complete surprise. The help we were providing was helping mobile suits return to their ship who were unable to do so themselves for whatever reason. I, on the other hand, returned to the Normandy as I think that's where I will be needed more, even I knew that. I changed over to the less formal Federation Uniform before heading to the bridge. The Normandy hadn't taken damage really, the mobile suits would need some work, but nothing serious. Nevertheless, I'm becoming interested in who this Alliance force was, for they weren't like most units that I've gone against. There was one group whose MO was similar to this kind of operation, and they were a pain by personal past experience. I sincerely hope that this group wasn't from the same unit, I didn't like dealing with the type of underhanded tactics that group would use.

I had Miss Alloy send a message to the new ZAFT ship, which apparently was named the Minerva, to tell them to wait and not go gallivanting off after the Alliance vessel. That's what I would do in their position with what I would assume was done inside the colony. But honestly, there needs to be an information exchange and in the end, it will benefit all concerned. Miss Alloy did get the message to the Minerva and they begrudgingly agreed to an information exchange as long as it was kept short as possible. That told me that I'd been right that they wanted to pursue the Alliance ship as soon as they could, and I don't blame them.

So, the Normandy moved to be alongside the Minerva before turning the ship turned one-hundred-eighty degrees to face the same direction at the Minerva herself. I once again left Lisa in charge of the Normandy and headed down to the hanger to board a shuttle that would travel over to the Minerva. I found that I was going to be accompanied by some of the soldiers on the Normandy. Apparently, I had made quite the impression on them both at the Milos Outpost and the trust and confidence I put in them with their task on the Alliance vessel. Once the shuttle was loaded, it launched from the Normandy and headed towards the Minerva. I'm just hoping that what information ZAFT has might be able to help make a more complete picture of what these Alliance personnel are willing to do.

The trip over the ZAFT vessel was quiet and uneventful, of course, this wouldn't be the first time I've been on a ZAFT ship by any means. Although, this ship, the Minerva was one of the more unique ZAFT vessel I will have been on. I'll admit that's its captain is fairly good, seemed to be calm and cool under pressure, which is very important for the leader of a ship. Whoever they are, it may be interesting to meet them, even if I wasn't dressed up, but then I don't that for any but those I have lots of respect for or believe it would help me to keep out of serious trouble I don't want to be in.

The shuttle entered one of the linear catapults of the Minerva, before shortly being brought inside the ship's hanger. There was the short period while the shuttle was secured to the deck of the ship's hanger. When that was done, the craft door opened, then I and those with me got our first view of the hanger of the Minerva. The hanger itself was actually fairly organized, more so than many hangers that I've seen on ZAFT ships. There was some sort of lift system in the forward center space of the hanger and the wall ahead of lift had what looked like storage bays. There was currently a red, a white and a green ZAKU in docks, then the blue and white gundam-type mobile suit was also in the hanger. There was another gundam-type here as well, though it looked kind of similar to the Federation's Delta Fighter or the Excel Fighter.

Just after exiting the shuttle, we were approached by young man with medium length blonde hair and was in a ZAFT red uniform. I assumed that it would be him that would take us to this ship's captain. He bowed to us, then introduced himself as Rey Za Burrel and told us he would escort us to "Captain Gladys". We went down corridors of this ship and the Minerva's halls were much like other ZAFT ships I've been on. We were brought to a door, and those with me were asked to stay outside, while I continued in.

There were two people in the room that I glided into, the first was a woman older than myself, close to thirty if I were to guess. She was shorter than me by a small margin, had hair the color of Dandelions which framed her face and hazel eyes. The woman was also wearing a white ZAFT commander uniform, which was rare for a captain to be in, for most wore the black officer uniform. The other in the room was a man that I'd heard of, but never met in person, nor thought that I would. He had semi-long black hair, amber eyes and had an air of authority and calm control. The man's name was Gilbert Durandal and he is the current Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. Now, for a man of his caliber to be around this place, especially with the events that had happened, raise a couple of serious red flags in my mind, though I kept such thoughts to myself for the time being.

I focused my attention back on the woman, "It is nice to meet you Captain, my name is Tyler McGregor and I'm the captain of the Federation Frigate Normandy," I greeted, bowing slightly and offering a hand.

The woman looked me over for a moment and then returned the bow and shook my hand, "Talia Gladys, I'm the captain of the Minerva. The assistance of your ship and its pilots are very much appreciated, more so with recent events," she said.

"So then, you're Tyler McGregor," posed Chairman Durandal.

I turned to the man that led the PLANTs, "Indeed I am, and you are Gilbert Durandal, the Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. Is there something wrong or debatable about me being myself sir," I inquired.

Durandal gave a small smile, "None whatsoever, I'm just surprised to find that one who is considered one of the great war heroes of the First Alliance-PLANT War isn't exactly as stories portray."

I let out a sigh, "Yes, stories about me fail to mention that I'm young and a human being like everyone else sir," I replied.

The Chairman chuckled a bit, "And humble as well it would seem."

I stared the man straight in the face, "My parents taught me that egos and arrogance are horrible and not to develop them, in fact, my mama told me to do my best and I'll leave it at that," I said. Then, I turned back to Talia Gladys, "However, if we could dispense with the pleasantries, for there is business to attend to for all of us. I'm here in the hope that we can exchange information to get a better picture of those whom have cause trouble, harm and death to others."

Talia took a moment to think, "Yes, that would be helpful, because from what I've seen, this unit is bold and brazen, a potentially dangerous combination," she remarked.

I nodded, knowing the truth of the statement personally, "In that, we can definitely agree Captain Gladys. This group that we've both had an encounter with is dangerous, and that's why it would be best to share what we know about them with one another," I replied.

Then began the exchange of information between Talia Gladys and myself, with Gilbert Durandal listening in, with the woman starting. By the account of Captain Gladys, this Alliance group had not only got some of their people inside the colony itself, but within the Armory area. That's no small feat to accomplish, ZAFT guarded such places well, so that suggests that there was help from the inside. The three gundam-type mobile suits I'd seen before, had been stolen and used to cause chaos and havoc around the military area of the colony. There were two gundam-type mobile suits saved and used to try and stop the stolen machines, but they had been unsuccessful at the task.

The account was more telling than I would think that most knew, for what was inferred by the actions of the Alliance force was quite something. First of all, whoever the captain or commander of this group is, they were either very cocky and heavy risk takers, or they were extremely good and well informed about things they shouldn't be, perhaps a mix of both. I can't determine which it is with what I know currently and that worries me. Second, those that stole and piloted the gundam-type ZAFT mobile suits were different than normal human beings, much in the way that a number of individuals I've come across that have had things done to them to 'enhance' them are. There have been rumors that what was known as the "Enhanced Human Project" is still going, even though key scientist that were involved have left the Earth Alliance, but little has been found to confirm or disprove such thus far. The thieves certainly seemed to know enough about the mobile suits that they were able to modify their OS enough to work with them. Finally, for this event to occur when the leader of the PLANTs Chairman Durandal was at the colony is more than just odd. I find it hard to believe that the chain of events AND their timing are mere coincidence, it is all a little too perfect to happen without influence.

I was about to give my end of the rundown of this Alliance group, but there came a commotion from outside the room. We all looked to the door as it opened and at least, to my surprise and slight shock, I found Cagalli Athha, Kira's biological fraternal twin, my other best friend Athrun Zala and another that I'd never met. I hadn't the faintest idea why any of them would be around here, let alone on board this ship. However, it was Chairman Durandal that spoke first, "Princess, it is good to see you alive and okay. Words cannot express my regret that you were put in danger at all. And then for you to be injured, I apologize that any of this involved you at all Princess, none of it should have happened."

While the Chairman spoke with Cagalli, Athrun spotted me, his eyes widening at seeing me, and I gave him a small smile. Then, I faced Cagalli, "I agree with Chairman Durandal Representative Athha, it is good to see you safe after the ordeal that I've been told happened within the colony. I may not know why you were here when the events occurred, but thankfully, you have not gotten seriously injured during it," I commented.

Cagalli started questioning what I was doing here, showing that she clearly knew me on a personal level, which wasn't very helpful. But, with a look from me to Athrun, my friend delivered the message to Cagalli that now wasn't the time to ask questions of me. I turned back to Talia Gladys, "Now then, I think it was my turn to give the information of this Alliance group before we were interrupted, correct," I inquired.

Captain Gladys nodded, and so, I began iterating the basics of the mission the Normandy had with going to the Milos Outpost. Of course, I left out certain things, as there were points of the mission that are better left unknown for the time being. However, when I got to the actual raid the Alliance made, the Chairman did ask me a question, "You say that this Alliance force raided a Federation outpost, one that's quite out of the way, what reason or goal could they have to do that?"

I swallowed hard, for the reason and what was done was not just embarrassing but spoke kind of badly of the Federation Military. It was well-established fact that the Federation's Information Network was incredible, and that the Federation guards it zealously. So, the point that someone had managed to access it without permission when such hasn't happened before, even with the many attempts made… like I said, it's embarrassing. "Well, Chairman Durandal, their aim was to gain access to the Federation's Information Network, as the outpost had a connection to it," I stated flatly.

Durandal nodded slowly, "I see, I assumed that they failed, still, a bold move to try such," he remarked.

Again, the reputation of the network is well established, so I hesitated, "Well, Chairman Durandal, first I would ask that you not mention what I'm about to," I stated, then kept going, "I'm sorry to say that the Alliance force did manage to access the Network for a short period," I replied.

There was silence at my answer, which Talia Gladys broke, "Are you saying that this group actually succeeded in doing what the Earth Alliance has been trying to do for years?!"

I nodded slowly, "Unfortunately yes, not only did they kill all on the station, they copied some files from the network before they were locked out, likely using one of those at the outpost to gain access, before killing them." My face then became somewhat less grim, "Thankfully, there are protocols in place that encrypt any information that is copied or taken from the network, the more sensitive the heavier the encryption set. Plus, the stolen data has already been dealt with and made inert, so they won't make it to the Alliance in readable condition."

Chairman Durandal hummed, "What kind of data did they copy?"

I shrugged, "I don't know and have no real interest in knowing, all I was told was that the data was 'sensitive information, which would be dangerous if the Alliance should obtain it'. That is enough to tell me that the information could be used to do horrible things and that the Alliance shouldn't have such information right now with their inclination to use things wrongly," I stated.

The discussion turned to how to deal with this force and their ship, which was listed to ZAFT now as "Bogey One". I gave what information had been acquired on the vessel, which was general knowledge of its armaments. Technically speaking, the Normandy's mission was to deal with the data that had been stolen. I doubt that any in High-Command would have an issue if we destroyed the force while doing the job of dealing with the data. But still, the Normandy's mission was done now yet, that didn't mean in my view, that we couldn't give an advantage to those who would hunt the trouble makers down. With this Alliance force using a ship that employed mirage colloid, I say why not give ZAFT the tracking beacon signal to cancel out the colloid's effects. Even if Cagalli was saved by chance by ZAFT in a roundabout way, Cagalli was still alive and that was something that "should be" repaid.

"Captain Gladys, I assume that you intend to hunt this group down," I posed.

She nodded, "Yes, the mobile suits they stole need to be dealt with before they become an even worse problem."

"Okay, then perhaps you would be interested in having some assistance? The Normandy will not be pursuing them, but there's another way in which we can help you. I assume that you are aware, that the enemy's ship uses mirage colloid, which I can personally tell you can be nasty if you in any way underestimate it. They probably used it to approach Armory One without notice or draw attention to themselves I would guess. I can provide you with a means to effectively nullify the effects of their mirage colloid," I said.

Talia Gladys was looking at me with shock, yet it was the voice of Gilbert Durandal that caught the attention of all in the room. "Quite an offer, but it's my understanding that mirage colloid is an idea which disrupting it is extremely difficult. What can you give that could do such a thing?"

I turned my head to Chairman Durandal, "I don't think I said anything about disrupting the enemy's mirage colloid. I believe my exact words were 'to effectively nullify' it, there is a difference, I can assure you. It's true that I can't stop your prey from using mirage colloid to hide from your sight, but I can provide a way for you to know where they are constantly," I reasoned. Then, I took out a datapad I had from a pocket and handed it over to Captain Gladys, "On this pad, you'll find the transmission frequency for the tracking beacon that was hidden on board the Alliance vessel during the time the Federation boarding team went to deal with the stolen data. Use that to track them and you'll know where they are all the time, even when they're invisible or use means to try and blind you to where they are."

The woman took the datapad and looked it over, and I continued, "The beacon has a transmission range of a little over five kilometers, before the signal gets weaker rather quickly as distance between it and you increases."

I turned to Chairman Durandal, "And since you helped keep Representative Athha safe, we'll take over the job of guarding and taking her to her destination going forward sir. It will be one less thing for you to have to worry about. However, before we adjourn, could I ask you specifically Chairman Durandal, a somewhat pointed question," I asked.

Chairman Durandal inclined his head, "Of course, by all means ask away."

"Perhaps it may sound… accusatory and suspicious of me, but would you not consider that this chain of events that have happened here at Armory One, a tad conveniently arranged Chairman? I mean, it is almost like there is someone that might be trying to have you fade out of the picture," I said, then putting up my hand to signal that I was not attempting to be mean. "I'm not saying that such was the intent Mr. Chairman, but you have to admit, that these events and their timing seem to be more than mere coincidence, no?"

"Yes… a valid thought Mr. McGregor, and I will have it looked into, let us hope that such worries are just feelings of paranoia," he returned.

Nodding slowly, I began turning my attention back towards Talia Gladys, "Indeed, let's hope that it's merely looking for harmless shadows. Captain Gladys, the only other thing I can think to say, is good hunting to you, I feel you'll need it."

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Girty Lue

The Girty Lue was able to escape from the combined assault from the Federation and ZAFT, but it was not without a harsh price paid. The damages incurred to the ship were extensive, at least half of the Girty Lue's offensive weapons were in need of repair and a portion didn't work. The interception system that the CIWS turrets made up, was off-line and the cause was serious damage in areas that should have been shielded from attack but was hit somehow. Out of the mobile suits that the Girty Lue carried at the start of this operation, none came back, there was only the three stolen ZAFT Gundam-type mobile suits now. The question Neo knew would be asked of him and the ship's captain, would be what they did to make the loss worth it. Neo wondered if any answer he could come up with would be satisfactory to those who would demand an explanation.

The trio had been put into the pods that had been sent with the three from Lodonia to help in their "maintenance". It was much like toddlers being tucked into their cribs, while others made sure they were working as they wanted. Then, the other point that caused an issue to Neo's mind, was that Auel had used Stella's block word. The reason he would have done so didn't matter, that he had done so at all was worrisome. Every time that an Extended's block word was used, it caused problems and damage and would take time to undo the issues. That was what the "doctors" were working on now, fixing the effects that had occurred to all three of the trio. Neo left those tending to the teens to their work and headed for the Girty Lue's bridge to see how the rest of their situation was fairing.

Along the way, Neo did check on the data that had been acquired at the Federation's Milos Research Outpost. As he had suspected and feared, the data had been destroyed by the Federation soldiers that had boarded the Girty Lue. Granted, Neo knew and had heard the stories of the lengths that those within the Federation's Military would go to defend and keep their information network secure. However, he had thought that most of what was said had been out of paranoia and worries of the Human Federation. But apparently, the stories of the Federation making sure that data doesn't get into the hands of others without permission, weren't exaggerations. It certainly could explain why none of the attempts to exploit the Information Network had been successful yet. The main file of interest, had been recent reports upon the current strength and rough positioning of the ZAFT forces defending the PLANTs. Neo pretty much expected that an operation to strike against the PLANTs was being planned in secret. Mostly because the Human Federation was becoming friendlier with the PLANTs and ZAFT the longer time moved forward, and the higher ups were getting more worried about a potential alliance between the two.

So, with the gain and losses in the forefront of Neo's mind as he came onto the bridge. The captain of the Girty Lue, Ian Lee, turned back to look at Neo, "Captain Roanoke, it looks like somehow or another, we managed to pull off this part of the operation successfully, despite the Federation catching up to us sooner than predicted," Lee remarked.

"Granted, but most of the data we stole was lost as the price of that, so we did fine in some things and not so well in others," Neo said to the comment. "How much longer until we reach point B?"

"About two hours sir, if we don't meet anything along the way," answered the helm officer.

Neo knew that those two hours, would feel much longer than they should, especially with who could potentially be pursuing them. "Do you think that new ZAFT ship or that unknown Federation vessel will be coming after us," posed Lee.

"I can't say, for I don't really know with current information so, let's assume that at least one of them is, and hope that both of them aren't. Best to be prepared for what possibilities you can, so keep on our present course," Neo replied.

"Hmm, let us hope we reach point B without too much trouble. So then, how are the three recovering then," asked Lee.

Neo thought for a moment, the trio were as a double-edged sword for them, they had both good and bad qualities. "Overall, they seem to be doing okay, sleeping like little babies tucked into their beds really. However, it seems that Auel use a block word with Stella, and that worries me a little," Neo returned.

Lee gained an expression of slight worry, "Pilots that have to be returned to their cradles every time something happens to them, do the higher ups believe that Lodonia's work will be of any real use to us," posed Lee.

Neo shrugged, "You have to admit, compared to what Lodonia produced during the first war, the ones we have are better than those were. These guys at least understand and follow orders better and know what we ask of them and what it requires." Neo paused, then continued, "It really can't be helped, after all, everything seems to be in the trail stages these day. All so that we can attempt to keep up with ZAFT, as well as have a shot at matching the Federation in some way."

"Indeed, I understand that, even our world is going through trials these days," commented Lee.

Neo looked forward, "The time will soon come that war will come again, and we'll be ready when it does. And this time, even the mighty Federation will be taught that the Alliance should and will be in charge," he said with finality.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Minerva

I exited the captain's cabin of the Minerva, with Athrun, Cagalli and their other colleague behind me. Those who had come with me fell into step behind us as we headed towards the hanger. We had been offered a guided tour of this ship, but I had respectfully declined the offer, there were other things to do and touring a ship was a luxury that couldn't be afforded right now. However, Cagalli had begun her question asking again as we went towards the shuttle, "I mean, why would you even be around here Tyler? Kira said that you were keeping yourself busy, but little else other than that lately. Then Ellen said pretty much the same," she was saying, and I flinched slight at the mention of my mother's first name.

I know I mentioned to this blonde girl to not mention my mother by name, first and especially not by the last or her full name around me when there were others present! I've done work and put forth effort to separate my identity from my mother's, to prevent problems coming to her from what I do! I quickly spun around and put my hand over Cagalli's mouth, "Look Cagalli, I wouldn't doubt you have lots of questions and that's fine, but now is not the time or the place." I leaned in so that only she and Athrun could hear me, "Then, I know I've specifically told you before now, not to mention my mother by name when others are around, it's very unwise."

I let Cagalli go and we continued going forward towards the Minerva's hanger, not answering the barrage of question Cagalli was still sending at me, much to her growing irritation. Our group did get some weird looks as we traveled back to the shuttle and I was wondering how Cagalli even was allowed into politics with how she was conducting herself. I don't dislike her or anything, Cagalli was nice enough but the girl didn't have a lot of restraint most of the time I have seen her. I'd gotten to know her a little better during my visits to Kira and my last visit home, she had been seeing my mom at the time. Anyways, we boarded the shuttle and took it back to the Normandy, and I hoped and prayed that the trip back to Earth, to take Cagalli to her home in Orb, would not involve her pestering me or others in the crew. Any complaint from the crew come to me and any issues with me and my way of running a ship would then go to my boss Admiral Raine, and I don't want to be back in her office again any time soon for any reason!

As the shuttle was cycling through the airlock system to get to the Normandy's hanger, I looked back at my best friend Athrun. I wonder how he is able to handle Cagalli's mannerisms and personality, perhaps Athrun tolerates them since he more than simply likes Cagalli, even if he can't admit it to her yet. It's not as bad as how Kira and Lacus 'beat around the bush', but it's not a whole lot better either. Once the shuttle moved into the hanger, we disembarked from the craft and I turned to the ship's guest, "Cagalli, Athrun and… I'm sorry," I said to the member of their group I didn't know, "I haven't gotten your name yet."

The blonde man who appeared to be about my own age, smiled, "My name is Quatre Winters, a Lieutenant from the Core."

Oh?! Someone from the Mobile Suit Core branch, it's always nice to meet them. I stuck out a hand, which Quatre took, the grip and handshake was firm, a good impression to me. "It's always nice to make the acquaintance with one from the Core," I greeted. "The name's Tyler McGregor, captain of the frigate which you are now on, the Normandy."

"The Core," inquired Cagalli.

I turned to Cagalli, "The Core refers to the Federation Military's Mobile Suit Core branch," I answered.

The three moved forward with me out of the hanger, though I gave a smile and a nod to the chief mechanic, telling him to keep up the good work. As we floated along the corridor, Athrun came up next me, "So Tye, you're really the captain of this vessel," he asked incredulously.

I gave my friend a small smile, "Hard as it is to believe yes, I am indeed the captain of this vessel. The expression on your face is much like I had when I was told of my promotion to captain and my assignment to this ship," I replied.

Cagalli, Athrun and Quatre Winters were given quarters on board the Normandy to use during the trip back to Earth and down to Orb. Cagalli did ask for more details about what the Normandy had been doing around Lagrange 4. I told her what I could, about what happened at the Milos Outpost and the following journey to Armory One. She was horrified and sadden that those who had been at Milos had been slaughtered by the Alliance force. It showed that Cagalli had a good heart and that horrors of war were something she didn't understand and shouldn't get to know with the gentle soul she possesses. And yet, the signs of coming war are clear and unmistakable, it's more a question of time.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I'll leave things there for this Phase. Once again, another change or difference, Cagalli and Athrun are not going to travel on the Minerva. Another point I feel I need to emphasis, Tyler, Kira and Athrun are seen as war heroes that played a critical role in ending the First Alliance-PLANT War. The fact is fairly important as they are treated differently because of it and it will become apparent. The reviews that I have gotten were nice and helpful, so please keep them coming! Peace out until the next phase!**

 **Reishin Amara**

I have kept "Librarian Works" in my mind, though they will come in later for I think they play a part in the story.

 **KakeruPB**

I hope that I answered your questions, about the Normandy and the Osiris

 **Titanic X**

As I said before, I have plans for LOGOs and the other non-nice groups in this story.

 **ZAFTPrime**

I'm glad you like this story, and when I can make the time to read your story, school and life take my time unfortunately.


	29. Phase 29: The Hunt is On

**A/n**

 **Okay, this just keeps coming and though I'm pleased that it is, I really don't know how long this will continue. Anyways, this continues on from where I left off in the last Phase, standard disclaimer applies. Here we go!**

* * *

Phase 29: The Hunt is on

October 3rd, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

The Federation personnel that had been on the Minerva had gone back to their ship after talking with Captain Gladys and Chairman Durandal. The rumor was that they had been tracking Bogey One because they had done something to the Federation, but there was no info one what the action could have been. Yet, Lunamaria knew that stories implied that the Federation's Military didn't chase ships without a good reason. Plus, Shinn and Rey had gotten to see how Federation mobile suit pilots fought and there was so little viable information on that subject. Lunamaria had been curious if there was much of a difference between overall fighting style other than their use of stealth technology. It took around five minutes for Lunamaria to find and catch up with Shinn and Rey, the two were discussing their observation from the battle inside of Armory One. "There you two are, so did you hear about the guests we had on board," she asked, disregarding that she was interrupting in a conversation.

Rey sighed at Lunamaria's blatant butting in and over a discussion, while Shinn was gazing at their fellow pilot curiously. "What are you talking about Luna," Shinn inquired.

Lunamaria then recounted what had gone on down in the hanger after the ZAKU, the GuAIZ and the Osiris came onto the Minerva. Mentioning that as she had been taking the small group to Captain Gladys, the one that had been identified as Representative Cagalli Yula Athha had let slip that the one with blue hair wasn't named Alex Dino as he had said but was Athrun. The name Athrun wasn't common, and the name was usually paired with the last name of Zala and "Athrun Zala" was one of the war heroes of the Alliance-PLANT war. Each one of them had heard about the things that the former ZAFT pilot had done, he was almost as well known as the Champions of PLANTs themselves.

Shinn was still processing what Lunamaria was saying, yet Rey was nodding, "I think they were telling you the truth Luna, for Aila was in the sickbay," he remarked.

Luna stopped in her recounting at Rey's statement, for she hadn't believed that Aila had actually taken to the sickbay. "Wait, Aila was really taken to sickbay! Is she okay?!"

Luna admired Aila and wanted to be as good a pilot as she was, so to hear she had been injured was not nice. Rey nodded, "The doctor said she'll pull through, she apparently took a bullet through her left shoulder, but nothing vital was struck. Aila will simply need time to recover, mostly from the blood that she lost while she piloted the Osiris."

"So then, what are your views of those piloting the Gaia, Abyss, and Chaos," inquired Luna, showing that she had listened in to their conversation a bit before interrupting.

Shinn and Rey told Luna about how the stolen machines had really been difficult to fight and that underestimating them would be a mistake that could cost one's life. Rey took over the explanation while Shinn was left to his own thoughts. He still was trying to figure out how the incident inside Armory One even started, for it didn't make much sense. He believed in peace between all the factions, it was what he enlisted for, to help in bring such about.

"Shinn… hey Shinn, are you listening," posed Luna, regaining Shinn's attention.

"Huh? What are you saying Luna," asked Shinn.

Luna put her hands on her hips, "I was asking you why you enlisted in ZAFT, I mean you lived in Orb before, didn't you?"

Shinn nodded, "Yeah, I lived in Orb more than two years ago, then my family and I evacuated when the Earth Forces came. Honestly, if it weren't for mobile suits pilots that apparently were part of the Federation that were defending the evacuation route, my family nor I, would still be around. We moved to the PLANTs after that to get away from the war," Shinn iterated, paused considering the decision of joining with ZAFT and the thought he had put into it, before continued. "I seriously considered enlisting with the Federation Military, but as my family were living in the PLANTs, if I joined the Federation Military, then I would unlikely get to see them often. And when I decided to enlist, ZAFT and the Federation have the same overall goal to have peace between the factions, that goal hasn't changed. So, it was logical to join ZAFT as then I could also see my parents and sister more often. Still, I would like to visit the Orb Union again someday, I have fond memories there."

"Wow Shinn, I had no idea that it had gotten that close to you dying, sorry for asking," Luna apologized.

Shinn shook his head, "No Luna, it's fine. My family and I made it and that's what counts, fighting for peace is my way of being grateful to those who worked to protect my family and me. It's those that promote war that even make what we do necessary, if the Earth Alliance did as they agreed and didn't keep scheming in the background, then things would be far better for everyone."

Any further conversation was curtailed as Condition Red was declared, since "Bogey One" had been detected a distance ahead. Pilots were ordered to standby in to launch in mobile suits, and the crew were to report to battle stations.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

The Normandy was cruising towards Earth, now that we would deliver Cagalli back to Orb, during which the ship would get to test the Normandy's ability to go through atmospheric reentry and how the Normandy operates planet-side. I was in my quarters and off-duty, writing up a report on "Phantom Thief" as I should, and there was a lot to get down about the troublesome group. Lisa was on the bridge, and she could take charge of things and could call me if anything came up, so things were good. I still felt a tad sorry that the Minerva was pursuing the unknown Alliance vessel alone, that ship had proven dangerous and unpredictable and just generally a royal pain in the butt.

I was brought out of my musings when a knock came on the door to my quarters. I rose and went to the door, and to my surprise, I found my best friend Athrun standing on the other side. "Athrun… what a nice surprise for you to come visit me, it's always nice of course. So, to what do I owe this particular visitation my dear friend," I asked.

Athrun appeared to hesitate for a moment, "I wanted to ask your opinion on something, if you have the time."

Advice? I'm always happy to give out advice, especially to a friend in need! I gestured Athrun to come in, "Certainly, I have the time to talk, I was just writing up a report, part of the responsibilities of being an officer. So, do please come in," I said.

Athrun came in and we went to the sitting area that my quarters have for whatever reason, it's waste of space if you ask me. My quarters feel more like an apartment than a set of quarters on a ship. Perhaps they were designed with a captain that has a family, which I see little prospect for. Although, there is one who would seriously disagree with me on that should they have their way, but that's besides the point. I was focused on Athrun, waiting for him to begin the conversation, but apparently, whatever it is he want's advice on, is a difficult subject. So, I then spoke up instead, "So, is this seeking for friendly advice on something particular? Fair warning, I am not the one to ask about romantic relationships, they're certainly not my forte, so not best to ask me for suggestions with how to tell Cagalli how you really feel. According to Lacus, I haven't a clue about girls, or at least, that's the general idea I believe she was trying to convey. Honestly, I have little interest in such a relationship, and I will neither confirm nor deny that Sakura could have something to do with that."

"No, this isn't about that… Tye, I feel like, I'm just holding others back, that I'm being useless lately," he replied.

I instantly understood what Athrun was actually saying, "Oh, so you see others making a difference and feel as if you're being left behind, is that it?"

Athrun nodded, "I'm having a hard time figuring out what to do right now. Inside the colony, I did my best to prevent Cagalli from getting hurt, but she still did and that bothers me. I was hoping that maybe, you might have some ideas on what direction I could go in," he posed.

I put a hand to my chin, thinking, "That's an individualistic question really. Although, you saying there is need of a change is progress I would think. It's certainly better than Kira's 'things will work out' mentality, his naivete still doing its thing, but you understand what I'm talking about. But, you know him as well as I, naïve as can be, yet thanks to Lacus, he's getting better slowly but surely. Anyways, my best suggestion, is first, don't think or believe that you will ever be able to absolutely prevent someone from getting harmed or somehow save everyone, it's not going to happen. The answer to that is organize your priorities right and do the best you can and then you can say I honestly did my damnest and none can legitimately argue with that. Next, and please for goodness sakes don't tell Cagalli that I'm the one who said it, is to reflect on where your talents lie and then use them to do your best to work for what YOU believe in. Your heart and faith in your own beliefs will not lead you wrong and others will see that and those with similar or the same beliefs will become your allies. I'm not saying that mistakes don't get made or don't happen along the way, for they do, I assure you, I've had my fair share. But, I don't see you being able to do that with what you're doing with your life right now."

Athrun frowned at my answer, so I continued, "I'm not saying you don't have some seriously nice perks with where you are Athrun. I mean, you to work and protect the gal you more than like, that's like a premium perk my friend!" Athrun blushed at that and I snickered, "I'm more surprised that you haven't said how you feel to her yet. I mean sure, I wouldn't expect Kira to, and I wouldn't doubt you will agree with me on this. Heck I more wondering how long Lacus will be able to handle Kira's naiveté, before she goes at him at some point. I will say that it will be long before Kira makes a move, if that's not the case, then I'll be shocked and impressed."

Athrun let out a laugh finally, which was what I was aiming for, "That's true, but you're not one to talk, by the way, how's it going with you and Sakura," he asked.

That single question shut my mouth for a bit, for it was a reminder of a standing issue I face off and on. Even after the Alliance-PLANT war ended, Lacus' older sister Sakura by no means left me alone, if anything she increased her efforts of stalking me, where she's trying to convince me to have her as some sort of girlfriend! Sure, Sakura has gotten prettier over the years, honestly, she's drop dead gorgeous, but I'm certainly not going to say that to her! Her being good-looking doesn't detract from the fact that she stalks me in any freaking way and to the point that it's a seriously creepy obsession! I let out a groan, "Athrun, you should be grateful you don't deal with what I do in that department. Cagalli worries about you but gives you space, Sakura doesn't do that at all, she gives me no space if I don't avoid her. In short, she's still stalking me, and she's only has gotten more insistent in the practice, which has forced me to take the steps I can to avoid her out of habit. I mean, she'd be okay if she didn't stalk me, but she still hasn't learned that no means 'back off', and not 'try harder'. But, it's nice to hear you laugh, I was starting to think you'd forgotten how the gesture works," I remarked.

"Sorry, guess I've been rather dreary to be around lately," Athrun apologized

I shrugged, "That, plus, I hear; stiff, hardheaded, obstinate… I could keep going, but I don't want to find a thesaurus right now, I think that you get the point I'm going for," I shot back.

"Yeah, I suppose I have come off that way for a while now," Athrun replied.

I smiled, "I say that as a friend, not as an insult, much like I do when I call Kira 'a special kind of stupid' when it comes to matters of social things. Athrun, the best advice I can give, is to just be yourself, you do that, and everything will work out for the better in the end. I know that may sound like something Kira would say, but it is the truth I've found more often than not," I returned.

Athrun and I continued chatting for a while, catching up on what had been going on with the other. It had been more than a year since I'd seen him, since the last time he'd visited his parents' grave markers and that's normally a somber affair. It was nice to spend time with a friend, I don't get to do that as often as I would like anymore.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Girty Lue

The ZAFT vessel that had attacked them around Armory One, was detected approaching them from behind around an hour after trying to lose them. There was no sign of the Federation frigate from before, but didn't mean that they weren't around, Federation stealth capabilities were still better than ZAFT and the Alliance, a frustration to the Alliance itself. The Girty Lue only had the three stolen Gundam-type mobile suits to send out now, so tactics would be the determining factor in this encounter since the enemy ship likely had more mobile suit. Thankfully, the trio had all recovered from the issues that had occurred with the theft of the mobile suits and were suiting up to launch out.

The trio themselves, were looking forward to having another chance against one or both of the other Gundam-type machines they had fought in the colony. Sting and Auel were chatting about how they would bring back a trophy from one of their opponents, while Stella was quiet. She understood what Neo had told them they would need to do in fighting against those chasing them. The three, once fully suited up, boarded the machines that they had taken from the colony and headed out from the ship. After the mobile suits launched from the Girty Lue, Neo had Captain Lee fire one of the ship's rocket anchors at an asteroid to swing the Girty Lue around. At the same time, a decoy missile was fired to make it seem that the Girty Lue was still moving forward on an unchanged course. The Girty Lue started its circular arc around the space rock after sending the decoy along. The hope was to fool their pursuers and then, come in from behind and pound them until they were destroyed, then they could be done with this. And with the Girty Lue being designed to be hard to detect if not undetectable, this tactic should work.

Meanwhile, on the Minerva, preparations for combat were being made to go against Bogey One and the stolen mobile suits. Suit pilots were getting ready to head out, and all but Rey would launch, while he would be ready in case something went wrong. So, Lunamaria in the red ZAKU moved to the right linear catapult, her suit was equipped with the "Gunner" set which came with the MMI-M633 beam assault rifle as its primary weapon. Two GuAIZ R machines were readied and sent to the catapults and headed out after Lunamaria. The Impulse was loaded to the its catapult, and Shinn once again boarded the Core Splendor as Aila was still in the Minerva's sickbay. The "Blast Silhouette" was loaded to the lift with the rest of the fliers. The Blast set for the Impulse gave the mobile suit two high-energy long-range beam cannons attached to the backpack called "Kerberos". On the top of the cannons, were quadruple missile launchers with guided missile. Then, on the backpack were two hyper-velocity rail cannons which worked like railguns. For close quarters fighting, this set had two beam javelins, stored inside the Kerberos cannons.

As the odds were high they were going to fight against the three Gundam-type suits with the four mobile suits the Minerva was sending out, it was assumed firepower would be key to ending this quickly. Once the mobile suits headed out from the Minerva, the bridge was lowered to connect with the ship's CIC. And when the command bridge came to the level as the CIC, Arthur informed the captain that two separate signals were showing up; one on an unchanged course, while the other, which was from the Federation's beacon, and it was beginning to circle nearby debris. Captain Gladys trusted that the Federation's beacon was sending more accurate information, "My guess is the signal continuing forward is a decoy, so the one going around the debris is Bogey One. Load and fire a decoy," she ordered, then focused on the helmsman, Malik YardBirds. "Malik, just as the decoy launches, steer us to hide behind debris, cut the engines and use only maneuvering thrusters. We'll have an opportunity to take the enemy by surprise this time, instead of them getting the jump on us. Send an encrypted message to the suit pilots, we're going to be out of their sight for a bit."

The decoy fired from the Minerva and then the ship moved to be among the colony debris that floated around the cluster of Lagrange 4. The movement went unnoticed to the Girty Lue as is was reached half way around the asteroid they had attached to. All they saw was their enemy chasing their decoy as it kept going forward as was hoped.

The mobile suits that had launched from the Minerva, were looking around the debris field, searching for the Chaos, the Abyss and the Gaia. They did receive a message from the Minerva, that the ship would be out of sight of them as the enemy carrier was trying to flank them. This meant the four of them were on their own for the time being, out hunting for the three stolen Gundam-type mobile suits. It was as the four from the Minerva got to the center of the field, when their opponents popped into view and began attacking. Shinn, Lunamaria and their two colleagues, Shawn and Dale were forced to evade the shots coming their way. Yet, the Chaos deployed its weapon pods and took down one of the GuAIZ Rs by one getting in front of the machine and the other behind.

Shinn was trying to get a hit in on any of the three gundams, more so after losing an ally, but all three of them were dodging, even if by small margins. Even hiding behind debris didn't help as the second GuAIZ Rs showed with the Abyss used both 3-barrel beam cannons along with its multi-phase cannon to destroy it. Both Shinn and Lunamaria were evading left and right, shooting back at their opponents as best as they could.

At the same time, the Girty Lue came around the asteroid, expecting to find ZAFT's warship coming into their crosshairs, but to their consternation the enemy ship wasn't there. Neo quickly began to suspect that there was something going on that wasn't supposed to be, when missile came from within the debris field. The enemy warship then, came from behind colony junk, and began assaulting the Girty Lue head on, taking them by surprise. This didn't make sense at all to Roanoke, their enemy should still have been traveling forward after the decoy. Nonetheless, it had been waiting for the Girty Lue to come around the asteroid, like it had already known the Girty Lue was coming and not fooled by the decoy at all.

So, while the missiles flying at the Girty Lue being intercepted, Neo ordered the ship's mirage colloid to be activated. Then the helmsman moved the ship out of the line of fire, which should make it, so their enemy would not be able to shoot them effectively. However, on the bridge of the Minerva, the movement was followed as the beacon transmission broadcasted the ship was moving and so, the assault was shifted to where the Girty Lue had gone. When the enemy's barrage shifted to where the Girty Lue moved to, Neo was sure that the ZAFT ship was somehow able to track them, which shouldn't be possible, but that was the only logical answer to what was going on. Roanoke headed down to the hanger and entered his mobile armor, for the tables needed to be flipped in this situation. Even under the barrage, he launched out from the Girty Lue, with feelings of irritation and frustration at how things were going.

However, as that was happening, Rey also launched out in his ZAKU Phantom. He knew that the sooner that the Alliance vessel was stopped the quicker this battle could end as the stolen mobiles suits would run out of power without resupply. But, shortly after Rey got out of the Minerva, the same odd sensation ran through him that he had felt around the new Alliance mobile armor and it came from ahead of him. The sensation didn't make sense, but when he had it in the last encounter, it had given a warning from what direction the enemy would attack from. And sure enough, beams started coming his way and he dodged before spotting the very same mobile armor from the encounter from Armory One.

Neo had wanted to take down the white mobile suit, but somehow it had dodged the shots, like the pilot had known the shots had been coming. Then there was the repetitive tingling sensation that he got around this machine in particular and it didn't make sense at all. It was annoying, and it was simply piling on the collection that was building up rather fast lately. Then things went from bad to worse when the enemy warship brought out a cannon and fired, which was identified as a positron blaster cannon. It didn't score a direct hit on the Girty Lue, but it passed by close enough to cause moderate to serious damage to the aft engines. Neo could see this battle had changed into a lost cause now, even if he couldn't explain how the enemy had managed to gain such a clear advantage. So, he told Lee to fire a retreat signal and then headed back to the Girty Lue himself.

Once the retreat signal was seen, the Chaos, the Abyss and the Gaia fell back and made their way back to the Girty Lue. Giving up the chance of destroying the Impulse or the Red ZAKU like they had wanted to. Shinn and Lunamaria let them go as they weren't in great condition to pursue them anyways. The Minerva stood down from Condition Red as the Alliance vessel moved away, taking stock on the damages incurred.

While that was going, Aila woke up, trying to figure out where she was and what had happened. The last thing she could remember was getting the Osiris on the Minerva, but things were hazy after that. She looked around the room slowly, and it appeared that this room she was in looked to be the Minerva's sickbay. Then, upon glancing down to her left shoulder, she found bandages wrapped around it as well as an IV in her arm. Memories started coming back to her, the shootout inside the hanger at the Armory, all the new mobile suits other than the Osiris getting boarded by teens, then the fight that followed. Aila rose slowly to a sitting position, feeling pain in her left shoulder as she did so, which brought the Minerva's doctor to the bed she was on. Aila was then told, that she was very lucky, as she had lost a dangerous amount of blood, enough that she had needed a transfusion. Next, she was told that she was to take it easy on herself for the next few days, no work, definitely no piloting a mobile suit.

The doctor's orders were not what Aila wanted to do, but with the injuries that she had, there wasn't much else for her to do. Plus, the Osiris was damage, and would likely be assigned to someone else and she go back to using the Impulse when her shoulder healed. Then, Aila still needed to give a report to Captain Gladys and who knew how that would go. Aila lowered herself back to the bed and resigned herself to letting the doctor check her over, and then hopefully let her leave the sickbay.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

The Normandy was making good time on its journey to Earth, meeting nothing or anyone as it traveled. I came on to do my shift of being on the bridge and in charge, making sure everything was going as it was supposed to. I imagined that the shift would be long and boring, that's how it was for Lisa on her shift before mine. That was the case, until we came upon a skirmish that was between a group of Federation ships and a group of Alliance vessels. The formation of the Federation ships suggested that they were escorts for other vessels a distance behind them. That could complicate thing somewhat as then timing becomes a factor in this if they were escorting non-combatants.

The Normandy hadn't been noticed yet by the Alliance group, so we could get the jump on them. I saw no reason to beat about the bush, so I called battle stations and just moved forwards from there. The response or the Normandy's crew was efficient and did make me proud as they are my responsibility. And if I have things work out right, when Lisa comes onto the bridge, then I'll be heading for the Aurora. The lift open, but instead of Lisa who I'd hoped to see, I saw Cagalli, Athrun and Mr. Winters exit the lift, Cagalli glancing around as she came onto the bridge, "What is going on," she asked.

I turned around in my chair to face Cagalli, "Well, we've come upon an Alliance group harassing a Federation escort, which also means that there will very likely be non-combatants behind them," I said.

The lift to the bridge then opened again and Lisa and others came into the room, I was rearing and ready to go to get out to the field. Heck Lisa and I exchanged looks that said she would take charge here while I go out and whip some sorry Earth Forces' keaster. However, before I could do just that, I caught sight of Athrun's face and it brought me to a halt. He had an expression I knew all too well, the look conveyed frustration at being idle and powerless to change the current circumstances. That caused me to hesitate as an internal conflict of wanting to go out in a mobile suit… or giving that opportunity to Athrun, who appeared to need the idea more than I did. I finally let out a sigh, lowered myself back into the captain's chair, then focused on my blue-haired friend, "Athrun, go suit up," I ordered, and it was difficult to say for me as I wanted to do that.

Athrun gaped at me, before finding use of his voice, "What did you just say Tye," he uttered.

"I said go and get yourself into a pilot suit, please do not make me repeat myself again, there really isn't the time to waste. There should be a pilot suit that will fit you, use mine if need be, then go to the hanger and take the Aurora out. You might be guest on this ship like Cagalli and Mr. Winters, but right now, we need one more mobile suit pilot out on the field. If you are unwilling, then I'll ask Mr. Winters to do the job instead," I iterated.

Cagalli stuttered and began protesting about Athrun getting into a mobile suit, mine no less. But, I ignored her for the time being and waited for Athrun's reply for I knew he needed something to keep occupied. The look of shock and incredulity was plain on my friend's face, but then I'm offering him the chance to do something and use the mobile suit that is unofficially mine and I don't lend out the Aurora to just anyone… or really lend it out at all before now, not even to Kira. However, for Athrun, I would give my opportunity and even let him use the Aurora to brighten his mood and morale, that's the kind of friend I am, I will go the distance!

"I'll do it," Athrun answered.

Cagalli stared at Athrun as if she didn't hear right, "Athrun?! What are you saying," she demanded.

"Then get going and suit up Athrun, time's a wasting," I returned and then faced forward.

Athrun did as I said and entered the lift to suit up and go out. Cagalli on the hand faced forward glaring at me, I could feel her gaze boring into the back of my head. I could've given a retort, or even asked her what her issue was, but honestly, waiting was easier. Cagalli will tell me what was on her mind given enough time and not quietly I bet, she normally doesn't with stuff like this when I step over or around her 'authority'. It took a little less than minute for Cagalli to do as I expected she would and spout her mind, "Tyler! What the hell are you thinking," Cagalli nearly shouted.

I calmly dug a finger into my ear and cleared the wax as well as gather my thoughts of how I would answer nicely, which I could hear irritated the girl. Cagalli should understand what Athrun was going through, even if only to a degree, at least from experience during the Alliance-PLANT War. To have to be on the sidelines and watch, not be able to do much if anything about the idea, it is horrible in ways that words couldn't describe. I took a deep breath and turned around to gaze at Cagalli, "What am I doing you ask, commanding the ship you are on as is my duty as captain. Then for Athrun, I'm giving my best friend an opportunity to do something to help as he was non-verbally scream he wished to do. You Cagalli should understand to an extent what Athrun was going through. Did you not feel frustrated and angry about watching and yet doing nothing during the Alliance-PLANT War, because that was what Athrun was feeling even if you didn't notice," I posed.

Cagalli hesitated, which said I had hit a nerve, "That's not," she started.

I cut over her, "I assure you, that's how Athrun had been feeling lately, and don't blame yourself Cagalli, it doesn't help anyone, just move forward."

Cagalli's head fell a bit, "But," she began.

However, I once again spoke over her, "Have faith in him Cagalli, Athrun will come back just fine, believe in him as you have before."

I turned and faced forward, to find Lisa glancing at me. I gave her a look that said, 'is there something you want to say, if so, then say it'. Lisa got what I was implying and spoke, "I must say Tyler, that was quite nice of you," she said.

One of my eyebrows rose at the remark, "To what, are you referring Lisa," I inquired curiously.

"You, giving your opportunity to go out to the battlefield in a mobile suit to your friend. That was very nice of you, especially giving him the Aurora to use, though it's the only one to work with," she replied.

I had nothing to reply to that comment, it was a compliment, but still, I didn't expect it to come. It took me a few minutes to find use of my voice again, "Yeah, I suppose it was, but that's what friends do for one another."

Picking up the ship phone, I dialed the Normandy's hanger, "Chief Volyon, another pilot is on their way down, have the Aurora prepped to go out, A.S.A.P. if you please," I ordered.

" _Sure thing kid, take that means that said pilot won't be you then? Certainly made a hell of an impression with your last outin,_ " replied Volyon.

"Yep, you assume correctly, keep those mechanics of yours doing the good work they do," I sent back and returned the phone to its place.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

As the lift from the Normandy's command bridge descended, Athrun was left to his own thoughts. He considered Tyler a friend and he knew that Tyler would do pretty much anything for him or Kira. Yet, for Tyler to offer him to go out in his place, blindsided him good. Athrun had thought he would be forced to stand by and watch a battle again, he had been gritting his teeth in preparation of holding himself back and down. But, the offer to launch out was more than welcome, yet then had come the second punch, which was the use of 'Tyler's mobile suit', the Aurora. It had been obvious to Athrun that Tyler had wanted to go out himself, Athrun completely understood and could easily relate. Nonetheless instead, he had given that chance to Athrun and foregone it for himself. Granted, he knew Cagalli would be against him going out to a battlefield again, yet Athrun himself had been feeling like he'd been dragging others down and holding them back as he had confided to Tyler. This event would hopefully be the first of many need changes, that was Athrun's prayer.

Athrun got off the lift once it'd stopped and headed for the pilot locker room, which he found a blue suit that he assumed was Tyler's suit. While putting on the pilot suit, Athrun realized that this was the first time that he had gotten up close and personal, let alone worn a Federation suit as he was now. The Federation's pilot suits were clearly a bit bulkier than either the Earth Forces' or ZAFT's suits and it was easy to tell why now to Athrun. The suit had an internal reinforced frame that adjusted to the body of the wearer dynamically and there was equipment built into different areas of the suit. Some of the equipment looked to be for keeping the pilot alive under the harshest situation, and by what Tyler had said a few times, the Federation thoroughly tested their equipment, so it could do as designed. It was more like the designers had built and created Federation space suits for more than just being in space or a mobile weapon, for example, theoretically another world entirely, which was ambitious if that was the goal!

Once Athrun had the suit adjusted as he wanted it and the internal frame fit his body skin tight, he grabbed the helmet and headed for the hanger. When he got there, he stopped to take in the unique hanger for it was one of a kind to Athrun's view. The Normandy's hanger looked to be made and geared towards shifting the mobile weapons to where they could be moved to the ship's linear catapult. It was an interesting mentality to have designing a ship hanger and it had efficiency in mind, but there were drawbacks. The organization of the hanger was just as different as the design, as spare space was in shortage and the cost of the systems that moved the machines to the catapult.

Athrun spotted the only mobile suit left in the hanger, the Aurora, and he headed for the machine. The chief engineer did approach him and Athrun did say that he had been sent down here to pilot the Aurora. There wasn't much argument from those in the hanger and so, Athrun entered the cockpit of the Aurora. Athrun had known that a Federation's mobile suit cockpit would likely have differences between a ZAFT suit cockpit which was what Athrun knew, but there were surprisingly fewer than he had thought there would be. Most of the controls were in the same or in the general area they were supposed to be located as the mobile suits that Athrun had piloted previously, even the Aegis. The one thing that he did take note of, what that went he sat back in the pilot seat, he felt the backpack portion of the pilot suit firmly lock into the seat. Yet, that did explain why there was no other restraints in the cockpit, the backpack held the pilot in and the suit's internal frame prevented the pilot from whipping around the space. However, the seat allowed Athrun to move enough around the cockpit as he was able to lean forward and activate the OS and then watch it come online:

 **MOBILE SUIT NEX OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nsubdued  
 **N** uclear  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Intrigue**  
 **_Series GN125-O7 NR 03-13868_**

 **Federation Military**

It was interesting to see that the startup message was very similar to what the Freedom and the Justice had, like minds do seem to think alike. The major difference with the Aurora and ZAFT suits, the Freedom and the Justice for example, were in the OS structure. Athrun had to admit, the system and its structure actually made sense after he went through it and seemed to operate just as efficiently as what ZAFT used if not more so by a small margin but could also be use by a Natural-type human as well. However, by what Tyler had told him once, Federation mobile suits were designed from a cross of their early space fighter and the first mobile suit, the YMF-01B Proto GINN. So then, the operating system would be kind of similar in how they worked overall.

All the Aurora's system passed their checks and showed as green and ready to go, so Athrun was declared good to launch. Athrun sealed the cockpit and felt the Aurora moving towards the far side of the hanger, 'to be lowered to the catapult' he was told. Athrun was curious about the linear catapult system the Normandy had, for he doubted that it was the same or very similar to what ZAFT or the Earth Forces employed. The Aurora turned one-hundred-eighty degrees at the end of the hanger, then tilted backward and lowered into the airlock that led to the outside. Athrun switched on the stealth system the Aurora had, which was called the "Phantom Stealth System".

It was the first view of Federation Stealth technology Athrun had, since they guarded the tech very closely and kept it as an advantage over the other factions. Even at a glance, the methodology employed was kind of similar to the GAT-X207 Blitz's mirage colloid but appeared to be better at not being detected and didn't draw power like mirage colloid would. Then, the other big difference, was that the Aurora's phase shift could be activated at the same time as the stealth system. The phase shift the Aurora had, was also better than the original idea was. However, it was distributed better and more efficiently and so could be used longer.

So, after the two airlocks cycled and the outside one opened, the Aurora lowered into launching position, the electromagnetic acceleration rails down appeared to have slid down from inside the Normandy and they looked ready to fling the Aurora along the bottom of the ship's length. There was a gentle jerk as the Aurora was released from the lift plate that had brought the mobile suit down, only leaving the power cable connected to the Aurora. Athrun had the helmet visor come down and seal the helmet to be airtight, pleasantly surprised to find that Federation helmet visors had an active heads-up display. Athrun focused and waited to launch, " _Aurora, your course is clear, timing controls are yours,_ " came a female voice, Athrun didn't know who it belonged to. The launch signal came and Athrun took a deep breath, "Athrun Zala, Aurora launching!"

Athrun was surprised that he didn't feel the G-force from the rapid acceleration that happened with launching, it was less than he had become familiar with launching in ZAFT mobile suits. After Athrun had cleared the Normandy, he flew the Aurora towards the battle ahead of him, then shifted the suit into its flight mode. Athrun quickly discovered that flying the Aurora's flight mode was different than piloting the machine in its mobile suit mode. The flight mode was more like flying a shuttle, while the suit mode was closer to piloting a mobile suit. Athrun got the hang of the difference between the modes and kept moving forward, his mind set on piloting so that he could be doing something.

As Athrun reached the fighting, the lead Alliance vessel was punctured by a positron beam from the direction of the Normandy. There were Alliance had mobile suits on the field, the mass production models that were based on the X105 Strike. Athrun dove in, using the Aurora's beam rifle in the right hand and the shield at the ready, blocking incoming shots. Be that as it may, Athrun had to say that he liked the "Rapid Target Acquisition System" over the Multi-Lock on system that the Freedom and the Justice had, it worked better for medium to close range. The "High-Mobility Aerial Maneuver System" or the HiMAMs was very helpful and Athrun understood why Kira preferred using the HiMAT system with the Freedom.

Athrun got into the thick of the fighting and while the beam rifle was nice, he was still better with close quarter combat. So, Athrun stored the beam rifle, and when he brought up the beam sabers up on a display, he found that the Aurora's two beam sabers had the same ability as the Justice and the Freedom in that they could be combined together. Yet, instead of the combo being named the "Ambidextrous Halberd", the combination was titled, the "Dual Corseque". Athrun combined the Aurora's beam sabers and began hacking and slashing at the Alliance machines.

The Normandy assaulted the Alliance ships, reinforcing their allies, using the "Thor" positron blaster cannon, the beam turrets and missiles. It was less than a half an hour, before the skirmish came to its conclusion, the Alliance forces, or rather what remained of them retreated. The return signal for mobile suits to come back to their ships were sent out and sighs of relief were released. The three Excel Fighters and the Aurora flew back to the Normandy all of them with minor damage from the fight. Cagalli raced from the bridge towards the hanger, worrying about Athrun, with Quatre behind her. Tyler followed a few minutes after them, after he knew the Normandy was okay and that their allies were in good condition as well.

Athrun was exiting the Aurora's cockpit, when Cagalli arrived in the hanger, she quickly spotted him. "Athrun," she cried as she floated towards him and embraced him when she got close enough. "You're such a reckless idiot sometimes," she sobbed.

Athrun patted her head in response, "Sorry for worrying you Cagalli, I just had to do something other than stand and watch from the sidelines," he replied. Athrun spent the next few minutes calming Cagalli down as she was crying quietly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I came into the hanger and smiled at seeing Athrun perfectly fine and alive, but I'd never doubted that would be the case. My gaze then shifted to the Aurora and the smile morphed to a thoughtful expression at seeing the minor damage incurred, but nothing that couldn't be undone and repaired. I refocused on the pair and then pushed myself towards the two teens having a 'moment', "I'm still curious if you two intend to ever make your relationship official and clear." Both Cagalli and Athrun twisted to face me, Cagalli's face gaining a red hue, Athrun's face having a small smile forming. I didn't stop there, oh no, I was going to have a bit of fun teasing these two, "I mean, I doubt I'm the only one feeling the heat in this room increasing because of you two lovebirds. Come on Athrun, I personally guarantee that Lord Uzumi would have no problem with you dating Cagalli… can't say what the other nobility of Orb would say, but I wouldn't worry about them, just ignore them, that's what I do."

Cagalli's face was visible red by this point and it was screwing up… think that's my cue to start running and keep Cagalli at a safe distance, for she is about to chase me. And I was not disappointed by the girl, I started moving and she was after me seconds later. "Tyler! Our relationship is none of your business nor anyone else's, I told you that more than once! How we conduct ourselves is even less your concern and I promise you that your mother will be hearing about this," Cagalli shouted as she chased me.

I was laughing as I kept out of Cagalli's reach, "If you're trying to scare or threaten me, by saying that you'll tell my mom, go right ahead. I can save you the time and trouble by telling the response you will get from her. It will go something along the lines of her sighing, shaking her head, while saying that she's tried to break me of the habit of teasing another and enjoying it for years. So, you telling her isn't really a threat to me, but hey, if it makes you feel any better, the two of you are better than Kira and Lacus," I taunted.

It took time to calm Cagalli down and she was restrained for a bit to do that, but she did settle down. Athrun did apologize for the damage on the Aurora, and I told him to not worry about, it was nothing compared to the state I brought my mobile suits back in after the Second Battle of Jachin Due. I had to return to the bridge, as I was still technically supposed to be on duty and Lisa should be resting. So, by the time my shift came to an end, the Normandy was in high orbit of Earth, readying ourselves to descend to Earth's surface.

Reentry wasn't all that bad, it was better than doing it in a mobile suit, that's for sure and I say that from personal experience. The Normandy deployed its ablative gel and the entry angle was shallow, meaning it wouldn't be as rough as a steep angle. The descent was routine, and we came down in the ocean between the Republic and Orb, closer to Orb. Before we touched down into the water, the Normandy's wings were adjusted to be close to parallel with the underside the ship. It was a feature to help the ship work as well on Earth as in space, flying is easier on Earth with the wings like this as well as sailing through the water. There was a jerk as the Normandy came down into the water and kept going forward toward Orb.

It took between fifteen and twenty minutes to travel from where we came down and to come into sight of Orb's mainland. I had to admit that Lars Paris is a hell of a pilot to have landed as nicely and close as he did. Around halfway to Orb, some of their ships came along side us and escorted the Normandy the rest of the way. The Normandy came into dock at the military port on Orb's mainland, Yalafath. There was a few of Orb's military personnel that came onboard, yet I think it was as much to check on Cagalli as to inspect the Normandy as she's a new ship. It was clear that the general facts of the incident at Armory One was already known to high ranking military people and government officials. At least, that's what I got from the questions that Cagalli, Athrun, and Mr. Winters were being asked.

While Cagalli was departing from the Normandy, a message came from Federation High Command, for us to head to the Republic in preparation to head back up to space. Lisa and I agreed that we would head out tomorrow morning rather than right now. It would allow the crew some shore leave, and a happy and unstressed crew, is a good and efficient crew and that is always preferred over the opposite. Plus, while I was around Orb, I could take the opportunity to go and visit Kira and Lacus, maybe getting Athrun to come along with me. It had been some time since the three of us had gotten together and it would be nice to do so.

So, with that goal in mind, I set off, managed to snag Athrun while Cagalli was too busy to notice and the two of us left and headed for the place that Kira lives at now. The place was an orphanage that was among the Marshal Islands, Kira lives there with Lacus and his adopted mother, Cardid Yamato and a man by the name of Reverend Malchio. The orphans that live there are pretty good kids, that just have had bad things happen to them. I've found some homes and families for some of the kids that lived there, and the families have been glad for the kid to adopt. So, I do keep an ear open for opportunities for any of those kids in the Orphanage to find a good permanent home.

The trip to the island was around fifteen minutes by helicopter, then a little over five-minute drive from the landing facility. As Athrun and I pulled up to the large house, many faces of the children filled the four large front windows. We got out of the car and the front door opened and out came Kira's mom, Cardid Yamato, definitely a sweet lady. I waved in greeting, "Hello Mrs. Yamato, always nice to see you and hope you don't mind an unannounced visit," I said.

Cardid smiled at me, "You're always welcome Tyler. All the children enjoy your visits," she replied, then she noticed Athrun exiting the car. "Athrun, this is a nice surprise for you to come by."

I looked to the windows again and saw them empty and then, they came pouring out of the front door. I was quickly surrounded by a good portion of the children, the others crowded both Athrun and Cardid. Kids were chattering away to me all at once and excitedly, I couldn't understand what was being said by the individuals. However, I was having fun with the kids talking and telling me things, since they used to avoid me the first two times I visited.

"Come now everyone, you need to take turns in speaking," said a female voice I knew and looking to the front door again, I saw Lacus standing there in a simple mid-length skirt and white short-sleeve shirt.

I smiled, "It's fine Lacus, this is much better than what I do while I'm out doing the duty and protecting peace," I returned.

"Come now children, let us get inside," said Cardid, gesturing for the kids to go inside the house. Athrun, Lacus and I followed them into the house and for me at least, the stress I'd been feeling since the chase of the Alliance trouble makers began and seeing what they did at the Milos Outpost, melted away from me. Reverend Malchio entered the sitting room as our group came in, a couple of the children raced over to him and pulled him forward, chattering away. "We have a visitor you say," he mused.

I would have bowed, but with the man, it wouldn't be noticed as Reverend Malchio was blind, "It is Tyler McGregor once again, and I brought a friend with me this visit, hope you don't mind," I answered.

"Tye, I was wondering what all the excitement was about," remarked Kira as he came into the room.

I shrugged, "What can I say, I'm popular here, more so when I started keeping an ear out for potential homes and families for these kids. They certainly are cute and deserve a place to call home and families that care about them."

It took time to calm down the children, and I did mention that I had been looking into a possible home for two children to both Cardid and Malchio. I may find the homes, but I leave to choosing which kids would benefit the best with the family they would go become a part of, to those here who know them best. Then I managed to tell Kira that we needed a private word and so, Lacus, Cardid and Malchio herded the kids elsewhere. Athrun stayed in the room and that was fine, but then two others came into the room that I hadn't expected to see. I'd not seen Murrue Ramius, nor Andrew Waltfeld for over a year, so I was surprised to see them here. The two hearing what I wanted to say, was not problematic that I could think of.

Yet, Kira gained my attention, "So then Tye, what is it you want to talk about," he asked.

I didn't speak right away, instead, I put a hand to my chin, but after a bit I did start, "Well, I doubt I need to state how the Earth Alliance's actions are very unhelpful for having peace between the factions. But, the mission I was just on… it gave a view and impression that was different, like groups are making ready for conflict, for war."

"What do you mean, gave you a different impression Tyler," inquired Murrue.

However, before I was able to come up with an answer, Athrun did the job for me in the form of a question, "You're referring to what the Alliance group did at the Federation outpost?"

I nodded slowly, and an angry frown marred my face at the memory of what I had witnessed, "Indeed I am Athrun, but as none other than you and I know what that entails, so I'll give an explanation. Please understand, that what I'm about to tell you is not to be repeated or become public knowledge. Over two days ago, an unknown group raided an out of the way scientific outpost at the far edge of Lagrange 4. Their goal was to gain access to the Federation's Information Network… and they succeeded for a short period before they were locked out."

There were gasps at the last line, "You're saying someone actually managed to gain unauthorized access to the Federation's Information Network?!" uttered Waltfeld.

I did note that Lacus was now standing in a doorway, listening to the conversation as well, with an expression of shock like most in the room. "Yes, the situation has been dealt with and preventative measures will be put in place and others strengthened. Honestly, the intrusion wasn't what irks me the most, it's that the group felt it necessary to slaughter every single person on the station, men, women and children," I growled.

Murrue and Lacus looked horrified, while Waltfeld and Athrun appeared frustrated at the prospect, and Kira looked sad at the lives lost. So, I continued, "It's certainly a new low, and I thought that there were at least enough in the Alliance who had an amount of humanity within them that would tell them murdering innocent people is wrong, but there are clearly those who have little to none that think nothing of such."

"It didn't end there," Athrun spoke up, "the same group then made their way over to the PLANT-type colony Armory One. There they stole Gundam-type mobile suits and decided it would be nice to go around destroying things and killing people."

"Yes, very bold moves in both instances, even if only one paid off for them. It was brazened and daring to not only get access to the Information Network, which I wouldn't doubt they knew would be noticed and responded to, but they also stole newly developed ZAFT mobile suit. All of which they seemed to know enough to pull off with fair success, does anyone else wonder how that was done," I posed.

"I would agree, for an enemy unit to get ahold of information that could help them pull such things, that implies a leak has occurred," remarked Waltfeld.

He wasn't wrong, for I suspected the same, there was likely a leak, the question was where. But, there was still one more thing that had mystified me and with Murrue here I could ask her, "Say Murrue, you wouldn't know where Krystal is these days, I have a question for her," I asked.

The unofficial captain of the Archangel thought for a moment, "I can't say for sure, I know she enlisted in the Federation's Military, other than that, I don't know. What kind of question did you want to ask?"

I hesitated as I know this is not a nice subject for her, "Well, I was wondering if she knew any mobile armor pilots with skills like her or… Mu." The room went silent at the mentioning of Mu La Flaga, but I kept going," I went against a mobile armor outside the PLANT Colony and their skills were similar to Krystal's and Mu's, a little different, but close enough to make me notice. Sorry to bring up Mu, but that's what has come to mind."

"I… I'll ask Krystal," Murrue got out.

I'll take that for the time being, I was about to sum up the discussion, when Kira asked a question, "Tye, you said that there of signs of preparations for conflict and even war, how close would you say that is to happening?"

I didn't have an answer for that exactly, but still I'm not completely ignorant, "That's hard to say Kira. I'm of the opinion that it won't take much to start a conflict that can easily turn into war. However, it needs to be an event that affects everyone in ways that other situations don't. I fear that war is coming, there will be those that will work for that, Blue Cosmos is a good example of the type. It is more going to be a matter of time I think," I returned.

The offer to stay for dinner was nice and I would've said yes normally… but as the question was asked, I had a serious shiver shoot down my spine, and it was unfortunately familiar to me. Now, there's a reason said shiver is unique and one I know, it's a warning to me. So, I respectfully declined the dinner invitation and quickly headed for the door, praying I was not too late! I figure that I should be 'safe' on the Normandy, I can and would lockdown the ship if that's what's required to keep her away from me. I just needed to get back to the landing facility and fly back to the mainland, then I should be okay. However, I only made it a couple of steps out the front door, when the one the shiver warns me of caught sight of me. The sight of Sakura Clyne wasn't a very welcome one, for she still stalks me, she just become more relentless than she used to be, hard to believe, but it's the truth!

Now, in the last two years, Sakura had become as I mentioned, drop dead gorgeous and I'm not kidding! She still had the "model perfect hourglass figure", what she did to maintain it, I haven't the faintest. Sakura had also grown out her hair, which I have to honestly say looked really good with her, it fell to her midback instead of her neck as it did before. And if Sakura was any way to measure, and Lacus ends out being just as good looking as her sister is, then my friend Kira is an extremely lucky guy and has no freaking clue how lucky he is! At this time, Sakura was sporting a white blouse a dark red bow that sat over her upper chest and was tied somewhat loosely around the neck with close to foot long ribbon ends going down from the bow. Over the blouse was a black dress coat and to finish off the outfit, was a pair of dress pants. It's the type of outfit that my mother would wear on regular basis. And Sakura wears it damn good, but I'm not going to tell her that out loud, it would only encourage her!

Nevertheless, back to my situation, Sakura locked her gaze on me and she gained a wide happy smile, which she's gotten somewhat better at than she was before, it isn't as freaky to see with her. She squealed and ran at me, of course, I began sprinting away from her. However, I didn't get more than a few strides, when Lacus' sister pounced at me and took me down to the grassy ground, hugging me tightly, trapping me in her hold. Now, like any sane and logical person, I started shouting for help! I'm not dumb nor ignorant, I can't best Sakura's strength, it's still beyond me! Sakura was affectionately nuzzling my cheek when I started to hear the chattering of children close at hand.

"Sakura? You never said anything about dropping by. What's the occasion sister," asked Lacus.

Sakura hummed contentedly, "Give me five more minutes at least Lacus, I may need more. I have missed embracing my beloved, it hasn't happened for months and I need my fill!" she purred.

I wasn't interested, nor did I intend to give her more time, I wanted her off of ME! "No Sakura, get off me now! I've told you umpteenth times already, I'm not interested in courting, dating or anything like that with you! You're attractive and everything, but you and I are too different for things to EVER work between us. NOW LET ME GOOO," I shouted, ending in close to a shriek.

The sound of kids laughing registered to me, meaning I was being seen as entertainment right now, great. I thrashed and struggled, but Sakura just held fast and didn't release me at all, merely giggled at my efforts and clung to me more. It took close to thirty minutes to get the woman to loosen her hold enough for me to slip out and make distance from her. Lacus was chastising her "older sister" who was simply smiling happily and not paying attention to her younger sister.

While that was going on, I crawled to the car I drove here and climbed in. I might not be able to stand stably at the moment, but I can get into a seat and I can work a steering wheel and that's enough! I drove back to the landing pad on the island and stumbled to the helicopter and then got it into the air and made even more distance from my stalker. It took me another half an hour to get back to the Normandy, it was evening and dark, so I locked the ship's outer accesses so that only the crew could come onboard. That should keep Sakura at bay until morning and that's all I need to shake her off my trail for a time!

My breathing calmed down and returned to the norm by the time I got to my quarters. I changed for bed as I needed sleep, before I flopped down onto the bed, letting out a deep sigh of relief that I was safe for a time. I didn't need to guard myself against Sakura or have to deal with her 'cuddling' and I could do without and be just fine. I laid on the bed for a while, before I started settling in for the night, but just as I was about finished, a knock came at my door. Curious as to whom would be calling on me at this time of night, I walked to the door and opened it to find Feldt Grace standing there. "Miss Grace, to what do I owe the visitation at this hour," I asked tiredly.

She gave me a salute," Captain, I apologize for disturbing you this late," she stated to me seriously.

I waved a hand, "It's okay, I would hope you have a reason to visit, and please, while we're both off duty, first names are preferred, so Tyler please if that's okay with you," I replied.

Feldt bowed to me, "Of course sir… I mean, Tyler. Um… I'm really not doing this well," she was saying in a sad voice.

I gave her a small smile, "It's fine, slow down and take it easy, I'm not a strict tight rear-ended officer, quite the opposite in fact. So then, what did you come by for Feldt?"

"Oh well, um, you see, I was on my way back to the ship when I bumped into a woman that said she knew you and that you even invited her onboard. She didn't seem to be anyone to worry about, so I let her in when I came back on the ship," Feldt iterated.

…Bumped into a woman that knows me, and that I invited? I did no such thing that I recall… I have a really bad feeling about this! As if I need proof of my suspicions I felt the all too familiar shiver shoot through my spine, telling me who it was that got onboard. There was the sound of footsteps coming down the hallway and when I glanced down the corridor, I was Sakura walking down it. *sigh*, so much for hoping for a break from her and feel safety, it's not going to happen tonight, that's obvious. I thanked Feldt and sent her off to her quarters, then I focused on my stalker, who I had clearly underestimated. "Sakura, when did you add being dishonest to your arsenal of tools that your habit of chasing me employs? It's not appealing much at all," I posed.

Sakura smiled and skipped… yes, the most feared ZAFT pilot or rather former ZAFT pilot, the one they called the Black Zephyr skipped her way to me. "Lie? I didn't do that, you left without a word, that's an open invitation sweetie!" she returned.

Great, then she used one of my own crew to get to me, the one way I thought wouldn't be an opening, but apparently, I was wrong. …You know what, I'm exhausted, too tired to resist right now. So… *ugh* if you can't beat them, join them temporarily I guess. I turned around to go back into my quarters, "Fine Sakura, you win for tonight. But, no funny or improper stuff, or I'll personally oversee and help in having you get tossed off the Normandy, which is my ship as I am the captain."

After saying I gave up for the night and stating the ground rule, I went back into my quarters, Sakura right behind me. I headed for the bathroom, to get the last peace for the night I would have to myself as well as to give Sakura the privacy to change should she wish. Once I was ready to consign myself to Sakura's affections, I came out of the bathroom and I saw that not only had Sakura changed, she had a bag with her. That implied that she just might stay on the Normandy, I sincerely hope and am praying she isn't going to, but I'm betting she'll try. Sakura was in a white dress shirt and if I was seeing correctly, she has a bra and panties on but, that was all. Not to say I didn't expect something like this, she tempts me when she can, it's part of the stalking, but normally when it's just the two of us.

I crawled into my bed and under the covers, and shortly after I entered my bed, I felt Sakura do the same. She wrapped her arms around my upper torso and embraced me, pressing herself against me as well. I ignored the squishy sensations pressing against my back and got as comfortable as I could and dropped off to sleep as I would be waking up early tomorrow morning and we then make the journey to the Republic.

Phase End!

 **A/n**

 **I'll leave off here and continue on in the next Phase. Alrighty then, closing remarks, first I would like to state that the Junius Seven Colony drop will occur, but will not be the reason the Minerva stops the pursuit of the Girty Lue, I'll explain that in the next Phase. Second, I've been asked with what Lacus and Siegel have done, why haven't they gone back to the PLANTs as they were doing the right thing. The reason is fairly Simple, Gilbert Durandal and his tendency to like to control things, even if it isn't seen my others. That's what I got for the moment, please keep the reviews coming, they are wonderful! Peace out fellow Natural-types until next time.**

 **Duked**

Well, technically Quatre is based on Quatre Winners from Gundam Wing, whether I go into more depth, I haven't decided yet. I find it fun to bring characters in from other universes, so a small spoiler, there will be a number of characters from other parts of the Gundam universe that will pop up.

 **Reishin Amara**

That is a scary thought actually, can't say that such would be easy or simple to design. I'm still working making and creating ideas for the Destiny timeline.

 **KakeruPB**

I hope that the logically reasoning that Shinn gives in this Phase, does satisfy at least somewhat your question of why Shinn is with ZAFT right now. He didn't lose his family, but as he himself stated, he sees ZAFT and the Federation working for the same thing. With Cagalli, the only thing I can come up with her for a defense, is that she doesn't see the full picture of what is going on. She sees a portion of the political side of thing, but there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes that she doesn't see. As for Kira, yes he had matured, but let's not forget the established fact that he's naïve, even if that has lessen somewhat (we all know it's thanks to Lacus). Granted, while Kira, Athrun and Tyler are considered war heroes, as it's stated, they are three of the most well-known and talked about, but not the only ones. Lacus is seen as one to an extent, yet she also did "treasonous" things, pardoned later on, but still.

 **Ken Wise**

I know that in canon, Shinn pretty much hates the Athhas and what they 'stand for'. However, in this story, Shinn is different in the fact that first, his family isn't dead and that makes a big difference. Second, he isn't the 'angry', 'hate-filled', and honestly, a blind temper-tantrum throwing idiot, that was annoying in canon even if it played a part to story. So, sorry no rant was needed.

 **Flaxj**

They will… for the moment at least, we'll see how things go going forward in this story.


	30. Phase 30: The Shattering of Peace

**A/n**

 **Okie dokie, Phase 30 is the first tipping point of the Destiny timeframe. My standard disclaimer applies, and I give a reminder that the timeline I have for this story is not necessarily the same and quite often is different. With that out of the way, on with the Phase.**

* * *

Phase 30: The Shattering of Peace

October 14th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

Orb Union

I came to a wakeful state and was almost instantly reminded of how I'd waved the 'white flag' to Sakura's incessant stalking of me last night. Yep, she was still in my quarters, in my bed… honestly, I swear Sakura needs to learn that no means NO, it is not an encouragement! Sakura was still cuddled up against me, no doubt with a smile plastered on her face, even if I can't see it right now. There was one thing going for me at least, my clothes were still on where I had put them, so that means that Sakura didn't cross the forbidden line! Although, I wasn't exactly interested in having this situation, there isn't much I can do about her being here at the moment. I may have threatened to oversee and help with tossing her off the Normandy, but honestly, I doubt even the whole crew working together could do the task, not if Sakura was fighting back and she would.

Anyways, it took me time to get myself out of Sakura's hold, before I went for the bathroom. I know that Lisa at the very least, would understand if I had a feminine scent on me when I came onto the bridge. Heck, I would just have to mention Sakura's name and Lisa would drop the subject as she is aware of my issue with her. However, as my problem with Sakura is what I consider a private affair, I'd prefer to keep it that way, it would be better to not explain why I might smell like I spent a night with a woman when I had little choice in the matter as to what happened. After I cleaned myself up, I put on my normal uniform and then exited quietly out my quarters as to not wake Sakura, I don't want her to catch me and drag me back into my room and have her way.

I headed to the bridge and found crew members at their stations, meaning that they had listened to me saying the Normandy would head out early in the morning. It was quite nice to only have to say things one time and have them followed, it saves stress and frustration. The dock authority soon gave us the go ahead to leave the dock and sail out to open water. The Normandy left port and set its course towards the Republic as our orders told us to do, and from there we would probably head back up to space to resume duties. The journey to the Republic was quiet with no encounters or issues coming up. It was kind of nice to have an easy trip for a change, but as we were traveling underwater as the Normandy had that capability, it was more of a given that the trip would be uneventful.

When the Normandy came into range of Shina, the Republic's military command told us to dock at Teswa R&D. It was kind of odd to be told to dock at Teswa, more so since Sakura is specifically onboard. The policies that pretty much say that outsiders aren't to be allowed inside the complex without express permission from specific levels of authority first was still firmly in place as far as I know. But then, as Sakura is one of the ZAFT champions, that might be the justification, the champions are seen differently than others. Hell, three out of the remaining eight work with and for the Federation Military, while four still are with ZAFT and Sakura is "retired" for the moment. Then there's also a rumor that I've heard, which suggests that Lanus Treize might have begun working with the Federation as well recently, but I've not been able to confirm or deny the rumor.

Lars Paris drove the Normandy into the bay that the valley which led to where Teswa was came out to. As we approached the far wall of the bay, an opening to a tunnel revealed itself and we entered the tunnel, which was a bit tight for the Normandy. Paris proved his skills as a pilot getting the Normandy through to Teswa's interior, most of us on the bridge did clap for him, including myself, for there wasn't a single scratch on the ship and with mere feet on either side for margin and it was impressive piece of work.

After the Normandy was locked into the docking area of Teswa, I dismissed the crew for shore leave, but told them to keep com-devices with them in case something serious came up. The mechanics here took the Aurora off the ship and hauled my mobile suit deeper into Teswa to get the needed work done. However, I didn't feel comfortable not having a mobile suit ready to use at a moment's notice, even if the chances of problems coming up were slim right now. So, to remedy that, I tracked down Carlos to ask him a favor, and when I found him, I did see that he had a ten-year-old girl with him today. "Hey Carlos, good to see you again my friend," I greeted.

Carlos turned and smiled at seeing me, "Tyler, indeed it's been awhile, you're almost a stranger these days. Yet, I applaud the entrance, very neat of you to come onboard the newest ship class. I take it you're assigned to the vessel," he replied.

I shrugged, but was smirking, "Yes, you are correct, I didn't plan it. Don't ask me why or how, I'm still trying to figure out who's bright idea it was to make me a captain AND give me a ship with a better than decent crew. So then," I said, going to my knees and coming to the girl's eye level. "This little lady a new intern Carlos, I didn't know that you recruited so young, though I can't blame you for scoring in the cuteness area."

Carlos went from smiling to beaming as she chuckled a bit, "Oh, maybe someday she will come and work here, that's going to be up to her, I certainly would give her a good reference. But then, with Mira being my daughter and 'daddy's sweet little girl', I have a bias I do admit," he replied.

Oh, so this is the daughter he has often talk and boast about, I can kind of see why now. I focused on the girl, smiled and waved, "Hello little lady, my name is Tyler McGregor and I'm a friend of your dad." She waved back at me but said nothing, I rose back up and looked to Carlos, "My friend, I've come to you to ask a favor." Carlos nodded for me to go on, "The Aurora took a bit of a beating and so, has been taken into the bowels of the complex for repair. Yet, you know me by now, I like to have a machine to work with if the need arises, just in case the worse happens so I can do my thing. I was hoping that the X09A Justice could find its way onto the Normandy, so think you can make that happen?"

Carlos took the time to consider what I was asking of him, before he answered me, "It is my recollection, that the mobile suit that you are referring to belongs to a friend of yours and so, I would think that they would be the one to ask."

"That said friend is responsible for the Aurora being here to get repairs, so I don't see an issue with me borrowing his mobile suit. It's only until the Aurora is good to go," I countered.

I managed to get Carlos to agree to get the Justice on the Normandy. And while the Normandy is docked at Teswa, I thought I could have some R&R before the orders came to head back up to space like the crew is getting. Going back on board to retrieve my things, I found that Sakura had disappeared somewhere, and I wasn't interested in knowing where she had traveled to. I still worry that she might do something that could get her in some way on the Normandy in a more set position that could give her time with me, I wouldn't put it past her. However, I don't have any evidence that can prove that Sakura was up to something, so I have to keep my mouth shut for now. Anyways, I headed back to my house, to check on it and to get some peace and quiet that I don't often get to enjoy. I was thinking I could get a quiet night, which I would love to have as those had been rare for me lately, but no, that wish was slapped away from me and by my mother no less.

Now, don't get the wrong idea, I love and care about my mother, she always makes time for me should I ask. As she's willing to do such for me, I don't usually say no when she requests things of me as she doesn't make many of those. So, when mom called me and asked if I would be willing to do something for her, I said yes without knowing what I was getting into. Only after mom gave me the details, did I kind of wish I had not said yes so readily, for what she requested was an idea that I'm not fond of. I've never enjoyed or liked attending events that are meant to be socializing for high class people, they're usually boring and stupid in my opinion. I had been 'forced' to go to such things when I was a kid, all trusted up in a formal outfit, then endured others, usually women cooing over how 'cute' I looked. Nevertheless, my duties with the military and timing have normally got me out of attending events such the last few years.

However, mom had gotten me to agree to attend a 'party' that was happening tonight. The party itself was one of the bigger events within the Human Federation and is called the "Horizon Jubilee", which is held to remember and celebrate the founding of the Human Federation itself. Every five years the event is held and hosted by one on the member nations and was normally attended by big wig figures from the other member nations and even had attendees from the Alliance and the PLANTs. The event was a good way for dignitaries to talk to each other without others influencing them, and thank goodness, there was no press allowed inside the gathering! This time around was the Republic's turn to host the Jubilee and I know that those who had been organizing and planning the event had been stressing horribly about the whole thing.

So, as I had stated to my mother that I was go to this party for a 'period of time', I didn't have a legitimate reason I can use to get out of attending this. Be that as it may, I refused to wear a suit for it, that left me with my formal military uniform and though I wasn't against wearing the outfit, I don't like wearing if I don't have to, but it's as formal as I get these days. Nonetheless, I knew that there would also be other military personnel at this event, so I wouldn't be out of place in my uniform, meaning that it should work out for me. Yet still, the gathering sounded like a long and boring affair to me like most social events like these and I didn't see a reason why I would enjoy it. So, I put on the blue and black uniform, which the top had been changed from what it had been before, since I'd gotten a promotion. My uniform used to have three gold bars and a star on the shoulder and sleeve cuffs, with a more elaborate looking star on the neck collar. Now to signify me being a captain, I had a fourth gold bar added to the three, still kept the star, but the more elaborate star was replaced by a silver eagle crest.

As I headed for the venue that the Jubilee was being held at, I was silently praising whoever it was that helped arrange Sakura disappearing. If she was still around, then she just might have schemed to pose as my date and that would make an already tiresome event worse. Still, I have to admit, the reactions she would get would no doubt be amusing to view, since Sakura still gives off a cold and scary air to most. Anyways, when I arrived at the place, which happened the Minister's residence, I got out of my car and handed the security fob my car over to the waiting staff member. I did gain a small smirk at seeing the gob-smacked expression on the guy's face as he stared at my car. "As long as she comes back looking like she does now, feel free to take her out for a bit," I said casually, "Rein in the desire to joyride though."

One would think that I had given the guy an amazing gift with the way he bowed to me, I waved he off and made my way inside. The main great room was decked out splendidly, definitely was decorated to impress the guests! Then, one glance around the room, and I could see that a number of high standing people, political and non-political were in attendance tonight. And it wasn't just high standing figures from the Federation that were here, I could pick out a few that were clearly from the PLANTs and even some from the Earth Alliance. Although, this event is to celebrate the creation of the Human Federation, some here have other reasons for attending, like under the table deals, unofficial talks, the stuff that's done off the record type of thing.

I blended in with the other guests here and avoided notice by most, though I did spot some 'oddities'. The first and easiest difference with this event and the last one, there was a good amount of security personnel hovering around, sign of the rising tension as of late. I agree with having such in place, but the amount made it a tad tense for at least some of us here. Second, there were some particular groups that I saw that… stuck out to me, most in non-nice ways and some in clear unpleasant ways. One in particular, which was made up of what looked like crisp business suited men, caused me to wonder and worry. One of the reasons, was that the 'leader' was a younger looking man in his early thirties and the guy gave off a seriously bad vibe. He looked fine, had short grey hair, fair complexion, purplish lipstick for whatever reason, but hey, everyone has their personal quirks. His blue eyes though, what I saw in them even for the short period of time told me a great deal, and I didn't like what I got.

From the bits of conversation that I heard from the group, I was led to believe that they could and likely were members of Blue Cosmos. Unfortunately, that organization and a few others like them have survived the heavy scrutiny that had been happening since the Alliance-PLANT War came to an end. It was the one thing that the Treaty of Junius Seven hadn't covered or dealt with, the groups and organizations that had the rhetoric of hatred and malevolence that caused parts of the war. There were certainly steps taken to make things harder for them after the war, but not to entirely get rid of them. I decided to steer clear of the group, for I'm not interested in interacting with them, me being a Coordinator, the one that pretty much got their previous leader captured, stuff like that would not reflect well for me with them I'd bet.

I made my way towards the other side of the room away from those that were putting off bad vibes. I came into a mix of Equatorial Union dignitaries and Representatives from Orb, which were much better company in my view. There weren't any among the group that I knew personally, but then, I had been working undercover for a time while I had been doing cleanup. It's where some my expertise lies and what got me into the **S** pecialized depl **O** yment tactica **L** **A** ntiphon **S** quadron. My talent with messing with computer systems in many ways is something else, it's why the Alliance isn't fond of me, even if they aren't aware I'm the one responsible.

Anyways, I gave proper greetings to those around me and that came up to me as I know that my mother would expect me to show good manners, which she taught, or rather drilled into me. After a few minutes, I found myself face to face with a woman that appeared to be about the age of Sakura by my estimations. She had features that denoted that she was from the area directly west of the Equatorial Union's western border. The woman had blue eyes and medium length straight black hair that framed her face and it had a bun at the back. Once she saw that I was looking at her, "Ah, an unfamiliar face," she said before she bowed to me, "Hello, my name is Marina Ismail."

Ismail? I've heard of the name, mostly as in reference to the current head of the Equatorial Union. The nation has a kind of representable monarchy, where the 'royal' is the head of the nation, but also works with its parliament. So, the name Ismail has been gaining a bit of renowned as it belonged to one of those that had been instrumental in bringing the civil unrest in the Equatorial Union to a close and unified the Union again. Yet, I hadn't heard said person was a woman… the things you learn, no?

I returned the bow, "I am Tyler McGregor ma'am, it is an honor and a pleasure to meet one of those who helped stabilize the Equatorial Union. From talking with those that hail from the Union, you are quite the advocate of peace and fight for the people," I replied.

Marina smile, "Oh, you have spoken to some from the Union," she asked.

I nodded, "Yes, during the down times, it's not uncommon for soldiers like myself to tell others about my homeland and they tell me about theirs. Those I've spoken to speak highly of you, Miss Ismail, a few even said that you showed yourself to be a real miracle worker with your part in dispelling the civil problems that were occurring," I iterated.

The woman shook her head, "Oh no, I wouldn't say that I did any miracles, I merely did what I could to help the citizens of the Equatorial Union."

Hmm, she's humble as well, a good package for a leader if you ask me, but I've been spoiled as my mother has been and is what I see the good picture of a leader is. So, I chatted with Marina Ismail for a little while, and found she had come from humble beginnings. She hadn't been born in the Union, but to the west as her physical features display in the area that had been once called the "Middle East" before the Reconstruction War, which is now a part of the Eurasian Federation. Unfortunately, that area of the world is one of the harder pressed and economically ravaged parts of the world, even now a days.

Marina was interested in hearing about the Republic, for apparently, this was the first time that she had come to the Republic itself. She had of course heard stories of the Republic of East Asia, most do along with the Euros Coalition, their many stories about the two founding nations of the Federation. I was even told, that when she was a child, it was stories of Federation member nations were places that all were equal and had the same freedoms that had motivated her through the hard times. I would bet I would've heard more, but then mom came up to where I was, "I had been informed that the group from the Union had arrived, but I had yet to greet you all personally. I hope you are all enjoying your time here, if not, then I have failed as a host and must remedy that," mom greeted.

Miss Ismail turned and faced my mother, "Minister Blass, it's an honor to meet you in person," she greeted.

I watched for a little bit the exchange between my mother and Marina Ismail. However, socializing especially in an environment like this party, is something that tends to bore me. My mother's reputation on political stage is difficult to argue or deny, for she has earned and solidified it over the years. Yet, that reputation also makes her harder to approach by many, though once they meet her in person, they see she's a much easier to get along with. But, as I had made clear some time ago to my mother, I have little to no interest in politics, I didn't listen much to the exchange.

In fact, I snuck away while the conversation went on and move around the room, still avoiding the group that I had spotted before and I noted that others were starting to do so as well. I did get a drink when I got near the food and drink set out for this event. After some moseying around, I came to be in the presence of a person that I knew and certainly didn't expect to meet here. The man that was in front of me, was just under six feet in height and a Natural-type human. His hair was blonde, short and kept neat, and did somehow go with his grey eyes. The man was in his early fifties, though he looked physically a tad younger and had the name of Frederick Algreus. This man was in essence, my boss' right hand and second in command, for he is the other Admiral that was over SOLAS. Honestly, Admiral Algreus was easier to deal with than Admiral Raine is, but I normally get to work with my boss directly, lucky me.

When Admiral Algreus saw me, I saluted, "Admiral Algreus, I didn't imagine I would meet you here sir," I said.

The man returned my salute, "At ease Captain McGregor, no need to be so formal, I'm here due to circumstances," he replied.

Upon further inquiry with Admiral Algreus, I found out that he was around the Republic due to a chain of events that had occurred. There had been personnel that had been identifying high players in the growing turmoil, much like had been done before and during the early stages of the First Alliance-PLANT War. According to the Admiral, he and a few other members of SOLAS were here watching the very group I'd been keeping distance from. Apparently, my intuition had been right on the money with that lot being dangerous in several ways. The 'leader' who was one "Lord Djibril", had been under the microscope of the Federation military, specifically the Intelligence Agency and SOLAS as he was the assumed new leader of Blue Cosmos after Azrael was captured and sentenced.

Our conversation shifted to other things, and I did manage ask Admiral Algreus about the rumor about Lanus Treize. After all, if Treize had sided with the Federation, that would be a huge plus as his tactics and commanding skills have proven incredible and are prized when he worked for ZAFT. Heck, as I stated already, three of the remaining eight champions have done wonders at improving the quality of the Federation military, even if they hadn't meant to. I wouldn't doubt Treize would have a similar effect if not a more powerful one. I was told that, as it happens, the rumor turned out to be true, Lanus Treize had left the PLANTs and then was recruited by Federation High Command. What the man's reasons were for 'retiring' and leaving the PLANTs, I couldn't begin to guess, but no one would hear me complaining in any way to have a tactical genius like him on our side!

After the conversation with Admiral Algreus came to a close, we separated, and I quickly began to think of a way that I could slip out of this party and not be noticed, specifically by mom as she got me here. Nonetheless, lady luck saved me the trouble, but fate also had a hand in me getting out of this event. The 'get out of jail free card' came in the form of Lisa calling me with news that involved me. It's by no means the first time that she has bailed me out of something I was in, one of the perks of Lisa and I being friends. However, what she was calling me about wiped any hint of a smile that I had or had been forming on my face fast.

She told me that a report had come in, along with orders for the Normandy and they weren't nice at all. According to the most recent communication from a number within the Space Fleets, the largest mass that made up the ruins of Junius Seven had broken free of its stable orbit within the debris belt. The rock was now on a course that would have it colliding hard with Earth which would have catastrophic consequences and repercussions if that doesn't change! There was little to no information as to the means that had started this event, for the ruins of the colony shouldn't break the orbit it was in without outside influence. ZAFT already had sent a group to help prevent the mass from striking Earth, using a tool called 'meteor breaker', meant to break up large rock masses. A portion of the Space Fleets had been mobilized to assist in this effort, but the sudden change in movement in the ruin, was still troubling. It implied that there was a group responsible for this and their intent was to do harm to Earth and its inhabitance.

The Normandy was ordered to launch back into space via the Shen Long mass driver and proceed to ruin and assist in its breakdown with all possible speed. The orders and mission are fine, I have no issue with them, but I just have a bad feeling about this turn of events. The timing and means that someone is using, it's more than harsh to the point that it's fanatical and wrong. I told Lisa to recall the crew, even if that cut short the shore leave I'd wanted to give them, but the situation demands action. Then I headed out, got my car, and from there headed back to the Teswa R&D complex to get back to the Normandy.

Within the next hour, the Normandy with all of her crew back onboard, had come down at the Shen Long facility and were being hooked in to use the mass driver. Space boosters were attached to the top center of the wings, which had been shifted to their flat parallel position for launch. Once everything was ready, the Normandy shot down the rails and then was catapulted toward the vacuum of space. When we finished our ascent, we set course towards the coordinates that had been given for the large mass hurdling towards Earth.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The group of Nazca and Laurasia class ships that had been sent from the PLANTs to break down the ruins of Junius Seven, came into view of the colony remains. The commander assigned to lead this task force, was Nicol Amalfi, while Yzak Joule would be the one leading the mobile suits on the field. Nicol had been apprehensive when he had been told that the ruins of Junius Seven had started moving towards Earth. What was left of the former PLANT-type colony, had been in a stable orbit among the debris belt, there was a select few natural occurring events that would change that and all of them would have been obvious and hard to miss. So, the logical explanation for the change in the ruins' position, was a group had done something to move them and that was bad.

Dearka, who was one of the pilots in this task force, had agreed with Nicol, while Yzak had just said there was a need of focus on the task. But then, Yzak hadn't been pleased when Nicol had been made a commander of this mission. Yzak had been proud of his friend Nicol when he had been promoted to commander, but not that it had come before his own rank of commander had come. Dearka and Miguel Aiman had tried to help solve the issues between the two, heck Dearka had even contacted Athrun Zala and asked for his help with the problem. Nonetheless, with time, the two had come to the understanding that they would agree to disagree upon things, and that had helped to smoothing things between them.

Once in range of the colony mass, Nicol sent out orders for mobile suits to launch out and for the meteor breakers to follow them. Nicol then opened a channel to Yzak, "Yzak, I know you don't entirely agree with my reasoning for the need of caution but keep your eyes open and do be careful. There is still something that feels off about this," he said.

" _Okay fine, this will be routine, so there's really no reason to, but if it quiets you down, all of us out here will keep alert,_ " Yzak replied.

Nicol told all the ship captains to stay alert, as this setup was far too suggestive of a trap laid for those that came. It was only a few minutes later that a group of 'GINNs' appeared out of nowhere and started attacking the mobile suits set out. The model of GINN was the newer High Maneuver Type suit that was black and purple in color. It appeared to be armed with a sword, a shield, and a beam carbine rifle to use. The other fact about these mobile GINNs, was that they were quickly proving to be a match, if not slightly outperform the ZAKU pilots that were defending themselves. Dearka could tell fast, that their opponents weren't novices, much more the opposite really, " _These guys are no green pilots, there experts!_ "

Nicol could see that Dearka's observations were valid and didn't need to hear Yzak's cursing to reinforce the idea. The issue was that this attack had brought the operation to break up the ruins of Junius Seven to not only a halt but threw risk of it being thwarted completely. There were a couple of spare meteor breakers carried, but not enough to make another attempt if all the first collection were lost. Nicol considered going out in a mobile suit himself and assisting those out there, but before he decided to do so, the ship's sensor officer reported that the Minerva had arrived on site. Nicol had the com-officer open a channel to the Minerva and he explained the situation to Captain Gladys, asking for their help. Captain Gladys said that she would send out the mobile suits that they had, and Nicol thanked her.

The work to escort the meteor breakers continued, though the attackers made that frustratingly difficult. Nicol was starting to hope that this mission would still end in success, even though there would unfortunately be lives lost as an exchange. However, the appearance of an unknown vessel dampened the hope. The ship looked to be longer in length than a Nazca-class, but shorter than the Alliance's former "Archangel-class". As a matter of fact, as Nicol stared at the ship, there were a number of features that appeared similar to the Archangel. From its linear catapults, to the basic overall structure, even though it looked to have four linear launching catapults, two on the top and two on the bottom. Its bridge tower was around the same place, and Nicol knew that fact as he had gone for the Archangel's bridge tower a few times. The ship was also armed with beam turrets, six in total and likely had an array of missile launchers in it somewhere. The ship was in ZAFT's registry as "Bogey One" identified by the Minerva and had been responsible for the issues around Armory One almost two weeks earlier. As Nicol kept looking at the ship, the more he felt that it would cause trouble, more so with the operation that was going on.

Upon arriving at the place that the Girty Lue had been told to investigate, Neo and the crew of the Girty Lue viewed a most curious scene. Neo found himself looking at what appeared to be ZAFT forces fighting one another, why he couldn't guess. The mass that was the ruins of Junius Seven was moving towards Earth and that was not okay at all! Neo ordered the three mobile suits that were on the Girty Lue to launch out and shoot down ZAFT forces. Right now, ZAFT looked to be threatening Earth and that was unacceptable! Plus, the ZAFT warship that had been pursuing the Girty Lue and had beat them somehow was around as well. A third chance to take down that ship was of interest, and there would be little to no debris that could be used to hide.

The Gaia, the Chaos, and the Abyss headed out from the Girty Lue and zoomed towards the fighting that was lighting up space. While they did, the Girty Lue pointed its bow towards the Minerva and began firing its weapons at the ZAFT warship. This was an opportunity where the Girty Lue had a shot at sinking the Minerva and the Federation wasn't around to interfere at the moment. Until they showed up, and Neo didn't doubt that they would at some point, there was less to cause problems.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The sight of the huge chunk of what had been Junius Seven, brought home the real importance of this mission. Signs of battle being waged around the mass brought on a sense of urgency, for it confirmed that a group or multiple groups were to blame for this situation. Of course, order for mobile suits to launch were given and they went out, but from them it was also learned that the fight was more complicated that first impression said. By what was being sent back, two groups of ZAFT mobile suits were fighting one another, one larger than the other. The larger group was also at the same time, setting and deploying the meteor breakers while the smaller group was using new model ZAFT mobile suits to harass them and picking them off, thereby preventing the meteor breakers from doing their job. There was also the Minerva here and the unclassed Alliance vessel, adding to the mix that this situation was becoming.

So, it wasn't difficult to decide whom the help was to be given to and who it was that would find themselves in a worse situation. However, as this is such a serious problem if things don't change soon, High Command had apparently authorized the use of new mobile suit models. The new suits were kind of similar to the Excel Fighter, but I wouldn't doubt they can outperform them in a few ways. Plus, the majority of them had different equipment than the others, in the form of two high-energy beam cannons mounted on the backpack section. The new models were mostly for use by special forces within the Mobile Suit Core, I would assume and they were called the ZEL Defender.

The Federation forces moved in and began defending those working on deploying the meteor breakers. I myself, left Lisa in charge of the Normandy and headed down to the hanger, for I wouldn't stay out of this battle, not with Earth's wellbeing in the balance! Granted, I didn't have the Aurora, but I'll use the Justice, even though it doesn't fit my usual fighting and piloting style, I'll do what I have to. Athrun wouldn't mind me borrowing the machine and putting it to a good use, I personally guarantee that. Chief Volyon had taken having a different machine than the Aurora in stride, the man hadn't even batted an eyelash, just grunted and got to his work. So, the Justice was ready to go out and I merely sail across the hanger and to the remaining mobile suit's seat.

I pressed the button that lowered the seat into the cockpit and shortly afterwards the cockpit closed and sealed. I got down to bring the machine's operating system up, refreshing myself on the arsenal and systems that the Justice had to work with. The mobile suit excelled at tactics and mobility, and where mobility is something I do like and use, tactics that utilize multiple pieces isn't my strong suit. I can manage that if a situation requires such, but I tend to be better with stealth, mobility, and precision striking. I finished my refresher course by the time the Justice was moving into the airlocks to the linear catapult. When the Justice came to launching position, I was ready and itching to get out to the battlefield. The launch signal came shortly and I gripped the flight controls, "Tyler McGregor, Justice, heading out!" I zoomed off, deploying the Justice's Fatum-00's wings after I was clear of the Normandy.

The viewed the field in front of me, I could see that allied forces were defending against the rogue ZAFT force and the Alliance forces from interfering with the meteor breakers. Also, another difference with the new model Federation mobile suits, there were a few that were tan and orange, while the rest were two shades of blue. The ZEL Defenders were doing well against the GINNs, taking them by surprise using their beam rifles in their saber mode, which makes the rifle into a long beam saber. Wasting no more time with watching, I flew forward towards the nearest rogue ZAFT mobile suit, aiming my beam rifle. I pulled the trigger and hit one of its thrusters, cutting its mobility down an amount. I used the time that the GINN took to notice it had taken a hit and then identify the responsible party, to eliminate the majority of the distance separating us. Storing my beam rifle, then drew one of the beam sabers and ignited it as I rushed towards my target.

The GINN had just enough time to draw the sword it had and block my beam saber, but I forced them back with the forward momentum I had. I used my beam saber to shove my opponent back, before rushing forward, spinning out of the way of the blade swung at me. Using my beam saber, I sliced through the mobile suit's torso like a hot knife through butter, then quickly moved away from the machine. Both halves of the mobile suit exploded and I moved on, firing the Fortis beam cannons at the other trouble making GINNs.

However, as I focused my attention on the newer GINNs that were interfering with the operation to break up this mass hurdling towards Earth, I was forced to evade incoming beams. When I turned to see who it was shooting at me, I saw one of the stolen ZAFT mobile suits that had been encountered around Armory One. It was the blue and white one specifically, the Abyss if I recall the name that Talia Gladys mention correctly. Now what the problem making Alliance force was doing around here, I couldn't begin to guess, nor would I really care normally. Honestly, it's very possible they are here to stop this event and simply have their eyes crammed so far up their a**es, that they can't see we're doing the same damn thing! Whatever their reason, they were NOT helping in any way to prevent half of Junius Seven from falling to Earth.

Taking in the scene, I spotted the green machine, the Chaos I think, taking on the blue and white suit that had been pursuing the stolen mobile suits out of Armory One. The black one was fighting a red ZAFT ZAKU, which just left the blue machine, which was facing me. A white ZAKU Phantom was also entertaining the Alliance mobile armor from before. I took out the Justice's beam rifle and started my approach of the Abyss, who was shooting its arsenal at me as I drew closer. Although the Abyss had more beams and weapons in general than the Justice, the Justice had far better mobility. It meant, as the phrase goes, no matter how powerful the weapon, it is useless if you can't hit your target with it. It quickly became clear to me, that the pilot of the Abyss was getting frustrated that he hadn't hit me, for his efforts were getting worse, not better, the classic problem of letting your emotions get the better of you in battle. After I'd closed more than half the distance, I set the Justice's shield in front of me and put on a burst of speed, at the same time, the Abyss fired its multi-phased beam cannon. Instead of moving out of the way, I blocked the beam with my shield and kept surging forward ever closer to the Abyss.

Eliminating the remaining distance, I thrust the Justice's shield forward against the multi-phase beam cannon emitter. The effect was near immediate, the weapon gave off a short but hard bang and ceased firing. I pulled back a short way and noted that the Justice's shield had taken damage from my maneuver, the shield structure was still overall what it was supposed to be, but the top layer had warped to a degree. However, upon looking ahead of me, I saw that the Abyss had not only taken moderate damage to the multi-phase beam cannon emitter, but a portion of the torso had taken a beating in the exchange. Then the energy arcing around the beam cannon, said that the multi-phase beam cannon was out of commission for the time being.

Next, I used the Fortis cannons, making the Abyss back up away from me and was going to take out one of the two beam boomerangs that the Justice has to get the opposing suit to pick up the pace. Yet, the Abyss retreated back towards the Alliance vessel, which reminded me that targeting that could get the other two stolen machines to tuck tail and run. So, that in mind, I took aim and let off a volley of the Fortis and beam rifle in the direction of the Alliance ship, even if it was a distance away from where I was. My first shots missed, but I kept up my barrage and it didn't take very long for me to score a hit on one of the beam turrets. The Alliance vessel fell back a bit, and so did its mobile suits, which solved that part of the interference problem.

I turned back to the ruin itself and saw that about half of the rogue GINNs had been destroyed by this point. The new Federation mobile suits showing off that they had superiority in mobility and effective weaponry. I flew into the fray and got down to the work of taking down those who were meddling in this and preventing the necessary breakdown of the rock mass moving towards Earth. The new GINN model might be faster and more agile than the general one, but they still can't match the Justice with its HiMAT mode active. I switched between employing a combination of using the Justice's beam rifle at the same time as an assault by the Fatum-00 was being made with its turret guns and Fortis beam cannons firing at the designated target and combining both beam saber and charging forward and sending the beam boomerangs at my opponent.

My method of attack was either unexpected or just different enough to the GINN pilots that I was fighting against, that it was effective. Needless to say, the rogue group had quickly found itself hard pressed into a defensive stance and not the attacking one they had started with. Yet, if the leader could be found and identified, they could be dealt with and there was a possibility that the other GINN pilots would back off or give up. Of course, it was as likely that all of them would have to be shot down to bring this to an end, but one can hope for a better outcome. It took some time, but I managed to make my way to the one I believe is the leader of this rogue group. I engaged them in combat and was treated to a rant that definitely was towards the top of the ludicrous scale.

" _How dare you use our Justice against us! We are doing what is needed and what is right! The Naturals need to be taught a lesson they'll never forget! Justice and necessity demands that they experience the same that they did to us!_ " Screeched the GINN pilot.

Taking out a beam boomerang in one hand and holding the Justice's combined beam sabers in the other, I threw the boomerang and rushed forward. The GINN evade the boomerangs initial pass, then focused on my frontal attack with the beam sabers and shield. However, the opposing pilot apparently forgot that boomerangs have a tendency to pass by something not once, but twice, the first going forward and the second is the return. And so, the I spotted the beam boomerang on its way back, on course to score a slice on the GINN's right leg if I'm seeing correctly. I pushed the GINN back and moved the Justice away and was satisfied to watch the beam boomerang neatly cut off the lower right leg of my opponent's machine. I caught the boomerang and stored it back in its rack and kept facing the GINN, waiting for it to make the next move.

" _Curse you! For the crimes done in the past, my daughter's tombstone must fall! It's the only way that this world will ever change and get on the path to a better future. Can't you see that?! Patrick Zala knew it all along, the only true path for Coordinators was the one he had chosen for us,"_ ranted the pilot.

The last line the man had spouted, had struck me to the heart, for I was opposed to the idea, and it tarnished the good memories of Patrick Zala. Athrun's father should be remembered for the good that he tried to do, not the foolish crap that had come when he had become completely blind. I charged forward again, yet instead of attacking the GINN directly with weapons, I twisted out of the way of the countering sword and got behind the mobile suit. I grab it tightly, and then dragged the GINN down towards the rock mass we had been fighting above. Just before we both crashed into the surface of Junius Seven, I let go and kicked the GINN down into the surface, then landed hard on top of the machine, both pinning it down and imbedding the mobile suit into the rock. I leapt upward, using the Justice's beam rifle to destroy both engines the GINN had, effectively trapping it here in the ruin, before I landed a short distance away from the GINN.

I opened a com-channel to the GINN and gave my opinion of the mentality of this man, "Your 'justice' you claim to have on your side, is nothing more than venomous revenge and that will never be the same as true justice! You are wrong about the path for Coordinators, going forward alone will only end in destruction and darkness! We're all human beings and every one of us deserves a chance to live, no type of human inherently deserves to die. The real Patrick Zala would be disgusted and horrified at what you're doing," I took a breath and kept going, "Although, you falling and burning up in the atmosphere is better than you deserve for what you're attempting to do, yet it will do. You and your comrades are prime examples of humankind's true enemy, for you are hell-bent on murdering innocent human beings of all types to achieve you revenge. None who lived on Junius Seven would ever want the remains of the place they called home to be used to bring down horror, death and destruction. And you shame and dishonor your daughter along with those who lost their lives by doing a stunt like this!"

I took-off upwards and left the man to his fate, watching the meteor breakers activate as I climbed and seeing the ruin split into two pieces. As the two rock slabs moved away from each other and appeared to move in paths that wouldn't strike Earth, weapon fire began hitting both masses. It was the safety net that the Federation had gotten into place when the realization that someone had made Junius Seven start to travel towards Earth. Federation vessels were unloading what they had at the chunks, breaking them down further before they enter the atmosphere. The smaller the rock masses that fell to Earth, would either burn up in the atmosphere or would be hopefully do less damage than they would do before. I scanned around, looking for the Normandy to return so that we could see if there was anything else that could be done.

I saw the Normandy chasing after the two largest chunks that had begun to gain an orange glow as it came into contact with friction from the atmosphere. Putting on a burst of speed and headed in the direction of the Normandy, which was entering the upper atmosphere. Along my way, I caught sight of the Minerva also chasing the chunks of Junius Seven downward towards Earth. The Normandy brought out its positron cannon and fired at the nearest rock and made it smaller as the fragment fell. I came to sail alongside my ship using the Justice's arsenal to blast at what fragments I could hit, while setting the shield in front of me to cut down the heat a margin. The Normandy deployed its ablative gel as it descended lower into the atmosphere and kept firing at what chunks it could target.

Upon looking to the left for a moment, I witness the Minerva with her main wings taken in as she began the descent as well. Both the Minerva and the Normandy using their positron cannons to keep blasting the ruin fragments to make them smaller. We did eliminate the dangerously large fragments nonetheless, it was clear that there would be a number of fragments that would crash down on Earth and those hits wouldn't be pretty! However, the impacts would be less horrid than what it would have been if Junius Seven had stayed as one large mass. Yet, even that fact brought little comfort to me as the Normandy continued its descent through the atmosphere with debris zooming downward towards the planet's surface.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The event Junius Seven's change in course was observed and watched from many places on Earth itself as the efforts to stop the mass unfolded above. Leaders around the world watched and worried about what could happen if something the size of Junius Seven collided with Earth. The impact alone would be a cataclysm, and what would follow in its wake would be likely just as bad should the large mass strike the planet. Even when the ruin was split into two, it left enough possibility of debris falling to Earth and hitting with great force hanging over the planet's population. All the leaders of the world agreed that the public should be told of the impending disaster that could happen, faction differences were put aside as this threat was faced by all.

The announcements to the public were grave as a danger of this magnitude hadn't been faced since the end of the Alliance-PLANT war. News broadcasts told the truth, uncensored and as was known, the simple fact that the ruin of Junius Seven was hurdling towards Earth in what had been confirmed as a collision course. There were those trying to divert the rock mass' course at the present time, but their chances of success were shrinking. Panic from the masses was marginally contained, but the fear of the inhabitance of the world was evident everywhere.

However, the efforts of those breaking up the ruins of Junius Seven, were not in vain nor too late to prevent a serious cataclysm. The majority of the mass that had been the colony ruins were sailed in paths that would miss colliding with Earth itself. Nevertheless, there were still groups of fragments from Junius Seven that descended down through the atmosphere, especially ranging above and below the equator. After calculations were made as to the general zones of impact, warnings were sent before the rocks began their journey down, and many were evacuated from the estimated impact zones announced. People around the world moved to the shelters that had been built in case of a cataclysm, others watched and held their breath as they began viewing the fragments rain down from the skies.

None were immune to the event, even on the Marshall Islands at an orphanage; Lacus Clyne, Caridad Yamato and Reverend Malchio had listened to the broadcast of what was going on above in space. Caridad and Malchio went about gathering the children up so that they could all proceed to the heavy shelter built under the orphanage. Lacus went looking for Kira, as she hadn't seen him for a bit of time. There were usually two reasons for her not to see Kira during the day; he was playing with a group of the kids, or he had gone out for a short walk. Lacus knew that Kira was worried about both Tyler and Athrun lately. Tyler was still working with the Federation Military and that still held elements of danger with such a job, especially with the ones that Tyler would get. Athrun was actually packed up, much to Cagalli's displeasure so that he could go back to the PLANTs.

Lacus found the one she was looking for on the beach the house was next to, Kira was looking upward at the sky. He did such often at both sunrise and sunset, she joined him sometimes and the pastime was pleasant. However, when Lacus gazed in the same direction, she gasped as she saw the orange lines made from the debris that was falling through the atmosphere. It saddened Lacus to see the clear evidence that the time of peace that had been achieved after the previous war, was coming to its end.

The world was shaken as the first group of fragments that crashed down in the Euros Coalition in the area that the city of Athens and effected the immediate surrounding area. Close to the same time, a collection of fragments struck made a spread across the southern parts of the North African Community and the northern areas of the South African Union, causing damage to a number of settlements. Those areas were but the first to experience the rocks impacting, they were followed by the Atlantic Federation, specifically along its east coast, more the northern half of the coastline. The rain of debris was heavy in the areas of the city of Philadelphia as well as Quebec City to the north. Also, fragment groups from Junius Seven came slamming down in the area of the shared border between the Republic, the Equatorial Union and the Eurasian Federation. And lastly, several fragment collections splashed down in the oceans of the world, mostly coming down around the equator longitudes both to north and to south.

The fragments' impact was only the beginning of their effects to the Earth, for other disasters, both natural and unnatural occurred as a result of the rocks hitting. Tremors rolled out from the impact zones and traveled outward and caused earthquakes and damages to cities a short to moderate distance from the impact zones. Tidal waves and strong tsunamis, typhoons and hurricanes were stirred up from the pieces of Junius Seven that crashed into the oceans. Even after the disasters, the world was left reeling from the effects of the colony pieces coming down on Earth.

Not even a day went by from the time of impact, before Chairman Gilbert Durandal and the other representatives from the PLANTs communicated the wish to be of help and assistance to all of those that had been affected by the falling of Junius Seven. Earth may not have suffered the worst scenario possible, but it had taken a beating and was still reeling and would be for a time going forward. It was generally agreed by most that there were two things that needed to be done to help move on from the event; moving what was left of Junius Seven away from Earth and the long-term recovery from the effects of the fragments striking Earth.

An unofficial alliance between ZAFT, many within the Earth Alliance and the Federation was made for the task of repositioning the remains away from Earth. A group that tended to ally itself with the Federation, known as the Junk Guild, volunteered pitching in by lending use of the device they called GENESIS Alpha. The device was a previous model to the very nuclear weapon used by Patrick Zala during the previous war but was designed for launching ships or large objects extremely long distances. And so, through the combined efforts of those working to move Junius Seven, the colony remains were moved beyond the area that the Federation termed as Lagrange 6.

That left working through the aftermath of the disasters caused by the impact of the pieces of Junius Seven. As promised, the PLANTs sent humanitarian aid to the states of the Earth Alliance and the member nations of the Federation, though the Federation did thank them publicly, even if others did less so or not at all. For some life started returning back to what it had been, while with others, it would never be the same again. And so, the world's course began changing due to one single event, and there were those who were intent to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the event.

Particularly, the man that was known as Lord Djibril decided that it was the perfect time to make the move that he had been planning for a long while. With his influence as the leader of Blue Cosmos with Muruta Azrael out of the way, and a member of LOGO's board, Djibril knew that he could prod the world to shift to demanding that Coordinators be exterminated. Perhaps not right away, but it would get things moving in that direction and that was a step towards the right path and it would be a small success. Djibril could show the patience in obtaining his goals, for that had been the mistake made often by those before himself, moving too fast and being impatient. It was one of the main reasons that things were as they are currently, fools that made haste, get not but waste when all was said and done, yet Djibril would take care not to do such things.

The first step Lord Djibril took, was to use the event of the rain of fragments from Junius Seven by making what happened before the chunks fell public knowledge. In this action, Djibril emphasized the fact that a "ZAFT" unit had started the whole event in motion, even providing photographic and some video evidence to prove his point. All of this was done to manipulate public opinion so that they would cry out for Coordinators needed to pay for what happened. Controlling the public consensus and opinion was the key to both getting what one wanted and keeping yourself from being suspected as long as the manipulation wasn't traced back to the source and Djibril made sure to cover his tracks. The previous war between the Earth Alliance and the PLANTs and ZAFT had gotten respectably close to setting for eliminating Coordinators. So logically, the same idea should have the same chance of success, some tweaking would be necessary, but the obtaining of big goals usually do.

Djibril was satisfied to see that the results of his more in-depth "report" of the colony drop event, was as he wanted. The leaders of the Alliance, especially those in charge of running things within the Atlantic Federation, became enraged and accusatory of the PLANTs and ZAFT. The hatred and fear of Coordinators was being rekindled as Djibril had hoped and as a bonus, Logos would get a fair to good increase in its business. The two years of "peace", profits had not just declined for Logos, it had fell by a problematic margin. As a paramilitary industry, war was one heck of a business driver and provided lots of profit as a result and so it would again.

However, Djibril was disappointed that not even one of the Federation's member nations listened to report of ZAFT being responsible for the recent event. There was no disagreement in the accounting or "mucking of the waters" that could provide a chance to stir up changes. In fact, the news networks which the Federation pretty much ran, were distributing a different version of what brought the ruins of Junius Seven raining down on Earth. It even angered Djibril, but he kept himself calm when others were around. The reaction was a classic display of the Human Federation's famous "Stance of Neutrality". Their high and mighty, more righteous that thou cry, 'the Federation will protect and maintain the ideals and principles we hold, standing united together'. The sediment was quite annoying as far as Djibril was concerned and rather stupid as well.

The stupidity and annoyance of the Federation's mentality had been reinforced during his attendance to the Federation's Horizon Jubilee recently. The party was more an opportunity to broker a few business deals, even when the Federation so rarely agreed or listen to any. It was a frustratingly untapped market that none of his associates or he had managed to get into, though all of them had tried multiple times. It was as a shining pile of gold that was sitting there untouchable and taunting business men like himself. Djibril had not possessed high hopes with the venture, the leaders of the Federation may have been there, but none of them were easily influenced, not even the newest one Marina Ismail, the Equatorial Union's head. Heck, Djibril had even conversed with the "Dragon of the Republic" Ellen Blass, the Republic's standing political leader for the last eighteen years, but the woman had been horrendously stubborn, but annoyingly polite, just shut him down.

Djibril accepted for the moment that influencing and manipulating the Federation was not likely going to happen. Let them keep their stance of neutrality for as long as they wanted, in the end, it would be their undoing. Even now, Djibril gained a smile at the thoughts of the operations already being planned by the Earth Alliance, thanks all to a simple prod in the right direction. The results would be entertaining and satisfying in ways that little had for the last two years.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **Alright, closing remarks for this Phase, a few things I want to draw emphasis to from this Phase. The first is actually at the end of this Phase, about Djibril, he hates Coordinators like in canon, but I want to show him as different than Azrael was, yet similar. I picture Djibril as not as good an actor that Azrael was, but more business minded and so has a different kind of patience and persistence. Next, I'm aware that some will say the party scene I had Tyler in, feels like a filler and not contributing to moving the story forward. However, there was a point to that section, mainly introducing Marina Ismail and Frederick Algreus, along with showing that members of Logos do pop up in the open but aren't blatantly obvious. Finally, the other little tidbit that I put in this Phase that some might note, was what I said about Lanus Treize, which will be explained later on. Keep the reviews coming, they are helpful and appreciated, even if they call me out on things that I missed. Peace out until the next Phase!**

 **Ken Wise**

Thankfully, you will see that Shinn is different than canon in a number of ways and his view of Orb and the Federation is the first. But, there is much of the story to come, so I won't spoil what is to come.

 **ChuChewy**

Thank you, I have fun writing the scenes with Sakura and Tyler, it gives me a chance to give Sakura a different feel than her cold and intimidating reputation implies.


	31. Phase 31: The Scars that Don't Heal

**A/n**

 **I'll say it right now, this Phase is somewhat shorter than previous ones, read the closing remarks to find out why. Anyways, enough from me, standard disclaimer still applies and on with the tale!**

* * *

Phase 31: The Scars that Don't Heal

October 28th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Mid-Atmosphere over the northern hemisphere

The descent of the Minerva and the Normandy through the atmosphere was bumpy, more so for the Impulse Gundam and the Justice Gundam who were sailing beside their respective ships. Once the two ships were outside the Thermosphere, both the Justice and Impulse boarded their ships before they were to hit the water. The Normandy made splashdown a moment before the Minerva did the same, both landings were somewhat rough, but nothing either ship couldn't take.

It didn't take long for either ship to figure out where they had come down, for the scenery, specifically the sight of the Cronos mass driver in the distance told them. They had come down in the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea, which was neutral territory technically, though the Human Federation had the most influence in the sea. Both the Minerva and the Normandy moved forward and were quickly joined by Federation escort vessels coming alongside them. Captain Gladys wasn't worried about the Federation ships, relations between the Federation, the PLANTs and ZAFT had become more than fair since the war ended. True, there wasn't an official or standing alliance between the PLANTs and Federation, but with how things stood, one might as well as say there was to an extent. If things kept moving as they were, then sometime in the future, an alliance between the two factions could happen. Talia, when asked, said that the Minerva was making her course to ZAFT's Gibraltar base as that was the closest to current position. The escort acknowledged the course and said that they would go most of the way with the Minerva to Gibraltar.

As the trip went forward, many were left to reflect upon recent events, for they had changed the state of things for the human race. The Minerva arrived at ZAFT's Gibraltar base by the evening of the day they came down to Earth. The ZAFT base was one of the older ones on Earth that had been built during the First Alliance-PLANT War. It had served as a base of operations for the campaign that had claimed the North African Community from the control of the Earth Alliance. It was the only area on the continent that ZAFT had, as the rest was part of the Federation's Euros Coalition. Geographically, the base was on the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar that separated the African Continent and the Euros Continent. The bonus to the locations, was that the Alliance left the base alone from the Atlantic end, mostly because of the Federation's Asgard Base.

The Minerva docked at Gibraltar, her crew breathing a sigh of relief now that things would hopefully calm down for a time. Their first assignment had been unexpected and taxing, and most were wishing for a rest bit. Captain Gladys did wish the Normandy well as it went onward, likely to Asgard, and she said it had been an honor and pleasure to work alongside the ship again. True, the captain of the Normandy, Tyler McGregor might be young and certainly different than most other commanding officers. However, while his command style was unusual and unique, Talia had to say that it could be effective sometime. How that ship got ahold of the ZGMF-X09A Justice, she couldn't even begin to guess. the mobile suit "went missing" after the Second Battle of Jachin Due without a trace. None of the intelligence agencies had been able to find it nor its sister unit, the ZGMF-X10A Freedom. But, as long as they didn't end out in the hands of the Earth Alliance, it didn't matter particular.

So, with the Minerva now in safe territory and docked, Talia Gladys was left to wonder what would happen next. Bogey One was never technically dealt with, and they had appeared during the colony drop incident and cause issues. Talia knew that what would happen to that ship or the Minerva was out of her hands, but she would still need to write up a report about the ship. Of course, Bogey One was dangerous to be left to its own devices, that had been made clear, but other than that, there was close to no information on the craft or its crew. The things they had done were bold and problematic and so, Talia didn't like to leave such unsaid.

 **-Line Break-**

Around the world, people were coming out from sheltering from the debris that had hit the surface of Earth. The damage from the fragments impacting caused many to question why such a thing had happened at all, it made so little sense. The people which emerged from the shelters they had fled to for safety, took in the results of the fragments' destruction and what had followed. Weeping for the lost echoed, bringing reminders of past horrors and amplified the standing pain and hurt caused by the colony drop.

In Orb, Kira Yamato gazed sadly over what had been the orphanage that he, Lacus and others had been living at, for now it was gone, washed away by the tidal waves. The knowledge that the event that did this, had likely been caused by a few people and all that would be remembered or known about them would be their type and not who they had been, it didn't sit well with Kira. It brought bad memories from the previous war and Kira wished to forget what had happened back during that timeframe. As much as Kira wished that human beings were quick to forgive others and not so stubborn to hold on to memories of horrible events, but he had come to know that such was not the case. No, Kira was sure that this event would be what would be used to justify starting another war and bring back the same kind of horrible things that had come with the previous conflict.

Within the week of the colony drop, news was "released" from an unnamed source, that those which were 'responsible' for the colony drop occurring in the first place, were Coordinators. The news brought about a response and it came hard and threw fuel onto a growing fire. The outcry against Coordinators was loud and the lashing out by a number of groups made against Coordinators on Earth came just as swiftly. For many Coordinators, they fled from the hatred against them, most taking haven within member nations of the Federation, much to the displeasure of those who wanted to attack them. The Federation military cracked down heavily on any that attacked or bullied Coordinators without due cause. And blaming Coordinators for the colony drop wasn't seen as due cause at all by the Federation. Even so, such didn't stop many yelling for Coordinators to pay for what the colony drop had rained down on Earth. The retaliation was hissed at towards the Federation member nations as they were sheltering Coordinators as well as a great deal aimed at the PLANTs.

As public opinion became increasingly bitter against Coordinators, Earth Forces on the moon were preparing for the operation they would soon commence. The Alliance's new Arzachel Lunar base, which was south of where the Ptolemaeus crater had been, was the Lunar HQ of the Alliance. Within the base, ships and mobile suits were being loaded and equipped with nuclear missile launchers to them. The mobile suits were the newest mass production model, the GAT-04 Windam. The machine was based on a variation of the early Dagger suits, but simulations and field test had shown that the Windams were a match for ZAFT mobile suits. The mobile suit had laminated armor rather than phase shift armor and was white overall but had blue on the top of the shoulders and upper torso. The suit had a hardpoints on the back to mount different equipment sets, depending on the situation.

The load of nuclear weapons onto the ships and mounted to the mobile suits kept going at a steady pace. The top brass was waiting for the message telling them to move out and head for the PLANTs to do the job they were readying for. Whether the PLANT Supreme Council agreed to the demands which would be sent or not, it was expected that the Alliance fleet would go out. The expectation was that the PLANTs would refuse the demands, so with that in mind, the Earth Forces were going to attack the PLANTs, in order to protect Earth.

It didn't take long, before a message was made to the PLANTs concerning the air of discontent. Joseph Copeland, the current leader of the Atlantic Federation, was a man in his early forties, had short blonde hair and brown eyes. He addressed the world and colonies at large, but the feeling of the message said that it was directed at the PLANTs.

The message was in the form of an ultimatum, echoing the cries being heard by those on Earth for justice and vengeance for the colony drop. The list of demands came down to four basic points that the 'Alliance' said the PLANTs were to meet or suffer the consequences. The first point concerned the 'terrorists' that were responsible for the Junius Seven falling, for the PLANTs were accused of harboring the terrorists. Said individuals were to be handed over so that they could be tried and punished for their actions and what they had caused. The second demand, was that ZAFT, the PLANT's military stand down and begin the process to disarming and dismantling. The members of ZAFT would not be accused of crimes unless there was solid evidence that they had committed one or more so that there was 'fair treatment'.

The third concession, was for the members of the current PLANT Supreme Council, to step down. Special elections would be held to put new people in the positions of the Council under supervision of selected individuals. That led into the fourth demand, which was to have selected Earth Alliance individuals be assigned to inspect and observe the Supreme Council. It was with the intent to put in place to act as a 'checks and balances' idea for the Council. The terms stated were given in such a way to sound like they were merely to put means in place to prevent the incident of Junius Seven falling from happening again.

However, what came across to the PLANT Supreme Council from the message was quite different from what the words said. The Atlantic Federation's President and through him, the Earth Alliance, were demanding the PLANT's and ZAFT's surrender and submit to the control and dominion of the Alliance. To say that the demands irked those that represented the PLANTs, was an understatement. When read between the line, there were implications made, which if accepted, would give a number in the Alliance the opportunity to abuse Coordinators as they saw fit and there would be little to stop them. Then, those who had been responsible for the colony drop were dead, all of them had been taken down by those who had been working on breaking up the ruins. Handing them over was impossible because of them being dead and likely burning up in the atmosphere.

It was agreed by all on the Council, that the ultimatum was unacceptable and would be rejected. Shortly after the message from the Alliance had been sent, representatives from the Federation contacted the PLANTs, asking to discuss the contents of the message and its implication. The reason for the meeting, was stated as the Human Federation saw the demands as wrong and vailed attempts to control the PLANTs. The Council agreed to meeting with those the Federation sent to the PLANTs along with rejecting the ultimatum. Instead, the members of the council with Chairman Durandal at their head, tried to pursue diplomatic solutions to the clear misunderstanding that had developed. Before the time given in which the demands of the Alliance were to be met, representatives from the Federation arrived at Aprilius One. They were accompanied by a group of Federation Military forces, who joined the ZAFT patrols and defensive lines. ZAFT was preparing themselves to defend the colonies if that became necessary. There was the chanced that the Alliance would come and bring nuclear missiles to fire at the PLANTs.

Even as ZAFT and their temporary allies prepared, the Alliance forces on the moon launched from Arzachel and began making their way toward L5. Meanwhile, Lord Djibril had contacted Joseph Copeland, to see how the planned operation against the PLANTs, "A very rousing speech Mr. President, you set a firm standing for the Earth Alliance that is needed. Now, to matters at hand sir, when is the attack on the PLANTs scheduled to take place, soon I hope," Djibril asked.

Copeland narrowed his eyes at Djibril's inquiry, " _Djibril, your impatience needs to be reined it in. Such things aren't as cut and dry as you seem to think they are, politics aren't the same as business as you seem to believe,_ " he replied.

Djibril grunted a bit annoyingly, dismissing the comment on his impatience needing to be restrained back. He had been patient for years, his wait was nearly over, Djibril wanted to see this all over and done with. To have Coordinators put in their proper place in the system and have all else fall into place. " _The PLANTs are still insistent on negotiating, and that's not all, they have taken steps and put measures into place to placate us. Then, with the cry against Coordinators, the Federation is still against the initiative we've taken against the PLANTs and is setting themselves in opposition to the Alliance both on Earth and presumably in space as well. So, taking dramatic action at this time will have serious consequences attached,_ " iterated Copeland.

Nevertheless, Djibril was in no mood to listen to the drivel the man that was to do what he was told, "Sir, I believe I explained this already, once the PLANTs are out of the way, all the commotion that's happening will fade away." Copeland sighed at hearing Djibril's counter, but Djibril kept going, "When they're gone and forgotten, everything will fall into place and in the end, who will be able to oppose us? The Human Federation? Its member nations or its military?"

Copeland shifted uncomfortably at the questions posed by Djibril, but he didn't back down, " _Don't underestimate the Federation or those who make it up Djibril, those that have, things didn't go well for any of them. As a member of Blue Cosmos, you should know that Muruta Azrael made that mistake and it cost him everything._ "

Djibril hid his irritation at being reminded about the failure of the previous leader of Blue Cosmos. Muruta Azrael had gotten the closest to destroying the PLANTs, there was no real way to deny that, but still he fell short in the task. It had been because of the interference of the Human Federation and their involvement whenever it happened was frustrating. "So, you're still afraid of the Human Federation sir? They are not infallible or unbeatable, rest assured. Think of the world as a system; it needs people who build things, and others that manage things. Without people who managed things, the world would fall into chaos, much like a garden needs a gardener to tend and manage it to keep it from being overrun with weeds and unwanted plants. We all take care of our own 'gardens' and work to make sure it stays pretty. If we let the grass and plants grow as they pleased, then would we call that beautiful, would we call that freedom?"

" _Djibril, you can say that all you want, however,_ " started Copeland.

"That's the way the humans are sir, we want what's around us to be aesthetically pleasing," Djibril cut over Copeland, and continued, "We want things to be well managed, ordered and safe, it's human nature. History is a testament to the mentality, people have always worked to make the world that way and it has been successful. We build cities, designing tools, making rules, all to make things organized and safe. And now, we have a chance to do just that on a level that hasn't been done successfully yet, it is time President Copeland. The sooner that the PLANTs are gone, the sooner we can move on to the next, more pleasant step. We will build a new system for the world that not only work but will bring peace to the human race, even the Human Federation will fall into line in the end."

 **-Line Break-**

Orb Union

A day after the disasters died down, Athrun contacted Kira, first to make sure that he and those with him were alright, and also to hopefully talk with Kira about a decision he was about to make. They agreed to meet along one of the beaches that was close to the place that Kira, Lacus and the orphans would take up residence in. Athrun visited them when he could make the time and the kids had become fond of him, much like they had Tyler when he got around. Honestly, the kids had seen and experienced things that no child should have to go through, both from the Alliance-PLANT war and this most recent incident.

Athrun had borrowed a car to drive to the agreed upon meeting place, traveling for around fifteen minutes. He parked on the side of the road next to the beach and when he looked down towards the sand, Athrun spotted a group of kids that surrounded Kira and Lacus. Athrun walked down to the beach and was quickly noticed by the children. They raced over to Athrun calling his name and peppering him with question after question about where he had been and what he'd been doing. Lacus came up and tried to calm the children down as they were getting wound up and excited seeing Athrun. The children also told Athrun about going into the shelter below the orphanage and the shaking that had shortly followed when the storms and tidal waves crashed into the land. Of course, when they had emerged from the shelter, the orphanage had been in shambles and mostly washed away.

Lacus got the kids to head in the direction of the house they were now living in, leaving Kira and Athrun alone. Kira focused on Athrun after one more look at Lacus and the children, "So then Athrun, you said there was something you wanted to talk about," Kira posed.

Athrun nodded, "Yeah," he said, but then paused, gathering his thoughts. "Kira, do you remember what I asked when we were back here in Orb after the Alliance attack."

Kira nodded slowly, "As I recall, you asked what should we be fighting against," he replied.

"Yes, I also posed how we could do that as well," Athrun added, frowning at thoughts that events currently occurring could possibly develop into the same circumstances there had been when Athrun had asked what to fight against.

Kira put a hand to his chin, "We also agreed that we would look for the answer to that together, and that Tyler would join us in that as well," he mused.

Athrun didn't look Kira in the eye, "I haven't been able to find the answer to that even with the years that have gone by. When I asked Tyler for advice, he said that seeing the need for change is a step forward to start with," Athrun said.

"That sounds like something he would say," Kira replied.

"Yes, he said something to the effect of looking at my priorities and use my talents to defend what I believe in. He also had me say that I not tell Cagalli that he said what he did," Athrun remarked.

Kira didn't answer right away to Athrun's statement, but Athrun waited to hear what his other best friend's thoughts were. "I find myself agreeing with Tyler's sediments, but I also feel that you both have a point in what you feel. I understand you feeling that you're being left behind and holding others back, I've been feeling like that increasingly as of late. However, I've promised myself that I would not take more lives when the war ended but find ways to save them instead, my way of atonement. That's why I chose not to fight in this, perhaps sometime in the future that may change, I don't know. Yet, what Tyler says is also valid, if one fights, then it should be for their belief and by their choice," Kira reasoned. "I take it that you're coming to some sort of decision that will take you away from Orb for a while?"

Athrun nodded in answer to the question, "Yeah, I've decided to go back to the PLANTs. I think that I can do the most to help there and try to defend the peace," Athrun stated.

Kira hummed at the response, "If that's what you think is best, then more power to you Athrun." Kira placed a hand on Athrun's shoulder, "Just don't be a stranger around here, I know for one, that Cagalli would miss you as will I."

They parted ways after that on good terms, Kira going after Lacus and Athrun heading out to find Cagalli. When Athrun went to Cagalli's place, he was told that she was currently in meetings with the Representative Council. Athrun waited for Cagalli to return, looking through news feeds, seeing how the world was taking the fragments of Junius Seven impacting on Earth. It was midafternoon when Cagalli arrived back at the house, and she was pleasantly surprised to see Athrun.

The meetings that she had been required to attend had been long and tedious. The big subject of discussion had been the results of the colony drop disaster, for the repercussion had been far reaching. Cagalli understood the need of aid and help to other nations, the welfare of the world was important. However, why that should mean Orb bowing down and allying itself with the Atlantic Federation as some of the representatives suggested, was ridiculous. It had been Unato Ema Seiran, one of the ministers of Orb, that had suggested the idea of working with the Atlantic Federation. The man had influence, being a member of the Seiran Family, but the idea had been put down by the majority of the other representatives, including Cagalli's father. Sharing in the grief of the losses incurred was good in Cagalli's view but agreeing with the cries of retribution were not helpful to anyone.

So, coming home and seeing Athrun helped lift a weight off her shoulders, but then, spending time with Athrun normally did for several reasons. "Athrun, you didn't say that you would be coming by today, of course, you're always welcome," Cagalli greeted. "I'm sorry if you had to wait long, the meetings went longer than I had expected them to, there was an amount to talk about."

Athrun waved a hand in dismissal, "It's fine Cagalli, I understand that you're busy now that you're back in Orb. With the colony drop, the leaders of Orb are working hard to ease tensions and help the victims of the disasters that followed, yourself included," Athrun iterated.

Cagalli sighed at the truth of what Athrun said, for she had little in the idea of a break other than the few short periods of sleep. She took the chair next to Athrun at the table he sat at, "So, what is Orb's standing with how things are currently," Athrun asked.

Cagalli considered the question, what was Orb's standing? Even with the suggestion to have a truce and an unofficial loose alliance with the Earth Alliance, the decision was to stay with the Human Federation, united with the other member nations. Cagalli's father Uzumi, had been the first to counter the idea from Unato Seiran, but those two butted head often enough. Finally, Cagalli spoke, "Well, it's not like we in Orb can't understand the pain and grief that has come from the fragments of Junius Seven falling to Earth. Granted, Orb may have not been hit as badly as other places in the world were, and I get what some are saying about sharing the burden of grief. Yet, sharing the grief and helping in moving on from it shouldn't mean that we join those who scream for revenge and retribution. Doing that would go against many of our core beliefs that Orb has in common with the rest of the Human Federation."

Athrun found himself aligning with the view Cagalli was saying, but he knew that there was far more to this growing situation than the public knew. He knew that the hatred between Natural-types and Coordinators never had gone away after the Alliance-PLANT War ended. If anything, then the hatred and what it brought with it was still around and had been merely smoldering. Acts that were because of the hatred had been kept out of the open, since it had been made clear that such things would be punished. Nonetheless, much had changed with the colony drop, feelings had soured and had come close to a breaking point. The news feeds had been getting that point across quite well to Athrun, the demands from the public for 'justice' and vengeance were getting worse with the passage of time.

This brought Athrun to the reason that he had come to see Cagalli, to say farewell before leaving for the PLANTs. And he thought it best to just say the point outright, "Cagalli, I've decided to go back to the PLANTs."

Cagalli's head whipped around to have her staring at him, "Wait, what?"

"I really don't wish to leave Orb with things as they are currently, but I can't just sit around and do nothing. That said, I think it's the best choice that I can make right now, but I didn't want to go without telling you first," Athrun finished.

"But, Athrun," Cagalli started protesting.

Athrun took ahold of Cagalli's shoulders, "I know this may seem sudden, but I don't believe I can sit around here and do nothing any longer as things stand anymore," he reasoned.

Cagalli was having an internal battle, a fight between her wanting Athrun to say and yet, she didn't want to appear to be controlling him. Athrun had been unknowingly been helping her keep Minister Unato's son Yuna from bugging her. Yuna and Cagalli were in an arranged marriage made by Unato, 'for the future of Orb' being the reason. With Athrun sticking next to her, Yuna had less opportunity to get closer to her. Plus, even if she wasn't to say it out loud yet, she would miss Athrun and wanted him to stay. "A-Are you sure about this Athrun," Cagalli asked.

It took a moment for Athrun to order what he wanted to convey, "The news feeds don't give the full picture I know, but they give a grim and hauntingly familiar one. I'm worried what could happen with the feelings going around, both to the PLANTs and to Earth and that's why I need to go. I can make a difference and protect the peace that lives were lost and sacrificed for in the war, and perhaps help curtail such things being repeated," Athrun answered.

Cagalli had nothing she could say in response to Athrun's logic, for she understood and agreed with it at heart. But, she also wanted to believe that fighting could be avoided as conflict couldn't be solved by fighting. "With Chairman Durandal at its head, I doubt the PLANTs would do something drastic against Earth. But, the ones that made Junius Seven fall… I think they were following the ideals that my father had during the latter part of the war. As long as there's a chance to stop things from descending into something like the Alliance-PLANT war again, I need to try," Athrun stated firmly.

"Athrun," Cagalli uttered.

The two walked to the front door and headed outside as the transport that would take Athrun to the spaceport was to arrive soon. Athrun continued on the tangent he had been iterating, "If the current course of events doesn't change, the Earth and the PLANTs will likely end out as enemies as they were before. If that happens, then what has all the effort for peace been for? I think there's still time to prevent tragedies of the past from happening again."

The sound of aircraft engines began making itself known and soon thereafter, the sight of the heli craft appeared, approaching the open area in front of the residence. It swung itself into position and then, came down and landed on the ground, letting its two engines idle.

Athrun glanced at Cagalli again after seeing that his ride was here and was unhappy to see the expression on her face. Cagalli was clearly not pleased that Athrun was leaving and it hurt him to witness it. "Look, I know about the whole situation between you and Yuna Seiran," he said.

Cagalli's head whipped up and gazed at Athrun in mild shock, showing that she thought that he knew little to nothing about the arranged marriage. Honestly, it hadn't been hard to figure out, the way Yuna acted around Cagalli, attempting to cause Athrun to be jealous of him, it hadn't worked yet. Even naïve minded Kira knew about the arranged marriage, and if he could figure it out… then it wasn't hard to do so. Athrun took a deep breath, "And even know about it and have no say in the matter, that doesn't mean that I have to like it," Athrun continued.

Then before Cagalli could say or do anything, Athrun fetched the ring that he had purchased, grabbed her left hand and slipped the ring on her ring finger. Cagalli looked down at the ring, her eyes widening at the sight, before she looked back at him. "W-What is this Athrun," she stuttered. Athrun said nothing in reply to the question, just felt his cheeks turning red as this was one of the more open ways that he had shown how he felt about Cagalli.

"Giving a ring to someone isn't something you just spring on them," Cagalli shot at him somewhat loudly. However, internally Cagalli would be lying if she didn't admit that she was jumping for joy and was very pleased and happy at this completely unexpected gesture. Heck, she had to resist the strong urge to pounce on Athrun, hug and kiss him and saying yes over and over to the implications the ring gave to her. Sure, she had kind of secretly hoped and been hinting non-verbally to Athrun to tell her that he felt the same as she did about him. If the ring and its position was anything to judge by, then Athrun more than like her just as she did with him.

"Sorry about… actually, no, I'm not sorry for this, it's my way of saying what I can't seem to be able to say with words myself yet," Athrun stated.

He may have not have said the three words Cagalli wanted to hear, but this was as close as one could get without doing that. She could wait for a while longer for him to say what he truly felt towards her. "Take care and keep in touch Athrun," Cagalli said softly, smiling.

Athrun then took her by surprise by drawing her close and kissed her, Cagalli quickly hugged Athrun back, enjoying the gesture and felt all the stress she had fade away. When the kiss ended Athrun gazed at her face one more time, "Never lose hope Cagalli," he said and then headed for the Heli.

Athrun apologized to the pilot for making them wait, and was told that it was fine, before they lifted into the air. The Heli made the journey to the spaceport, delivering Athrun to the shuttle that would take him up into space. After ascending, Athrun dropped off and slept through a good portion of the trip to the PLANTs.

When Athrun arrived at Aprilius One, he was met by a man that was a liaison between him and Gilbert Durandal. Upon questioning him, Athrun found out that things were even grimmer than he had expected they would be and he hadn't had high expectations. According to the man, the Alliance was demanding outrages things and weren't listening to anything the Supreme Council said in response. Chairman Durandal was doing his best to open dialogs and settle this through diplomacy, but with the Alliance's current standing and mood, that wasn't likely going to work. With things as they were, it was uncertain how long it would be before Athrun would get a meeting with the Chairman. Athrun could understand the stress of things but worry still crept into him as he felt the growing tension.

 **-Line Break-**

Orders came in and Alliance vessels which were on their way towards the Lagrange 5. There was still more time before the ultimatum was to be answered and either fulfilled or refused, but for those who were in control didn't care. To them, this was an opportunity to start things moving in the direction the wanted. The mood among the Alliance fleet was serious and focused. The way the operation had been stated, this task was for the protection and future of Earth, and failure would spell major disaster. As the Alliance fleet was heading for the PLANTs, the situation the human race found itself in, took a turn that many had hoped wouldn't happen. One announcement set the tone, from the Atlantic Federation's president, stating that attempts to reason with the PLANTs had not gone as hoped and that measures would be taken at midnight of that day. The world held its breath and watched to see what would result from this, whether it would turn into a war like the previous one.

When the Alliance ships got into range of Lagrange five, mobile suits launched and all prepared to face-off against the ZAFT defense forces. At the same time, ZAFT forces headed out to defend their homeland from the impending attack. The Alliance had had brought the fight to them and so ZAFT would defend the PLANTs at any and all costs. Tension mounted as the two groups drew closer to one another and burst when the battle began.

The fighting was going in earnest between the two sides, while unnoticed, as small Alliance group was waiting, hidden from view. When ZAFT forces were mostly focused on the main Alliance fleet, the smaller group moved forward towards the PLANTs from the polar side of L5 with their 'payloads' they were to deliver. Windams, equipped with nuclear missile launchers launched from the vessels in the small Alliance group and move forward ahead of the ships all outside of the detection net that ZAFT had set up. However, in that point the Alliance was wrong, as the ZAFT patrols were bolstered by Federation forces that were around the PLANTs. The scouts spotted the smaller group approaching and even recorded that they were carrying nuclear missiles.

Yet, as the Alliance machines closed more distance between them and their target, they were forced to halt as they came under attack but ZAFT and Federation mobile suits. Of course, if stopping the nuclear carrying machines was feasible, then it would be done, but the small Alliance force was just slowed down and delayed. The time bought, was used to move a few Nazca-class ships to be in between the nuclear weapons and the colonies. To one of the vessels was attached a newly developed device called a Neutron Stampeder. The device was made up of two large anchoring structures that sat on the wings of the ship and also acted as targeting systems. The center part was set over the launching catapult with a central rod that was its quantum Fresnel lens. Connected to the rod was neutron collection fins, six on both sides of the rod, which collected the energy for the use of the Stampeder.

With the Federation having suspected a stunt by the Alliance, the information had been given to the PLANTs, so that they might prepare for the worst case scenario. And so, the Stampeder had been readied earlier than originally planned, just in case nuclear weapons were involved. Admittedly, it wouldn't be the first time that Alliance forces had tried using nuclear weapons to take out the PLANTs, unfortunately, it was a reoccurring theme with some.

So, Neither the approach, nor the positioning was seen or noticed by the Alliance as Federation forces were cloaking their movement. But, once in position the camouflage was dropped, and the stampeder began charging up. The Alliance suits and ships noted the odd equipment that one Nazca carried, but for the most part, they ignored those who were in their way. The main reason for this, was the Windams had come into firing range of the colonies. With most of the Alliance pilots being trigger happy and some of them being members of Blue Cosmos, they didn't wait for orders. They fired the nuclear missiles they had and watched as they soared towards the PLANTs, believing victory was at last theirs.

Nonetheless, as they fired, the neutron stampeder's fins lit up, a ring of light appeared for a moment, then a wave of neutron energy blasted forward. The wave engulfed the missiles and caused them to detonate where they were. The Windams shortly followed the missiles in their destruction as the neutron wave wiped them out. Alliance vessels behind them suffered the same fate as their nuclear loads exploded from the neutron wave. The sight of the nuclear missiles being destroyed was a somewhat comforting one to the military leaders of ZAFT and those on the Supreme Council. It had been a close call and would have likely been closer still if not for the warning and information from the Federation's military.

At seeing the nuclear strike fail, the Alliance fleet retreated, taking the losses they suffered and vowing that they wouldn't be caught off-guard next time. The other lesson that was taken away from this attempt, was the real danger posed by an alliance between the PLANTs and ZAFT with the Human Federation. Such couldn't be ignored, for that would only spell cataclysmic disaster for the Earth Alliance.

Within the PLANTs, the citizens were not pleased at all to have to witness the explosions of nuclear weapons in close proximity once again. The sight had brought back very painful and negative memories to many, like Junius Seven and what the Alliance-PLANT war had done, though it had ended years ago. There were those that even demanded that ZAFT respond in kind to the "Natural-types" and shoot nuclear missile at them.

However, Chairman Durandal knew that such an idea would cause far more problems than it would solve. Where the Earth Alliance was composed of mostly Natural-types, there was a portion of the Human Federation that was made up of them as well. The Federation had helped out in this situation, but they were also a very powerful faction, arguably the strongest of the three factions of the human race. Making them enemies right now would be a serious mistake, Durandal knew, so de-escalation was the best course of action. Therefore, he used a plan that he had come up with in case there was a need to calm the masses, that being, having a stand-in for Lacus Clyne take the stage.

Durandal would have like to have the real Lacus Clyne helping him, for he couldn't deny that the girl had a way with words that was rare. But, she had disappeared without a trace just after the previous Alliance-PLANT war and all his efforts to find her had not turned up anything. Her father Siegel Clyne had been the same, heck the man had been offered his position of Chairman of the Council, he had refused, then disappeared like his daughter. So, Durandal had found a young woman that would fit his needs and done the necessary changes so that she could pose as Lacus Clyne and few to none be any the wiser.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Eastern Atlantic Ocean

The Normandy sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar after seeing the Minerva to the ZAFT base and exchanging farewells. With how things were going, the Normandy was set to arrive at Asgard just after sunrise. Lisa was taking the night shift for the bridge which would have me free until we get to Asgard. But, the unfortunate thing about being in charge of a vessel, is you don't get the same freedoms as everyone else does, just lots more responsibilities. That's one of the things about this current assignment that I've quickly grown to not enjoy, the responsibilities that generate mounds of freaking reports that I then in turn have to write!

Now, I'm not saying that I am a stranger to writing reports or anything, for I begrudgingly am used to creating them. The difference now, it that I have to justify what I do or order and then defend my decision with logic and protocol. If it was only logic I needed to use to defend my standing and position, I would be fine, golden even for I can logically justify what I do. However, the same can't be said about protocol, for it's not something that helps me much or often. You see, protocol and I have this well-established relationship, almost from the first day of basic training going forward, we don't get along. Oh sure, I follow protocol and rules when I can and have to, which surprisingly, doesn't happen as often as the "necessity" to ignore them does. To me, the goal of a mission is to get the best results with the least amount of lives lost by whatever means are needed, plain and simple. With me now a captain, it's hard for me to use that mentality to get things done and it's seriously irritating me!

Let me use the most recent event of the colony drop incident as an example of what I'm talking about. Protocol would state that should have disabled the thrusters that were pushing the mass towards Earth, to buy time for the meteor breakers to work. Never mind that those setting them were being picked off by those responsible for the whole situation, apparently that didn't come into the equation or something like that. Then the Alliance vessel from Armory One had shown up and made things more difficult, again, didn't factor into the equation, why I don't know. Anyways, I was now to justify why I did what I did, including going out myself to the field as captains are "discouraged" to do such things. Honestly, I kind of want to go back to being a commander again, I got much less flak and hassle than I do now!

So, I took an hour to write out my report, silently cursing whoever would be reading this later. However, I would intermediately chuckle as I would write a line that would either have the reader fuming intensely or laughing their head off. But then, I'm the kind of person that has a… different sense of humor, the kind that has one turning the dial marked awesome up to eleven, ripping it off and then run away laughing and cackling with the utmost glee! I tend to keep that contained and restrained a good portion of the time, yet at times like writing reports, it comes out and I don't stop it. Once done writing the "report", I sent it off, wondering who it was that would be reading it. There are some that I could see dropping to the floor and rolling around involuntarily laughing, but there are also those that it would be the opposite. Oh well, it's not like I've not been in trouble before, so whatever comes will be fine in the end.

I did manage to get together with my bed and get some sleep before the Normandy came to Asgard. The alarm going off was unwelcome when it did, but I did roll out of bed… yet, silly me, I forgot the Normandy wasn't in space at the moment. That being said, I dropped to the floor, which woke me up, but also made me kind of mad. I picked myself up off the floor and dressed in my uniform, before heading to the bridge. Upon entering, I saw that the sun was rising and that Asgard was coming into view from the front view port.

The Asgard Base is the military headquarters of the Federation Military on Earth and there really is no argument in that by either of the other two factions. It's actually nicknamed the "Unassailable Fortress of the Federation", mostly because all attempts that have been made by the Alliance or ZAFT have failed. The base is built on a large island that was called Iceland before the Reconstruction War. The central interior area of the island is where the Federation's military command is, training facilities and some civilian areas are. Civilians are permitted to come to Asgard, but there are lots of hoops and hurtles to get over for them to be allowed to come. Along the perimeters of the island, were lookout posts and the main defensive guns and batteries that shoo away those that try to attack Asgard. The other point of note, which neither the Alliance nor ZAFT know about yet, would be the two and soon to be third orbital cannons that had been built over the two years since the last war. Said cannons should be able to take out any vessels above that could drop mobile suits down to Asgard.

The base is literally built as a fortress that sieging is extremely difficult, between its set defenses and the amount of forces stationed there. ZAFT has only tried once and quickly backed off after seeing that Asgard would not be an easy target. The Alliance on the other hand, have yet to have that lesson to sink into their skulls. They make attempts against Asgard every once and a while, in close to a routine supposedly by what I hear.

The Normandy was directed to the dock it was assigned to and even during the approach, it was clear that everyone here was on high alert. I'd heard rumors that the Alliance had been gathering forces for something, but no clue as to what. Once the Normandy was locked into the dock, I was ordered to central command, likely to give my report as to the colony drop incident. The meeting was boring to me, but I got through it and was told that the Normandy was to be on standby for the time being. Apparently, there was an Alliance assault expected soon enough by the evidence acquired, though I don't know if that is fact yet. Also, the Aurora was being sent from Teswa to here at Asgard and would arrive today. I would have to thank Carlos for that when I see him next! The Justice would be sent back to Teswa for repair and storage. We would be left to wait and see what would happen with the Alliance.

Still, I did not figure they would do what they did! I mean, I knew there were those that still wanted to fire nukes at the PLANTs, but I didn't think enough of them were in positions to get that to happen. But, indeed that's what the Alliance attempted doing, though they failed due to the actions of the Federation and ZAFT working together. However, I felt that the Alliance won't take this loss and failure nicely or let it be the end of their plans. It is becoming clearer with each passing day and event, in this war that the Earth Alliance has started, staying neutral will be much harder than it was in the last war and it wasn't easy then.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **Okay, I know that this seem like kind of an odd spot to leave off on, but I do it for a reason. This Phase may feel like a bit of a filler, but it is written for a point and that is setting up for what is coming up next. The next Phase will be different than this one and the setup will make more sense I hope. This phase was for Djibril and showing his control over the Alliance, along with the reaction to the Junius Seven drop mostly. Hope you readers are enjoying the Destiny timeline so far within this story. Peace Out!**


	32. Phase 32: Vailed Tactics

**A/n**

 **I doubt I need to say this, but this Phase is longer than the last few, but there is a reason. But, I won't spoil what's coming up in this Phase. My standard disclaimer is still up and ongoing and I stand by it, on with the where I left off!**

* * *

Phase 32: Vailed Tactics

November 4th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Aprilius One, L5

Athrun waited with the man that had met him upon arriving at Aprilius One, since apparently Chairman Durandal was busy. Yet, as time moved on, Athrun became more and more antsy, it came from the building tension from recent events. There came a point when Athrun just couldn't sit anymore, so he rose, telling the man that he was going to wash his face and freshen up. Once Athrun had splashed water onto his face, he gazed up into the mirror and wondered if this trip to talk to Chairman Durandal was really the best course of action as it had seemed like. After all, during the previous war, things had seemed the same way as they were now at first but turned out being the complete opposite later on.

He was making his way back to the waiting room, when along the way he heard a voice, "Yes, I understand, don't worry about that, how much time do we have."

Athrun had come to a stop about halfway through hearing the sentence, for the voice was Lacus' of all people, but that couldn't be right! He made his way to the top of the stairs he was on, then looked around for the source of the voice speaking. His gaze fell upon a girl that by Athrun's mind shouldn't be there, for by all appearances, Lacus was standing around forty feet or so away from him. There was even a Haro ball robot bouncing up and down next to 'Lacus', though Athrun had not made one which was the crimson color the Haro he was see was.

However, this made no sense, Lacus was living in Orb and had been for close to two years now with Kira, so how and why would she be here on Aprilius One?

The only differences that Athrun could spot from where he stood, was the hairclip she was wearing along with the outfit. Lacus normally wore the twin wave clip in her hair, it was the one she liked according to her, instead there was a star shaped gold hairclip. Then the outfit… well, he imagined that there could be a slim chance that Lacus would maybe wear such clothing for a performance. But other than that, Lacus wouldn't wear something so revealing, more so these days, not even to attract Kira, since the naïve fool wouldn't catch the drift. So, Athrun was left to wonder what was going on here for this scene to exist, for it didn't fit with what he knew at all. He couldn't help but utter one word as he kept staring at the girl conversing with two men, "Lacus?"

A moment later, as if his utterance had been some sort of signal, the girl turned and spotted Athrun standing and staring at her with surprise written on his face. The girl gained a big smile on her face, "Athrun," she cried and quickly raced towards him.

Athrun just felt more confused at this development, he didn't know who this was! Sure, this girl may look like Lacus physically in more than an uncanny way, but she couldn't be her. This girl was a complete stranger to him and to have a stranger call your name like they knew you well, it brought a strange and awkward feeling to him. He felt more awkward when the girl came up and hugged him, claiming she was happy that he'd come to see her. When the girl pulled back a little and looked at Athrun, his mouth spoke without his brain instructing it, "Wha-What are you doing here?"

"I've been waiting such a long time Athrun, waiting for you to come and see me," 'Lacus' replied.

Athrun was left stunned at this whole situation, none of it at all made any modicum of logical sense. Lacus had never been like this in front of other people, definitely not so open and dare he say flamboyant as this girl was heading towards. True, she was very outgoing in her performances and singing, but outside of that she was usually more reserved than this girl.

 **-Line Break-**

Unknown Location on Earth

On Earth, Alliance leaders were scrambling to figure out what to do next, both the Earth Forces' top brass and the top political officials. The failure to deal a blow against the PLANTs had made things difficult as morale began diving down once knowledge of the event went public. Those feelings had shaken the faith in doing the operations that were in motion to press against ZAFT and also to make it clear to the Federation how things would go. The upcoming assault that was planned on the Federation's Asgard base was to leave no doubt what the normal behavior of the Federation was known for would get them. The interference of the Federation made with the operation against the PLANTs hadn't been appreciated at all! So, the attack was also a way to get back at the Federation.

But, the set back from failure to have a victory against ZAFT and the PLANTs, it was causing doubts and serious worried to spread throughout the OMNI Enforcer and the Alliance itself. The taking of the Federation's Asgard was seen by those in charge as important, whether it was by military force or through political means wasn't the point. If it came to using force, then if the base could somehow be taken, it would be the first major victory against the Federation Military and the Earth Alliance needed a serious morale boost and that would provide one. And even if it came to an attack and it failed completely, the intelligence gained from it would be helpful for later tries against the base. Yet, there were parts of the OMNI Enforcer that were losing confidence in the leaders of the Alliance and those they listened to.

An amount of brainstorming had and was being done to figure out a way to change and improve the standing of the Earth Alliance. For politically, publicly and militarily, the Earth Alliance's reputation was plummeting like a stone very quickly in a very bad way. Really, the feasible way to help in the efforts in this new war was to have more support and allies that WOULD assist in the efforts. However, as things were, few would willing help the Alliance that weren't already member states of the Alliance. Work was being put into trying to convince the member nations of the Federation into 'helping' the Alliance and allow to force needed actions later on. However, setting up a treaty that would allow that was difficult, for it had to be subtle and unsuspected to work at all.

For those who funded the Alliance, Logos in particular, many of the members were angry at Djibril as he had promised a 'quick victory' against the PLANTs and ZAFT, yet he had failed spectacularly. Djibril was himself, frustrated at being blamed for the thwarted attempt to use nuclear weapons to wipe out the PLANTs. Everything had been going just as they were supposed to, ZAFT had been distracted by the main fleet and the attack group had gotten into firing range of the colonies. Then things had gone wrong, the interference of the Federation's military and ZAFT's unknown countering weapon coming into play.

" _This is no laughing matter Djibril, do you have an explanation for this debacle,_ " asked one of the other board members of Logos.

" _Indeed, look how easily they wiped us out,_ " said another, and there were muttering of agreement from others.

" _Then explain why the Federation's military was around the PLANTs in the first place? Have they allied with ZAFT without us knowing,_ " asked a different board member.

Djibril was doing what he could to control his temper, but having his 'failure' pointed out, dissected and then criticized made such a task much more difficult. How in the hell was he supposed to have known what ZAFT had prepared or that the Federation would stick their noses where they weren't needed or wanted and interfere with the nuclear strike?! It had been the job of Phantom Pain to acquire intel on that from the Federation's Information Network for this operation. That was supposed to include possible means that ZAFT might have to counter a nuclear strike, yet they had been unable to bring the data back intact.

" _Yes, and what was that weapon that ZAFT used to handle the nuclear missiles, what information is there about it,_ " questioned yet another.

There was a mix of angry muttering and irritated hissing from the participants of this meeting, while Djibril still said nothing. The fools that were his associates were snipping at one another and it was irritating, more so when they took shots at himself. " _It's like we heartily dashed out with declaring war, but retreated after getting bloody noses,_ " exclaimed one angrily. " _Is this scenario of your that YOU wrote Djibril, some kind of joke?! Or is this a means to embarrass some of us for your enjoyment and pleasure?_ "

The muttering between the other board members rose in volume once more but fell shortly thereafter. " _I would think that the president of the Atlantic Federation is very likely having second thoughts about doing business or working with us at all. With the results like this, it would be surprising if he wasn't,_ " said the second board member that had spoken about being wiped out.

" _This could seriously jeopardize the plans to oust ZAFT from Carpentaria and Gibraltar among their other bases. The Alliance forces are still waiting for their orders to start those tasks. Should we turn and flee after shaking our fists, then we'd become the worst laughingstock that the human race has ever seen,_ " stated another worriedly.

" _We all know what is at stake, the question is, what do we do now,_ " posed one of the more senior Logos board members. " _Whom should be held responsible for this turn of events? Should it be you Djibril?_ "

Djibril's frustrations came to their breaking point and he could no longer stay silent while associates took potshots at him. "Me, responsible for all of these problems, that is simply ridiculous," Djibril exclaimed, much to the surprise of the majority of the other board members. Some were muttering to one another as Djibril continued, "We are at war ladies and gentlemen! That is fact and it's more important and essential now that we win this conflict and blaming one another isn't helping our cause. You've all witnessed the footage, they possess a weapon that erased our nuclear forces in an instant. Can any of you feel remotely safe with monsters having such power hanging over our heads? If so, then you can explain how to the rest of us in this meeting."

There was silence to Djibril's challenge, so he kept going, "No, we must keep fighting against the monsters to protect everything we hold dear!" Djibril took a moment to calm himself and reestablish his composure, "The goal is still unchanged ladies and gentlemen, the plan needs revision, even I admit that, but we'll make it better than the last. And when we succeed, Coordinators will be put in their proper place and the human race will become as it should be!"

" _And what about the Human Federation and its military Djibril, what is to be done about them in your grand scheme? Ignoring them is a mistake that cost the Earth Alliance victory in the previous war, I would hope that you do not have the inclination to do the same,_ " posed a senior board member.

"The 'Mighty Human Federation' will have to make a choice, their stance of neutrality will not be an acceptable excuse anymore," Djibril stated coolly. "Either they support Natural-types, or Coordinators, claiming to back both is a luxury that can't be tolerated any longer. They either join us on Earth, or they will be our enemies in this war, there is no middle ground."

Within the remainder of the meeting, the proposed solution that was concocted by Logos and fed to the Earth Alliance, was to make draft up a "treaty" so that perhaps others could be drawn in. To calm much of the public on Earth were still crying for vengeance for the colony drop, even if that was in more Alliance controlled territory than Federation areas, the "World Security Organization" was drawn up. The idea overall was introduced to the whole world, was to come together and work to keep the world safe from "threats" and creating peace going forward for all the population of Earth.

Discussion among the member nations of the Federation of the proposal commenced. Each of the governments of the member nations, poured over the document that was the Atlantic Federation's Security Treaty. Overall, the treaty itself appeared like a good idea it would help tone down the tension that had been developing for those on Earth. But, the more that Federation leaders looked over page after page of the proposed treaty, the more it seemed suspect of more than just working together as the writers claimed it was. This suspicion grew as pressure for an answer was applied shortly after the full treaty was given to the non-Alliance states. As a week past after the Security Organization Treaty was proposed, the leaders of the Alliance became ever more insistence on an answer. Offers of cooperation and peace on Earth were being promised if the Federation were to agree to the treaty were whispered from the Alliance.

No nation was left out of this plea and pressure, for Orb, the treaty caused a divide in the Representative Council. The council was divided between two sides when it came to this security treaty, on one side were those that were for signing the treaty with the Alliance, on the other was those who were against it entirely. Unato Seiran was the 'leader' of those that were signing the treaty, while Uzumi Athha was the head of those where were against the treaty. The main argument used by both sides, was the Alliance's recent attack on the PLANTs. Unato argued that to protect Orb and preventing it from burning as it did during the last war, allying with the Alliance would be the best option. Lord Uzumi countered that logic with the simple truth that the Alliance had decided to use nuclear weapons against those they deemed their enemies and asked how long it would be before they did that to others again. In the end, Lord Uzumi rallied the majority of the Council to his side and it was agreed that the treaty was full of too many potential loopholes that could be exploited by the Alliance to sign the agreement with them. Yet, the decision's vote was won by a slim margin between the two sides.

Just as the decision was being reached in Orb, Prime Minister Blass commenced a broadcast that was transmitted to the entire world and the colonies. When the broadcast was made live, much like when Ellen Blass had given her speech during the latter part of the previous war, it caught the attention of many. Even those that disliked the standing and 'stubborn beliefs' that the "Dragon of the Republic" had, such as members of Logos, viewed the live feed.

" _My fellow human beings, we live in an age that the days are seemingly dark, and fear is everywhere. The shouts of justice and vengeance have been twisted into cries that demand retaliation and revenge. We of the human race are on the precipice of repeating one of the most horrible mistakes which has occurred recently in human history,_ " Ellen began.

The Republic's Prime Minister's words cause those listening to stop and think, yet still listen, " _The dropping of the ruins of Junius Seven have been tragic and have taken everything from many. The sorrow and pain felt is not something that should be held inside and passed off as nothing, for such emotions are real and wrench at the one's heart and soul. However, do not let others stoke that into the desire for revenge and retaliation against those who were not involved,_ " Ellen reasoned. " _It is true, that a group of Coordinators as responsible for moving and then dropping fragments of Junius Seven down on Earth. Nonetheless, that by no means, infers or translates into all Coordinators wishing to hurt or harm Natural-type human beings. Those who would say otherwise, are attempting to twist and manipulate individuals for their own purposes. Unfortunately, those who I identified as humankind's enemy still exist and are once again hard at work. Do not give heed to them, I urge you not to, they care nothing about anyone or anything but themselves._ "

Members of Logos weren't pleased at hearing the subject of 'humankind's enemy', for it was referring to them. Djibril was both angry and amused at this broadcast, first amused at the foolish sediments from Ellen Blass, but angry at how she was attempting to undo the work that had been done to get the current war started.

"This war declared by the Earth Alliance, specifically the Atlantic Federation, is unnecessary and uncalled for. And I would advise that its president Joseph Copeland carefully reconsider his nation's current course of actions." Ellen then held up a collection of documents, "Whoever it was that drafted this "World Security Organization" proposal, should be seriously questioned about their motives! President Copeland, if you have not read this proposal from beginning to end, then take the time to do so. If you have and somehow agree with what this proposal contains, then you are either unfit to lead the Atlantic Federation or you do not understand what these documents intend."

Ellen slapped the document collection for emphasis, " _This proposal, is a means to undermine the core beliefs, principle and values that we in the Human Federation uphold! It goes further in an attempt to manipulate and overrule the governments of the member nations of the Federation. As far as the Republic of East Asia is concerned, this World Security Organization treaty as it is written, is utter garbage! Therefore, the Republic will not accept nor participate with it in any way, along with questioning what the intentions are of those who are its authors!_ "

With the standing of the Republic set in an unquestioned way, the broadcast came to a close. The leaders of the Euros Coalition shortly followed with their own refusal to the creation of the Alliance's World Security Organization. Stating that they were in full agreement with the statements made by Ellen Blass. The Orb Union was next in refusing this proposal to allying with the Alliance for the security of Earth, also agreeing with stated sediments. The other two member nations gave very similar messages of rejection and agreement to questioning intention of the Alliance.

The disappointment of the leaders of the Earth Alliance was deep, since all the Federation's member nations ended out rejecting the proposal, 'standing together' as they tended to most times. Even if this result was kind of expected, it was still an unwelcome result for the Earth Alliance and members of Logos were the most displeased by the outcome and statements made. They had been insulted indirectly by Ellen Blass and her speech would have farther reaching repercussions that would now have to be dealt with. Plus, Logos had gotten their hopes up on getting access to Federation technology, something they hadn't been able to do before. Federation technology was still ahead of ZAFT and the Earth Alliance development and the Federation kept it like that much to the irritation of both. The other issue that the refusal of the Federation member nations brought, was the use of their mass drivers would be denied for military use if not all use by the Alliance. There had been a couple of loopholes tucked into the treaty that would have made it possible to force allowing use of them for the Alliance.

 **-Line Break-**

Off the East Coast of the Atlantic Federation

The descent from orbit was routine for Neo Roanoke and the Extended trio, though the sudden reassignment was a tad unusual. Granted, with recent events likely played a part, the colony drop and the following assault attempt against the PLANTs failing had shaken the standing of the Earth Alliance as seen by the majority of the world. Neo had thought that the nuclear strike against the PLANTs had been a little too ambitious at the time. With the demands being made of the PLANTs, it had caused the other two factions to get together and discuss things, a potentially dangerous turn. And so, it had proven to be the failure of the operation, as well as a case of why ZAFT and the Federation working together would be detrimental to the Earth Alliance.

Then, Alliance political leaders had gotten the idea into their heads that they could somehow convince the member nations of the Federation into a deal to work together. In truth, the intention was to put the Federation in the position that they could be manipulate them to do what they wanted. It was a stupid and foolish idea, and like the attempts during the First Alliance-PLANT War, this "World Security Organization" Treaty had been rejected in the end by all of them. The Human Federation had always been stubborn and held to their ideal of not having an agenda behind what they do, only nobility and the "preservation of humanity". However, Neo doubted that the Federation would be staying quiet or out of this new war for long, really the Alliance wasn't going to give them the option or choice. The risk of an alliance between them and the PLANTs was too high, and such would spell disaster to no end if ignored.

Where Neo understood and agreed with those ideas in principle, he wasn't so readily to agree with the planned actions the "top brass". The operation that Neo and the trio with him were to join was the attack on a Federation military base. But, it wasn't just any base that was the intended target, it was none other than the 'Unassailable Fortress of the Federation' their Asgard Base that was the Federation's military HQ. So, along the way to meet up with the fleet that would carry out the operation, Neo was looking over the previous attempts to assault the Federation's military headquarters and stronghold. After scanning the reports, Neo was even less interested to be in on this operation, it was looking a lot like a suicide mission to him. Even if this assault was by miracle successful in taking the base from Federation control, the losses incurred would doom the Alliance on Earth in the long term, for it would be easily more than half their fighting force that would be sacrificed. And the chances of having any kind of victory against Asgard, were beyond slim whether any admit the fact or not.

Honestly, were Neo to state his opinion, they would have better success using the same force to go against ZAFT's Carpentaria base. But, such decisions weren't up to him, so he was to keep his mouth shut and stay out of business that didn't concern him, or that's what he was told by the higher ups. The aircraft that was transporting him, the trio and their mobile suits took a couple of hours to reach the Spengler-class carrier ship and land. The mobile suits were off-loaded and stored in the hold below. The trio was escorted to their assigned to quarters, while Neo met with the captain of the ship and one of the leaders of the large fleet. Neo learned that preparations were close to being finished, even with the tension and jitters that were traveling through those in the fleet with their target being what it was.

Within the OMNI Enforcer organization, there were places that were 'worried about' and 'feared' by most. Asgard was at the top of that list for a few reasons and had a fair margin between it and the next place. The first reason, was that no one had ever taken the base, not the Alliance, nor ZAFT, heck, neither had gotten close to call it a good attempt, hence its nickname. Second, it is one of the most well-established Federation bases, if not the most well-established stronghold, so uprooting would be an arduous task in itself. The final point that made Asgard the most feared base, was the Alliance had never found where the Federation's military command base in space was. If that base's location was known, it would likely have the top spot and Asgard would take the second.

Asgard's defenses were estimated to have been beefed up since the last attack against the base and the last try had been harsh for the Alliance. The shoreline of the island that Asgard was built on, was lined with lookouts and heavy cannons and turrets. Underwater, there were measures there that made an approach beneath almost worse than on the water, between the minefield and linear guns placed in the island structure beneath the water's surface. The only questions left, were what was there for dealing with forces incoming from above if anything and how the defense had been improved by the Federation. The first question was asked because there were going to be Alliance vessels in orbit that would drop mobile suits down towards Asgard.

The few treaties that still stood between the Earth Alliance and the Human Federation at this point, would be pretty much broken with the planned attack. Apparently, from the political stage, the Alliance was going to accuse the Federation in violating the Treaty of Junius Seven in helping the PLANTs. Of course, the nuclear strike wouldn't be mentioned as that would reflect badly on the Alliance and there was more than enough of such going around. The whole accusation was an excuse to press back against the Federation's military and show them that they would either conform and side with the Earth Alliance or be an enemy.

It was only a day later that orders came to the Alliance fleet to move out and head for Asgard to attack at a little after dawn of the next morning. All the ships, made up of ever ship class the Earth Alliance had created and a little over a hundred vessels in total making up the force, moved out. It was a sight to see, the vast number of ships sailing in formation, a show of strength for the Alliance. As the fleet traveled towards their destination, the Alliance political leaders officially accused the Federation of treaty violations. To call to task the Federation, the Alliance deem it necessary to 'bring the Human Federation's military under control', starting with their Earth-based headquarters. Although such reasoning was merely justification for the imminent attack the Alliance was about to make on Asgard, both sides readied themselves and waited for the other to make the next move.

The Alliance forces might have the upper hand when it came to sheer numbers with ships, but that was one of the few things in their favor. Asgard's defenses set along the shoreline would make the approach to the island hard and rough. And that would be combined with fending off Federation mobile suits and ships that would be fighting against them. Yet, the hope was that mobile suits drop down from orbit would split the Federation's attention enough to provide an opening that could be exploited. A frontal assault wouldn't be enough to take Asgard, none were really kidding themselves, uprooting the Federation's military would take tactics and not brute force.

Meanwhile, an air of focus and tension was heavy within Asgard's command center, all personnel were at their stations, monitoring the large Alliance task force drawing closer. Negotiations had been attempted, yet no response was received, but not much was expected from the Earth Forces at this point with the accusations made by the Alliance. The one in charge, a woman by the name of Elle Vianno, was looking over both oncoming Alliance fleet as well as the Earth Forces vessels in orbit above Asgard itself. Elle was herself, a Hybrid-type though a tad shorter than five and a half feet. She had long blonde hair made up of wavy lochs, with blue eyes and she looked a few years younger than she really was, which was forty-nine. Elle Vianno was one of the two Federation Admirals that were over the Earthbound Defense Forces and her preference was working on the field, which is why she was at Asgard herself.

Asgard's position had just finished being solidified and its defenders were either ready or making their final preparations. Three trusted commanding officers would handle the delegated orders and see them get to where they need to so that they were followed from Admiral Vianno. All of Asgard's defending forces knew and understood what was at stake in this upcoming battle. If the Asgard base were to fall, then the Euros Coalition would be hard pressed to keep the Alliance from terrorizing and taking it over. That was why all forces were being deployed with ships ready to reinforce the shoreline defenses and mobile suits lining up to launch. Mobile suit pilots were in their machines, waiting for orders to head out to the battlefield and fend off the Earth Alliance.

Admiral Vianno ordered the two working orbital cannons to take aim at the Alliance vessels above and standby to fire as she looked over the display of the soon to be battlefield. The third anti-orbital cannon wasn't completely ready yet, there were still needed adjustments before use, so would not be employed. That left the two operational anti-orbital gun batteries, called 'Valkyrie 1' and 'Valkyrie 2', swung their barrels upward to come to bear on where the Alliance vessels were above. The sooner that one of the Alliance's attack vector was eliminated, the better standing Asgard would have. Both cannons began their charging cycle as the Alliance forces kept closing the distance.

Once the Alliance fleet crossed into Asgard's outer defense perimeter, Admiral Vianno ordered the initiation of the counter attack. Sirens wailed around Asgard, signaling that the battle that would be named the "Neflheim Siege" had officially begun. The shoreline defenses commenced their interception job, firing at the approaching Alliance ships. The Alliance changed their overall formation to having ships break off into smaller groups to make it harder to pick off ships, but still continued to surge forward.

The Earth Forces' tactical plan to this 'siege' against the strongest Federation base was made up of multiple stages and this was only the first. The fleet was to gain as much attention of Asgard's defending forces, so that they would not pay attention to other things. The second stage would start when mobile suits would drop down from orbit over the base. With the attention off of them, those forces then could infiltrate Asgard and work from within on causing chaos among the Federation defending forces. From there, the two-pronged attacks would work towards each other and would managed to reach the island itself which Asgard occupied. There was no real plan after that as none of the Earth Forces commanding officers knew if they would make it that far in this battle.

Federation ships shot back at the Alliance vessels and supported allied mobile suits as best as they could, their efforts being put forth to slow and stem the tide of the Alliance attack force. Inside Asgard's command center, the start of the Alliance's drop from orbit was detected by Federation sensors, which gave some warning of the Earth Forces plans. "Admiral Vianno, the Veadan Sensor Array have detected Alliance space forces have begun dropping entry pods from their ships," called out a sensor operator.

The anti-orbital cannons were originally constructed as a precaution against the possibility of ZAFT trying to use their landing forces to attack Asgard. Apparently, the Earth Alliance had also developed entry capsule for mobile suits like ZAFT had for their landing forces. "Valkyrie 1's charging cycle has completed, Valkyrie 1 is ready to fire," piped up another console operator.

Elle nodded, "Valkyrie 1, target the lead Agamemnon-class and fire," she ordered.

The command set was inputted and the first boom from the anti-orbital cannon firing its energy bolt echoed far and wide. The bolt zoomed upward, the magenta color standing out against the blue sky as it rocketed up, meaning that the discharge of the cannon did not go unnoticed by any, either in ZAFT or the Alliance. The Alliance might not have known about the purpose or function of the cannon when it fired its first shot, but communication from their allies above quick made the point clear. One of the Agamemnon-class carriers, which had started releasing its descent pods with mobile suits inside, had taken a direct hit by the magenta bolt and though it had been destroyed, it was now essentially out of commission. Nevertheless, it did provide an answer to the previous inquiry of whether Asgard had the means to deal with an attack from above other than mobile suits, and the answer was a resounding yes!

The second anti-orbital cannon shortly joined in the work of dealing with the Alliance's space force, the two taking turns to discharge at the Alliance vessels above, pausing only for recharging, even as the Alliance seaborne ships came closer and closer. It was as the second anti-orbital cannon fired for the third time, that Alliance forces came into range to deploy mobile suits effectively. There was no time wasted, the Earth Forces sent out every machine they had towards Asgard. The immediate response, was many groups of Excel fighters with the newer ZEL Defender suit models leading them, heading for the Alliance mobile suits from Asgard. The mobile suits from both sides quickly became embroiled in combat with each other when they reached the other.

When it was Neo Roanoke's turn to launch out to the field, he took-off in his custom dark magenta Windam, which was equipped with the jet striker. The Jet Striker pack, was meant to give a Windam suit atmospheric flight capabilities. The Gaia, the Abyss and the Chaos followed Neo out to the battlefield, flying within the same group as Neo was in at the start. Neo saw the clash of mobile suits begin and quickly get heated between the Alliance and the Federation. The firing of the cannons which were striking the Alliance ship in orbit were coming intermittently and Neo had to admit, he was sort of impressed at those weapons. Not only had the Federation come up with a weaponize means that could hit something in orbit, which no one had managed before now and not for a lack of trying, but they had also kept it secret too. Even if the Human Federation and its military was irritating in 'their way' of doing things, they were still tenacious to such an extent that one had to begrudgingly respect it somewhat.

Then, Neo took in the formations of those the Alliance were fighting, which gave Asgard's defenders a solid defensive position and reinforced their set defenses at the same time. And even though the Alliance outnumbered them with ships and were close to matching them with numbers of mobile suit for the moment, odds weren't in the Alliance's favor. The Earth Forces had pretty much everything they had out, but Neo was fairly sure that the Federation did not have all their forces fighting yet. It was "Classic Federation Military Operational Style", send out an amount of your troops, normally around half, then have the rest help in staggering resupply so that your enemy is worn down. That operational style was one of the biggest standing advantages that the Federation had and made them such difficult opponents as they 'fought smarter, not harder' most of the time.

Neo quickly reached the combat zone and was shortly engage by the current mass production the Federation uses. He quickly found that the mobile suit model was not something to scoff at, they were effectively armed for both close and far range. The other problem, was the Federation machines were equipped with some type of phase shift armor system. The Gaia had stuck in the same area as Neo himself, fighting against another Federation suit. The Abyss went down into the water, speeding towards the Federation sea vessels, showing off the specialty of the Abyss. The Chaos joined up with a different Alliance squadron and worked with them to try and make headway forward.

The skirmish kept going without any sign of stopping, but the Alliance force overall was brought to a grinding halt with their approach to Asgard. Then, when what entry drop pods had been released from the vessels in orbit before they had been disabled came over Asgard, the pods separated into pieces revealing the Dagger suits inside. The Alliance suits leaned forward, facing downward as they fell, seeing their destination and scanning for potential targets. Sirens wailing around Asgard, warning of the incoming enemies as the Alliance mobile suits descended towards the base. As the Alliance pilots got closer to the base, beams and projectiles started coming at them from below from Federation mobile suits working to intercept those dropping in from above. The descending mobile suits shot back at their attackers, but there were more of them than those coming down.

Neither the Earth Alliance nor the Federation showed any sign of giving even an inch to the other as the battle dragged on. Neo just slashed a Federation machine into two pieces, backed up while the suit exploded, when a sight caught his attention. What appeared to be a shadow of a small to medium sized vessel moving under the water, became a vessel surfacing from the sea. It was seconds after seeing the central part of the ship, that Neo recognized the vessel, for he had encountered it before. He specifically had dealt with it around ZAFT's Armory One, it was the same new frigate-class ship. What this ship was doing here around Asgard, Neo could begin to guess, but the vessel had proven to be troublesome before and he doubted it would be any different this time. The ship's wings were positioned differently than before, which said that this ship class could shift parts to gain an advantage in a situation, yet another fact about the craft that said it was a problem.

From the frigate, came three more of the Federation mass production mobile suits, followed by the red custom mobile suit that Neo went against in his mobile armor. The four new mobile suits added to the Federation forces, though the red machine made more of a difference than the other three. Admittedly, Neo wanted another go at the mobile suit and its pilot, for the last time they had clashed it had end embarrassingly for him. So, Neo flew towards the red mobile suit, focused on making the Federation pilot that had taunted him before, regret their actions.

Neo almost managed to catch the red suit by surprise, but at the last moment, his intended opponent noticed him approaching and evaded Neo's beam saber swing. Neo's next strike was blocked by his opponent drawing a beam saber and using it to deflect Neo, then was shoved back by the red machine. Neo drew his beam rifle and shot at the red machine, and it moved out of the way for the first and second bolt, then shifted its shield for the third. The bolt didn't hit the shield as Neo would have expected, the shield expanded and then deflected the beam away, it was much like the recordings of the Alliance's Geschmeidig Panzer working. There was beeping inside Neo's cockpit and upon looking down, there was a message on the main system display.

'Well hello again tin can pilot, fancy how the whims of fate have us meet again. Still, it's disappointing that your piloting is not much better than your rinky dinky armor driving. But, unlike most of you in the Earth Alliance, I'm generous and will let you have an attempt at fighting me. And yet, between the lack of an effective arsenal and the poor piloting skills that you've shown yourself to have, don't think I have anything to worry about. However, don't let me telling you the truth as it is stop you, by all means, dance with me the best you can ya tin can idiot!'

The message had the same feel as the first one from this Federation pilot, the feeling of annoyance was the same for Neo. This pilot was blatantly insulting him, it was more pointed at Neo himself this time, but the intent was the same, it was to get a reaction from him. So, Neo calmed himself and ignored the insults thrown at him and focused on his opponent. They had shown themselves to be dangerous if underestimated, so Neo would not make that mistake.

And so, started the dance between the dark magenta Windam and the Aurora Gundam. The two mobile suits clashing would go from fighting with beam sabers to breaking apart and switching to using beam rifles against one another. Neo found himself drawing on every skill and tactic that he knew and had to keep up in this fight, coming to realize that the pilot of this red mobile suit was no novice pilot, rather the opposite, they were an expert and possibly beyond that. Within a little more than five minutes, Neo got knocked back and his Windam was put into an exposed position, with an opponent that would likely use the clear firing path. As Neo looked back at the red suit, and saw it was bringing its beam rifle at him, time seemed to slow down to a slow-motion crawl. Then from Neo's left, the Gaia rushed the red mobile suit, and crashed into it, forcing it to go onto the defensive and stop fighting Neo.

The Gaia quickly attacked the Aurora aggressively, driving the Aurora away from Neo's machine. Stella wasn't going to let this Federation mobile suit hurt Neo, she would destroy it before she would let that happen! Granted, these machines and pilots weren't the same as those she, Auel and Sting had been trained to fight and kill. However, she would do her utmost to defeat this machine that had been picking on Neo.

Tyler on the other hand, was kind of hard pressed by this stolen ZAFT mobile suit. Its pilot was fairly skilled and was also unpredictable in their actions against him, making them dangerous. He quickly came to the decision that this fight needed to come to an end as soon as possible, for it was kind of reminiscent of the Battle of the Republic that had occurred during the First Alliance-PLANT War. His opponent was acting like the custom Alliance mobile suit pilots, who he had met since then. So, Tyler had the hunch that whoever the pilot of this black suit was, also happened to be a 'candidate' from the Enhanced Human Project. Whereas the easiest way to end it would be to use the beam rifle to shoot the cockpit, Tyler wanted to avoid that if possible. That left only one option, disable the pilot in order to stop the machine itself, which could be done even with the suit having phase shift armor, that being sheer impact. If the pilot is unable to concentrate on driving the unit, then the mobile suit is as useless as if it didn't have a pilot at all.

The Aurora dodged the beams from the Gaia's beam assault cannons and began the task of getting closer to its opponent. Stella was becoming increasingly frustrated at not being able to take her enemy down. As the red suit closed in, Stella drew a beam saber and made a slicing motion, but again she missed hitting her opponent. The next thing Stella registered, there was a low thud and her head had whipped forward and down with the sudden forward momentum. The rest of her body was kept in the pilot seat by the restraint belts, but Stella's hands lost their grip on the suit controls for a moment. When she got her head back up, Stella saw that her opponent had a grip on the Gaia and its right hand curled up and coming at her. The Aurora's fist connected with the Gaia's torso hard and whipped Stella's head and arms around again. The impacts kept coming over and over, and Stella was rapidly became scared at what was happening. She tried having the Gaia to struggle to free itself from these attacks, but nothing she managed to do changed her position or situation. Each hit was making it harder for Stella to concentrate, the jerking up and down of her head was causing increasing pain, fear and panic she was feeling.

The Aurora kept sending its right fist into the Gaia's torso while holding the mobile suit with its left. Tyler knew that the inherit weakness in phase shift armor was still as it was before, sheer impact, which transferred to the pilot more directly, so he was giving as good as he could. Once the Gaia went limp, Tyler grabbed the mobile suit to keep it from falling to the sea below. Alliance Daggers approached the Aurora and the Gaia, to which Tyler brought out the Aurora's plasma cannons that came to rest on either side of the Gaia's torso. The plasma cannons charged up and fired upon the coming Daggers and destroyed them. Tyler then oriented the Aurora to point its front down along with the black machine and then activate his suit's stealth system to hide the Aurora and the black suit. Tyler then began heading back towards the Normandy, carrying the Gaia with him, his curiosity about the stolen suit's pilot peeked.

Tyler did contact Lisa along his way to the ship, "Hey Lisa, I'm coming back, have a security detail down in the hanger if you would please. I'll be bringing in one of the ZAFT mobile suits stolen from L4 and the pilot is potentially dangerous and violent. It would be best if there are some around to prevent issues from happening," he iterated.

" _Okay, are you sure that it's a good idea then to bring said individual onboard the Normandy,_ " asked Lisa.

"For the moment, yes, I believe it will be fine," Tyler replied.

The Normandy, which was above the water, lowered its flight path and entered the water and submerged the ship's wings and the underside of the central structure. The Aurora dived into the water and traveled to the airlock that was part of the launching system of the Normandy, still holding onto the Gaia. Both mobile suits were taken into the Normandy's hanger, where the Aurora moved the Gaia into a dock. The Aurora launched back out to the battlefield to go back into the fight against the Alliance.

The battle went on for hours, morning became afternoon and the siege was still going strong. The afternoon moved towards evening and the Alliance forces stubbornly kept up their assault against Asgard, even as it slowly wore them down. However, as the sun began setting, the signal to retreat was launched from the Alliance lead ship. What was left of the Alliance attack force fell back to their fleet, which was much less than what had come to assault Asgard. Losses on both sides had been harsh, more so on the Earth Alliance's side, but even the Federation took sizable losses in the defense of Asgard. The Alliance mobile suits and ships had done damage, but the odd custom mobile suits had done more than the Alliance mass production models had.

The Earth Alliance forces had been pushed back and ousted, but it had been no simple battle, not with the largest force that had assaulted the base before. The Alliance hadn't made landfall, but they had certainly gotten the closest of those who had attacked Asgard, within 'spitting distance' in fact. However, the distance gained had been hard earned by them, the defenders had effectively made sure of that. Even with the mobile suits that had tried to drop in from above had been met with little to not success, none of them had touched the ground, not in one piece or their pilots alive. Nonetheless, the Alliance assault had managed to do damage to many areas of the base itself. The further from shore one went, the less damage there was, but the reverse was also true the closer to the shoreline, the worse things were. Many of the lookout points were either severely devastated or had been blown away completely. Clean up operations were started and securing the base was done, just in case the Alliance decided to come back soon.

There were effects of the battle not centered on the area that the fighting had taken place around as well. The borders of the member nations of the Federation were tightened down and secured more than they already were, pretty much locked down. All Earth Alliance military personnel were banned within Federation territory until further notice. Although Alliance citizens were not banned like their military personnel, security checks would be more rigorous and extensive with them. Strained relations between the Human Federation and the Earth Alliance fell even further and were close to being the same if not worse than what they had been during the latter part of the previous war after the attacks on the member nations.

Whereas the PLANT's National Defense Committee, saw the definite need to strengthen the position that ZAFT had on Earth itself, especially after the attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs. Not only was the Alliance disregarding all the agreements that they had made, but also, they were making too, so they couldn't be trusted to keep their word. Hence the sent proposals to the Council, were for an operation that would help the balance of power on Earth and the idea was approved. The operation's timetables were sped up after seeing the Neflheim Siege done by the Earth Alliance. ZAFT vessels gathered together and at a fast pace, made their way to high orbit above Earth, while other ZAFT groups kept the Alliance's Lunar fleet busy and unable to interrupt the operation. The operation was dubbed the "Spear of Twilight" by the PLANT's National Defense Committee and the leaders of ZAFT.

Once in the designated positions, the mission proceeded and ZAFT entry capsules were dropped through the atmosphere. The main places of concern were Gibraltar and Carpentaria as the Alliance had been moving to surround those places as best they could. It was a given that Alliance forces would not make the descent easy or smooth, but those participating in this operation understood the risks. The capsules opened and broke up when they came out of the Thermosphere and the ZAKUs then began the hardest part of the drop.

Alliance forces detected the capsules descending through the atmosphere and alerted their forces to intercept. Failure to take Asgard from the Federation was bad enough, there was no intention of any in the Earth Forces to allow ZAFT to gain more of a foothold on Earth by reinforcing their bases! So, mobile suits launched from the fleet off the coast of the Oceana Union that had been watching ZAFT's Carpentaria base to prevent the ZAKUs from reaching it. Then, there was also Earth Forces which came from the Eurasian Federation that moved to intercept ZAFT landing forces heading for Gibraltar.

 **-Line Break-**

ZAFT Gibraltar base

Everyone had been high-strung since "Condition Yellow" was declared by the base commanders. Talia Gladys had been woken up when the alert came, it had still been early morning and so most were still asleep. After dressing and getting to the bridge, she saw that it was not fully crewed since it was still early. Meyrin Hawk was at her station and saw Captain Gladys enter the bridge, "Captain, Gibraltar base command had called high-alert. Apparently, sensors and long-range recon has confirmed that Alliance forces have begun an attack," she iterated.

Talia took her seat, while others were coming onto the bridge and taking their stations quickly. "Is that all the details you have from base command," Talia asked Meyrin.

Meyrin didn't answer right away as she'd gotten back on the line with Gibraltar base command to ask for more detail. It was as Arthur took his station that Meyrin gulped hard at what she had just been told by the com-officer at the command center Gibraltar had. The facts she was being given sounded crazy and if true, were very troubling. She turned to face Captain Gladys who was still waiting for her to give more details, "Ma'am… according to base command, a very large Earth Alliance fleet… has begun an attack on," Meyrin said nervously, trailing off.

Talia didn't like hearing that, but by the expression on the girl's face, there was more to what she was saying than she had gotten out yet. "Where Meyrin," she asked, almost not wanting to know the answer. If the Alliance had a big enough fleet, they might try and succeed at say… taking Carpentaria and that would make ZAFT's position much harder on Earth.

Meyrin took a deep breath, "Asgard captain," she uttered.

There were gasps from some on the bridge, expressions of shock and horror from others. Arthur came out of the CIC, "Asgard, as in the Federation's Unassailable Fortress, that Asgard" he asked, not believing what he had heard.

The thought that the Alliance would attempt to attack the Federation's Asgard base wasn't exactly new. But, were the Earth Forces somehow to amass a force that was able to take the base, it was scare to imagine. Talia sighed and slumped into her chair, "That's the only base that has the name of Asgard Arthur. I'm more wondering what the Alliance is thinking, they already declared war on the PLANTs. So then, why go and pick the same kind of fight with the others who you are on around the same terms with, but you have more trouble going against? It doesn't make logical sense," she mused.

"What happens now ma'am, the operation to drop reinforcement to our bases here on Earth are already planned to occur a few days from now. This event could jeopardize that," Arthur stated worriedly.

"And that's why base command has us on high-alert Arthur, they're worried about the results of the battle between the Federation and the Alliance clearly," replied Talia.

The rest of the day was a stressful one, as Condition Yellow was not cancelled at all, it stood the whole day. Then there were the views that were caught every once and a while of the fighting that was taking place a good distance away. Early on during the morning, 'shots or energy bolts' were observed going upward from Asgard, scaring quite a few of the ZAFT personnel at Gibraltar when they started flying. Seeing the battle from a distance really wasn't the best perspective, but it was all that ZAFT had to work with. Even the one Vosgulov-class sub that was sent to do recon, wasn't able to get much other than a long-distance view of the Alliance's assault on Asgard.

On the Minerva, with Aila now mostly healed up from her gunshot wound, assisted in keeping some onboard the Minerva working and not stopping and gaping at what could be seen of the fight between the Alliance and the Federation. Preparations were important, more now with the battle happening, they needed to be done as soon as possible. If somehow the Alliance won Asgard, then Gibraltar would be a target soon enough, and it wasn't ready for that yet.

But, as the sun was setting, the signs of battle ceased, and many held their breaths as they waited to hear about how things had ended. On the Minerva, when Condition Yellow was cancelled, many of the crew were letting out sighs of relief. Most went to their beds and crashed from all the stress of the day however, some did not do so. Aila had gone to seen Captain Gladys to see if she could find out how things stood. She found the captain in her quarters, "Captain, forgive me if I'm disturbing you," Aila greeted.

"Not at all Aila, how is your shoulder doing," asked Talia. Talia really wanted to have every member of her crew in good health, the pilots included. The Minerva had already lost two of its mobile suit pilots chasing Bogey One, she couldn't afford to lose more.

"Don't worry ma'am, my shoulder is doing better and I'm ready to return to duty," answered Aila. "Do we know how things ended with the Alliance's assault on Federation's Asgard base, and how that will affect ZAFT's position?"

Talia folded her arms and considered what information she had gotten from the base commander. "It is my understanding that the Alliance failed to take Asgard from the Federation, be that as it may, both sides took losses as a result. Then due to the Alliance's actions, the timetable for the reinforcement drop operation had been moved up from a few days from now to tomorrow morning local time. Mobile suit pilots are to be on standby in their machines before 0630 to be ready to help our allies. It's doubtful that the Alliance will just let landing forces get to our bases without harassing them," she said.

Aila nodded, "That makes sense, I still don't get what the Earth Alliance was thinking with attacking Asgard of all places. That action has more likely done more harm to them then help," Aila mused out loud.

"You're certainly not the only one that is thinking about that Aila, not around this base, and not on this ship," replied Talia.

The next morning dawned, and sirens sounded to signal that the drop operation had begun and those around the base were to ready themselves. As expected, the Earth Alliance sent forces to intercept ZAFT's landing forces descending towards their bases. Mobile suits from both Carpentaria and Gibraltar readied themselves to lift off to help their allies. At Gibraltar, the Minerva sent out its own mobile suits, both ZAKUs, the Impulse with Shinn piloting and Aila in the Osiris. The four mobile suits from the Minerva joined with the others that took off from Gibraltar, heading directly for the clash that was occurring between the ZAFT forces dropping and the Alliance group intercepting. Hopeful, they could help as many of their comrades as possible get down to Gibraltar in one piece and alive.

 **-Line Break-**

Aprilius One

The meeting with Chairman Durandal that Athrun had requested ended out being postponed for a day, but Athrun was told that he would be given an 'escort' while he was around the PLANTs and have a look around. When the 'escort' came to pick up Athrun, he found himself in for a surprise as his escort was made up of three of his former teammates during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Athrun was about to greet them, but Yzak Joule grabbed him by the collar, "You idiot! What the hell is going on," Yzak snarled angrily.

Dearka merely smiled a bit and shook his head as he came in to the hotel suite, knowing that Yzak was being the hothead that he usually was. Nicol also waited for Yzak to vent his frustrations because of this new and unexpected assignment that all three of them had gotten from the Supreme Council. Of course, Yzak hadn't given his opinion vocally to any on the Council members about how they should be out making sure that the Alliance doesn't try using nukes against the PLANTs again. This was the normal method that Yzak used, vent on others that were under him, that or put the feelings into a focused task.

Once Athrun had regained his bearings again, he faced the three, "Wait a minute, you tell me what's going on here," Athrun demanded of his comrades.

Dearka moved forward and grabbed Yzak and held him back a bit, while Nicol smiled, "It's good to see you're doing well Athrun, please do forgive Yzak, he's not in the best of moods lately." Nicol leaned closer to Athrun, "And his temper is the same as ever, though he normally controls it these days, surprising and nice that he developed the ability if you ask me."

Athrun went from looking at Nicol, to staring at Dearka holding back Yzak, then back to gazing at Nicol, "Okay sure, but what's going on," he asked.

"You tell us! Even though the three of us are busy, we get the call to report to the Council for a 'special assignment'. When we go down to the Council, they give us the news, we're supposed to be your bodyguards! Don't ask me who's bright idea this was, I haven't the faintest, and they're lucky I don't, or I would be strangling them," Yzak growled.

Athrun was taken aback, bodyguards for him? Why would that be seen as needed, and why specifically three of his former teammates? "What… why would that be needed," Athrun uttered.

Yzak shrugged, "How would I know, Dearka and I left the frontlines for this job and Nicol was helping with the PLANT's defensive perimeter," he snapped.

"I bet you asked to go outside, didn't you," posed Dearka.

"Though you're from a friendly nation, with recent events having you wander around by yourself is an unwise idea, and so isn't permitted without supervision," stated Nicol.

"Yeah, I think something along those lines was mentioned to me, but… for you guys to be my guards, I never expected that," Athrun replied.

"Yes us, it doesn't make sense," Yzak said in a somewhat calmer tone, reining in his temper.

"I think whoever planned this had a reason in mind," remarked Nicol. "And since we're all here, maybe we can go by the cemetery and pay our respects."

Nicol's suggestion was agreed to and the four headed out and made their way the cemetery for fallen soldiers. They all knew which graves their comrades' markers were and where they were located, and it had been close to two years since the four had visited them together. The friends and teammates that had been lost in the previous war, like Rusty Mackenzie, Matthew, Olar and Ryan, were missed, so all four saluted the markers of their fallen allies. After paying their respects, Athrun did ask what the response to the Earth Alliance's recent actions was. "Thus far, ZAFT forces are being deployed for self-defense and not for retaliation," Nicol stated.

"Deployed for self-defensive purposes only? So then, ZAFT's taking action, but not striking back against the Alliance," asked Athrun to clarify.

"Are you surprised," inquired Yzak. "We can't just sit back and do nothing after the Alliance fired nukes at the homeland."

Dearka nodded, "All three of us were out there, Yzak and I were flying interception and Nicol was helping hold the defense lines. If the backup plan of using the Neutron Stampeder hadn't been used, things would be much worse right now for all of us. Plus, the Federation forces were helpful and for what it's worth, a lot of us are grateful that they helped save the PLANTs, even if some of the other things they do aren't as helpful," he added.

"And what about you," Yzak challenged. "What are you doing all the way out here in the homeland? And what about Orb and the other Federation member nations, what are their plans?"

Athrun frowned, "I can't say for certain yet. Things on Earth are getting chaotic as well, but I don't think that the Federation would do anything horrible to the PLANTs."

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence between the four of them for a moment, before Yzak spoke again, "Come back to us Athrun."

Athrun spun around and stared at Yzak, for he was the last one that he expected an invitation, let alone a request to come back to ZAFT. Nicol then cleared his throat, "Odd as it may be, I would echo Yzak's request and sediments. ZAFT needs pilots like you Athrun, the Champions are good and everything, but they're individuals, we need more who are willing to do what it takes."

"Granted, there will likely be some obstacles for you," Dearka said taking up where Nicol left off. "And I don't know what any of the three of us can do to help smooth things over and help it along."

"But, we'll take care of them Athrun, you can come back to the PLANTs you know, it still is home," finished Yzak.

"You have the skills, why not put them to use again," asked Dearka.

Athrun thought about what they were saying and part of him agreed with it, still he told his 'friends' that he would seriously consider what they said. It was the next day, in the afternoon that he got to meet with Chairman Durandal.

It felt odd to Athrun, to enter the very same office that his father had once occupied when he had been Chairman. It had been in this room that he had come to realize that the man that had been his father had died shortly after the Bloody Valentine Incident and the one he had stood in front of was a shell of him. It had been here that the resolution which had carried him through the First Alliance-PLANT War had solidified. So, feelings both good and bad were coming back to Athrun when he came into this room.

"Ah, Mr. Dino, I apologize for the delay with our meeting. Recent events had made many of us very busy managing things so that they do not become worse," Durandal greeted.

Those who were in the room left, leaving just Athrun and the Chairman alone, "No, it's alright sir. I can understand with the strike against the PLANTs had caused other things to come up," Athrun said, trying to dismiss and ignore the feelings coming to his mind.

Chairman Durandal noticed Athrun was frowning as he glanced around the room, "Having bad memories coming back to you being in this room, are you," posed Durandal. "I would assume so, after all, this is the room that you defied your father and started down the path that stood against him in the previous war. Being back in here of course would be hard, I should have considered that, my apologies."

Durandal came from behind the desk he had been behind and came over to Athrun and placed a hand on his shoulder. "The actions of your father are not your fault Athrun, it is not the responsibility for a child to have to carry the burden their parent has made."

Athrun knew that the advice was the truth, Tyler and Kira had been telling him the same basic thing since the war ended. Plus, those who had known his father, had told him to remember the good before the bad that Patrick Zala had brought about. He would have thanked the chairman, but then the door to the office opened behind them. Both the Chairman and Athrun glanced around to see who it was entering the office, and Athrun was shocked to see the girl he had met before, the one that looked so much like Lacus, but wasn't her. The girl spotted Athrun, smiled and moved forward and hugged him, "Athrun! We find each other again!" she cried happily.

Athrun had been confused the last time he had been around this girl, but this time he would have answers about her. He pushed her off, "Who are you," Athrun asked.

"Why, I'm Lacus Clyne, you should know that," the girl answered.

Athrun shook his head at the facts he knew as true and this girl, though she may look like Lacus wasn't her. "You are not Lacus Clyne, you may look like her, but you are different than she has ever been," he logically iterated, even if he wasn't feeling completely calm right now.

"It's quite alright Miss Campbell, Mr. Zala here is trustworthy and he knows what Miss Clyne would be like out of the public eye more than many do," Chairman Durandal said.

"Miss Campbell?" Athrun asked, looking between the Chairman and the girl.

'Miss Campbell' nodded, but didn't look Athrun in the eye, "Meer Campbell is my real name, I'm sorry I didn't tell you Mr. Zala. It's just, I've always been a fan of both Miss Clyne and you for years. So, for me to get to meet you in person is amazing…"

Meer trailed of, while Athrun was wondering if Lacus felt as awkward as he was at being told that someone is your fan and they are happy to meet you. In the end, Athrun gazed at Gilbert Durandal, "Okay, why have someone pose as Lacus Clyne, what does it gain to do that," he inquired.

Durandal was silent for a moment, clearly thinking about how to answer Athrun's question, but then he spoke. "The attempt the Earth Alliance made to use nuclear weapons against the PLANTs, though it was thwarted, was not appreciated at all by the citizens of the PLANTS as I wouldn't doubt you yourself can imagine. There were those that said that we should do the same to Earth, and I think that we all know that such wouldn't end well for anyone."

Athrun nodded in agreement, a nuclear strike on Earth would be just as bad if not worse than a successful on against the PLANTs. But that still didn't explain why there was someone posing as Lacus. Durandal continued, "To help calm tensions, I thought a figure that the people of the PLANTs respected and loved would be very helpful. Of course, I would be honored and grateful if I could have worked with Lacus Clyne herself or even her father Siegel Clyne. They both are highly thought of by the citizen of the PLANTs even these days. Unfortunately, finding either of them has proven difficult for any that have tried, even myself."

The reason that finding both Siegel and Lacus Clyne was known to Athrun himself as they had both told him. They had wanted a fresh start and though they both loved the PLANTs and their citizens, they thought it better that they not be a part of their leadership in any way, shape or form. There had been a number that had assisted in making them vanish from all in the PLANTs, ZAFT and even the Alliance as well. "So, the only course I saw open to me was to have someone substitute for Miss Clyne for the time being and that's were Miss Campbell here comes in," Durandal stated.

"Before this, I sang Miss Clyne's songs and I'm told that my voice sounds a lot like hers. So, when Chairman Durandal came to me and asked me to pose for Miss Clyne for a time, I was flattered. He told me that Miss Clyne had been forced into hiding by some bad people, and so her location is not known right now," Meer explained. "After accepting the job, I had surgery done and the result was that I looked exactly like Miss Lacus. I admit, I had dreamed of such a thing before, but I never thought it would actually happen to me."

"Meer, as Lacus was able to calm the anger that so many felt after having to witness the light of nuclear weapons again. Her efforts have been greatly appreciated as they have assisted in preventing worse events," Chairman Durandal said, picking up where Meer had left off. "Still, with knowing Miss Clyne as well as you do Athrun, it's possible and even likely that she would have contacted you in the years that had gone by since the previous war. So, you wouldn't happen to know where Lacus Clyne is currently? Her help would have a tremendous effect at bring peace and ending this conflict that has come. Rest assured, if a quiet peaceful life is what she wishes for, after her help to bring peace to Earth and the PLANTs, I will personally do everything within my power to help her find that."

Athrun didn't know exactly what to think or say in this, the words the Chairman said made sense and felt right. However, there was something in the back of Athrun's mind that nagged at him, it said that something about all of this was too good to be true. One thing he had learned, mostly with the help of Kira and Tyler, is nothing is perfect, even if it appears or seem like it is, period. The world and the colonies as they stood, weren't bad, but they certainly weren't perfect, and it was mostly due to human beings being imperfect. But, perfection was an ideal to work towards, never to actually be obtained. So, Athrun couldn't identify what it was about what the Chairman was saying, and there was no factual proof of the idea, it was more a gut feeling that there was something being left out.

Yet honestly, Athrun had promised that he wouldn't reveal where Lacus or her father Siegel were unless they gave their permission to do so to anyone and they had not. "I'm afraid that I don't know where either Lacus or her father are right now. I've spoken to them a few times since the war ended, but that's all and each time was an arranged meeting in a preselected place. So, I'm sorry that I can be of no assistance in finding or knowing where they are Chairman," Athrun answered curtly.

Gilbert Durandal frowned at the answer, he had hoped that someone close to Lacus Clyne would know where she was. It had been clear that the young woman had gone through the effort to cover her tracks, making it hard to find her and had likely had help doing so. But, the stand-in had been working fine for now, so she should work into the future, in fact Miss Campbell had been easier to do the job in reality. So, as long as none deny that she was Lacus Clyne that couldn't be disproven, things should work out. The one that could do that, the Black Zephyr, Sakura Clyne, the eldest daughter of Siegel Clyne, had left the PLANTs, it should be fine with that being the case.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

My mother told me a number of times before now, that I would experience days that I would wish I didn't have to, and boy howdy was she right. Yesterday had definitely been one of those kind of days, that's for sure! The assault that the Alliance had made against Asgard had been the harshest thus far to date. Their justification had been as ridiculous as it had been false, even a child could've seen that the Alliance was made that Federation Military forces had help stop them using nukes against the PLANTs and their attack was the way to get back at us and challenge the refusal of their World Security Organization proposal. Plus, it was no secret that the Alliance thinks that Asgard should've have been theirs to begin with like the member nations.

Anyways, back to the Neflheim Siege as it's begin officially called, I'll admit that the size of their fleet had been something else. Makes me more than just curious whom it is calling the shots for the Alliance, for apparently, we in the Federation Military ticked them off pretty dang good! Then for the Alliance to show off that they have atmospheric capsules was unexpected. The anti-orbital cannons were built and designed to deter ZAFT landing forces originally as far as I understand it. Nonetheless, in the end, the cannons had performed as intended, so I guess it doesn't really matter who got to 'help test' them.

The other thing, mostly to me, I encountered that mobile armor pilot again, the same one that I fought around ZAFT's Armory One. Oh yes, I had fun taunting the tin can pilot, but… there was something nagging at me with the guy or gal and it was familiar, I just can't place what or why. Then, there was the black stolen ZAFT mobile suit and its pilot, that was an issue in and of itself. When the fighting had finally ended, the day had been coming to its close, and a long and hard day it had been. Over twelve solid hours the Alliance had put up a fight, they had also received reinforcements halfway through, they couldn't have kept going the full time otherwise. The defenders had taken losses, even if the Alliance took more than we did, it didn't make the facts any nicer.

So, the morning of the day after the Alliance attacked Asgard, looking over the base, you could definitely see that the place had seen better days. However, it was getting back to normal operational status again fairly quickly and that was good. The full results that came after the Alliance's dumb decision of attacking Asgard, both at Asgard and without started to sink in. The first was the border lockdown that had been initiated and put in place less than twenty-four hours on all member nations had been expected. The ban of Alliance military forces wasn't surprising, other than it hadn't happened before now, since the tension with them had been coming to a bad head. But the ZAFT force drop had been kind of unexpected honestly yes, I understand ZAFT reinforcing their position, yet for the drop of the number of mobile suits they had done… well, the Alliance hadn't like that at all.

The same morning, the Normandy's repairs were officially finished, and she was in good working order again. My ship had shown just how sturdy and tenacious she was, she'd done so proudly, at least I was filled with pride for the performance of the Normandy and her crew! Unfortunately, one of the Normandy's pilots had been injured and so would stay at Asgard for the time being. It had been Miss Lily Thevalley that had her mobile suit damaged and some shrapnel had gotten her hurt. That put us one pilot down, I wasn't happy about that, even if I didn't yet know Miss Thevalley well, she is my responsibility as the captain of the Normandy.

However, I got to admit, it did solve the space issue that came up when I had brought back the stolen ZAFT suit. And yet, that brings another set of problems which I'm partially to blame for myself. Getting the ZAFT suit hadn't been that much of a difficulty for the Normandy's mechanics, skill people they are. My standing issue which is shared with my ship and crew, the pilot that had come out of the stolen mobile suit. When the machine had been opened, the pilot had still been out cold, meaning I might have bounced them around a bit more than I should have. It's kind of funny and not funny at the same time, the brain doesn't much like bouncing around the skull much, happens to potentially do permanent damage doctors say. So, after the ride I gave them, said pilot had been taken to the sickbay and the doctor had been doing what she could for our 'guest'. I had decided it would be better for me to avoid being around sickbay for a bit as I'm the one that put their current patient there.

But, I still had Commander Marks keep some of his team on hand in case our guest became violent, for their actions show that was very possible. I had my suspicions as to why the pilot could be violent, and while I hope I'm wrong, I doubt that I am with them being a part of the Alliance's project to make individuals into living weapons. That being said, once the Normandy left Asgard's port and was underway, we set our course towards the Republic. The reason for making the Republic our destination, was if my hunch is right about our guest, then the place that would be best for them to go is within the Republic.

When we were underwater and out of sight, I left Lisa in charge on the bridge and made my way towards sickbay. There would be a need to inform the Normandy's guest of how things worked on this ship and what the dos and don'ts were. As I turned down the corridor that the Normandy's sickbay was on, the sound of a female panicking and struggling came down the hall. I quickened my pace to my destination and viewed a scene that I kind of thought might be possible but hadn't wanted to see.

The guest pilot that had been extracted from the ZAFT mobile suits was now bound to an examination table by restraints. The person was a female as the features I could see showed, since the top half of the pilot suit she was in had been peeled off, leaving her in a simple tank-top. She had medium length blonde hair and appeared to be in her mid-teens when it came to age. She was shorter than me, but not by a large margin and I'm within the average height range. The girl was struggling hard against the bands that kept her on the examination table, her eyes wide with fear. She was shouting what sounded like gibberish, but there were words that were comprehendible. Most of the words were; Tanya, Neo, Auel and Sting, which were very likely names of people she knows, but none of them ring any bells for me.

When I glancing to the left and right, seeing that two soldiers had their guns ready to whip up and use if the situation required it. And with the thrashing that this girl was doing, it's a possibility that force might be needed, I hope not. I gestured for them to keep on their guard, which they did. The soldiers on board have become more respectful of me and do as I asked, apparently, I've earned their trust. Anyways, the Normandy's doctor, a woman by the name of Maya Noll, was capable doctor as far as I've seen. She was of average height with grey hair in the style of a bob cut, she had hazel eyes. Her facial features told of her Euros Coalition nationality, and she possessed the rank of Lieutenant in the Federation Military.

As the girl struggled, Doctor Noll moved in and injected a vial of something into the girl and she started calming down somewhat. I held up a hand to stop the soldiers from moving forward, waiting for the good doctor to do what she was. "Listen and listen well young lady, you are to be on your best behavior or you will face punishment," Doctor Noll said clearly.

At hearing the word 'punishment' the girl visibly tensed, which implied more that my hunch was right on the money. I believe that this girl is a part of what is called the "Enhanced Human Project", which overall, had scientist doing things to make Natural-type humans, normally children to make them able to match Coordinators. The subjects or "candidates" as some that were involved in the project called them, often showed violent tendencies. However, all of those that came out of the project that I've seen and encountered, had a reaction of fear and compliance when the reference of punishment is mentioned. It was to the point that it appeared a well-engrained response, which I suspect was done as a means of control, but I can't say.

Doctor Noll then explained that girl was not to be violent while she was here and keep the urges she had in control. After that, the girl, whose name I still hadn't heard or know was released from the bands that kept her to the table. The soldiers behind me readied themselves to step in if necessary, while I took a step forward and waited. The girl sat up and immediately focused on me in front of herself. I smiled slightly, "Hello Miss, my name is Tyler McGregor and I'm the captain of the vessel you are currently on. Do you have a name," I inquired.

The girl didn't answer me, just glanced around the room, taking in the people present, pausing on two soldiers behind me with guns in their hands. Then she gazed back at me, "Where's Neo," she asked, shaky tones audible, sounding kind of lost as well.

"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone by the name of Neo. You are on a Human Federation vessel currently, not an Earth Alliance ship like you probably were on before." The girl began shaking, then started breathing in and out deeply after hearing what I said. "You have nothing to fear young lady, as long as you keep calm and don't hurt anyone, no one will hurt or harm you, I promise you that," I vowed.

The girl focused on me again when I said that no one would hurt or harm her, "I am safe here, I won't be punished," she questioned.

I nodded, "Yes, you will be free to go where you wish on this ship with a few exceptions of course. That's one of the privileges you earn with good behavior, freedom to go where you please. However, understand, should you misbehave and try to hurt another on this ship, then you will quickly lose those privileges and find yourself confined, and if necessary will end out in one of the ship's brig cells. That is how things work on board this ship, and you will be held to this standard like everyone else is, do you understand," I posed.

The girl nodded her head slowly, "Yes, I am Stella and I will be good. I don't want to be punished, being punished is always horrible," she returned, shuttering at memories of something.

With the matter of Miss Stella behaving settled, I had the two soldiers leave, but made sure that they knew to keep an eye on her for the time being. I returned to the bridge as it was to be my shift and Lisa needed the time off anyways and put Stella in the back of my mind. The journey to the Republic was not very eventful, we went around the southern end of the United States of South America to enter the Pacific Ocean. From there, sailed our way to our destination, taking a few days to make the trip. During that time period, I did notice that the girl Stella, had pretty much attached herself to Feldt Grace. Feldt hadn't had a problem with this, more like she had taken Stella under her wing, even giving her clothes, eating with her and spending time with her. The response to the acts of kindness that Stella showed was quite interesting, for she responded as a child does to good attention from those around them.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Shira, the Republic

A small group exited the car that they had used to reach the docks in Shira, waiting for the frigate named the Normandy to arrive. The group was made up of three women, one an amount older than the other two. The oldest of the women was Lori Kall, one of the former scientists that had worked at Lodonia Lab on the "Enhanced Human Project" or the EH project. The other two young women, twenty-one and twenty, were Rossweisse and Lafter Galiena, who were accompanying Doctor Kall. The message from the Normandy had said that they had an individual on board that was very likely a candidate from the EH project. A number of them had been brought to the Republic to a place that had been created and designed to assist in the recovery of candidates from the thing that had been done to them.

It had been what those who had left Lodonia had been working to do, in exchange for asylum and continuing research into some of the EH project under the Human Federation. All the efforts had been dedicated to undoing the work of the EH project, even Mina herself had been working for a treatment and it had been successful thus far. In fact, Lori had been honestly surprised that Mina had been taking the work to help treat the candidates so that they could possibly have a normal life again as serious has she had. Granted, Mina's people and interactions skills were still not the best, but at least she was trying to honestly improve and had made some progress. Lori could attest that Mina rarely changed herself personally, you either accepted how she was and got used to it, or you avoided Mina as much as possible. Yet, Mina's change Lori credited it to the effect that Deborah, Rossweisse and Lafter Galiena had on her friend.

As for the individual that was on the Federation frigate, if they were indeed a candidate as it sounded like they were, then Lori wondered what type they were. The ship's doctor was a former scientist from Lodonia, so Lori believe that the information was accurate. The reason that Rossweisse and Lafter were with Lori, was in case the candidate lost control and became violent. The two could restrain most other candidates that had come here before now, so better to be safe than sorry as it's said.

The sight of something coming up out of the water, shifted attention to it and the object became a ship that was coming towards the docks. It took some time for the frigate to dock and for it to have ramps connected to the ship to allow the crew to disembark. It was when Lori caught sight of a blonde teenage female coming down the ramp. For a moment, Lori couldn't believe the girl she was seeing who she thought she might be. Oh, there were times that candidates that one of the scientists that left recognized, but it was rare, even more so for ones that Lori and/or Mina knew. Yet, as the blonde girl got closer, there was mistaking her, the teen was Stella Loussier, one of the better performing Extendeds. Stella was a member of the two best performing trios before the parting from Lodonia and seeing her was unexpected, especially since two of the other trio had gone through treatment and were in recovery stage. So, for the Earth Alliance to lose even a member of the remain trio was extremely unusual, if not a good turn of events in the making.

A pink-haired woman seemed to be guiding Stella forward, who this woman was no concern to Lori, she was more interested that she was able to keep Stella calm around so many people. The conditioning of Extended tended to make it difficult for them to be around crowds as they were trained to be soldiers and/or living killing machines. However, when Stella caught sight of Lori, she stiffened, showing that she recognized and remembered her from Lodonia Lab. Stella clung to the woman she was with, clearing fearing that she was soon to be punished for something. Unfortunately, it was what the candidates had registered when they saw one of the leading scientist like Lori. It was far worse around Mina, for many of the candidates still were terrified of her, but then, she had been the one that set up the discipline system at Lodonia and made sure they were observed, so the reactions were understandable.

Lori strode forward towards Stella Loussier, and the girl was clinging to the woman that she was with. The pink-haired woman was asking Stella what was wrong as Lori closed the distance, "Her reaction is quite normal, she should be fine physically," Lori stated.

Feldt looked at the woman who had spoken, she appeared to be in her forties and was slightly taller than Feldt herself. She had long tan hair, styled in a ponytail and light blue eyes. The woman's figure was more defined that Feldt's, whose was average. The clothes that she wore, suggested that she was some kind of doctor or scientist. But that still left the question of why Stella felt fear with this woman, for Stella was clearly afraid of her. "What do you mean that Stella's reaction is normal, and who are you," Feldt asked, trying to calm Stella down at the same time.

Lori shrugged, "My name is Lori Kall, and those like her tend to react that way around some of us that worked at the lab they once lived at."

Feldt didn't know whether to just believe what the woman Lori Kall said and leave it at that or ask what was done to cause another to act as Stella was. Stella was still hiding behind Feldt as if her life depended on it. "Hey there! No one's going to hurt you, so you don't need to be scared," said a new bubbly voice.

Upon looking to her right, Feldt saw one of the two younger women standing close by, but there had been no sign of her moving, it had been like she had just appeared. The young woman, was a tad younger than Feldt herself, and was taller by larger margin than Doctor Kall. She had light brown hair that were tied into twin tails. She also had green eyes and put off an air of a cheerfulness and a bubbly personality, like the friendliest person one can imagine. Stella was staring at the young woman with an expression of fear but also a mix of confusion with it. Lori sighed, "Lafter, I believe you are just confusing her, not relieving her fears," she said.

It took time to calm Stella and have her follow Lori, Lafter, and Rossweisse, but eventually, Stella went with them. They traveled to one of the train stations and the four took the underground trains toward their destination. Stella began to become nervous again, as she got closer to the place they were head toward, which had been referred to as "Shangri-La". As soon as Stella had seen Doctor Kall, the engrained reaction she had for any of the big authority figures of Lodonia had come. High authority figures at Lodonia tended to only show up for two reasons; checking on progress, or to 'get things back on track'. The latter was worse than the former, for candidates, it could very well mean that punishment was coming. It was far worse when the former head of Lodonia came around, seeing Mina Moss was almost always a bad omen, all the candidates knew that and were still terrified of her because of that.

When the train came to a stop, the group of four exited, the train and walked up a set of steps. They came out into a lobby/office area, Stella was asked some questions, which she answered out of habit as such was regular at the lab. After that, Stella was then led forward to what was outside of the lobby. She had to squint from the sunlight that was shinning down as the light quality was noticeably different from what it had been in the lobby.

Once she became used to the light levels, Stella looked around and her mouth fell open at what met her sight. Stella was seeing a large valley that was mostly green with plant life with a mix of blue, various grays and brownish-red. The blue color was of the lake on the opposite side of the valley, as well as the waterfalls that would come down the mountainside. The grays were of the stone paths and walkways for the lighter grays, while the darker grays were the roofs of buildings that were scattered around the valley. The brownish-red was also part of the structures but were the sides. There were trees all over the valley, thicker in some places, more than others.

The place was unlike anything that Stella had ever seen before, and she didn't know what to think. There were sounds, smells and sights that she was completely unfamiliar with, and some were intriguing. She was led over to one of the larger buildings, she was looking around and taking in the unfamiliar scenery. Stella was still in slight awe of this place when she was brought into a medical examination room. The room and its setup were so familiar and normal that it didn't phase Stella at all.

Lori left Stella with Lafter and Rossweisse, while she went to talk to her 'friend' to get Stella's 'treatment'. A few minutes later, Lori came back into the room and was followed by another. All that changed the second another entered the room, all because of the woman who carried an air of cold intimidation. Many would call her beautiful with her silky long neutral brown hair and light blue eyes. However, was that the woman, named Mina Moss gave a completely different impression than her looks gave. All feelings of awe and literally, every good feeling Sella had been having, vanished when she saw Doctor Moss. Stella had seen the former head of Lodonia a select few times and each time had left very bad memories with her. So, seeing Doctor Moss, instantly had Stella terrified as it would have with any EH project candidate. Mina Moss was the one that had run Lodonia Lab and had established the disciplinary system used there and made sure it was enforced.

"So, she's the one that you were referring to then Lori," posed Mina.

"Indeed Mina, like I said, one that we both know from Lodonia, from one of the two best performing Extended trios," Lori replied.

Mina gazed as Stella, who was frozen with fear, "Yes, I recall her and the other two from her trio. The other older trio was more stable overall, worked well as a team. Hers was good at getting results however, the two males would clash more often and that was a potential issue."

Mina's iteration of the performance of Stella, Auel and Sting trigged Stella to start shaking and trembling at being referred to by Doctor Moss. The woman could do horrible things if one's performance was not good enough, so keeping her happy or at least pleased was very important! Stella didn't want to be punished, especially not a punishment given out my Mina Moss, those punishments were much worse than normal! Stella bowed her head, "Please Doctor Moss," Stella begged loudly, but she managed to keep it from being a shriek. All in the room turned and looked at Stella, "I promise I'll be good, I'll do whatever I'm told to so, please, don't punish me!"

"You are not in trouble Stella," said Lori kindly, knowing that Mina still had the affects she did before with the candidates, she scared them into near instant compliance. "You have been brought here to receive treatment, to give you a chance at having a normal life."

Stella started at Doctor Kall, not understanding what she was being told. She was trying to comprehend what was being said, for Stella didn't understand what was meant by 'a normal life'. The explanation that followed was just as confusing, Stella caught some of what was being said. There was living around other people mentioned and that was somewhat a strange idea to her, for she'd never done such before, nor trained to do the task. Violence not being necessary was as much if not more a foreign concept to Stella than living around other people, for all her training she had gone through at Lodonia had insisted otherwise.

After the explanation, Stella was given a physical examination, routine as such was done regularly at the lab. She was the guided from the building she had been brought to, out towards the some of the smaller structures by Lafter and Rossweisse. Nonetheless, along the way, an adult caught the three girls and called them inside one of the buildings. Upon entering, Stella heard a sound that was not known to her, but sounded like something she might have heard before, many quiet and high-pitched barking.

"You're timing is good Lafter, Lyla's puppies are to the point that they are ready to have their own home and owners. I know that you said you wanted one," the adult male doctor was saying to Lafter.

Stella moved forward to get closer to whatever it was making the barking sounds. What the doctor had said meant nothing to Stella and she was curious to know what she was hearing. The barking sounds were coming from a basket, and so Stella glanced inside the basket to see what was there. What Stella saw, were a number of small four-legged animals that had fur and one tail each. Their fur was brown mostly with patches of black with white along their fronts. They had long floppy ears and long noses. There was a bigger version of the animal that all the small ones were staying close to. However, there was one of the small animals that turned around and was looking at Stella, its tail wagging vigorously. Stella stretched a hand towards the animal, she didn't know why she did so, yet the small animal used its tongue to lick her hand. She giggled at the ticklish sensation that came with the licking and there also came a warm feeling in her heart.

"Oh my, it looks like this little guy has taken a liking to you Miss," posed the male doctor.

Stella stared at the little animal who started barking in a playful manner and nuzzling her hand, "I don't know what it is," she said, before giggling again.

"He's a dog, a puppy" Lafter stated as if it should have been obvious. But when Stella just looked at her blankly, Lafter gain an incredulous expression, "Are you saying that you've never seen or even know what a dog is?!"

Stella shook her head, for the term 'dog' nor 'puppy' hadn't connect or register with anything she knew. The next thing Stella knew, Lafter rushed forward and hugged her, "YOU POOR GIRL!" she shrieked. "TO NOT KNOW OF THE JOYS OF PLAYING WITH ANIMALS, YOU'VE HAD SUCH A HARD LIFE!"

Stella still didn't know what to think exactly about this girl Lafter Galiena, she seemed nice, but she changed completely from one moment to the next, it was weird. "Miss Galiena, if you would please remember to use an inside voice," chided the male doctor. Then he faced Stella, "Perhaps, you might be interested in keeping him? But do understand, he is not an object that you can play with and then throw away. That little beagle puppy is a living creature and will require care, affection, and attention daily without fail," iterated the doctor.

The question stunned Stella, for she hadn't really had something to really call her own like this. The mobile suit she had stolen before wasn't the same as this was, but this 'puppy' as the others had called it, had given her warm feelings, similar to what Tanya did. Stella liked the feelings that she had around her sister and to be able to have similar feelings by keeping this animal with her sounded like a good idea. And so, after more instructions on how to care for the 'beagle puppy', he was given to Stella and seemed excited to be with her. Then Stella was shown to a place that had a bed, simple furniture and basic things and told that this was where she could stay while she was treated.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **Alrighty then, I'll leave off there for this Phase. If it isn't clear by this point in the story, I don't follow canon very closely. I'll use events but, yeah… I think I've said enough upon this point. Anyways, no doubt a number of you readers have question about what developed in this Phase, PM me or write a review and I'll answer what I can, but I ask you give me a bit of slack if it take time for me to reply, work and school suck it out of me. The one point that I will say, is I separated Stella from Neo and the other members of her trio for a reason and you readers will find out as the story goes on.**

 **Titanic X**

Don't worry about logging in, makes no difference to me. As for snapping America out (which I would assume you mean the Atlantic Federation) doubt had been planted, they grow in ways that few can guess. I know that isn't exactly an answer, but I would be spoil thing that are coming up and honestly, I haven't planned all the events out which I want to happen just yet.

 **Duked**

Thanks for the compliment, the position of the Federation and ZAFT may look close, but I would say it is kind of like neighbors. If something bad is going to happen to your neighbor, one is inclined to assist, as much for them as to protect yourself as well. And then, the implied information provided to ZAFT, was along the lines that the Alliance had likely been building up a nuclear arsenal. From that, it's not all that hard to surmise that the Earth Forces would want to use such on the PLANTs. So, the Neutron Stampeder was built before that, it just was prepared to be used before the battle. Then, as you say diplomatic representatives were there, so to avoid issue with that, they provided help to ZAFT for that situation.


	33. Phase 33: Meeting of Fate

**A/n**

 **I'll say it outright, this Phase is longer than the last few by a margin, but there's an amount to cover in this Phase. My standard disclaimer still as always applies and now, on with the story!**

* * *

Phase 33: The meetings of Fate

November 18th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Gibraltar Base

In the days after Operation "Spear of Twilight" had occurred, things had calmed somewhat for ZAFT personnel. More than half of the landing forces that had dropped had made it to where they were assigned to drop to. The reinforcement was appreciated with the increased activities of the Earth Alliance. Many of those on the base were finally able to make contact with loved ones living in the PLANTs, since it had been difficult if not impossible for a time due to the Alliance's jamming.

Shinn Asuka had gotten the time to have a chat with his own family, who lived on Junius One currently. It had been nice to talk with them, as the Minerva had headed out on its first tour on short notice and then there had been the attempted nuclear strike made. Granted, they had known he would be a mobile suit pilot, but Shinn had received surprise and congratulations when he mentioned he had been recently piloting a Gundam-type model. Mayu especially, had been excitedly saying how cool it was to have a brother that was a Gundam-type mobile suit pilot. The talk had given Shinn a needed morale boost at this time with the changes that were soon to come. Aila Lakeen was healed and back on duty, meaning that he would likely no longer pilot the Impulse Gundam. The rumors going around, were that another pilot would be brought onboard to use the X28S Osiris from Gibraltar. That would return Shinn to being a backup pilot for the Impulse and use a ZAKU on the field like Luna did. It had been educational to Shinn, the time that he had been piloting the Impulse and he would remember it for when the next opportunity would come.

He was sitting at his desk on his side of the room that Rey and he shared, thinking about what would happen going forward. It wasn't all that long after Shinn had finished the call with his family, when Lunamaria found him and brought him out of his thoughts. "Shinn, you okay? You didn't answer when I called or knock," she asked.

Shinn turned and faced his fellow pilot who had entered the room, "Luna? Sorry, I didn't hear you knocking, just have been thinking lately," he said.

"Well, a lot has been happening lately, what with the reinforcements dropping to Earth and the Alliance picking a fight with the Federation's Military. I was coming to tell you that Aila has pretty much recovered from the gunshot wound that she received at Armory One. She'll be resuming her full duties soon enough, so she'll be taking charge of field operations going forward," replied Lunamaria.

"Oh, that's nice to hear, it had to be harsh to have been shot," Shinn said absentmindedly.

Meanwhile, Aila reported as requested to Captain Gladys, the meeting between the two lasted for more than an hour. Talia Gladys did first say that she was pleased that Aila had recovered from the injury that she had taken during the chaos that occurred at Armory One. Next, Aila gave her report upon the theft at Armory One, including her observations of those who stole the mobile suits themselves. Talia didn't like hearing what Aila had seen, for it said that the laxness that had come to a portion within ZAFT had caused the deaths of many. Then, to hear and comprehend that the pilots of the Chaos, Abyss and Gaia were teens that were different than others, worried Talia. It sounded more like the three had intense combat training, more than normal soldiers receive. If the Alliance was training and conditioning people to not arouse suspicion, they had been successful in this. That also meant that they could have others like those teens, simply waiting to strike when their targets least expect it.

The conversation turned onto more present matters after the report, which involved the organization of the pilots that the Minerva had. Originally, Aila had been assigned to the Impulse Gundam, Captain Gladys was inclined to put her back to piloting the mobile suit. That however, still left the question of whom would pilot the Osiris. Reports had come saying that the personnel that were supposed to pilot the second stage mobile suits were 'not available'. There was the possibility that a pilot here from Gibraltar could be assigned if need be, but that would take time as it had to done by request. Talia wanted to have all the Minerva's mobile suits available and ready to go as needed.

However, Talia was surprised when Aila spoke, "Captain, I understand that you would want me back piloting the Impulse, but I think it best that I not do so."

Talia stared at Aila Lakeen, "And what is your reasoning Aila," she inquired.

"Well Captain, as things are, I believe that Shinn Asuka is still a good choice for the Impulse's pilot. It may be my opinion, but from the records I've seen, Shinn has performed admirably and should be given the chance to keep doing so. The Osiris needs a pilot and I've had the most experience with it and as it doesn't have anyone assigned, I volunteer for that position," Aila answered.

Talia was somewhat stunned at Aila opinion, for she hadn't seen it coming at all. Yes, Shinn Asuka had performed very well while he piloted the Impulse, there was no denying that. But he was one of the backup pilots for one of the two remaining Gundam-types. Yet, Aila was someone that Talia had come to trust the views of as she had been out on the battle field during the First Alliance-PLANT War. True, what Aila had suggested would work and solve the issue of mobile suit pilot assignment. After a few minutes of consideration, Talia agreed with Aila, but stated that she would be the team field commander as she was before. The other pilots of the Minerva were skilled, but Aila was still the one with the most battlefield experience. That could make a real difference in tight situations.

The next morning, the Minerva received orders to proceed east southeast to the ZAFT base known as "Mahamul". The mission that the Minerva would participate in would be given in more detail when they arrived at the base. The Minerva headed out from Gibraltar and made its way towards the far shores of the sea on the east before heading for the Mahamul Base. Upon reaching the base, the Minerva was quickly assigned to work with several land-based ZAFT ships from two Compton-classes and some Petrie-classes. Talia learned that the mission that the Minerva was to help in, was breaking through the Gulnahan Ravine. The Alliance currently held the pass and with the activity around Suez that other teams were dealing with, the combination could spell possible future issues for Gibraltar and other ZAFT bases in the general area.

The task force traveled towards the ravine and were supposed to meet up with a member of the local rebel group in the area that were fighting the Alliance. Once a vehicle was picked up by the Minerva, the pilots were told to gather in the briefing room, while Aila went down and met with the member of the local resistance that was providing intel for the operation. Aila frowned at finding the one that was bringing the intel was a young teenager, younger than even Shinn, Lunamaria and Rey. It wasn't surprising that a girl so young was a fighting in a resistance group, but it didn't make it any nicer to see a testament of what kind of a world all lived in these days.

Aila approached the girl, "Hello, I would assume that you are the one bringing us intel that will assist in ousting the Alliance and freeing your home at the same time," posed Aila.

The girl, who had brown hair of medium length, focused on Aila, her aqua colored eyes somewhat a rarity in this part of the world. "Yes, who are you," she asked.

Aila smiled, "My name is Aila Lakeen, I'm the mobile suit team leader and will be the mission commander of the operation on the field. It's nice to meet you," Aila left the greeting open for the girl to supply her name.

"My name is Conille Almeta, Miss Lakeen," she replied.

Aila nodded, and gestured to the exit from the hanger, "Then if you would follow me, we can go to the briefing and get down to shooing away the Alliance."

At the same time, the pilots the Minerva had, plus those who weren't on watch currently for the other ships in the group were gathering for the briefing. Shinn and Lunamaria were the last two to enter the room, "So, what does it mean that we're having local cooperation, this is Alliance controlled territory," asked Shinn. "So, does it refer to resistance in the area to the Alliance?"

Lunamaria shrugged, "That would be my guess. The latest intelligence and reports say that things in Gulnahan have gotten pretty bad since the Alliance took control over a year ago," she said back.

Everyone in the room had taken their seats as the deputy captain and Aila came into the room, accompanied by a young teenage girl. All rose and saluted to both Arthur Trine and Aila, who returned the sign, "All please be seated," said Arthur.

All the pilots took their seats and gave their attention to Arthur, "This briefing is to explain the finer details of the operation we are about to embark on, that is of course, to break through the Earth Alliance's 'Lohengrin Gate'. We will be conducting this operation with the Ruddle Team."

Arthur paused for a moment, "I am sure that most if not all of you are aware, the area we're going into is controlled by the Earth Alliance currently. Tension were high but have increased since the Earth Forces' assault on Asgard, especially around here as this area is close to the western border of the Federation's Equatorial Union. That being said, assaulting this enemy position is a tall order, mostly because of the Lohengrin battery they have in place. The Ruddle Team has already made an attempt to break through this enemy position a while ago, but the mission was… unsuccessful. However, this time will be different," Arthur turned to Aila, "Aila, if you would take the briefing from here."

Aila nodded, then brought up a picture on the screen at the front of the room, "Okay everyone, listen up because this mission will be as the Minerva's deputy captain said, difficult and a tall order," she said pointing at the image. "This is an overhead image of the general area that the operation will take place, which is in the territory called Gulnahan, specifically down the ravine the Alliance named 'Lohengrin Gate'." Aila used a rod to point out what she was referencing, "You will note, that there is a town at the opposite end of the ravine we will be coming down and that the powerplant that the Earth Forces use to power the Lohengrin Positron Cannon is next to the town. The only way that one can approach the town or the powerplant is by air or down the ravine itself. An approach by air has been made complicated as the Alliance has setup a formattable anti-air defensive network around the area. That leaves the ravine being the best way to get to the town however, the placement of the enemy's positron cannon high up on the bluffs, allows it to cover the entire approach and fire at will at ships that come down the ravine at will."

Aila shifted her gaze to all the pilots in the room, "Understand, there is little to no cover in the ravine for the whole approach, no matter the route you use. Don't think for a moment that the rock formations will help in that, for they won't. The other issue is the battery is defended in multiple ways, from the natural rock formation shields against long-range attacks and the positron cannon can be lowered into an armored bunker that can take very heavy bombardments. Then of course, there are Earth Forces' mobile suits that are stationed in the base below the battery guarding the bluff. They will be bolstered with a mobile armor the Alliance has equipped with a positron reflector, a new shielding technology of theirs, which can as the name implies block a positron-base and other types of beams. Those facts in mind, setting up for a direct frontal assault is unrealistic as well as suicidal to an extent," Aila stated.

"So then ma'am, what is the plan to get past that," asked Lunamaria.

"I would assume, that a smaller group approaches from a different direction and takes out what defenders are left behind and destroys the positron battery," posed Shinn.

Aila focused on Shinn for a moment, "That is the overall idea, but this briefing is to discuss the details of how that is to be accomplished. I stated before, that an assault even from elsewhere other than the ravine is not simple on this Alliance base. The reason being is first the anti-air defenses and then, as you put it, taking out the defenders, the Lohengrin would be lowered into its armored bunker, which a mobile suit couldn't get through without special equipment. Brute force will not be the way this mission will be completed successfully, it will be tactics, if any of you have ideas speak now."

All in the room were quiet after that, "I take it that since no one is speaking up, that ideas on how to do this are not coming to mind. Thankfully, thanks to our guest here," Aila said, gesturing to Conille, "We have a method that is more realistic and has a good chance of working in breaking through Lohengrin Gate and not have many dying for it."

Aila turned to the girl, "Miss Conille," she said. "If you would give the rundown of the plan to take down the Lohengrin."

Miss Conille nodded and then began the explanation of what the plan to break through and defeat the Alliance's Lohengrin battery that overlooked the ravine. It was crazy by most standards, using a narrow tunnel that was supposed to take you to the area directly where the Lohengrin was. The issue was that the tunnel was too narrow for mobile suits… with the sole exception of the Impulse, and that was only with the fliers and Core Splendor not the combined Impulse. While the Impulse made its way down the canyon and tunnel, everyone else would play the part of distraction.

After finishing up the explanation, Aila took charge again, "That's the plan as it stands. Miss Conille, if you would hand him the data you're carrying," Aila stated, pointing at Shinn.

Conille gawked, first at Shinn, looked to Aila, then back to Shinn, "Wait, you're saying that this guy is the one that supposed to do this," she exclaimed.

"Indeed, he will be the one piloting the machine that will be key to this operation," Aila replied calmly.

Shinn was taken by surprise at being told that he would be piloting the key machine to the operation, and it took a second for him to realize that meant he would be piloting the Impulse. Conille stared at Shinn a bit longer, "I don't know, this plan requires a pilot that can pull off some seriously tricky flying. Are you sure that this guy can handle that," asked Miss Conille, "There is a lot at stake in this." Conille turned back to Aila, "You are the mission commander, aren't you? Wouldn't it be better for you to do this yourself, you have the skills?"

Shinn didn't know whether to be irked at another saying that he couldn't do what was needed, or just stay silent and show himself more mature. He decided to stay silent as Conille continued, "If he," she said, pointing at Shinn, "messes this up, then my town and everyone in it are as good as dead, the Earth Forces will personally make sure of that."

Hearing that an entire village population would be killed forced Shinn to pause in his thought process. Fighting the Earth Alliance was one thing, but for others to have to pay for what happened, especially when things going badly, was wrong to Shinn. Aila put a hand on Conille's shoulder, "You have my word that he can do this mission Miss Conille. I understand your concerns but when this operation is done, then you and those in your village will be able to see many tomorrows," Aila assured.

The rest of the briefing was mostly giving out assignments to the others who would play the distraction to draw the Alliance's attention. Once done, the pilots began filing out, Shinn was beginning to follow the rest, when he was stopped. "Shinn, a word before you go, in private please," Aila stated clearly.

So, Shinn stayed behind as everyone else other than Aila and the girl left the room, Lunamaria pausing, before Rey moved her along. He turned and faced the Minerva's mobile suit team leader, "You wanted to say something to me ma'am," he asked.

Aila gained a serious expression on her face, "Shinn, say what's on your mind, you kept quiet before, a mature reaction I'll admit, but the expressions that crossed your face still spoke for you," she said.

Shinn didn't say anything for a moment, but finally, "Aila, why would you consider me to play a pivotal role? If the stakes are so high, wouldn't it be better for someone that can do the job for sure do it," he inquired.

Aila didn't answer right away, yet Shinn waited, finally she exhaled heavily, "You may not think so Shinn, but you have abilities and talents that you might not have seen or know of yet. I believe that you are capable of doing this mission and being successful. If I didn't think you were able, then I would be doing the task myself." Shinn was stunned at hearing Aila say what she did, for that was one of the best compliments he had gotten from a superior since enlisting. Aila continued, "And by the way Shinn, you are assigned as the pilot of the Impulse until further notice and not just for this mission. There will be an official announcement later, but you might as well be made aware of the point. You have proven that you are up to the tasks required of a Gundam-type mobile suit pilot, congratulations," she said, holding out a disk to Shinn.

Shinn openly gaped at Aila, "Wait what, did you just say that I'm being assigned to the Impulse going forward?!"

Aila put the disk in one of his hands and had taken a couple of steps towards the door, "I do believe that's what I said Shinn, don't let it go to your head. Being the pilot of a Gundam-type machine isn't as nice as many think it is, makes you into a popular target more often then not."

"But, then what will you do," uttered Shinn.

Aila had made it over to where Conille was, but then she stopped, "I'll be using the Osiris," she replied.

Miss Conille then looked Shinn right in the eyes, "Is there something else you wanted to add," asked Shinn.

Conille's gaze fell to the floor, "The last time ZAFT attacked the battery, my town and its inhabitance pay a horrible price. A rebellion broke out at around the same time that ZAFT was assaulting the battery," she began.

Shinn was quiet at the tone of the girl's voice for it had changed completely from before. "Those who resisted the Earth Forces faced fates worse than what most would imagine, many were simply killed as others were forced to watch. It's been done on other settlements; many people have died because the Earth Forces control this area. And if people try to run for the Federation border for safety, then the Alliance chases them and guns them down. If this operation fails, then all in the town will likely die this time," Conille took a deep breath. "And that's why, the Alliance's Lohengrin battery must be destroyed! It is the source and symbol of their power and dominion! Please, I beg you, do this and succeed! Not just for ZAFT, but for those of us who have suffered under the Earth Forces and the Alliance!"

Aila put an arm around the girl's shoulders and began guiding her out of the room. However, before she exited the room Aila turned back and gazed at Shinn, "Make sure you seriously study the data on that disk, you WILL regret it if you do not later," she recommended.

Shinn was left in the briefing room, gob smacked at what he had been just told. Not only was he now assigned to a Gundam-type mobile suit, a dream of his after his first time seeing one. But, he was expected to play a critical role in the upcoming operation, should he fail, then many lives would be lost. Shinn looked down at the disk Aila had given him, wondering what was on it. The announcement that the operation would soon commence came over the Minerva's speakers and Shinn quickly made his way to the hanger. Shinn went to the Core Splendor and inserted the disk and began to view the contents, while there was still time before the start of the operation.

The data was the map for the alternate path that would allow an undetected approach to the Lohengrin battery. The path was made up of a canyon followed by a tunnel that went through the hill that the bluff was on top of. The issue was Shinn could only use the Chest flier and Leg flier, no Silhouette flier as none would fit down the tunnel due to wing span. So, he would have to keep a close eye on the flyers behind him through the entire journey due to the tight spacing. He would have to travel through a canyon before entering a tunnel that would take him to right below the Lohengrin's housing. The canyon part of the trip didn't worry Shinn, the narrow tunnel, which would be the majority of the trip, did look like it would be much more difficult. Nonetheless, Aila believed that he could do this operation, and Shinn wasn't about to let that compliment have to be taken back by her!

The point that Shinn was to launch came, Shinn headed out with the two fliers flying behind him. Shinn made sure to keep an eye on the two fliers following him and keep them in line. The data indicated the course he needed to take, and he flew down the tight canyon with silence being his boon companion. Recollections of the plan that had been given came back to Shinn's mind, for supposedly, this path was not known to the Alliance, or even many of the locals. According to Miss Conille, the exit below the battery itself was blocked, but the missiles that the Core Splendor carried should be able to clear the rocks blocking the exit.

Shinn spotted the tunnel entrance ahead of him and flew inside it with the other two fliers following in after him. Instantly, Shinn found himself in near complete darkness, he could only see twenty meters ahead due to the one 'headlight' that the Core Splendor had, "What the Hell?!" He looked down at the map that had been on the disk, apparently, he would be flying this by the map alone. "Damn it all! Would it have killed someone to mention that I would be flying this pretty much blind?!"

He clenched his jaw, knowing that complaining would be pointless, since it wouldn't help, and no one would hear him anyways. If he made it out of this alive, then Aila owed him big time! The next stop the Minerva made, he, Rey and Lunamaria would be going out to eat and Aila would be paying the full bill! And it wouldn't be a cheap place either, Shinn would make sure of it, that's how much flying in this 'tunnel' was irking him! As Shinn flew through the dark, he felt the wings of the Core Splendor tapping and scraping the wall, which served to frustrate him more. Aila would be make this worth it, and her compliment wasn't enough, nice as it was! Heck, Shinn partly thought that Aila had given him this assignment, so she hadn't had to do it, but then another part of him took this as a challenge to prove that he could do whatever he set his mind to!

A waterfall appeared in front of him from the dark, and Shinn pulled up hard on the control stick, feeling the G-forces climb. Shinn checked the displays, seeing that he was still on course somehow both the fliers were still following behind him. Gaging his speed, since he needed to not get to his target too soon or too early, the point had been repeated more than once, or those distracting the Earth Forces would be overpowered. All the while, it felt like the tunnel walls were closing in tighter around the Core Splendor as Shinn kept flying forward. It was taking most of Shinn's concentration to fly through tunnel and keep the fliers with him and not have either of them bang into the walls and crash!

Shinn kept steadily making his way through the tunnel, knowing that the Minerva's chief mechanic would be chewing him out for the scrapes and other minor damage he was incurring. He was softly cursing with each bump and scrape that came, it might not make a difference overall, but in Shinn's mind it helped, even if only a little. He couldn't hear the battle that was no doubt going on outside, but timing in this battle was key.

During that same interval, the mobile suit carried by the land-based ships and the Minerva launched out to meet the Alliance mobile suits that were coming their way. Their job of luring away them and the mobile armor from the positron battery so that the Impulse could have the chance to strike was looming. The ships stuck behind the mobile suits, providing support as the approach to the town entered the harder half. The Minerva climbed upward, Talia ordering the use of the Minerva's own positron cannon, telling the weapon controller to make sure they knew what was behind the target. There was no wish to destroy the town, that was the last thing desired, the inhabitance had suffered enough and were helping in this operation.

The Tannhäuser fired at the mobile suits heading for them, yet the Earth Forces' mobile armor moved out in front and used its positron reflector to block the Minerva's attack. The blocked beam didn't penetrate the reflector, and the shockwave that went out from the blocking point forced most of the ZAFT forces backwards a margin. The Lohengrin battery shifted to target the Minerva, to which Talia shouted to the Minerva's pilot to descend. The Minerva barely dodged the shot, scraping the sand before climbing upward. The ZAFT mobile suits had started engaging the Alliance machines, steadily drawing them farther away from the positron battery.

Rey, Lunamaria and Aila were waiting to make their move against the mobile armor. After seeing the Minerva hadn't been hit by the Alliance's cannon, Aila noticed the mobile armor starting to head back toward the battery. "Rey, Lunamaria, the mobile armor is heading back to the Lohengrin, we can't let him get there," Aila commanded. Aila had the Osiris leap into the air, going after the mobile armor, Rey and Lunamaria were about to follow, but were quickly pinned down, this only allowed Aila to chase the mobile armor

As things were taking a grim turn, Shinn reached the last bit of the tunnel and came into range of the blocked exit. "This is it," Shinn said to himself. He fired the Core Splendor's missiles at the rocks, blowing open the exit that would put him right around the Lohengrin battery.

The Gells-Ghe armor was making its way back towards the Lohengrin as the shot at the ZAFT vessel had failed. However, it was brought to a slow crawl and then close to a halt as the Osiris began attacking it from behind. The fight between the two had just got going when part of the mountainside exploded outward. Out of the smoke came the Core Splendor, followed by both the leg and chest fliers. And as soon as all the fliers were clear of the tunnel, Shinn started the combining process for the Impulse. After that, he activated the Impulse's phase shift, Shinn went directly for his target, the Lohengrin battery.

The mobile armor turned its attention to the Impulse, but Aila took the opportunity to close the distance, storing the Osiris' rifle system. She took out the "Defiant" Beam Javelin from its rack on the underside of the Osiris' shield. She impaled the javelin into the mobile armor, piercing the 'mobile suit' section and burying the weapon into the main part of the mobile armor. The mobile armor shortly exploded, Aila having moved back after pegging the machine with the javelin.

At the sight of the Impulse approaching the Lohengrin cannon, those in the Alliance command center initiated the process of lowering the cannon into its bunker. Cables disconnected from the battery, even as the Impulse was quickly closing the distance. Shinn saw that the Lohengrin starting to descend down into its bunker, and he wouldn't let that happen with all that had been done to get here! Shinn was shooting down defending mobile suits, but the sight of the cannon getting lower was making Shinn desperate. So, when Shinn was almost to the cannon, he had the Impulse drop its shield, then just took out the folding razor anti-armor knife and rammed it into the Dagger L in front of him. Shinn continued forward, dropping the beam rifle and taking out the other anti-armor knife, jamming it into the closest Dagger L. He glanced over where the Lohengrin should be and saw that it had lowered, and the shutters were moving into place to seal the bunker.

Shinn did the first thing that he could think of, grabbed the Alliance suit and threw it into the gap there was before the shutters closed, unloading rounds from the 20mm CIWS guns at the suit to get it to explode. The suit dropped into the bunker just before it closed, and then a long moment after the shutters closed, rumbling quickly started followed by a chain reaction of blasts from below within the Alliance base. Shinn maneuvered the Impulse away from the blast that were growing, meeting up with the Osiris and they both headed towards the town.

As soon as smoke and explosions were seen from the bluffs the Alliance were setup on, those in town took that to me the Alliance base had fallen. It was an event that all of them had been hoping and waiting for! All the inhabitance went through town, both collecting Alliance personnel to be punished and destroying symbols of the Earth Alliance.

While this was going on, a force from the Equatorial Union along with some locals that had made it across the border a short period ago, were flying on aircraft. The aircraft was low so that the Earth Forces wouldn't detect them approaching. The local people, made up of older teenagers and some in their early to mid-twenties and they had convinced the Federation military force to give them a ride back close to their home. It would've been preferred that they helped them, but as this was Alliance territory, they couldn't do as much as they once could. Before the Earth Forces had come, it hadn't been uncommon for groups from the Human Federation to come around the settlements to check on the people and assisting when needed.

However, when the scene of smoke and destruction was seen where the Alliance base was, things changed. The Federation force agreed to assist in helping the locals, the exchange for the help was, there were to be no Alliance personnel were to leave so that they could talk about this. When the Federation aircraft had landed behind the town, all but the pilot disembarked and began quickly making their way towards the settlement. A few Earth Forces soldiers were encountered along the way, which were shot without hesitation as the group came the town. The sight of Earth Forces personnel being executed was seen sporadically around the settlement but were ignored. Still, the relatives of those who had come with the Federation group, were quickly found and joy filled reunions ensued.

The Federation personnel from the Equatorial Union, quickly began helping in what ways they could. They even radioed a transport with medical personnel and supplies, as the treatment of the Alliance had done horrible things to a number of the local people. Those from the Federation were welcomed like long lost family and treated as such too, while the ZAFT forces that had destroyed the Lohengrin, were greeted as heroes with cheering. The second Shinn landed the Impulse, and descended from the cockpit, he was surrounded and thanked, congratulated and praised for his efforts. Aila received much the same treatment, which showed her just how bad things had been for these people.

When Conille arrived, she smiled at all the rejoicing that she was seeing, for it had been years since there had been anything to celebrate like this. She was shortly surprised when she was found by her older brother, who she had thought was killed with people from another settlement that had been fleeing for the Equatorial Union, he had come with the Federation force. The mood only became better when much needed medical supplies came, which both ZAFT and the Federation provided.

It was as night fell, that the Minerva loaded up its mobile suits, bid farewell to the locals and began its journey to Carpentaria. Orders had come to report there for further assignment in the early evening. There was only one point of the journey that would need to be decided, the place to resupply. ZAFT bases and territory were not available from Gulnahan to the Oceana Union, so a Federation port would fit the need. There were really three main ports of call for such a thing for a ship like the Minerva; the port in the capital of the Equatorial Union, the Republic's capital Shira and the Orb Union's Onogoro Island. Talia and Arthur made the choice that the Republic would do best, for it was close to a straight shot to Carpentaria from there. Plus, the crew was in need of some shore leave and Shira was well known for being able to get effective time off.

Shinn had been swarmed by his friends once back on board the Minerva, all of them saying how amazing he had been, but, when Aila came into the room, everyone went silent. Shinn faced Aila and waited for her to speak first, "I knew you could accomplish the job Shinn, I never had a doubt," she said smiling.

Shinn smiled for a moment, "Thanks, yet, you owe me for saying nothing about having to fly blind and the reprimand I got from the chief down in the hanger," Shinn stated.

Aila chuckled, "Fair enough, though I do recall you being told that you would need the data to fly this mission. And then, I specifically said to look over the data and study it, or you would regret not doing so. So then, do you have something particular in mind for a reward? And sorry to tell you, I have a boyfriends Shinn, so a date with me is off the table," Aila replied, smiling at seeing Shinn blush.

Shinn shook his head, not appreciated being teased by Aila like this, "No, Rey, Lunamaria, you and myself go out to eat, I get to pick the place and you pay the whole bill."

Aila blinked, not having expected that type of request, but she thought for a moment. This request of Shinn gave him room to have fun at her expense, quite literally. However, Shinn had done very well on the mission, and honestly, she didn't see how Shinn could make things horrid for herself with just one meal. "Fine Shinn, when we dock for resupply wherever it will be, you choose the place, I pay for one meal for the four of us," Aila agreed.

The Minerva set course towards the ocean as traveling by water would be smoother going forward. It took hours to reach the coast, once over it, the Minerva dropped into the water and sailed forward towards the Republic. It took a day to come into communications range of Shira, permission to dock was given to the Minerva shortly after communications started. When the ship came closer to Shira, Federation Dolphes-class sea cruisers took up positions alongside and began escorting the Minerva forward. The view of the dock that the Minerva was being assigned for the duration it would stay, was welcome as it symbolized a coming time of relaxation, rest and recuperation that shortly about to begin.

Moving slowly into the submerged dry dock, the Minerva came to a stop in the dock and the docking equipment slid into place, before the water was drained from the dock. The Federation team that came on board the Minerva were quick and efficient at simply locking a select few systems. The crew was allowed then to disembark from the Minerva while the ship was docked at Shira under repair and resupply.

 **-Line Break-**

PLANTs, L5

Athrun took time to consider the offer made by a number here in the PLANTs for Athrun to come back to ZAFT. When he left after the previous war, it had been through discharged, not dishonorably due to the good words from a few ZAFT commanders, including Admiral Treize. But, Athrun had never thought he'd think about returning to PLANT's military and yet, here he was, seriously considering that very thing. Joining ZAFT again, would allow Athrun to make a difference and perhaps cut down the deaths this new conflict would bring. However, there would be things that Athrun wouldn't be able to do anymore, mostly things within the Federation if he worked in ZAFT.

Nonetheless, in the end, Athrun put on the red uniform that he had put down over a year ago and headed to see Chairman Durandal. The current head of the Supreme Council gained a smile when he saw Athrun in the ZAFT elite red uniform. Meer Campbell was also in the room and she had an expression of joy as Athrun wearing the uniform meant he had decided to help Chairman Durandal in his efforts to end the growing conflict. Plus, she thought he looked very handsome in the uniform, but managed to hide the slight blush with just acting excited.

Durandal approached Athrun, "I see you have made your decision. I am confident that your choice will help make a difference in bringing this conflict to an early end." Durandal then presented Athrun with a box that had the white crest that members of ZAFT's Fast Acting Integrate Tactical Headquarters or FAITH had. "Take this, I'm sure it will serve you well in your efforts," remarked Durandal.

Athrun was dumbfounded at being offered to become a member of FAITH, for he hadn't expected this at all. FAITH was ZAFT's elite of elites, best of the best, comparable to the Earth Alliance's SWORD or the Federation Military's SOLAS. Part of Athrun was honored to be considered for such a position, but there was still as before a nagging thought in the back of his mind that said there was something off in this. Still, Athrun took the crest since members of FAITH could take charge on the field as they saw necessary and that ability would be helpful. But the surprises weren't done yet as the explanation came, "I thought it better to not insert you into the regular chain of command as there might be problems with how you left, even with Admiral Treize's words put in for you. As a member of FAITH, all you need to do is pledge your loyalty to your beliefs and to be true to them and you have already shown that you are exactly that kind of person."

What Durandal was saying made sense to Athrun in principle, but then again, so had his father's reasoning at first. Perhaps it was Athrun being paranoid, yet it was validly earned during the previous war. Athrun had learned, to blatantly ignore suspicions without good reason didn't go well in the long run. Still, Athrun could find nothing blatantly wrong in what was being said, even if he tried to. "Chairman, I'll be among the first group that would like to believe what you say about being true to one's beliefs is right, and it was so simple. But if you would pardon the frankness, during the previous war, many fought for what 'they' saw as right, some of them being manipulated to do so. That includes the previous Chairman… Patrick Zala and look what that brought upon all and still does today." Athrun hesitated, but continued, "I guess, what I'm trying to say is, what makes what you fight for more true or valid than another's reason," asked Athrun.

Durandal smiled, "A deep and honest question Athrun, I admire that you would be willing to ask such a pointed inquiry. I do not have a definite answer to it, but I would like to believe that I and others who work with me are fighting for a bright future for humanity. Not just a part of the human race as others before me had fought for, but all types and forms of humanity. For do not all human beings, regardless of the, type deserve a chance at a future to live in?"

"Yes, I agree with all human beings deserving a future," Athrun replied, as thoughts of those who had been lost in the previous war came to his mind. He could think of nothing more to say back to Chairman Durandal.

Durandal continued, "Also, you will be assigned to the new X23S Saviour mobile suit, which is a Gundam-type of the second-stage series. Your first mission will be to join up with the Minerva and assist them in their efforts. I'm sure you can make a real difference, when the time comes, use that extra power and abilities as you see fit to bring peace," he stated.

Athrun gave a salute to Durandal and head out for the bay that the mobile suit that he'd been assigned was waiting. The suit looked at first glance kind of like the green Gundam-type that Athrun had seen at Armory One. However, it also bore some uncanny similarities to the HFS-Z201 Aurora Gundam as well, mainly the wings and long cannons attached to the backpack section. The wings had a bit of a different shape, but the cannons certainly looked to be more than just accidentally similar.

When Athrun entered the cockpit, he activated the OS and the startup screen was different than the last ZAFT designed mobile suit that he had piloted.

 **MOBILE SUIT NEO OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nrestricted  
 **N** etwork  
 **D** rive **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M**  
 **_Ver.2.5.3 Rev.07_**  
 **Z.A.F.T.**

Once the system was up and running, Athrun looked over the arsenal that the mobile suit had. He found it was armed with a beam rifle, a shield, two beam sabers, two CIWS guns, two machine guns in a fight array as well as a pair of beam and plasma beam cannons. Then, as the flight array suggested, this mobile suit had a flight mode to work with. Athrun activated the suits phase shift armor, which turned it red overall, as the airlocks started opening for the launching tunnel.

After the launching tunnel was open, Athrun took off and began his journey to Earth. The most current information, put the Minerva traveling toward Carpentaria. Nonetheless, after a recent operation they had participated in according to reports, they would need repair and resupply before reaching Carpentaria. There were a few possibilities, the majority of them being docking at a Federation port. Of those, there were only really three major ports equipped to handle specialized ships like the Minerva, those being the capitol of the Equatorial Union, Shira in the Republic or Onogoro Island in Orb. Out of those three, the most likely would be Shira, simply because docks there would be able to do repairs the quickest and it would be close to a straight shot to Carpentaria from Shira. And who knows, Athrun might even get the chance to catch up with Tyler and Kira while around Shira and see what had been happening on Earth.

So, Athrun transformed the Saviour into its flying mobile armor mode and headed for Earth. When he made it to the Earth Sphere itself, he descended down towards the Republic. Upon approaching Shira, Athrun spotted the ship that he believed was the Minerva but couldn't confirm at the distance he still was away. As he got closer to Shira, Federation fighters came up alongside Athrun, asking his identity and business. Athrun answered his 'escort' truthfully, that he had been ordered to join up with the ZAFT ship that was now docked at Shira, the Minerva. There was a moment of silence, which Athrun assumed that what he had answered was being checked. And honestly, Athrun didn't blame the Federation for doing so, not after the attack on Asgard the Alliance made recently.

After having lived in Orb for more than a year, some of the "mysterious" actions and policies that the Federation had, made more sense than they did before. Their number one focus and goal was to protect their citizens from anyone and anything that could and/or would threaten them. That stance was the main factor that determined how the Federation's military conducted themselves. Both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT were equals as potential threats and were watched because of that. What had happened with the nuclear strike against the PLANTs had been the Federation defending their diplomats more than it was helping ZAFT. The reason that the Federation and ZAFT were on "good terms" was the PLANTs currently had seemingly the same goal as the Human Federation.

Athrun was then told to keep his suit's weapon systems offline and continue on his present course. Athrun did as he was told and kept going towards Shira's docks where the Minerva. Once in range, he contacted the Minerva and asked for permission to come on board, which was granted. Athrun's escort broke away and let him go the rest of the way on his own to the Minerva. The right leg opened and Athrun shifted the Saviour out of its flight mode before landing inside the outer airlock of the Minerva's hanger.

Inside the hanger, the mechanics were rushing around, readying things for the new unexpected mobile suits coming onboard the Minerva. The Saviour came through the linear catapult and into the main hanger area, those who weren't mechanics simply stared at the machine as it was moved to dock. The Saviour turned grey as its phase shift shut off and it came into the free dock there was available.

Lunamaria managed to get close to the chief mechanic of the Minerva, "So, what's the story with this new mobile suit? Did anyone hear or know anything about the Minerva getting any new machine, let alone a Gundam-type before Carpentaria," asked Lunamaria.

Madd Aves, the man that was in charge of the Minerva's mechanics and engineers shrugged, "I have not the faintest clue, none of us know any more than you lot do," he replied.

When the Saviour was locked into the dock, Athrun opened the cockpit and exited the mobile suit, descending down the zip line with a suitcase in hand. Silence fell over the hanger when Athrun came out into the open and was making his way down to the hanger deck. Once Athrun set foot onto the deck, he set down his suitcase, then removed his helmet. Lunamaria instantly recognized him, "Athrun Zala," she uttered.

Athrun handed his helmet over to an engineer, and then saluted, "Recognition number 2-8-5-0-0-2, Athrun Zala, FAITH Special Forces team, requesting permission to board," he stated.

Shinn entered the hanger, wondering what was going on, from what Meyrin had said as he had passed her that a mobile suit was coming onboard. His gaze was drawn to the Saviour, then flicked down to the crowd that had formed below the machine. Shinn quickly made his way down to the hanger deck and weaved into the gathered crowd to see what was going on. He was going to ask what was with the new Gundam-type mobile suit, but then he saw Athrun. Shinn recognized him from the short time that he had been onboard the Minerva with Representative Athha. "It's you again, what are you doing on the Minerva," Shinn asked puzzled.

Lunamaria jabbed him in his middle, "Show respect Shinn, he's a member of FAITH," she said, pointing to the white wing crest on Athrun's pilot suit.

All there saluted back to Athrun in response, but in the back of the minds of many there, the question of why a member of FAITH would come to the Minerva was bouncing around. Athrun picked up his suitcase and then proceeded to the pilot locker room, then to meet with Captain Gladys in her quarters.

Talia Gladys was surprised and somewhat shocked to see Athrun Zala again, and in a ZAFT uniform with a FAITH Crest on the collar. But she hid her surprise by staring at Athrun, "I must say Athrun Zala, you being here makes me wonder quite a lot about you," she remarked.

"I can understand the feeling ma'am," Athrun returned.

"Do you Mr. Zala," posed Talia.

"Indeed ma'am, I've been given a great deal to think about since being reinstated," Athrun replied.

Talia paused at that, then continued, "You're made a member of FAITH, given one of the newest mobile suit and then assigned to this ship. Would you not say that's rather unusual Mr. Zala," asked Talia, trying to figure out what was going on.

Athrun nodded, "I can comprehend that it all may seem strange, I feel the same. And I'm sorry for complicating things further," Athrun stated, before taking out the two boxes that had FAITH crests in them. "These are from Chairman Durandal, for you and Miss Aila Lakeen."

Talia stared at the FAITH crests that were stated to be for herself and Aila, for this was something that she didn't see coming and doubted Aila was anymore expecting this than Talia was. She tried to come up with an explanation as to what Gilbert could be thinking with not only assigning Athrun to the Minerva with the newest Gundam-type mobile suit, but also making Aila and herself members of FAITH. For none of this made sense at this point, yet she couldn't come up with any logical explanation.

 **-Line Break-**

Shangri-La, the Republic

The weeks that had followed arriving at Shangri-La, Stella felt the happiest that she had been that she could remember clearly. This place, Shangri-La was different than any other that she knew or had heard about. Everyone here was… nice, even the doctors didn't regularly say what one was doing wrong, they were nice and patient, which was unheard of back at Lodonia. Instead of 'training sessions' and 'practice' for missions and combat, there were short treatment appointments and then what the doctors called 'relaxation and meditation time'. Those parts of the day were interesting, most of the time Stella would take 'Max' the puppy that stuck with her almost all the time, for walks to explore Shangri-La in more detail.

There was only one thing missing to Stella here in this place, Tanya. If her older sister were here, Shangri-La would be the perfect place in Stella's view. Apparently, Tanya had been here earlier, but now Tanya was going through 'recovery' which required living around other people according to some of the doctors here. For the current morning, Max had laid down for a nap and Stella had gone in for her daily treatment. Just after she was done, Stella was approached by Lafter Galiena, "Stella!" Lafter called before hugging her.

Stella was still getting used to how Lafter Galiena acted, for it was different than any other she had ever been around. Lafter had been friendly to Sella and had shown her around Shangri-La in the days following Stella's arrival. She was nice and Stella was starting to like some of the things that Lafter did, she had also told Stella about when Tanya had been here. The older girl wasn't alone at this time either, for Stella also saw that Lafter's two sisters Deborah and Rossweisse were with her. These three had talked to her and had helped her settle in here at Shangri-La. "Lafter," questioned Stella.

Lafter giggled, "Oh Stella, today is such a fun filled day and we want to include you in the activities," she exclaimed.

That said nothing to Stella, but that was common with Lafter Galiena she was coming to find. Not to say that Lafter was bad to be around, she was nice and could get Stella to laugh and there were few that could do that. Deborah sighed, "Lafter, once again, you're leaving out key details and confusing others," she remarked.

The orange-haired woman then closed the distance between herself and Stella, smiling at her, "Sorry about Lafter confusing you Stella, she gets that way when she's excited, please don't hold it against her. What she is trying to say to you, is ask if you would like to join us in going to visit Shira for part of the day," Deborah explained.

Stella was taken aback at what Deborah had just said, for that's not what she had gotten from what Lafter had said. She had heard of the city that was the capital of the Republic, but that was about it, she'd not been there. The conversation that followed between Stella and the Galiena sisters, involved the older girls convincing Stella to come with them to Shira. Stella didn't exactly know if it would be a good idea for her to go, for she didn't have the easiest time around other people. In the end, Stella agreed to go with the Galiena sisters, though she was still apprehensive about it.

The four took the Republic's underground transit system and traveled to Shira and when they came up into the city, Stella was amazed. Similar to her experience when entering Shangri-La, the capital of the Republic had an unknown charm to Stella. The Galiena sisters took her around the city and Stella began to enjoy the experience not too long after she and those with her entered Shira. People treated her much like those at Shangri-La, they were nice and didn't avoid her and other candidates like what was normal at the lab.

Then, the Galiena sisters took Stella to what they called 'the shopping district' and there Stella started having fun, something she didn't have all that often. The four girls tried on clothing and toured many stores in Shira's shopping district, before the went to a restaurant for lunch. Stella was coming to the conclusion, that if what she had experienced thus far today was part of what a "normal life" was, it would be something that she would like to try. She could even imagine doing these kinds of activities with Tanya and the thoughts of having times like this with her older sister caused Stella to smile happily. However, this trip was also bringing feelings and sensations that were strange to Stella. Images and fragments of memories from long ago were swimming around in her mind. They were vague, but Stella could tell the images and memories were from the time before she and Tanya had gone to Lodonia. Before now, Stella would have either panicked or do the best she could make what was coming to her mind go away. But, these memories didn't feel scary as others from the distant past would and they felt… somehow more natural than other memories that she had recalled.

"Hey Stella, you doing okay," asked Lafter, sounding a bit worried.

Stella came out of her thoughts, to find all three of the Galiena sisters looking at her with concern. "Sorry, I was… remembering things that I never have before," Stella replied.

The next thing that Stella registered, Lafter had rushed over to her side and embraced her, saying Lafter's sisters and her, felt for Stella. Rossweisse moved to try and get Lafter to let go of tell and give her space. Deborah on the other hand, gazed at Stella who was looking confused, "Don't be afraid of what you are starting to remember Stella. It happens to all of the candidates that are treated at Shangri-La, it means the treatments are working." Deborah then frowned sadly, "At Lodonia, they made all of us forget things and for some, those there made us think past events happened differently than they really did," she said. Then, Deborah smiled warmly, "But the treatments are undoing that work and it sounds like you are starting to remember your past."

Stella didn't know how to take what Deborah had just told her. To be told that those at Lodonia had messed with her memories gave her a feeling of sadness, but also made her angry. For if it were true and Stella believed it was, then the scary memories could be wrong and not actually have happened to her. Most of what Stella knew of her past, was vague and most of it was from what Tanya had told her. Not knowing what her past had been before the lab, quickly began bugging her, because within the new images and memories there had been a girl with golden blonde hair and red eyes, which made Stella think that the girl was Tanya when she was younger. The girl in the memories had been smiling in a fashion that Stella had only seen once from her older sister.

After lunch, the four young women continued going around Shira, leaving the shopping district, heading for what the Galiena sisters called a 'park'. Along the way however, the four bumped into another group and some toppled to the ground. Lafter had gone down with a female teen in the other group, while Stella fell over on top of a guy. When Stella raised her head to see what she fell over, she found herself looking at someone with black hair and red chestnut colored eyes. For some reason the combination was familiar to Stella, but she was having trouble recalling where she would have encountered it.

Meanwhile, Shinn was rubbing his head after being knocked down by whoever it was that had run into him. When he opened his eyes, Shinn found himself staring at an admittedly pretty face with violet eyes and golden blonde hair. He realized that the owner, who was a girl around the same age as Shinn, was lying on top of him and was staring at him. Shinn looked away from the girl, "I'm sorry, are you okay Miss," he asked.

Stella tilted her head, "I'm fine, but you look familiar," she said in reply.

Shinn glanced back to the girl staring at him, agreeing that this girl looked familiar, yet before he could ask her anything, noise from his left drew his attention. "What did I hit," questioned Lunamaria as she sat up.

The person that had crashed into Lunamaria rose up, "Ow ow ow owchies, that fall hurt," Lafter uttered.

The gazes of Lafter and Lunamaria met and the simply stared at one another, then Lunamaria gained an irritated look, "Why don't you watch where you're going," she growled.

Lafter blinked then stuck out her tongue at Lunamaria, "Same to you stupid, you crashed into me," she shot back.

The two girls quickly began to argue about who was at fault for the crashing, and it would have gone on, if not for outside interference. Deborah chopped Lafter's head, while Rey pulled the collar of Lunamaria's uniform back. Lafter was clutching the top of her head, "Ow, Deborah, that hurt! Why did you chop my head?!"

Deborah glared sternly at her younger sister, "Because you were misbehaving," she stated. Lafter flinched as Deborah kept going, "Mother has taught us manners, you need to use them regularly."

While that was going on, Rey was chastising Lunamaria for her actions and by the way Lunamaria was slumping her shoulders, she didn't have a defense against Rey. The sound of Stella giggling, gained Shinn's attention and he turned back to look at her, and as he gazed at her face again, he remembered where he had seen this girl. Shinn had actually bumped into this very girl around Armory One before the incident with the Gundam-type mobile suits being stolen. "You're that girl that I bumped into at Armory One at L4," Shinn stated.

The statement helped Stella recall where she had met this guy, it had been during the mission to steal the ZAFT mobile suits. In fact, she had as he had said bumped into him and he had stopped her from falling. His grip had felt different, as he had grabbed one of her breasts, but unlike the sensation that came when lab doctors touched Stella in the same area, this guy's touch hadn't felt horrible. Stella then started to note that she was sitting on top of the guy and that was rude, so she moved off.

As soon as the girl had moved off, Shinn scooted back a bit and sat up. He then looked at the girl again, seeing that it wasn't just her face that was pretty, her whole appearance was. Shinn gave her a small smile, "I'm glad to see you got away safely from everything that went down at Armory One. By the way, my name is Shinn Asuka, what's yours" he asked.

"My name," uttered Stella, she rarely gave out her name, most of the time it wasn't necessary with those she was around. "My name is Stella, Stella Loussier," she replied.

Shinn smiled a bit more, "Stella, that's a pretty name, it's nice to meet you," he returned.

At hearing that, Stella felt a warm flutter in her chest that she had never felt before and it was odd to her, but it wasn't an unpleasant sensation. Yet, the sensation mystified her none the less and she was still wondering about it as Rossweisse helped her to stand. Nevertheless, Stella couldn't explain why the sensation had come or what it was implying to her.

Apologies were made on both sides for the crashing into each other incident. Rey doing it for Shinn, Lunamaria and the two others with them, while Deborah did the same for her sisters and Stella. Following that, Stella and the Galiena sisters continued on their journey and those from the Minerva did the same. Yet, before the two groups were out of sight of each other, Shinn and Stella gazed at one another once more.

Once those from the Minerva were out of sight of the four girls, they continued on to do the 'shopping' they were out to do. But, along the way, Vino Dupre got alongside Shinn, "Hey Shinn, how did she feel," he asked

Shinn stared at one of the friends he had on the Minerva, "What are you talking about?"

Vino smirked a bit and softly jabbed an elbow into Shinn's side, "Come on man, we're friends, so you can tell me the truth. That blonde girl fell on top of you man, you got a feel for her figure for a short period, what did it feel like?"

Shinn felt his cheeks heat up as he understood what Vino was referring to. He had indeed noticed Stella's front falling against him, but that wasn't the point. Sure, her skin had felt smooth and her chest had been really soft, yet Shinn couldn't say that out loud! Before the conversation continued, Lunamaria smacked Vino on the backside of his head, "Don't ask Shinn that kind of question! Get that mind of yours out of the gutter Vino," she barked.

Shinn kept his mouth shut, but he did snicker as Vino was arguing back and their group went into Shira's shopping district.

 **-Line Break-**

As Athrun was in the Republic, Shira no less, Athrun gave a called to Tyler, for there was the chance that he could be around here at the same time as Athrun himself. Stranger things have happened before now, so there was the possibility. He hoped that Tyler would answer, but understood if he didn't, when you were on the job, you couldn't always take a call, especially when you're in the middle of something.

" _Hello, who's calling for Tyler McGregor,_ " asked Tyler's voice through the com-unit Athrun had.

"Hey Tye, it's Athrun," he replied.

" _Athrun! Always nice to hear from you, to what do I owe the pleasure my friend,_ " posed Tyler.

Athrun smiled at hearing the upbeat tone in Tyler's voice, he always had a way of brightening a mood. "Well, I'm around Shira at this time and have shore leave for the moment. So, I thought if you were around the area as well, maybe we could get together and catch up," Athrun remarked.

There was a pause, " _Funny you should say that, for as it so happens, I am in town for the moment and also have shore leave. It's the wonderful situation that comes when one is between assignments and are waiting for orders. So, meeting and catching up sounds good to me, and I just happen to know an amazing restaurant here in Shira that has great food. I know the owner and so get the friend rate, which is cheaper than the regular payments expected,_ " Tyler suggested.

"That sounds good to me, when did you want to do this," inquired Athrun.

Tyler didn't answer right away, probably thinking about the timing. " _How about I come by and pick you up in an hour, that should get us at the beginning of the dinner rush and we'll be able to talk without worry of others listening in should that be an issue. Just tell me where to come and get you from and I'll be there,_ " Tyler returned.

Athrun told Tyler that he would be waiting at the entrance to Shira's docking area and Tyler said he would see Athrun in an hour before disconnecting the com-channel. An hour later, Athrun was dressed in a semi-casual collared shirt and pants, waiting for Tyler. A good portion of the Minerva's crew were going into Shira this evening. Heck, even the other mobile suit pilots had headed into town just before Athrun had headed out to wait for Tyler. There had been something said about Aila Lakeen paying for a meal or something to that effect by what Athrun had heard. He assumed that it had to do with some kind of be or agreement between the pilots, such happened off the record.

Athrun didn't have to wait long for his ride, as Tyler pulled up in his car. Athrun opened the passenger side door and slid into the car, "Hey Tyler, good to see you," Athrun greeted his friend.

Tyler smile, "Same to you Athrun. You are looking nice and neat this evening. I admit that the place I have in mind is popular, but it isn't the fanciest," he replied, as Athrun pulled the car door shut.

Tyler turned the car around and headed off towards the restaurant he had mention. The two engaged in some small talk as the drive continued as it had been a few weeks since the last time the two had been around each other. It wasn't all that long before they reached the place and Tyler parked his car and the two entered the restaurant. Athrun could see that the place was busy, business booming and the delicious smells in the air certainly gave reason as to why. Tyler went up and chatted with one of the people manning the front desk, who nodded to whatever Tyler had said, and he waved Athrun to follow him.

Both Tyler and Athrun were led to an empty table and given menus. One glance, and Athrun saw that pasta was one of the main dish bases here. "So Tyler, how do you have connections at a busy place like this," Athrun asked, while looking over the menu.

Tyler hummed, "Well, the owner and head cook here was a special forces trainer for the Federation Military before he retired. The man was my trainer as it happens, he's a good guy and a damn fine cook! I heard him say a few times that he dreamed to own a restaurant and cook good food with his family, and he's living his dream these days," he answered. Then Tyler gasped, "The Tonkotsu Ramen has been brought back, awesome," Tyler exclaimed. Then Tyler looked at Athrun, "The Tonkotsu Ramen here is a taste of heaven, believe me!"

Athrun snickered, "I'll take your word for it."

At the same time, a group of four were being led to a table a moderate distance from the pair of friends. Lunamaria was looking forward to dinner here, especially with the scents floating in the air as they were amazing. She hadn't a clue how Shinn had found this place, but she would thank him later when Aila wasn't around. She felt kind of bad that Shinn was making her pay for the bill for dinner, but Shinn had been the one to invite her and Rey. So, Lunamaria wouldn't complain about it plus, they got to get a taste of Shira's night life.

Aila looked over the menu as did the others, but she was gazing at the pricing of the restaurant. It was clear by the expense she would be paying for, that Shinn was getting her back for the mission against the Lohengrin, likely flying through a narrow tunnel blind. Yet, Aila had agreed to this, and she would keep her word, she just hoped that this restaurant was worth what she would be paying for four. At least the place was packed, so that spoke well for the food served here, so Aila relaxed.

Back with Athrun and Tyler, they both ordered the Tonkotus ramen, which was a pork-based ramen mix as Tyler had spoken so highly of it. Although, Tyler warned Athrun to not even sample anything from the menu when it came to drinks if they weren't in the family section, and it was better to stick with water if nothing else. The reason according to Tyler, was at this time of day, it wasn't uncommon for non-family drinks to have some 'hard kick' mixed in. Athrun took the advice and stuck with water like Tyler did, figuring that 'hard kick' meant alcoholic substances. Once they had placed their orders and their drinks were brought to the table, the catch-up session started.

Athrun started with his trip to the PLANTs and how he had waited to meet with Chairman Durandal. With the attempted nuclear strike that Alliance had made, the leaders and ZAFT had been kept busy. During that wait, he mentioned encountering the one standing in for Lacus, Meer Campbell. That event explanation caused Tyler to gain a confused expression, "You're telling me, someone or a group within the PLANTs have found and made a look-alike of Lacus and is using her to have influence on the masses," he questioned.

Athrun nodded, "Yeah, I was confused as well at first. It was odd to hear and see someone that looks close to the same as Lacus but acts so differently. But that's the impression that I got," he stated.

Athrun continued with his tale, by getting into the meeting with his former teammates; Nicol, Dearka and Yzak. The visit to the memorials had been sober, but then remembering those that are gone, yet you wished were still alive is that way. Tyler was nodding in understanding to the emotions that Athrun wasn't able to properly put into words. "I completely understand what you're trying to portray my friend, I've had the same set of feelings myself from time to time, visiting certain places, usually graves of those I've known" Tyler commented.

Then came the meeting with Chairman Durandal and that had been a different experience that expected. First there had been the nostalgia Athrun felt on being in the office that had been his father's and what had happened in there. There were good, neutral and bad memories of that room, even before Patrick Zala had become Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council. Next had been the more detailed explanation about Meer Campbell and the part she was playing from Durandal. "You say that the Chairman Durandal was looking for Lacus," Tyler asked in a flat tone.

Athrun nodded slowly, "Yes, and I found that odd as you clearly do. I mean, he promised that if she were to help bring peace, that he would personally do what he could to help Lacus find a peaceful life."

Tyler put a hand to his chin, "I'm sure Chairman Durandal said that. What I would question, is what helping bringing peace would entail in his view. For I feel, it differs from what you or I would think is involved with bringing about peace. You didn't tell the man where Lacus is actually living, did you?"

"No, I gave my word that I wouldn't reveal where either Lacus or Siegel are without their personal permission," Athrun replied.

Tyler nodded, "I figured as much, just checking," he said.

Athrun was about to continue, but their food came at that time and there was a pause as dinner was seen to and tucked into as well. The food was amazingly delicious as it smelled, and both ate with gusto. Athrun had to admit that the ramen was the best he had ever had in his life, Tyler hadn't been joking when he had said that the ramen was a taste of heaven!

After both had gotten a taste of the food, Athrun went on where he had left off about how he had decided to join with ZAFT again in the hope of bring the current conflict to a quicker end. The mentioning of being made a member of ZAFT's FAITH took Tyler by surprise, though he believed Athrun deserved such. However, the word that Gilbert Durandal had said for the reason that he made Athrun part of FAITH, caught Tyler's attention. The words said sounded right in principle and they were, but the one from who they were delivered gave a different impression. Athrun had caught onto it, which made Tyler smile as his friend told of his suspicions. The smile grew as Athrun said his reply to Durandal word for word, ending out with Tyler chuckling a bit and pausing his consuming of ramen.

"Athrun, if your reply to Durandal doesn't say how far you have come and matured, then I don't know what could do so better," Tyler assured, grabbing one of Athrun's hand and shaking it firmly. "What the man said is right in pure principle and many including myself would agree with it. However, it is in the application where the idea gets messy and goes off the pure principle. You should be asking the tough questions of what makes another's view right and true, and then why it is the case. If the one you ask that question can give you a decent answer that doesn't have 'just because' or some form of 'why not' without some thought, then their views should be seen as questionable. Even then, if they give you a set answer, I would wonder how much thought they have given the idea personally."

Athrun then told of being given the X23S Saviour and assigned to the Minerva. Of course, there had been questions asked about Athrun's sudden appearance and membership in FAITH, it had blown over shortly thereafter. Athrun had spoken with Captain Gladys, who was also made a member of FAITH by Chairman Durandal along with the mobile suit pilot Aila Lakeen. Athrun's account did give Tyler an amount to think about, though he kept his thoughts to himself to the time being.

Then it was Tyler's turn to tell Athrun about what had been happening with him since they parted ways. Tyler gave sparse details about the "social gathering" he had been roped into by his mother. Saying that the party was as boring as expected, other than the few meetings Tyler himself had. He made mention of the Aurora being taken off the Normandy and the Justice being placed on in its place. Tyler even bowed his head, "Sorry man, I know that it would have been better to ask you first, but you understand how it feels to have little to nothing to work with if a situation comes up. And honestly, I was glad I did have that happen, for when news of the ruins of Junius Seven had started moving towards Earth, the Normandy was ordered back up to space," Tyler said.

Athrun understood the reason Tyler had borrowed the Justice and it had been put to good use in the operation to break up the mass that was left of Junius Seven. Tyler moved on to saying the Normandy headed to Asgard after landing back on Earth.

Then, Tyler began telling of an event that Athrun had thought to be rumor rather than truth, the Alliance's assault on Asgard. The overall result was good in Athrun's opinion, were the Alliance to somehow take Asgard, that would act as a morale boost that would be hard to counter. Nevertheless, there were some facts that Tyler said that didn't sit well with Athrun at all. First, the Gundam-type mobile suits stolen from Armory One appeared on the field. Second, which came from the first to a degree, the pilot of the machine Tyler had disabled and taken back to the Normandy. Tyler had described 'her' as clearly one from the "Enhanced Human Project", which from the details that Athrun knew, was horrible. But that also inferred that the other two pilots of the other stolen machines were also the same. The third fact that was somewhat troubling, but wasn't unexpected, Asgard's anti-orbital cannons were built, not for the Alliance originally, but for countering ZAFT in mind. Lastly, the resulting affects that came after the siege of Asgard, were swift and firm, the Alliance was pretty much banned from entering Federation territory. The Earth Alliance's citizens were now under more scrutiny than before and political talks had for the time being, been blown to hell.

After the long battle and repairs, the Normandy had headed for the Republic. It was to drop off the Alliance pilot to the place within the Republic that had been established to help those from the Enhanced Human Project. The Normandy had remained docked at Shira since then, waiting for their next assignment to be given to them. It was clear that both Athrun and Tyler had been busy to varying degrees by their accountings.

"We certainly are good at keeping busy, aren't we Tye," posed Athrun.

Tyler snickered the question, "I'd say we are, all that's missing right now is Kira telling us of his quiet life looking after kids with Lacus. But then, our friend still lives with his ongoing naiveté, so is his bane and Lacus' frustration."

Athrun smiled and nodded, "Yes, I wonder as you do, if Kira will ever fully shed his naiveté."

Tyler gained an expression that was a mix of mirth and care, "We can continue to hope and pray for our other best friend Athrun, that's the best I've come up with these days," he returned, before draining the last of the ramen from his bowl.

Once Athrun and Tyler had finished their food, Tyler paid the check for them both and they rose to exit the restaurant. They had gotten to the door and stepped outside, when Tyler felt an all too hauntingly familiar shiver run down his spine. Athrun noted that Tyler had frozen where he was, before starting to glance from side to side. "Tyler, you okay," Athrun asked.

Tyler turned to Athrun, a growing expression of panic and sad acceptance, "Athrun, I'm sorry to uh, cut out and run without warning my friend, but um, circumstances require me doing so."

Athrun, then understood what was going on, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for Tyler in this, "I understand. It's probably better you go before she gets here, I'll cover for you the best I can," Athrun returned.

Tyler nodded, "Athrun, you are a true friend, thanks a million," he said before sprinting off towards his car.

There shortly came the screeching of tires, which quickly followed by the sight of Tyler's car shooting out of the parking lot. The back end of the vehicle was swinging back and forth as the tires fought to gain traction. Once the tires got tractions, the car shot forward into the night, and Athrun silently wished Tyler good luck at escaping the one pursuing him. Sakura Clyne wasn't known for giving up on something she's set her sights on before, more the opposite and that had only gotten stronger, Athrun knew that as fact.

The sound a motorcycle came and grew louder, headlights appeared and came to a stop in front of Athrun. The rider of the vehicle was in full leathers, which did show the figure of the woman, not that Athrun needed that to tell him who she was. The visor of the helmet was slid up and the face of Sakura Clyne became visible. Athrun gulped as he felt her gaze settle on himself. Even if Sakura had 'retired' from ZAFT, that didn't change the feel she put off to others, especially those from ZAFT who had encountered her before. So, he did the best thing he could think of, which was to salute, "You're looking well Commander Clyne," Athrun greeted.

Sakura glared at Athrun, then took a deep breath, "Zala… which way did he go, tell me that and I'll leave you alone. Should you not tell me, then things will become very unpleasant for you. And don't use having duties tomorrow as an excuse to get you out of consequences, I'll make sure you're able to show up at the very least, nothing more than that," Sakura said in a cold voice.

Athrun started to sweat heavily at the ultimatum he was just handed, it would take a miracle to save him from this. Still, for Tyler, Athrun would endure whatever Sakura had in mind to try persuading him to tell her where Tyler had gone. He knew that Tyler would do the same for him were he in Athrun's current position. Athrun took a deep breath and steeled himself, "I am sorry ma'am, but I can't say I know which way the one you're chasing went. I do apologize, but that will be my answer and it is final commander."

Sakura was silent for a moment, then a frown formed on her face, and the blood in Athrun's face began to quickly drain. "I'll commend your willingness to help and protect your friend Athrun Zala, especially when you know what kind of fate awaits you by doing so. For the courage you are showing, I'll make the consequences quick, but no less horrible," Sakura stated emotionlessly.

That reply made Athrun's blood run colder than it had been before and he was trying to come up with how he would explain to Captain Gladys why he would be in the state Sakura would put him in tonight. However, a voice from the doorway behind Athrun, interrupted the impending doom, "Athrun? What are you doing around here," asked Aila.

Athrun turned and saw his fellow pilots from the Minerva, though Aila was the only one standing steadily on her legs. Shinn and Lunamaria were leaning up against Aila and Rey was holding onto the doorframe, clearly having issues standing and walking. There was a click behind Athrun, "You are very lucky tonight Zala, don't mistake that. I'll find him myself, he might have managed to evade me a few times before, but he won't tonight," Sakura said, before she raced off.

Athrun let out a heavy sigh of relief, for somehow, he had gotten out of facing whatever Sakura would have done to him. Such a thing rarely happened when Sakura Clyne was involved, so Athrun was counting his blessings. He then, took in the scene again, to end focusing on Aila, "So, do you want to give me the story of how these three ended out the way they are, or is it something I don't want to know?"

Aila had to work to keep Shinn and Lunamaria as the two were having problems staying on their feet. Athrun moved forward and took Lunamaria away from Aila and supported the teen himself, "I haven't an idea how they got like this. Shinn managed to get me to pay for dinner at a place of his choosing and he chose here. I admit, that the food here was incredible, but what did this to these three, I don't know Athrun," Aila replied.

Athrun recalled the advice that Tyler had given him when ordering and grimaced. "They wouldn't have order drinks from somewhere other than the section labeled as family, did they," Athrun inquired.

Aila blinked, "Uh well, possibly, why?"

Athrun gave a sad smile, "Apparently, during the evening and nights, non-family drinks can be spiked with an 'extra kick'. That was the advice I was given, and I take that to mean that alcohol can be added, the amounts may vary."

Aila's head fell and she shock it, "That would explain why they've been acting like their tipsy or worse."

Athrun took out the com-unit he had and called for transportation back to the Minerva. While waiting for the vehicle, Aila mentioned that it might be better that their group not go back to the Minerva with how the three teens were. They hadn't known they were served alcohol and that even though the legal age was eighteen, it wasn't strictly observed during nighttime. Athrun had to agree, and when the vehicle arrived, Aila and Athrun got all three teens into the car. Athrun gave the address of Tyler's place, then contacted the Minerva. He talked to Captain Galdys and explained that an unforeseen and unpreventable situation had come up. Because of that, he, Aila and the other pilots won't be able to come back to the ship tonight, but Athrun would make arrangements for them for the night. Captain Gladys said she understood and told Athrun to make sure they all knew to be on their best behavior as they represented the Minerva.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The drive home from the restaurant was one of the tenser trips that I've had for a while, and it was all due to one factor, Sakura Clyne. That woman is persistent in ways that I'd never encountered or really imagined that I would ever have to deal with in my lifetime. Lacus' older sister had forced me to redefine what I considered stalking and those who did the idea. I've had to get creative in the methods that I utilize in my attempts to avoid and escape Sakura and I mean VERY creative, and then some!

The last time I had shaken her was the last time I was around home, but she had disappeared. For her to have tracked me here again, didn't bode well for me at all, and the shiver I had was too specific to mistake. I did the sensible thing that most sane people do when they know somethings coming that you wish to avoid, I ran for it! Did I believe that getting to my place would be the end of this chase? No, not really but, if I get to my house, lock all the doors and any other means to enter, it should at least slow Sakura down and I'll take that.

I zoomed back to my place, fully expecting Sakura to be behind me somewhere. I don't doubt that Athrun will help in delaying her somewhat, and I'm thankful for a friend that's willing to put themselves in the line of fire for me. I prayed that Sakura didn't do anything too horrid to Athrun, he was helping me, not doing anything wrong. Yet, I can't predict what Sakura does to others when they don't help her, though her reputation doesn't speak well of the idea.

When I came into sight of my place, I quickly drove into the garage and shut the door to not give an extra opportunity to my stalker. Next, I rushed inside and began the task of locking down my place in every way I could think of and imagine. I locked every door, all my doors now having two locks bare minimum, my attempt to prevent Sakura from coming in unannounced, hadn't worked completely. I flicked every catch for each window to make them unusable as a means of entry, unless Sakura brakes the glass, and that would be a warning to me! It was as I was in the motions of double checking the locks on the doors and windows, that the sound of a motorcycle came to my ears.

I shivered, and I knew that Sakura had tracked me down, I had hoped for more time to work with. I had planned to move some furniture to make particular windows and doors more difficult to potentially force open. But, Sakura had gotten here faster than I had expected her to, so I hadn't had a chance to put up all the planned defensive measures. However, as she was here, I was out of time and I would have to make do with what I had and hope my preparation paid off. I headed for the living room as that was the best position to work from, both to defend and retreat if things came to that.

The sound of the motorcycle engine died and then there was silence, which upped the tension level I was feeling. I was breathing in and out in a calculated manner, so that I could keep calm with my stalker trying to capture me. Hearing nothing after a few minutes I gazed around, listening for anything, be it a creak from the floor, anything that could tell me which way Sakura would come from. I heard a creak from my left and I weaved back just in time to view a head of pink hair fly pass, right through where I had just been. Leaping up and flipping forward, I narrowly avoided Sakura's second lunge at me. Nonetheless, the woman swept my legs out from under me and she latched onto me before I hit the floor.

Giggling snapped me out of the daze that had come from my head banging into the wood floor, "~You're so cute when you play hard to get _honey_ ~" sang Sakura.

A shiver shot through me at hearing the woman sing that, a feeling that was a mix between disgust and oddly some warmth went through me when she referred to me as ' _honey_ '. The term sounded wrong, especially coming for Sakura Clyne, it was sickly sweet! Like anyone with a working mind would, I struggled against that which confined me, in every way I possibly could! Sakura like normal, simply was amused by my efforts and went on about how cute it was that I was struggling.

However, after a little while, I managed to break Sakura's hold and get her off me momentarily. I made distance quickly and faced the woman that was my stalker, "I'm not going to admit defeat tonight that easily Sakura. But out of curiosity, how did you get in? I locked all the doors and windows, and you've shown that the curtesy of using the front door isn't your thing," I said flatly.

Sakura laughed, "Well, your bedroom window opened easily and provided a wonderful entry," she replied.

DANG IT! The one that I should've checked first was the one that I missed?! I dodged Sakura rushing me by jumping onto the furniture and got her to lunge headlong into a chair. The second that she had hit that chair, I bolted to the nearest window thrust it open and dove out of the window without hesitation. I rolled and was on my feet and sprinting as fast as I could away from the window and around the house. For a short period, I thought I had managed to shake Sakura for a bit, but I was proven wrong. I had rounded the far corner and had ran along most of the length of the west side of the house. Yet, I missed the last window being open… and Sakura's arms shot out and clotheslined me. I kid you not, I did a full flip, legs first as Sakura's arms had been at the level of my upper chest. Still, I never hit the ground, since my stalker caught me and pulled me inside and into her embrace.

I was coughing as I had experienced what it was to be clotheslined and it didn't feel nice or funny in any way. No, I had broken anything that I could tell, but my ribs hurt something awful! Once I was able to catch my breath again, I grumbled, "Fine Sakura, you win tonight. That clothesline hurt more than it's worth, to keep avoiding you for now." I'm not proud to admit defeat, but my body is telling me to step down before I actually hurt myself.

My admittance, caused Sakura to giggle happily as she hugged and nuzzled me, and I let it happen. But, I grumbled and cursed under my breath as Sakura dragged me towards my bedroom, clearly happy as she got what she wanted.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The transport dropped the five off in front of a house which matched the address given by Athrun. Aila didn't know why Athrun would have them dropped off here, but right now, she was having enough to deal with. Athrun set down Lunamaria, leaning her up against a support beam of the house. Then, he moved forward, fiddled with something, then took a key that he had gotten from seemingly nowhere and unlocked the front door of the house. Athrun picked up Lunamaria again and all five of them entered the house, and by that time, Aila couldn't keep her opinion to herself, "Athrun, is this a house you own?"

"No," Athrun replied shaking his head. "However, it belongs to a very good friend of mine and I know he wouldn't mind."

"I wouldn't mind what Athrun," asked a voice down a hall to the right of the group, and the voice's owner soon came into the room.

Aila found that the one who had spoken was a handsome young man who appeared to be the same age as herself. He had tan hair of medium length, which complimented his green eyes and other facial features. The other point of note to Aila, the guy looked very tired and haggard, why he was, Aila couldn't say. There was silence for a bit, other than the odd hiccup that came from Lunamaria. "Okay my friend, should I ask why you're with this group and why you brought them to my place, or should I just assume that it's better that I not know the details," Tyler posed.

Athrun set Lunamaria on the sofa, "Um, simply put, I think they had a non-family drink from the restaurant we were at," he said gesturing to the teens.

Tyler gained an expression of comprehension, "Ah, I take it they didn't know that alcohol finds its way into them more than half the time? Much like I warned you about when we ordered dinner."

Athrun shook his head, "No, I doubt it. My sober companion and I thought it would be unwise for them to show up to the Minerva like they are currently."

Tyler nodded, "Gotcha, those three returning somewhere between tipsy and drunk would be bad for them as it isn't their fault. It's an unsaid part of the culture in the Republic that alcohol sampling is done before the legal age, not much seen wrong with the idea if the individual is fifteen or older." Tyler looked over the three teens, "I take it you want to crash at my place then for the night, right?"

Athrun nodded, "If you don't mind."

Aila gave her assent as well, "Yes please, if we could, but, we can find somewhere else if needed."

Tyler paused, appeared to be thinking for a moment, in which time, Athrun took in that some of the furniture was out of place and there was at least one chair tipped over. Tyler then exhaled heavily, which kind of worried Aila, "Sure, why the hell not, the more the merrier I suppose," he said somewhat disparagingly, rubbing his upper chest a bit.

Aila was even more confused, for the reaction and the replied didn't make sense with things as they currently stood. Athrun on the other hand winced, understanding instantly why Tyler looked the way he did, "I take it she caught up and found you then, at least the furniture rearrangement would suggest that," he remarked.

Aila looked around the immediate area and saw that Athrun was not kidding, then she twisted her head to stare at Athrun. The rest of what had been said did not add up, not with the expression of pity he had. "I would have thought my tired appearance would tell you that man," Tyler responded. Then Tyler's shoulders slumped, "Yes Athrun, Sakura found me like she does more than half the time, she is my stalker after all. Although, I've put great effort to change that with her, none of the desired result has ever been shown. Hell, I got to experience what it's like to be clotheslined this night and it isn't nice or funny at all, let me tell you." Tyler let out a long sigh, "If you would divvy out who gets what room and/or piece of furniture each person will get to sleep on, it would be appreciated, I'm not interested to do that."

Athrun nodded, before Tyler went down the hallway he had come down before and disappeared into the dark. Athrun turned to Aila and the two of them managed to get Rey and Shinn in one room that had two beds in it. The two were out minutes after they tossed onto the beds, while Lunamaria was placed in one of the single rooms and she followed the other two teens. Aila did protest against it, but in the end, she took the other single room in Tyler's house. Athrun took the sofa for his bed for the night, the morning would unlikely be dull anyways with Sakura Clyne here. The house went quiet after all settled in for the rest of the night.

Athrun's prediction was proven right the next morning, as Athrun was woken up by the sound of scuffling down the hall that Tyler's room was down. He propped himself up and glanced the way the sound had come and got the view of Tyler sliding down the last bit of the hallway, before he bolted towards the front door, wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt. A second set of footfalls came from the same direction that Tyler had come down and the next instant Sakura Clyne, in a tight t-shirt and shorts appeared down the same hallway. She spotted Tyler and lunged in his direction. Tyler in response, leapt upward, grabbed one of the rafters and pulled himself out of reach by latching onto the wood rafter. Thus, Sakura missed Tyler and hit the floor and slid a few feet before coming to a halt, she shifted to a sitting position and found that her target wasn't in her grasp. Meanwhile, Tyler scrambled and hauled himself up to stand the rafter he had latched onto.

Athrun kept observing the scene as it played out, for even though he had seen Sakura chase after Tyler a number of times before, there was no time that went the same way. Tyler was looking down at the woman that was so insistent on pursuing him, "For your information Sakura, I've been preparing for the next time you popped up around here. You forced me to plan for this, so you have only yourself to blame. So, go take a cold shower and cool off while I'm out, would you? The clotheslined was bad enough last night, no more of that," Tyler stated.

Sakura glanced up at Tyler, who walked over to the 'skylight' at the end of the rafter, opened the it and exited the house. Sakura grumbled at Tyler escaping her for the time being, then got up and headed back down the hallway that led to Tyler's bedroom and bathroom. Athrun merely shook his head at the scene that he had just witnessed, for it wasn't new by any means. He sat up on the sofa he had slept on and rubbed the tiredness that remained from his eyes. Sounds from Athrun's right, drew his attention and he saw a tired looking Aila coming into the room. She glanced over at Athrun, "What was all the noise I heard minutes ago," she asked.

Athrun exhaled, for the question was complicated in ways words could not properly say, especially with Sakura Clyne's reputation. "It's a long story and explanation, neither of which you would probably believe. I certainly didn't when I first heard about it and it wasn't until I saw displays of it that I understood what was being referred to. But, let's just say that my friend has an issue with another individual and its ongoing. It has been going on for years according to him and I believe that, don't ask for more details, you don't want to know, trust me there," he replied.

Aila had a confused expression, but she nodded slowly and didn't ask for further information. "Hey, what's going on and where are we," asked the voice of Lunamaria. The female teen came into the room behind Aila, holding her head, "And why do I have a bad headache?"

Aila turned and began telling Lunamaria what had transpired the night before and what she knew of the current situation. While the two girls were talking, Athrun got up and started the day, wonder how long it would be before Tyler show back up. It was around twenty minutes, Rey and Shinn had woken up as well, confused at being in a place they didn't know. Aila was trying to explain what had happened to get them all here, while Athrun headed for the kitchen. Athrun stopped in the doorway, at seeing Tyler was there and already cooking breakfast, "I see you're back from your outing already," commented Athrun.

Tyler paused in cooking to look at Athrun, "Yep, and it sounds like the other guests that I have are awake. It's good that I'm nice and cooking breakfast for everyone here. My mother would be proud of me, practicing the manners she taught me while I was growing up," Tyler replied.

A smile formed on Athrun's face, before he moved forward and began helping Tyler with meal preparations. As the meal was making its way to the table; Aila, Lunamaria, Rey and Shinn were drawn to the food. Athrun made the introductions between Tyler and the others and the three teens had been too far out of it last night to have been up to meeting Tyler. Tyler was thanked for breakfast, and he said it was fine and to eat up before the food got cold. He even offered to take his guests to the docks where the Minerva was, which was accepted.

Once breakfast was finished, Tyler faced to his room and threw on cloths and raced to his car, while everyone else simply headed for the vehicles. Aila volunteered to ride the motorcycle which Sakura had ridden, Tyler gave her the key to it. Everyone else piled into Tyler's Lamborghini, the three teens in the backseats, Athrun took the front passenger seat, while Tyler of course, took the driver's seat. Shinn and Lunamaria were chatting about Tyler's car, for it was a rarer model, Rey just listened, but didn't add to the conversation.

"Okay all, as I say to many of the passengers that have ridden in this vehicle; buckle up, shut up, and hang on for the ride, it will be one that you won't forget anytime soon," Tyler stated with a growing smile.

The three teens had enough time to look forward and then at each other at hearing Tyler's statement, before Tyler put his foot down and his Lamborghini leapt forward. Athrun knew that Tyler's driving style was one that you either get use to or dread having to experience. Athrun himself, didn't mind his friend's driving style, there had been times it scared Athrun a bit, but still it wasn't all that bad. But, for those who haven't experienced how Tyler drives, it was something else and words just couldn't say properly what it's like. Lunamaria close to instantly clung to Shinn, while Rey grabbed what he could and held on, Shinn had grasped the armrest next to himself.

To say the "ride" to the docking area of Shira was an unforgettable experience, would have been a unanimous agreed upon understatement. Lunamaria in particular, was very unhappy with the ride, for she thought they would crash a couple of times and had been panicking by the time they were half way to the docks. But when they reached the checkpoint at the entrance to the docking area, the three passengers in the back were breathing hard. Tyler showed his credentials to the personnel at the security checkpoint, before driving forward at a slower pace while in the view of the checkpoint.

However, once out of view, Tyler floored the accelerator and built up speed. Athrun had a good guess as to what Tyler was planning to do and felt a tad sorry for those in the back who didn't know what they were in for. For those who knew Tyler, his hobby of drifting in a car when he could do so was well-known. He didn't miss an opportunity to show off the skill or use his car to create skid marks, and the docks at Shira was one of the few place Tyler could do the idea and not get into trouble doing the activity.

"Isn't this a bit fast to be driving," barked the voice of Lunamaria.

Tyler grinned broadly, "Nope, this speed is fine," he returned as a hand went to the e-brake. "It makes this fun and last longer, so here we go~."

Tyler yanked the e-brake and spun the steering wheel, all this causing the car to go into a drifting skid that had the car going sideways down the area towards the Minerva. Lunamaria quickly began screaming as the drift kept going while Shinn and Rey held on. Athrun simply glanced at Tyler and saw the grin he had, and just shook his head, but had a knowing smile as Tyler was in control of the car. The long drift came to an end by the car sliding to be a moderate distance from the Minerva, but with the ship in view. Tyler let out a whoop, then looked back to the rear seat and went silent at seeing the variety of expressions his passengers had. "Uh… maybe I went a little far in showing the interest of my hobby," he commented with a tone of apprehension.

"I would say that sounds accurate Tye, though a good drift this time," agreed Athrun, the two friends looking at one another, then back to the three teens. "I don't think they were fully prepared for your driving style or your hobby of drifting."

Tyler chuckled a bit, before he gained a repentant look on his face, "Well, I can boast that my way of I drive a car is certainly one you don't forget once you've experienced it," he replied.

Shinn was the first to regain his bearings, "That was awesome," he exclaimed.

Athrun and Tyler stared at Shinn, then Tyler smiled and laughed, "That's one vote in favor of my driving," Tyler proclaimed proudly.

Athrun was about to say for Tyler to be patient, but then Lunamaria came out of the daze she had been in. "That was terrifying! I thought we were going to die before we got here," she nearly shouted before glaring at Tyler.

Athrun snickered, "And that would be a strike against your driving style my friend," he remarked.

Tyler was quiet for a minute, even as Lunamaria glared angrily at him, "Okay, valid point, the way I drive isn't for everyone," Tyler admitted to Athrun, then exited the car.

The teens quickly exited after Tyler and Athrun got out of the car, Rey and Shinn supporting Lunamaria as she was somewhat shaky on her legs. Aila shortly rode up on the motorcycle and stared at her three juniors, "What's wrong with you three," she asked.

"Well, my friend has a different driving style than the average person practices," Athrun answered Aila.

Aila looked between Athrun and the teens, but before she could ask what he meant, Tyler spoke. "Hey now Athrun, you make it sound like my driving is horrible or wrong saying it like that," he said. Tyler put his hands on his hips, "I'm a very save driver I'll have you know, I've never crashed this car, not even once."

Athrun turned to Tyler and gave him a knowing smile, "And how many near misses have you had," he posed.

Tyler instantly gained a sheepish grin, then rubbed the back of his head with a hand, "Um well, I kind of lost count a while ago and stopped as well, but I'm human, so cut me some slack would you," he returned.

Aila moved over to Rey, since Shinn and Lunamaria had started arguing about the 'ride' they had getting here. "Rey, should I ask what happened," she questioned.

Rey merely pointed at the ground and when Aila looked down, she spotted the black skid marks. Her gaze followed their path and her eyes widened the longer that she traced the long skid marks. Aila ended out nodding, "Point taken Rey, you and the others had what appears to have been a hell of a ride," she remarked while Rey simply nodded in reply and said nothing.

The group of six, Tyler included started walking towards the Minerva and once they got closer, the sight of both Captain Gladys and Deputy Captain Arthur Trine didn't comfort the pilots. Arthur quickly got down to chastising the teenagers for getting into a situation that would have them not able to come back the Minerva last night. Aila did try to help by defending the teens as they were not at fault for what had happened last night.

However, Talia was staring at Athrun then her gaze moved over to the other with them and was surprised to see a young man that she had encountered close to two months ago. Tyler McGregor was one of the last person that she would have imagined that she would encounter here in the Republic. Then what chain of events could have led to him to cross paths with the pilots of the Minerva, Talia couldn't begin to guess. "Mr. McGregor, didn't imagine that our paths would cross again," Talia greeted.

Arthur paused in his reprimanding, and twisted his head to stare at Tyler, "McGregor," he questioned, "As in the War hero Tyler McGregor?"

There was silence after Arthur's question, for the name Tyler McGregor was known from the First Alliance-PLANT War. It was one of the names of the notable and decorated 'war heroes' that played key parts in the final battle of the war. But also, Tyler McGregor was also one of the individuals like Athrun that was one of those who fought in several battles in the war and come out of them against horrendous odds.

For the three teen pilots of the Minerva, it was similar to how it felt when they had met Athrun. Tyler McGregor was a name they had all heard around the ZAFT military academy, but the stories about him and the image of him that they created, didn't match his appearance. Aila was somewhat surprised to find out that the host that she and the others had been with, was one of the notable war heroes. However, like Athrun, he looked like an ordinary person that you could meet on the streets, but that's how many 'heroes' normally were.

Tyler shrugged his shoulders, "Some people consider and call me a war hero, but honestly, I don't see myself as one." Tyler waved a hand in dismissal, "The stuff I did during the previous war was nothing to really note I say, I would think others in my position would've done the same things." Then Tyler focused on Talia, "Then, the other reason I personally brought your pilots back, was to hopefully have a moment of your time Talia Gladys," he finished.

Talia nodded and gestured for Tyler to follow her onto the Minerva and he grabbed Athrun as he started walking after Captain Gladys. Yet, as they were passing the other pilots of the Minerva, Tyler glanced at the Deputy Captain, "Please go easy on them. They unfortunately got caught up in the unsaid culture here in the Republic that involves the sampling of alcohol in the evenings and nighttime," he said before resuming following Talia.

Tyler and Athrun were led to Talia's quarters, the captain of the Minerva took the seat behind the desk in her room and looked to Tyler. "What is it that I can do for you Mr. McGregor," she asked.

Athrun was also curious as to both, why Tyler had brought him along and what it was that he wanted to discuss with Talia Gladys. Tyler said nothing for a moment, but put a hand to his chin, both Athrun and Talia waited. "First, let me say thanks for what ZAFT did in Gulnahan, the people that live there have really been suffering there since the Alliance had setup around there," Tyler started. Then he clearly hesitated, "The reason that I asked for a moment of your time, was to… give you a warning," he said.

"A warning," inquired Talia, wondering what he was referring to.

Athrun was also paying closer attention, "You didn't hear this from me, I make that clear for the record. Honestly, I debated telling Athrun here," Tyler iterated, pointing at Athrun, "about this last night, but I figured it would probably be better to deliver this information in person. It is my understanding that you'll be heading for Carpentaria when you leave the Republic, is that a correct assumption?"

Talia nodded, "Yes, we've been ordered to head there."

"Then along your way, you will come across an Alliance fleet and I highly doubt they will let you pass without uh, trying to delay if not stop you," Tyler stated.

Talia, gritted her teeth at hearing that, for that would make things harder if it were true. Athrun was staring at his friend, "Tye, how do you know such a thing," he asked.

Tyler's eyes met Athrun's, "I happen to come across the information while I was perusing the Information Network. What that fleet is supposed to be doing, I couldn't say, but I would guess it would have something to do with Carpentaria. Still, that they're there at all, will be I would think an issue for this ship and its crew." Tyler turned and faced Talia again, "I've always been of the mentality that good people dying when it can be prevented is bad and undesirable. Even from the short period on this ship, I saw good people and so, the warning about the Alliance," Tyler reasoned.

 **-Line Break-**

The Minerva left Shira the next morning, her repairs and resupply had been completed late the previous day. The ship's course was set towards Carpentaria as they had been ordered to do. However, in the back of Talia's mind, the warning from Tyler McGregor about what was ahead of them. The expectation of the Earth Forces would make attacks and try to stop the Minerva had been in place ever since the Minerva landed on Earth. But to know that there was an Alliance fleet was waiting for them in international waters before Carpentaria didn't sit well with any of the Minerva's officers. Granted, the Minerva was better prepared that she had been before and had more mobile suits and experienced pilots.

It was midday, when the Minerva had come into range of the first group of the Indonesian Islands and the Alliance fleet came into visual range. The fleet was made up of; four Spengler-class carriers, five Arkansas-class cruisers and eight to ten mid-size to small vessels. Burt Heim reported that the Earth Forces' fleet was in a formation was setup to prevent the Minerva from advancing forward. "Condition Red" was declared, the crew rushed to their battle station and the pilots were to standby in their machines. The Minerva deployed its defenses and offensive options for the upcoming battle against the Alliance.

For the mobile suits and their pilots, Athrun was to be the field commander for combat operations, Aila would be the deputy field commander. Captain Gladys made it clear that it would be best for the mobile suits to not go too far from the Minerva as the Earth Forces fleet could overwhelm the ship if given the opportunity. Athrun delegated the job of defending the ship to Rey and Lunamaria, as well as intercepting incoming enemy forces from the Minerva's upper deck. Athrun, Aila and Shinn would intercept the incoming Alliance mobile suits as the Minerva moved forward, firing on the enemy vessels.

The mobile suits began launching from the Minerva, Rey's ZAKU Phantom came out of the left linear catapult and came to land about the catapult. While Lunamaria's red ZAKU, equipped with a gunner wizard took up position on the opposite side from Rey. The Impulse flew out of its catapult and combined, then equipping the Blast Silhouette for this battle. The Saviour and the Osiris headed out to the field ahead of the Minerva.

Larger numbers of Earth Forces mobile suits had launched from the carriers and were approaching the Minerva and its defenders. The mobile suits began clashing, and shortly after they did, the Alliance vessels fired at the Minerva. The Minerva returned fire and quickly disabled some of the smaller vessels in the Alliance fleet through the use of "Parsifal" ground missiles and the Minerva's 'Isolde' triple cannon. That was followed by the launching of torpedoes and both Tristan beam cannons being used against their enemies.

The Impulse was fighting against the Alliance Daggers, which unbeknownst to Shinn were drawing him slowly away from the Minerva. Aila was forced to keep a relative distance from the Minerva by both ships and mobile suits. The Saviour was making its way towards the Impulse, since it was gaining distance from the ship and that was dangerous in this battle. Drawn away from the Minerva, the Impulse could be worn down and then destroyed given time. As the Alliance fleet closed around the Minerva, Shinn finally noticed that the Minerva was getting into trouble and he was quite a ways from being able to help them.

Shinn tried to get back closer to the Minerva, but Dagger machines blocked his way and delayed his progress. Then the Saviour came down on the Alliance Daggers that were attempting to pin the Impulse down. Athrun pushed enough of the Alliance force to free Shinn up a bit and they both made their way back towards the Minerva. Along the way, the sight of one of the carriers opening their main deck and deployed an unknown type of mobile armor, caught Athrun's attention. The craft was larger than an average mobile armor by a notable margin, it was green overall and had an orange stripe up the middle. It appeared to be well armed and could take on opponents from multiple directions, if the weapon positioning was anything to go by. Shinn also noticed the new mobile armor heading for the Minerva and he like the look of it as much as Athrun did.

" _Shinn, we need to stop the progress of that mobile armor before it reaches the Minerva,_ " ordered Athrun.

"Yes sir," responded Shinn promptly.

On the Minerva, the approach of the mobile armor was hard to miss, and Talia didn't like the look of the machine. It was large and had a number of weapons on it that she didn't want to see how effective they could be. She ordered the Tannhäuser to be brought out and use it to take out the mobile armor and hopefully some of the Alliance fleet with it. As the Minerva got its positron cannon out, the mobile armor, the Zamza Zah, tilted forwards to bring the emitters for the positron reflector into position to block the incoming shot. The Minerva fired its Tannhäuser, but the beam came to a halt when it came into contact with the reflector. The armor was pushed back and the Alliance vessels in the front were destroyed, but that was all.

The Zamaz Zah surged forward towards the Minerva, yet the Osiris put itself between the oncoming mobile armor. The Saviour and the Impulse came flying in from behind, but the armor's weapons shifted and began to fire at the three mobile suits that were attacking it. The machine chose to focus on the Impulse and flew at it, extending claws that had been hidden in its 'front legs'. The claws began glow red as they opened all while the Zamaz Zah got closer to the Impulse. Earth Forces mobile suits quickly occupied the Saviour and the Osiris, leaving the Impulse to fend for itself.

It was as the mobile armor got a hold of one of the Impulse's legs and began pulling down, things came to a breaking point. Athrun wasn't about to let things to end like this, and such resolve, SEED mode activated for Athrun. He stored the Saviour's beam rifle then drew both beam sabers. The two Alliance Dagger L charged at Athrun, but he spun around, slicing both suits in two. Athrun then raced towards the mobile armor from below, focusing his sights on the back antenna and the two rear ones. If those went away, then in theory, the machine should lose its ability to block incoming beams. Plus, it would likely let go of the Impulse and it was probably that Shinn's was running low on power.

Sinn meanwhile, was doing everything to not lose his head as he was being dragged downward towards the ocean below. Alarms were screeching in the cockpit, but the screen that showed the Impulse's power levels was what caught Shinn's attention. His suit's battery was critically lower on supply and when it dropped to five percent, the phase shift armor would shut off and it just dipped below ten percent! Shinn could only watch as the battery power hit five percent and the Impulse's phase shift go down. Once the phase shift armor was off, the mobile armor's claw started cutting through the leg it was holding, but before it did, the mobile armor tossed the Impulse downward.

As Impulse fell, Shinn felt resolve swelling within him and for a moment, everything became clear. If that mobile armor were to reach the Minerva, then the ship would be destroyed and all those onboard with it. For the first time in Shinn's life, the clearest mental clarity came and with it the single thought came to him. He, Shinn Asuka, would not allow anyone or anything hurt his friends or the ship they were on! Shinn shoved the throttle forward and had the Impulse stop from going into the water and then flew out of the way of the mobile armor's attacks. The Impulse climbed after that, "Minerva, ready the Deuterion Beam system," Shinn ordered as he dodged the Zamaz Zah that was behind him. "Meyrin, get a leg flier and the Sword Silhouette ready to launch," Shinn continued.

Shinn moved the Impulse into position to receive the Deuterion Beam, yet the mobile armor wasn't far behind. However, before the Zamza Zah could attack the Impulse again, the Saviour came speeding up from behind and Athrun swung his beam sabers at the reflector emitters. He missed the back one, but Athrun clipped the two rear spars that the reflector emitters were. " _Shinn get what you need, I'll distract this mobile armor,_ " Athrun commanded.

A beam shot from the Minerva and made contact with the Impulse's head where the Deuterion receiver was. The beam filled the battery's power back up to one-hundred percent, causing the phase shift armor to reactivate. The second the Impulse had full power again, Shinn turned and shot towards the Zamza Zah that was fighting the Saviour. Shinn drew one of the Impulse's beam javelins and then rammed it into the underside of the armor. At the same time, Athrun drove both of his beam sabers into the middle of the top of the armor.

The mobile armor started to fall, Shinn and Athrun backed off, watching the mobile armor hit the surface of the water and explode. "Minerva, send out the leg flier and Silhouette," Shinn ordered.

Shinn set up for the incoming fliers as they launched from the Minerva, he ejected the Impulse's legs and the Blast Silhouette. The second that the Impulse had new legs and the sword equipment, Shinn shot forward towards the Alliance fleet. Athrun went for the ships on the right while Shinn went for those on the left. Word nor orders were necessary between the two, they both knew what needed to be done. Shinn used the combined two anti-ship swords to cut into ships and slice them the up. Athrun switched between using the Saviour's beam and plasma cannons, along with his beam rifle to destroy the Alliance vessels.

Those on the Minerva and the other mobile suit pilots simply stared at the incredible scene playing out in front of them. Of course, Athrun Zala was seen as a war hero from the previous war, so his skills were not argued. However, to see those skills in action was completely different than just hearing about them from others. Then, Shinn was performing at a level he'd never reached before now and making it look like it was normal. Ship after Earth Forces ship took damage and either sunk or had serious trouble keeping afloat from the efforts of Athrun and Shinn.

What remained of the Earth Forces fleet, quickly retreated from the battle, and left the Minerva alone for the time being. The Minerva, though she took an amount of damage in the battle, resumed sailing forward toward Carpentaria after its mobile suits returned. On the bridge, Talia was letting out a sigh of relief that the battle was over, "If not for the Saviour and the Impulse, along with their pilots, I doubt we would have made it through that battle," she remarked.

Arthur turned in his seat, "I would agree ma'am, both Athrun and Shinn were simply incredible out there! I would expect Mr. Zala to be skilled and pilot well out on the battlefield with the experience that he has. But both he and Shinn took down more than five ships each and a carrier or more," he replied.

Arthur wasn't wrong, Talia knew, but still, the turn had been completely unexpected in this situation. Nonetheless, Talia had the bridge crew, including Arthur get back on task by doing what could be done before arriving at Carpentaria.

Down in the hanger, the mechanics were gathered along with Aila, Rey and Lunamaria as the Saviour and Impulse entered the hanger. By the time that Athrun and Shinn got to the deck, they were both surrounded, being thanked and congratulated by crew members. It took a few minutes, yet Athrun made his way over to the other group, "Shinn."

Shinn faced Athrun, "Yeah?"

Athrun smiled a bit, "Well-done out there," Athrun said.

Shinn was kind of shocked to hear that from Athrun, but he didn't have time reply as Athrun kept going. "You keep working on your skill, and I do not doubt that you'll go far. Heck," Athrun commented, looking towards Aila, "It may not be long before Aila and I have to work hard to not having you pass us by."

The sound of clapping was heard, started by Rey, others joined in and shortly, everyone in the hanger were clapping for Shinn and Athrun. Chief Aves, got all there organized and back to working on repairs, leaving the mobile suit pilots. The five began heading for the locker room, along the way Lunamaria got next to Shinn, "What happened out there Shinn? It was like you became a super ace or something like that, how did you do that," she asked.

Shinn thought about the question but didn't really have an answer to it for he hadn't a clue how he had suddenly started owning all of his opponents. "I don't exactly know, it just sort of happened, I can't explain what or how it occurred," Shinn replied.

Lunamaria didn't drop the subject, even when Aila told her to give it a rest. Rey was not saying anything, he was just smiling as the conversation kept going. Athrun was listening, but didn't add to the conversation, even though he had an educated guess what had happened to Shinn.

The qualities that Shinn had exhibited, they were like what he had seen in the previous war with a few individuals; some of his friends particularly. And the idea itself was controversial and hard to actually prove without specific data, which was not available to most people. SEED Factor, was something that Athrun knew about, after all, he had it himself and he couldn't exactly deny it. Those who had SEED factor, had some common abilities, some being "having eyes in the back of your head", which came from enhanced awareness. The two best examples that Athrun had seen this with, was Tyler and Kira. With Kira, going against him when he was in SEED mode was… the best word for it was 'ridiculous'. When Tyler used his SEED factor, it was 'ludicrous' and terrifying as hell! The one experience that he'd had, the battle above orbit in the previous war had proven that without any doubt.

So, if Shinn did have SEED factor, and Athrun was of the mind that he did from seeing this last battle, then that could be either a good or bad thing. The increase that SEED mode gave was helpful, but it was as a double-edged blade, as Athrun had learned from Tyler. And yet, SEED factor was fairly rare in people, regardless of the type of human they were. So, it was unexpected to find someone on the Minerva. It was almost like Shinn was assigned to this ship by someone that believed Shinn had something like SEED factor. Whether that was the case or not, Athrun couldn't say at this point with the information he knew.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **This will be the place I'll leave off, as this place will work as a wonderful transition point for the next set of events. I know that in this Phase Tyler had less of a part, but he'll have more a part in the next Phase. Some would point out that the events that I have arrange in this Phase is out of order of what canon has, I say so what, that's what I want in this. I hope that you readers enjoyed this Phase, it was a more interesting one to write. Please some of you continue to write reviews, they are helpful. Until next time and Phase!**

 **Duked**

I hope I answered you review, if not PM me and tell me, I'll answer the best I can.

 **Titanic X**

I wouldn't disagree with the idea that were footage to be released about the Enhanced Human Project it would have quite an effect. But, do understand, there would be a spread of effects and then for the parents, you assume they're still alive. For many of the candidates, they aren't for one reason or another, I'll get into more detail later on.


	34. Phase 34: the Seeds of Doubt

**A/n**

 **This is a Phase that things will start to be different and diverge once again from the path that canon. But I hope you readers enjoy the Phase, and my standard disclaimer applies.**

* * *

Phase 34: The Seeds of Doubt

November 25th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Tyler's pov-

The Republic

It was the day after the Minerva headed out and travel for Carpentaria, when something came up for me. The situation started, when I came across a piece of data on the Information Network. The file I found was a report, which didn't identify whom it belonged to 'official', but from what I read, I could give a very educated assumption as to who it was for. The report was an intel document that noted that a 'target' had been found. The location coordinates in the report… well, it was where Kira and Lacus live right now. That made me think that someone had not just figured out where Lacus was living, but also had confirmed it. That is a potentially dangerous problem as were some individuals might use this information to try and harm my friends.

Then, the last line in the report, seriously set off alarms and raised the bloodiest red flags possible! The line was ' _location acknowledged, group will be sent to do black dusting of the individual_ '. That single line told me two things, the 'group' was more than likely going to be a well-trained team, and that this report was almost certainly done and being used by ZAFT. The terms 'black dusting' were code for assassination with ZAFT, normally special forces or their black opts. And with the target mentioned probably being Lacus, this report was far too realistic to ignore!

So, I got down to getting ready to do whatever it would take to protect Lacus, Kira and the kids living with them. The first thing I did, was to contacted Carlos, for I had been called to see if I could test some equipment for them while I was around the Republic. The equipment was heavily implied to be a mobile suit of some kind and that would be helpful for what I was soon going to dive into. Next, I retrieved a large duffle bag, then started packing the bag with a variety guns, explosives, stuff meant for fighting and combat in the bag organized to be tight as possible. So, by the end, I had a decent arsenal to work with, which I might just need if I indeed go against ZAFT Special Forces as I fear I will.

After packing my 'goodie bag' of toys and tools, I called Lisa and told her that I would be unreachable for a bit in order to cover my bases and rear end if things go bad. I did explain to my friend and second in command, about the developing situation and she understood why I was racing over to Orb. Once I hung up from talking to Lisa, I headed over to Teswa to pick up whatever they wanted to test for them. What it is I'll be testing, I don't know, but I've learned not to say no to such requests as more than half the time, it means I get to see and use the newest and greatest equipment! And I certainly won't refuse such opportunity when I'm asked to help out in that.

When I arrived at Teswa, explaining to the security guard that my bag's contents, was not something to worry about was a hell of a chore. I ended out having to tell them it was for a special operation that I couldn't talk about and I was picking up something from Teswa. After showing my military ID and the security personnel checked it heavily, I was finally allowed to pass. From there, it didn't take me long to come into the same area as Carlos works in, which is one of the places I figured I might end out.

I've been curious what direction scientific development had and would go after the Treaty of Junius Seven. From current evidence, both ZAFT and the Alliance have still been working on improving nuclear technology, even though one of the point of the Treaty of Junius Seven is that such technology is not to be used by military groups or organizations. But then, within the last year, it has become clear that parts of the treaty had started being ignore and nothing be said about it. However, from what I've learned and understand, Federation scientists have been seriously looking into alternative energy that could possibly replace nuclear power. Unfortunately, I haven't much on details on if there's been progress on such ideas, but then I've been rather busy until recently. And oh boy, was I in for a surprise beyond what I was hoping for and didn't even know it!

I had moderately entertained the chance that I might get to test a mobile suit, I've gotten to do it once before and that had been a blast! Yet, I wasn't prepared for what I was getting to play with! The mobile suit that Carlos brought me to stand before, was somewhat over eighteen meters in height from the top of its head to the floor. It wasn't the grey like machines that have phase shift armor when its deactivated, but it was slate grey overall, but the torso and shoulders were a dark dull blue. It was clearly a Gundam-type mobile suit, had enough of the identifiable features to say that, its head being the most telling. After taking in the suit's appearance, I turned to Carlos, "So my friend, give me the spiel you got on this mobile suit, for I'm all ears," I said.

"This mobile suit is the GSR-001 Exia Gundam, one of the prototypes of the next generation of mobile suits. It has been a collaborative effort between many to develop and construct this, and the other prototypes," Carlos began.

A collaborative effort he says? "When you say collaborative effort Carlos, what do you mean and whom," I asked.

"Koovos did the work on the defenses and weapons, we here at Teswa did OS and internal systems. But, the majority of the develop and construction was done by those at Valhalla Research," Carlos answered me.

I've heard of the name 'Valhalla Research', its supposed to be a newer scientific research complex or facility whose work is not made public right now. Other than that, I don't know much about the place, just scarce rumors. "Um Carlos, I don't know much other than the name when it comes to Valhalla Research. So, could you fill me in a bit please," I suggested.

Carlos nodded after a moment, "Valhalla Research is a station where advance theoretical research without interference. The location is not said often, but it is not on Earth or among the colonies or the moon. Although, its position plays a part to the work that it does and the very idea that made this machine possible."

I folded my arms, "Okay, what is so different with this mobile suit that has come before now?"

A smile formed on Carlos' face, "The power source this suit has, is revolutionary in many ways. This machine has a GN Solar Reactor, the GN standing for Genolos Nucleus. It's a semi-perpetual generator which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source which comes out as light particles."

I blinked, not understanding around half of what Carlos had said, lots of scientific terms and I ain't the scientific type, that had been my dad. I held up a hand, "Carlos, I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm not science savvy, smart as I am. So please, dumb down your explanation so that I can actual have a chance had comprehending what you're talking about."

Carlos nodded, "Fair enough, the reactor generates particles that have some similar qualities to solar energy from the sun. Like other power sources, an individual reactor has a limited moment-by-moment output. However, due to its design and nature, the GN Solar Reactor continues to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the reactor's rate of production isn't outdone by the power consumption or pushed to breaking limits. The reactor powers the mobile suit and acts as its propulsion, is utilized in supplying the weapons and defensive systems," my friend iterated.

My friend then began going into more detail about the Exia Gundam. The mobile suit was overall designed to excel at close quarters combat and was geared toward such an idea. The range of motion and movement had increased from previous suit and to ensure and assist that range of movement, the pieces that made up its armor is separated into much finer pieces. And said armor was made up of a newly developed synthetic alloy Carlos called E-Carbon. The alloy, had been proven capable of withstanding, if not proving to be entirely impervious against, projectile shots. Carlos even showed me some recordings of testing that was done at Koovos and let's just say that even with phase shift armor, I wouldn't want to have what weapons were used for testing used on a mobile suit I was in! That, combined with the phase shift armor the Exia was equipped with, it gave both exceptional resistance and defense against both projectiles and beams.

With the Solar Reactor acting as the suit's propulsion, the machine's mobility was apparently much better than thrusters could ever provide. I'll believe it when I see it myself, so I'm keeping the jury out on that for the time being. The feature that didn't make complete sense to me, was the numerous grayish purple cables that extend from the shoulders to the arms and the ones visible on the upper legs. According to Carlos, there were power lines, with the purpose to transport large amounts of particles to and from various parts of the body. The Exia also possess head antennas which controlled particle distribution, though most of the actual particle control responsibility is taken up by the antennas at the shoulders and neck. What that actually means, I really don't know, Carlos was clearly trying to dumb down the explanation, but it wasn't enough. Anyways, the Exia's head also has other antennas that function as communication and sensor devices.

The last system that Carlos told me about was what he called a "GN Reactor Burst Mode" function, that can temporarily increase the output of the GN Reactor by a sizable margin. However, the drawback, is that its unstable and is still "in development" and was not perfect. There was an optical camouflage system onboard, much like any other Federation mobile suit.

For weapons, there was the weapon system that was mounted on the right arm. The weapon system also served as the primary offensive option that the Exia had. The system was made up of a large solid blade attached to a miniature forearm shield, which serves as the defense other than the armor systems. The blade by what Carlos said, worked by applying GN particles over the solid sword which greatly increases the sharpness and cutting power, though the sword can still be used when there are no particles applied to it as well. Carlos' compared the blade's cutting ability being like a hot knife cutting through butter. Although the blade looked to be devastating were it to come against a mobile suit, I can still see situations where using it would be more difficult due to its size. The system also had a rifle mode, whereby the blade returns to its idle folded state exposing the muzzle of a beam rifle. That would counter long-range attackers and that would be a helpful.

The other weapons that the Exia had, was an array of four beam sabers, two mounted on the back of the shoulders and the other two attached to the rear skirt. The sabers put out particle-based beam sabers, which made the difference in the fact that in theory, the new shielding technology being used and improved currently, mostly by the Alliance, wouldn't affect the blade, like the reflector or shield weren't there. The other weapons available, were small guns installed in both arms of Gundam Exia that were similar to vulcan guns or CIWS guns. They were purely secondary weapons meant for defense and diversion due to their low powered shots that they put out. Although, the power of their beams are weak, their high firing rate means that they can be a threat to conventional weapons that lack phase shift armor.

Overall, I was freaking impressed with mobile suit, it had technology that had serious potential in future. The GN Solar Reactor alone, by what Carlos said, was the best potential alternative to solve dependency upon nuclear energy that a portion of the world still has. The problem apparently, is that the reactors couldn't be mass produced at this time and didn't have the best prospect of being able to do so efficiently in the near future. But, like I said before, I don't say no when as to test new equipment and the Exia is a prime example as to why. I get to have fun testing the capabilities of this machine and I'm looking forward to doing so!

"Carlos, once again, you don't fail to make an impressive presentation. I look forward to delivering valuable data to help improve this machine, I'll certainly do my utmost at least," I said.

Carlos laugh, "I don't doubt you will Tyler, uh by the way, should I ask what you have in that rather full looking duffle bag?"

I glanced down at my goodie bag, then chuckled softly, "Well honestly Carlos, it would probably be better that you don't ask what's inside my friend, the security guards didn't appreciate the contents. But, for what I might be dealing with on my trip, it's what I consider insurance, which I hope I don't have to use, but fear that I likely have to before I get back."

After saying my farewell, I hefted my goodie bag, which wasn't light, but with what I'm expecting, will pay off in spade and got into the cockpit of the Exia Gundam. The cockpit layout was different than I was used to. There was the of course the two side screens that made up the panoramic view. The main system display was in the area that it normally, but I was connected to the forward screen that had feeds to the suit's optics. There were two smaller system displays on either side of the forward screen. For the suit's controls, there wasn't a 'throttle and control stick' instead, the two ideas seemed to have been combined into two control sticks, one for each hand. Most of the non-main controls were either on the forward system display or a console just below it. The two com-screens were still in the forward top area on both sides, like was standard in most mobile suits.

I activated the OS and watched it as it came up, which I noted that the sounds that accompanied startup were slightly different.

 **MOBILE SUIT S1 OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** ucleus- **D** rive

 **A** ugment  
 **M** ode-Solar

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender**  
 **_Series GND100-O5 SR 01-21126_**  
 **Human Federation**

The theme of "Gundam" was one that had stuck since the Atlantic Federation kind of thought of it originally, which was before the prototypes were even fully constructed. I did notice that the operating system's boot-up was pretty quick and was ready to go before I expected it to be from habit of the mobile suits I've worked with. On one of the side displays, readout on the Solar Reactor came up and I saw that all of the readings ranged from green to blue, which I believe meant things were good, as red normally signaled issues and problems.

I took a few minutes to dive into the suit's systems to get a look at what there was to work with for the Exia. There was nothing that Carlos hadn't already mentioned to me, but I've the habit of checking. After I did that, I stated that I was ready to go and the Exia was moved to the open area of Teswa. The large shutter opened and I took-off in the Exia on my journey to protect my friend, whose life was likely in danger.

I activate the optical camouflage the Exia had as soon as I got out of Teswa. There is no reason to display the Exia off for ZAFT and the Alliance to get a picture of, and closely examine. Upon reaching the ocean, I decided to test the versatility of the GN Reactor that Carlos had talked about. For he had specifically said that the Exia should be able to travel underwater with little penalty to performance overall. The transition from air into water came from a jerk, but then things smoothed out and I continued forward. Interestingly, the speed didn't take as much of a hit that I would have expected to come when traveling underwater.

It was late afternoon by the time I got into range of Orb and the place that Kira and Lacus lived with the kids, Kira's mom and Malchio. There was a cave a distance from the property I was heading for, and as a bonus, the way into the cavern was underwater. I came into the cave before having the Exia surface and come to land in non-deep water. After locking the reactor which was called "GN Repose", that cut down particle production and didn't let the particles be detected. Opening the cockpit, I found that the spot I had chosen for the Exia to stand, put the hatch at nearly the same level as the floor that led out of the cavern. I grabbed my goodie bag and got out of the Exia and moved to the floor. I closed the cockpit hatch, just in case someone might come into this cave, unlikely as it was as the tunnel out of this cave wasn't the easiest to find.

Glancing back at the Exia, seeing that its coloration was duller, the effect of the phase shift being off. Once confirming that the Exia was secure, I headed down the tunnel opposite of where I exited the mobile suit. The tunnel was not easy traveling, the changing slope was inconvenient, more so as I was carrying a 'heavy' duffle bag, though I knew that I would wish the bag was heavier sometime tonight. It took me a couple of minutes to come out into the fresh air and I was breathing hard, hands on my knees. After catching my breath, I walked towards the house Kira and Lacus lived in.

I met no one along my way, but I wasn't idle along the way. I was placing… "surprises" up for those who I was confident would be stopping by tonight, and my surprises were one of two things, detectors that would alert me, and the other was proximity mines. That's how serious I saw this threat to Lacus as, it's me and my allies or them that will be alive to see tomorrow, period. My assumption is that the assassination force will come from the south more than likely, so I set up mines more heavily in that direction.

Once I got to the house, I got some real interesting stares when the front door open and I was standing there. The kids quickly became all excited at seeing me, I'm popular with them, but all the adults and my two friends were looking at me with strange expressions. I set down my goodie bag and told the kids that there was nothing in the bag for them or of interest and that it would be best if they not open it. Lacus and Caridad Yamato moved to calm down the children while Kira approached me, "Tye? What are you doing around here," he asked.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, I had some free time and thought it has been a while since I've swung around here and checked on everyone. I would hope that I'm still welcome around here, if not, then what did I do for that to have that be the case, for it was not intended to be mean or malicious in anyway," I replied.

Kira waved his hands, "No no, you're still welcome around her Tye, just didn't expect you to show up out of the blue like this."

The rest of the afternoon and early evening, was spent with me and the rest of the adults wearing down the kids. I volunteered to sleep on the sofa for the night, even though I was offered the spare room. I didn't say the reason was that I wanted to be ready for the unwelcome visitors that I expected will come around tonight. I simply said that the sofa would be just fine for me and made sure that my goodie bag wasn't that far from me. Even when I laid down, I didn't fall into a deep sleep with the nerves I had right now, so I was more resting my eyes.

It was close to midnight, when the remote receiver that was connected to the sensors I placed began going off softly, which got me up in seconds. I rolled off the sofa and grabbed the receiver and looked at its display and saw that the troublemakers were coming from the south, which I had thought they would and setup 'surprises' heavily to counter that. I went over to my goodie bag, opened it up fully and glanced over the arsenal that I had packed. Of course, I had guns, couple of rifles and a pistol or two and at least one other gun that the visitors better hope I don't take out, because they'll be in trouble. I also had a collection of explosives of multiple types to work with, so with what I had, then I should be able to hold off those coming long enough for everyone else to get to the bunker.

I grabbed the assault rifle I'd packed and pulled my goodie bag over to the sofa that I was using as a kind of shield. Plus, I put on ear protection that would filter sound wonderfully and a visor to help my vision in the firefight I was about to get into. I just ducked behind the sofa, when the first dull thud came to my ears through the filters the ear protection had. A smile formed on my face at knowing whoever was coming had encountered the first of my 'surprises' I laid out to slow them down. They would rapidly discover that I made their approach path a literal minefield for them. It would be my goal and pleasure to make the job they were here to accomplish much harder than originally expected. While I'm here, I'll do my utmost to make it a living hell for them, I won't be fighting nice or clean if I don't need to, my opponents have the advantage of numbers and that's all they get from me!

Within less than a minute later, the sounds of explosions began ringing out at random as the intruders entered the minefield. I dug into my goodie bag and retrieved a flash bang cluster grenade, then peeked over the sofa. I spotted a number of people a distance away, they were in black suits with bullet-proof vests and what appeared to be helmets with infrared optics. They also each had a gun with a suppressor and other tools for what they were here to do. After sizing up my enemy, I lobbed the flash bang hard and it made a hole as it went through the window. The sounds from down the hallway from deeper within the house from the other inhabitance caught my attention briefly, before I focused back on the intruders.

The flash bang released its cluster of charges, which shortly went off and deployed both a blinding flash, but also gave of solid thuds. Hearing that, I sprung up, whipping my assault rifle up and took aim, flicking off the safety and picked my first target. I fired bursts of three shots, my first shots struck the bullet-proof vest of the person, my next shots hit the guy in the face, dropping him to the ground. Bullets started coming my direction, but the flash bang had thrown off the unwelcome visitors enough that the bullets were not finding their mark. I kept shooting, until I ran out of ammo on the clip I had in the rifle, then ducked behind the sofa as bullets flew past the area I had been. I ejected the ammo clip and grabbed the other one I packed, and as I was loading my rifle, I caught sight of the lady that was Waltfeld's partner at the end of the hallway.

I smiled as I shoved the new clip in, saluted with my assault rifle, retrieved a tear gas grenade and was about to pull the pin and chuck, yet an object crashed through the window before I could. The object hit the floor and rolled to a stop, I identified the object as a grenade, upon reflex, I rushed forward and grabbed the explosive, then twisted and chucked it back out the window, which exploded shortly after I threw it. I heard the shrapnel shoot through the window, completing the shattering of the glass, but somehow, none of it hit me. I moved back to where I had been picked the tear gas grenade, pulled its pin and lobbed it outside and prepared myself to return fire. The tear gas began pouring out into the air and the storm of bullets let up somewhat, which came with the sound of coughing… so these intruders have no gas masks, interesting. I grabbed a pistol from my goodie bag and popped up and started shooting bullets back at the punks that I wanted to cause hell for!

I used both my assault rifle and pistols in tandem, switching out the two pistols and then the magnum when they ran out of on their magazines/ammunition. Once I spent the full clip for the assault rifle and the small arms I had, I ducked back down and tossed away the assault rifle as it was out of ammo. I dug in my goodie bag and brought out a decent powered rifle, and with the weapon in my hands, I stood back up and started firing rounds. Those that I hit anywhere other than the torso gave reactions of being hit, and the shots to the torso were stopped by the vest, but the individual still stumbled. I didn't miss even one shot, some were more effective than others true, but as I'm limited supply of ammo and my opponents likely have more a supply than me. Still, I had no extra clips for this gun, so when I ran out, I had to duck down again. I chucked a couple of more grenades out the window to keep the intruders on their toes. One of those grenades was a good smoke grenade which not only blinded my enemy, but got them coughing for air too.

My problem now, was that this group I was fighting against had gotten closer to where I was dug in that ranged weapons were less effective. I cast aside the rifle, and extracted the shotgun that I packed, keeping down as bullets came my way. The shotgun was loaded with forty-five caliber slugs, so those bullet proof vests will be hard pressed to block these shots. I rolled out from behind the sofa, got to my feet, leveled the shotgun and began unloading at the closest individuals. Each shot hit somewhere on those I aimed at, less than half end out being lethal to the receiver, but hey a hit is a hit. During my shotgun usage spree, I did feel a sting on my upper left arm and took that to mean that a bullet had grazed me, if not worse. The injury didn't change or deter my efforts in slowing and stopping these people from killing the individual they were here to eliminated.

When my shotgun was empty, I dropped to the floor and returned to my goodie bag and I took the final large gun I had packed. The largest weapon, took up a good portion of the bag and definitely the heaviest one that I had stuffed into my goodie bag, was a M125 Gatling Gun, which was M134 Minigun variant. The six-barreled gatling gun could fire up to three-thousand rounds per minute, though I didn't have that much ammo, only a belt of five-hundred-fifty. With the rounds being fifty-six-caliber, if my opponent's bullet-proof vests had issues before with the ammo I'd used, they'll be as good as paper against these bullets.

I rose up again, bringing the gatling gun's barrels to bear on those being stubborn and trying to kill Lacus. I pulled and held the trigger, and the buzzing of the gatling gun quickly drowned out the sounds of the other guns. Some of the approaching intruders were mowed down, while others dove out of the stream of bullets. The fifty-six caliber bullets ripped through the vests like they weren't even there and continued through the person the vest was worn by. I took me around a minute to unload all my gatling gun had in short bursts.

After I ran out of bullets, I dropped the gatling gun and grabbed a cluster grenade and threw it out the window and then ran to the kitchen and took stock of my current situation. I found that the sting on my upper left arm, was a graze that a bullet had made, but it wasn't serious. I did find a rag and tie it around the wound the best I could, then I grabbed two fair sized knives to work with. Before I left through the back door, I set my final present for this group. Then I headed for through the back door of the house, with my destination the cave that the Exia was hidden in.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

A dull thud jolted some of the adults awake, Andrew and Aisha sitting up and looking around for the cause of the sound. They both grabbed pistols they had in reach and quickly got dressed and headed out into the hallway. Murrue Ramius was shortly out in the hallway as well, "Who do you think could be visiting at this hour," she asked.

Andrew smiled a bit, "I'm more interested on where our guests might be from," he said. Then he gained an air of business-like professionalism, "Murrue, get the kids, Lacus and the others to the shelter. Aisha, would you go and check on Tyler, I wouldn't doubt he is aware of the situation. I'll go and head them off before they have the opportunity to cut off a path to the shelter."

The women nodded and the three split up heading off to do their parts in dealing with this situation. The thuds of explosion started coming every once and a while punctured the silence of them night. Murrue managed to get to the room that Lacus and children, seeing Lacus awake and comforting the children as the noise was scaring them. Murrue had them quickly get the children moving towards the underground armored shelter. Caridad and Malchio joined the group along the way towards the shelter that was built into the mountain the house was constructed into.

Kira exited his room, glancing around, trying to figure what was going on with the noise that was being heard. Then, Andrew came down the hallway that Kira was in and Kira noticed the pistol in the man's hand, "Mr. Waltfeld, what's going on," he asked.

"We got company kid, and they're not here to be nice, but I do believe your friend prepared some things for our guests by the sound of it," Waltfeld returned.

Suddenly, from the windows that faced the front of the house, a blinding light appeared and lit up the night for a moment. That was followed by the sound of a rifle echoed through the house, from the direction of the living room. That got Kira and Andrew to get moving and put the conversation on hold for the time being.

Aisha, after splitting up from Andrew and Murre, had made her way towards the living room, her pistol at the ready for any intruder that she should come across. Yet, what she found when she got to the living room, frankly surprised her. Tyler McGregor was hunched down behind the sofa which was close to the large window, an assault rifle in his hands, ejecting a clip and loading a new one. When Tyler glanced over at Aisha simply staring at him, he smiled and saluted with his assault rifle, then dug around in the bag that he had brought and took out a tear gas grenade. Aisha was about to turn and go assist getting everyone else to the shelter as it was clear that Mr. McGregor was prepared to fight against the intruders, but then came a crash. Through the window came a small object that Aisha focused on and saw was a grenade. She spun around the corner and hunkered down for the explosion, but there was a scuffling, but the blast was farther away than she expected but the sound of shrapnel hitting was audible. Aisha glanced around the corner to see Tyler pull the pin of the tear gas grenade, and then throw it out of the hole that had been the window. Then the young man popped up and began shooting back at the group trying to get inside the house.

Aisha then left Tyler to do what he was and headed to meet up with those heading for the shelter. She reached the group and joined Murrue with looking around corners to make sure it was safe, for she had encountered a few of the group attacking. The sound of a higher-powered rifle firing echoed through the halls, leaving Murrue and Aisha to wonder just what Tyler had exactly brought to work with for this event.

Kira and Andrew soon met up with the rest and they all made their way towards the shelter. Kira was worried about Tyler as he was fighting by himself, but Andrew told him that Tyler was buying time for the rest of them and Aisha confirmed that by telling him what she had seen. There might have been more conversation, but a loud buzzing of rapid gun fire which caused pause. "That sound," Murrue uttered in growing shock, "Does Tyler have a gatling gun?!"

Andrew snorted, "With that kid, I wouldn't be surprised if he packed one, he does always have interesting tools for a situation."

The group continued forward, those with military training keeping themselves between attackers and those they protected. Nonetheless, the finally reached the shelter, and they all quickly filed in, the bunker being locked behind them, including the control panel being made inaccessible. Murrue collapsed to the floor, "Those attacking us are Coordinators," she stated, having recognized how out classed she had been with just one-on-one.

"It's not just that, they're no novices, they are experience and well-trained, and few get that kind of training normally," Waltfeld remarked.

Kira was in shock at hearing that, for that implied that the group attacking was from ZAFT, which made little sense. "Wait, they're from the ZAFT organization," Kira uttered.

Andrew nodded, "More than likely," he answered.

"But why would ZAFT attack any of us," Kira questioned.

Andrew looked at Lacus, "I believe their target was her," he said gesturing at Lacus, "But, I couldn't say why they were after her. Perhaps Tyler might know more about why this group is here for the task, though I would imagine this situation was the reason Tyler popped up."

Outside the shelter, part of the ZAFT special forces team were cautiously approaching the house. The heavy resistance they had been met with, and by what could be figured, it was being done by few if not one individual, who had a lot of guns and explosives to use. Whoever they were, they had been impeding their progress in accomplishing their mission of assassinating Lacus Clyne. A third of the team that had come to do the job had been killed by either explosives or gun fire. The leader of the special forces had quickly become frustrated at the resistance they were dealing with, for there had been nothing said about this much of a problem. Yet, caution was warranted by what they had been going against, their target had a protector that was well-armed.

But, by the time the team had gotten close enough to the house to get a better view of the situation, the countering weapon fire ceased. So, the team leader ordered a few enter the house and handle those who were in the way, but to be on-guard.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The second I was out of the house, I was running as fast as I could go, the reason I was, I had set the rest of the explosives I had left to detonate around a minute after I pushed the activation button. I did that just before getting out of the house, so I didn't want to be around when 'boom time' comes. But, it serves those that come in and find the last surprise for them, and honestly, those from ZAFT's special forces were asking for this.

However, I was forced to slide to a halt when I spotted two of figures in path. I hunched down, a kitchen knife in each hand, before I rushed forward at the two. They noticed me as I came at them and they raised their guns and began shooting. I felt a stinging sensation on my left thigh, but I kept going forward, jamming one knife right in the closest guy's groin. And like any man, the guy I nailed in the family jewels cried out in pain, until I rammed the other knife into his neck through his jugular. I scooped up his gun as it fell towards the ground and used the dead man as a shield against the incoming bullets, before I dived and fired the gun and scored a hit in the head of the other man and he dropped.

I looked down to see how bad I had been hit and saw that I had a gunshot wound that was clean but more serious than the one on my arm. The sound of a hearty explosion drew my attention, and when I twisted around to see a fireball going up and debris flying. I sure hope the punks enjoyed my 'boom' I left for them, for it looks like I took out the whole common area of the house. After seeing the boom, I took the combat knife of one of those I'd just killed and cut a strip out of my pant-leg and used it to wrap up the graze. After I'd wrapped up my thigh, I continued toward the cave that would get me to the Exia. The trek through the tunnel was more difficult in the dark and my leg injury, but I I got to the Exia, I opened and then entered the cockpit and activated the suit's OS, closing the hatch after doing so. I disengaged the GN repose, and had the Solar Reactor outputting particles and flowing through the mobile suit. After switching on the phase shift, I backed the Exia up and had it sinking into the water and then headed for the cavern entrance. The Exia came out of the cavern and then I tilted upward to move towards the surface, turning on the optical camouflage before my suit broke the surface of the water. And if the situation wasn't as serious as it is, then I would be in awe of the capabilities of the Exia's Solar Reactor for it was awesome.

By the time I got back into visual range of the house, I saw that there were a number of mobile suits that I hadn't seen before. The suits were new models, and they look kind of similar to ZAFT's GOOhN underwater mobile suit, but these appeared much meaner. It had a more humanoid design which would make it more effective on land. They were green overall but had yellow on the shoulders and above it's primary optical sensor. From what I saw, each mobile suit had two sets of missile launchers, beam cannons on the shoulders. Then on the arms, I saw machine guns and a claw for each arm.

After taking in what my opponents were using, I landed near two of the ZAFT suits and focused on the task at hand. I raised he Exia's weapon system, in its rifle mode configuration, then I aimed at the closest mobile suit and fired a shot, which took off an arm. The two ZAFT machines took notice when one them lost an arm and were looking around for the cause, seeing no reason to hide, I disengaged the Exia's camouflage. After all, the groups from ZAFT was never officially here by what I would assume, so logically if they die, only those who sent them will know they were ever here and they'll never admit it. So, if the punks here get killed, that will be the end of this situation and there will be no investigation from ZAFT, since that would require they admit they ordered an assassination.

The two ZAFT machines noticed me, one of the suits zoomed off towards the other, while the one-armed unit rushed forward, its remaining arm in the motion of attack. I switched the 'sword rifle' over to its close quarter configuration, so that the blade swung forward. The claw was aiming for the Exia's torso, but I brought the sword to bear on it and struck in between the claw's pincers. However, the sword didn't stop, it was cutting through the arm of my enemy with relative ease. Needless to say, I sliced off the arm, to which my opponent leapt back from me and started shooting missiles in my direction. As the missiles came, I moved forward and though they struck the Exia, no damage was incurred, thanks to the E-Carbon and phase shift armor.

Once the missiles effectively created a smoke screen, I zoomed forward, sword set in the same position as a spear or lance. That in mind, my opponent didn't have the time to move before I rammed the sword through the optic sensor. I cut a path out with the sword and kicked the ZAFT machine away before it exploded. Wasting no more time, I hurried over to where the other intruders were causing havoc. I found the machine that had ran to its fellow when I had gotten closer to the house. Drawing on of the Exia's beam sabers, I lopped off one arm with the Exia's heavy physical blade, following that with slicing off one of the two missile pods with the beam saber.

I was forced to spin away from my enemy as the swung their remaining claw at me with some kind of beam saber between the claws. I switch from heavy blade to Exia's particle rifle, wishing to have a gun-type weapon to work with. The enemy mobile suit lunged at me, but I simply jammed the beam saber I had into the lower part of the torso. Then, I squatted down and used the machines momentum to help me get under it and lift it up. I had to use more of the Exia's particle supply to lift and carry the ZAFT mobile suit as I walked forward, but the supply was okay. My reason in carrying the mobile suit instead of chucking it away, was I wanted to scare the hell out of those here to kill Lacus. And seeing an ally not just beaten and kill, but out done by a mobile suit they haven't seen before, I think will achieve that nicely!

When I came into view of the other ZAFT suits, I found there were ten of them working on getting into the shelter. They had destroyed the house structure that had been in front of the shelter and had revealed the outer bunker wall. Oh, but when I stepped into view, they all quickly looked at me, more so when I tossed the suit I beat in their direction that now had a neat hole in its lower torso. It wasn't long before a couple of the suits surged forward to attack me. I shot at two of them before I had to move out of the way of oncoming strikes. Yet, once again, I was impressed by the capabilities of the Exia, for its incredible mobility made evading easy like I was floating, and my opponents' attacks became almost comical.

Nonetheless, the fight got even better when after an explosion came from one of the hills close by and the Freedom appeared. I mean, the ZAFT group fighting me in the Exia had been harsh for ZAFT already, but with Kira in the Freedom joining in, our opponents' chances of getting out alive, let alone winning, essentially go to zero. Long story short, Kira and I whipped the rest of the ZAFT machines efficiently, the real difference between Kira and me, Kira didn't aim for the cockpits, where I just didn't care if I hit them. I was certain that even if the pilots were alive now, if they lost, then they would self-destruct, killing themselves anyways. I was proven right when the mobile suits that Kira had disabled, exploded after the battle was over.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Andrew, Aisha and Murrue guided everyone through the tunnel that led out of the shelter to the outside. With the ZAFT force using mobile suits with lots of firepower, the shelter wouldn't take it very long for them to break through the armored walls. When they had all gotten outside, it was instantly clear that the battle was over and all the ZAFT suits were either destroyed or down. The machines that were disabled shortly exploded from their self-destructs being activated. The real surprise was the unknown blue and white mobile suit that assumedly Tyler was piloting. The suit was obviously a Gundam-type, but it appeared so different from previous mobile suits, mostly due to the particles of light that was coming from something on its back. Then the only visible weapon that it had was mounted to its right arm and was a combination of a physical sword and gun.

The Freedom and the Exia closed the distance between one another and faced each other, while everyone else made their way down to them. The children were awed at seeng what they called, "the pretty light" that the unknown mobile suit was letting off. Then the light that had been coming from the Exia's reactor stopped when the reactor's vents and other openings were closed before a hatch on the front around the lower torso opened and Tyler stepped out. One of the Exia's hands moved up to the level of the cockpit and Tyler hopped onto it, before it lowered down to the ground with the Exia shifting to a kneeling position. At the same time, Kira came out of the Freedom and took the zip-line to the ground to meet his friend. "Tyler, you have some explaining to do," Kira greeted.

"I suppose I do, but I think there are other things to do first," Tyler replied.

For the next couple of hours, work was done to make sure everyone was safe. Tyler moved the Exia onto the Archangel in its dock far below the water, while Kira flew the Freedom back to the dock it had sat in. Reverend Malchio and Caridad Yamato looked after the children while a discussion was held between the others, Tyler joining them after storing the Exia on the Archangel. Andrew started the conversation, "Those mobile suit that attacked us, they're known as ASH-types," he stated.

"ASH-types," questioned Murrue.

"Yes, Andrew and I have seen some data on them, but last night is first time either of us has seen them," remarked Aisha.

"They're a new model that's just come off the assembly lines for ZAFT, so only those within ZAFT should have them," Andrew added.

Tyler exhaled, "Meaning that Lacus is being targeted by ZAFT," he said.

All turned to Tyler, "And where do you come in Tyler," asked Murrue. "You're not one to normally just pop up unannounced."

"I came across some data on the Information Network, referred to the house's coordinates and had a very bad reference," Tyler replied.

Lacus was worried with what Tyler had just said, "What do you mean very bad reference Tye," she inquired.

Tyler gained an expression of irritation and anger, the latter being kind of rare for the young man for those who knew him. He didn't answer Lacus' question right away, but all waited, wanting to know what Tyler knew about this incident. Finally, after a few minutes, Tyler spoke up, "The reference in the final line of the 'report' was; ' _location acknowledged, group will be sent to do black dusting of the individual_ '. The reference 'black dusting' is code used pretty much exclusively by ZAFT and it is code for assassination."

Aisha and Andrew had been horrified at hearing 'black dusting' for they knew what it mean, and the horror was shared by everyone else once Tyler explained what the terms meant. But Tyler wasn't finished, "Which, when you combine the other evidence from last night, says that our attackers were from ZAFT and were likely special forces. At least that's my take on it, especially after the effort I had to put forth to fight them."

"What do you mean Tye," asked Kira.

Tyler gazed at Kira, "Whenever I'm forced to utilize the SOLAS training I received, it normally means that I'm going against others who've had similar level training."

There were soft gasps at that reply, though it was Murrue that found use of her voice first, "Wait Tyler, then does that mean you are actually a part of SOLAS," she asked.

Tyler twisted his head towards her, "I would have thought you would have figured that out, I mean, the Alliance suspected that. I would bet you were at one time or another regaled with the reasons the Earth Forces have wanted to take me down," Tyler shot back, then he sighed. "But yes, I'm a part of SOLAS, I kind of can't forget that with the boss that I have."

Blank looks were what Tyler got in response for his reply, specifically the last line of it. Tyler merely shook his head, "Don't ask, words can't explain what I mean with my boss, the woman is scary, that's the best I can say." Tyler then changed the subject, "Moving on, knowing that those who assaulted us last night were from ZAFT, that implies some very worrying things, or perhaps it's just me."

Kira frowned, "No Tye, it is not just you that sees worrying implication," he said.

Andrew hummed, "You make a good point Tyler, none of us will deny that. For ZAFT to wish to assassinate Lacus, it leaves the question of who was the one to order this, as I have a hard time think of anyone that would want to do that. Kidnapping Lacus, I could imagine, but killing her is harder to fathom," he mused.

Tyler once again made his voice heard, "I would agree with you Waltfeld, if not for one point I was made aware of a few days ago."

Everyone focused on Tyler again, "What point is that Tye," asked Lacus.

Tyler appeared to be thinking for a bit, "I had the opportunity to catch up with Athrun a few days ago. He mentioned that while he was around the PLANTs, he came across someone that 'looked like Lacus'. Athrun then told me something to the effect that the look-alike was 'standing in' for Lacus to help keep the masses calm," Tyler iterated. That bit of information was unexpected, but that would make some sense in light of recent events. Yet, Tyler wasn't finished, "However," he started, which the single word redrew all attention to the young man. "For such a fact to be told to Athrun by Chairman Durandal implies seriously dangerous possibilities and creates major doubts in my mind at least."

"Tyler, you can't seriously think that Chairman Durandal had something to do with this," Lacus uttered.

Tyler shook his head slowly, "I wouldn't say that I'm accusing the man for this necessarily, but nor am I saying that he had nothing to do with this. Honestly, there's not enough evidence to confirm or dismiss involvement on that man's part. Nevertheless, for the sake of argument, let's say that Chairman Durandal doesn't have anything to do with this," Tyler posed.

All were thinking upon the idea Tyler had mentioned, and Aisha spoke first, "If that is the case, then someone or a number with fairly high access to information are responsible."

Tyler shrugged, "It's possible, but my guess, regardless of whom is responsible for this assassination attempt, would be someone or a group of people, wants Lacus gone, probably to prevent the chance that their stand-in being discovered as a fake. Perhaps this look-alike is easier to manipulate than Lacus would be, I don't know."

The conversation kept going, moving onto what should be done next going forward. Lacus had to "disappear" and those that had lived in the house would need to be taken to safety. Tyler made some calls and managed to arrange a place for the other inhabitance of the former house. Yet, the discussion was paused as an older woman was led into the mobile suit docking area by the children and Kira's mother. "Master Kira," she greeted.

"Murna," Kira questioned.

The woman came up and after some chatting, she gave Kira an envelope, "This is for you. Lady Cagalli asked that I give it to you, though she wanted to give it to you personally. However, due to current circumstances, she is unable to do so and gave me the task to deliver it to you in secret."

That caught Tyler's attention for there were clearly facts missing, he moved forward and glanced over Kira's shoulder. "Is Cagalli okay, she isn't injured is she," inquired Lacus.

Murna shook her head and looked away, "No, she's never been healthier, it's just she's getting married," she returned.

That reply took everyone by surprise, but the woman continued, "She has been moved into her fiancée's house and the wedding date has been moved forward. Lord Uzumi is being swamped with work involving the Representative Council and so hasn't been able to do much for her. In fact, the Seirans haven't told anyone of the full arrangements going forward and are adamantly insisting that they will handle everything." The woman paused, gave an expression of pain, "This arrangement was made long ago, and I would normally be fine and happy with this as long as Lady Cagalli was okay with it. However, with how the Seirans are rushing things bothers me greatly, like they are trying to get around Lord Uzumi so that they can control Lady Cagalli."

The woman went on, but Kira had opened the letter, and he, Lacus and Tyler focused on reading what Cagalli had written.

 _Sorry Kira,_

 _I was hoping to be able to possibly come and visit, so that I could talk to you in person. With things as they are now, I'm not as free to move around as I used to be. I'm sure by now, you've heard about my arranged marriage with Yuna Roma Seiran, which was panned years ago to improve the relations between the two families. In a world where things are so uncertain, if this marriage can help provide stability for Orb, then I'll be fine with it._

 _I have enclosed the ring that Athrun has given me, because I won't be able to wear it anymore. Yuna and those here would likely taken it from me if they saw it and I cannot throw it away, so I'm sending it to you so perhaps you can get it back to him for me. I hate to ask this of you, but please tell him that I'm sorry, and that I wish him the best and that he might find happiness. I'm doing what I am so that Orb may have peaceful lives and a good future._

The letter was signed by Cagalli at the end, and there were tear splotches on the lower half of the letter. Kira was silence, but his expression was pained at what he read, for he did care about Cagalli. Lacus was looking worriedly at Kira as the pained expression hurt her as well to see him like this and also to know Cagalli was in a situation that she had no control or say in.

Tyler was dubious at what he had read, for he knew about some of the subject that was inferred. When he had been younger, Tyler had accompanied his mother on some of her visits to other places including Orb. During some of those trips, Tyler had been around Yuna Roma Seiran and had quickly grown to dislike many qualities he possessed. To understand that the Seirans were skirting around most if not everyone else to get their way, was not nice. "Kira, that twin of yours is something else with some of the stuff she does, and I'm saying that nicely my friend," Tyler said.

"I wouldn't say it like that Tye, Cagalli has had a lot on her mind lately with recent events," Kira replied.

Tyler gazed at Kira, "You can say it in any way you like Kira, but even you have to admit that Cagalli getting married to Yuna Seiran isn't a good idea," he challenged.

"Well," Kira uttered.

Tyler sighed, "Okay, let me rephrase what I said, tell me how Yuna Roma Seiran treats you when you're around him?"

Kira hesitated at being asked the question, for Yuna had not treated Kira nicely even if Cagalli was around. It was usually worse when Cagalli wasn't in earshot, but overall, Kira had ignored the things that Yuna had said to him. "He could improve," Kira said finally.

Tyler rolled his eyes, "Oh Yuna could improve a great many things, but he won't change anything about himself as he thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with is. He's a spoiled brat and a whiny jerk," Tyler returned.

After more discussion moving to what could be done for Cagalli, but no one could come up with anything. Yet, a minute passed by, Tyler got a growing grin that told of mischief coming to his mind. Kira saw the expression and instantly was on-guard as the look was one that came before trouble followed with Tyler. "Tye, you've got the look again, what crazy stunt are you cooking up in your head," Kira asked tiredly.

Tyler painted a look of innocent on his face, "Me? Cooking up crazy stunt? Why would you say something like that Kira?"

Kira nodded, "Because you always get a particular grin when you're thinking up crazy ideas and stunts."

Tyler snickered somewhat evilly, "So, you've noticed the particular grin my friend? Yes indeed, I have an idea of not only helping those here that are out of house and home, but also assist that twin sister of yours out of the dumb decision she's setting up to make," Tyler stated, then he focused on Kira alone. "How do you feel about party crashing, specifically crashing a wedding party?"

The plan that Tyler explained to everyone else, was seen in many ways by those listening to the iteration. It was crazy, and should any of them be caught, the consequences could be very bad, depending on who would be judging. And yet, the plan that Tyler came up with could actually work and Kira also agreed that the idea was fair. Tyler even knew the location that the wedding itself would very likely be held as apparently it was tradition for weddings of any of the noble families of Orb to be held.

After the explanation of the 'plan', everyone agreed to it and went off to do their parts, leaving Kira, Lacus and Tyler alone. "Tye, I have a feeling Cagalli won't appreciate what you suggest," Kira said.

Tyler waved a hand, "Maybe not at first, heck I'll be surprised if she isn't mad for a time, but rest assured my friend, your twin sister will thank us later on. That whiny jerk she's being set up to marry is a horrible choice and, in her heart, she knows that. We're just giving her a way out," Tyler reasoned, before he chuckled darkly. Then he leaned closer to Kira, "And between you and me, Athrun is a MUCH better choice and match for Cagalli than Yuna could hope to be."

Meanwhile, Murrue got down to contacting the other crew member of the Archangel that she knew the whereabouts of, calling them back. Lacus, Caridad and Revered Malchio herded the children onto the Archangel, as they would be dropped off in the Republic to the place that Tyler had arranged. Andrew and Aisha got down to the job of making sure the Archangel would be ready to fly out when the time came. Kira moved the Freedom to the Archangel and stored it in the hanger with the other three mobile suits. The mobile suits that the Archangel carried at this time were the MBF-02 Strike Rogue, which was made from the design of the X105 Strike, the OIS-X209 Shadow and the GSR-001 Exia. With Tyler's help, Kira got the Freedom in a suit dock and then the two went to help Andrew and Aisha with the checking over the Archangel.

By midday, much of the crew had appeared and joined in the preparations being done. When the decision of who should fill the vice-captain position, Murrue had first thought to have Andrew Waltfeld do so. However, after the first hour of the Archangel getting her checking over, Murrue had seen that Tyler had quite a knack for getting things done and delegating the work to others very well. So, in the end, she asked Tyler to fill the position, something that she would have never thought to do before during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Tyler was kind of taken aback but did accept the job for the time before the Archangel would swing by the Republic.

Those that were on the Archangel, besides the children, Caridad and Reverend Malchio, were in Orb military uniforms. Most had junior grade ranking uniform markings, varying in the markings and rank. Murrue, Andrew, Aisha and Tyler were wearing senior officer uniforms, with Andrew and Aisha had markings of the rank of Commander on their uniforms, while Murrue and Tyler had markings of the rank of Captain. Tyler was overseeing the full system check for the Archangel and handing out assignments to those there. Murrue was waiting for the final members of the Archangel's crew to arrive, since all responded to the call she put out.

Once everything was ready with the Archangel, everyone took their seats. Andrew taking the copilot chair, Aisha manned the mobile suit control in the CIC, Lacus took the communication console. Tyler was sitting in the vice-captain's chair in the CIC that Natarle had once occupied and Murrue came onto the bridge, looking around at everyone working. The mechanics were making sure the engines and three out of the four mobile suits were ready to launch out. The children were divided into the some of the crew quarters and were being managed by Caridad and Reverend Malchio. Murrue took the captain's chair she had thought she vacated more than a year ago.

After the dock was flooded, the restraining arms were released the ship and the bulkheads in front of the Archangel opened. "Proceed forward slowly, engines at 20%," ordered Murrue.

"All sections, report current status immediately. Helm, keep a close eye on the walls so that we don't bang into them," added Tyler.

The Archangel moved forward and into the tunnel that led out into the ocean. "Once we're clear of the tube, climb thirty-degrees and put engines to maximum," Murrue said as the Archangel approached the end of the tunnel.

Tyler looked up out of the CIC, "Murrue, all sections are reporting in as good to go. The Archangel is as good and ready as she can be."

Murrue nodded at the information, "Right, after braking the surface, set course for the monument," she ordered.

When the Archangel began traveling towards their destination, Tyler and Kira proceeded to the pilot locker room and got into pilot suits. Then the two headed for the hanger, Kira boarding the Freedom and Tyler the Shadow. Both mobile suits launched out from the Archangel and make their way towards Orb's oldest religious monument that still stood. It didn't take long for Orb's military headquarters detected the Archangel and then, after they launched both the Freedom and the Shadow approaching. Orb ships and mobile suits were ordered to scramble in response, to the 'unknowns' coming towards the mainland. However, on some of the ships, it was noted that the signals closely matched the Archangel, the Freedom, and the Shadow.

Meanwhile, the wedding of Yuna Roma Seiran and Cagalli Yula Athha was in full swing and in progress. The ceremony had begun, and the priest was going through the vows, before he asked for the agreement from both Yuna and Cagalli. Yuna gave his 'I do', and though Cagalli hesitated, but was about to do the same, when the soldiers got to their feet, shouts given about unknowns approaching and that responders not being able to stop them. The situation shifted, the soldiers quickly trying to get the guests to safety, but also interrupted the ceremony. The Murasame mobile suits that were defending the area and event, turned to face whatever was coming. Nevertheless, before they could do anything, the suits had their rifle arms shot off. The sight of the Freedom and the Shadow caused panic with most as they hovered above the monument.

Tyler kept an eye on the Murasames and the sensor the Shadow had to be forewarned of Orb/Federation reinforcements. Although, Tyler certainly did enjoy seeing Yuna cowering at the sight of mobile suits, for he always dislike the whiny jerk/brat. " _Kira, best we pick up the pace and go before more company gets here, so grab that twin of yours and let's get a move on,_ " Tyler said over the radio.

" _I know, I was getting to that,_ " Kira replied.

People were running away to get out from being in the open, yet Cagalli was staring at the two mobile suits that she hadn't thought she would see. Kira flew the Freedom over to the monument itself and landed in front of it which put the mobile suit's hips at the level of the top of the monument. The Freedom grabbed Cagalli gentle just after Yuna ran away making sounds of fear as he ran. Kira made sure the Freedom had a good hold of Cagalli, then lifted her up and taking off from the monument. The Shadow took the lead ahead of the Freedom as the two mobile suits started heading back towards the Archangel.

Cagalli was certainly not happy about this development, not only had Kira and whoever was piloting the Shadow ruined an official function, her wedding no less, Kira and someone else would now be in serious trouble for their actions. She had assigned Murna to deliver her letter to Kira so that her brother wouldn't have to be around Yuna. Every time Kira had been around Yuna, Cagalli's fiancée tended to indirectly insult Kira and Lacus when she was around. With Kira, when not insulting him, Yuna would say he should enlist and pilot the Freedom again and do other things since he was a Coordinator. Yuna had even said he might accidentally let slip that Lacus lived around here to representative from the Alliance and the PLANTs as both were looking for her. But this, made all that effort worthless and that wasn't nice for Cagalli.

Tyler and Kira were alerted at the same time of others coming towards them. " _Kira, things look like they may get rocky. It might be a wise idea for you to get your sister in your cockpit before our pursuers reach us,_ " Tyler remarked.

Kira knew that Tyler was right, so he got on the speakers that broadcasted to the outside, "Cagalli, sorry about this," he said.

The Freedom brought Cagalli close to the cockpit, at the same time, Kira flicked the switch that raised the pilot seat. The cockpit hatch slide down and Kira rose up and saw Cagalli and reached out his arms. Cagalli moved forward and into her brother's arms, before Kira had the pilot seat lower down back into the cockpit. Kira looked over Cagalli to make sure she was okay, and he felt the need to make a comment, "Wow, this is a pretty amazing dress Cagalli."

"Shut it," Cagalli snapped, "I so don't need that from you."

Kira smiled, "Hold on for the time being," he said, before taking ahold of the Freedom's controls again.

" _This is Orb forces HQ, Attention Freedom and Shadow, land immediately, Freedom and Shadow land immediately,_ " came over the radio.

" _Wonderful to see you all doing your duties to the utmost,_ " came the voice of Tyler. " _And on any other given day, neither of us would have a problem with following your instructions. But today, you will just have to accept a rain check gentlemen._ "

The Shadow flew backwards ignited the shield beam saber and had drawn the other in its right hand and sliced off a wing from two out of the four Murasames. The Freedom drew out one of its beam sabers and did the same with the two remaining Murasames. The Shadow shot forward towards the Archangel ahead of them, contacting the ship and asking them to open up the catapults. The Shadow landed inside first, and the second that the mobile suit was in its dock, Tyler bailed out and began making his way back towards the bridge, stopping by the locker room along the way. The Freedom followed minutes after the Shadow, Kira taking in the number of Orb vessels that were close by the Archangel. As news reached the bridge that the Freedom was back and Cagalli was safe, Tyler shot onto the bridge and quickly took the vice-captain's chair without a word. The Archangel started submerging into the water as the Orb ship were trying to figure out a way to stop them from leaving.

Back at the monument, Yuna was barking orders to stop the Archangel and to even fire upon her as a car drove up, out of it came Uzumi Nara Athha. The current leader of Orb gazed around at the mess and couldn't stop the slight smile at seeing it all. Honestly, at hearing the Freedom and the Shadow had shown up and taken Cagalli, he wanted to thank Kira Yamato and likely his friend Tyler McGregor. With all the work Uzumi and most of the other representatives had been doing, he hadn't been able to effectively do anything to halt the actions of the Seirans. Their moving forward with the wedding was ridiculous and shouldn't have happened at all. He had thought Cagalli would come up with a way out of the whole arrangement, but what had actually happened, was far more amusing. Indeed, Uzumi would enjoy calling Ellen and telling her all about this, it would be a story they would no doubt tell over and over due to the hilarity of it all.

Uzumi walked over to where Yuna was barking orders as if he ran Orb's own military that was combined with the Federation forces. Although, it did show that instructing the senior officers in charge at Orb's military HQ to ignore Yuna's ranting for the next few days seem much wiser looking back now. The soldiers around Yuna noticed Lord Uzumi's approaching before the blustering young man did and they saluted the leader of Orb. "Yuna, seems that you are at the center of a messy fiasco," Uzumi remarked.

Yuna twisted his head and fliched at seeing Uzumi Athha, then attempted to compose himself, "Lord Uzumi, what pleasant surprise to see you here. You've been so busy lately, so have hardly had the time free," Yuna started.

Uzumi gave a stern glare which served to shush Yuna, "Yes, you and your father Unato have been taking a great deal of time off lately, for personal affairs according to Unato's secretary. And now I find you here, the monument usually used for special functions in what one would expect at a wedding, now why might that be?"

Uzumi knew full well why the heir to the Seiran was dressed as he was, with the announcement yesterday how could he not. What was really irking him, was that the Seirans had not just gone behind his back and made sure he and others were so busy that none would not interfere, but that they had been taking advantage of Cagalli for their personal agenda. But still, might as well see what answer would be given, whether it was the truth or lies.

"Lord Uzumi, there's nothing going on here for you to worry about," Yuna replied in the hopes that the leader of Orb would go away.

Uzumi let out a sigh of disappointment, "I see that you have learned well, the art of waving things off onto other Yuna, that is unfortunate." Uzumi turned to the soldier, "Men, do escort Mr. Seiran to the car and tell the driver to take him home."

"Yes sir," responded the soldiers and moved to do what they were told.

Yuna complained the whole way to the car as he was taken away, and Uzumi turned his attention to the remain military personnel. "What is the status of things right now," he asked.

The most senior officer saluted, "Lord Uzumi, the Freedom took Lady Cagalli, assisted by the Shadow and they both landed on the Archangel. Our forces are pursuing as we speak to retrieve Lady Cagalli and Federation forces are readying to scramble to join the effort," iterated the man, then bowed. "Those under my command and myself apologies for this happening under our watch Lord Uzumi."

Uzumi acknowledge the report and got on a channel to Orb's military HQ, "This is Uzumi Nara Athha, order all forces to cease pursuit of the Archangel immediately," he said.

" _But, Lord Uzumi! The Archangel has Lady Cagalli onboard,_ " was the reply from HQ.

"I am aware of that, my order still stands," Uzumi stated firmly.

There was a moment of silence, " _Understood sir, ordering all forces to pull back and stop pursuit of the Archangel._ "

Uzumi then got down to giving out orders for the cleanup of this mess and getting things back in order before the Seirans had gone and pulled this stunt. In his mind, Unato should have really known better than to do something as foolish as try to have his son marry Cagalli and have Uzumi out of it. So, that left the question of if Yuna was responsible for this stunt and if so, then he would need to be watched more carefully. For this bold stunt might not have been exactly dangerous more than it was stupid, but this proved that dangerous actions were outside of the realm of possibility for Yuna and Unato. Still, Uzumi Athha had to smile, silently wishing his daughter well in the journey that she was setting out upon, knowing that she was in good hands.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Archangel

The Archangel traveled underwater, setting its course for the Republic after the party crashing around Orb. Once the ship was cruising forward at a decent pace, Cagalli did make it to the bridge wearing an Orb uniform, and her face said she wasn't pleased at all. Now, I know the look because I've received it from time to time, I just don't really care when she's mad at me. Yet, I wasn't the lone recipient this time around, everyone on the Archangel were in the same boat.

"What is wrong with you people," exclaimed Cagalli with frustration. I made my way out of the CIC to observer this, for it was sounding like Cagalli really needed to get some stuff off her chest. "That was a REALLY dumb move, you all should know better than that" Cagalli snapped.

I smiled at hearing that, for in my view Cagalli was complimenting me for the plan I had conceived. "Why thank you Cagalli," I piped up and she rounded on me, "It nice to have your approval or rather disapproval on a plan of which I'm the author of. It brightens my day to know that I did something of note."

Taking a bow at the end of my statement, I kept the smile on my face in light of the deepening angry glare Cagalli was giving me. "This was your idea Tyler," Cagalli accused me, I nodded in answer, "Yes indeed, what did you think of the stunt?"

My question seemed to incense Kira's sister and the volume of her voice rose, "What in the hell do you have to say for yourself?!"

Thought it would be good for me to take a moment to consider how to answer the demand, for there was several ways I could go with. But I settled on one that would no doubt wind up Cagalli, "I'm gifted at the art that is party crashing, isn't it a neat and wonderful art," I pose proudly.

Cagalli screeched in fury at my reply, while I readied myself to evade an incoming attack. Yet, before she could pounce at me, Kira got in between the two of us. "Cagalli, calm down," Kira said.

"Calm?! I am calm," Cagalli blustered.

"You could of fool all of us," I muttered, to which Cagalli looked ready to strike me. Yet when Kira gave me a look that I knew, "Okay, best for me to shut my mouth and not add fuel to the blaze, I got it."

The blonde kept fuming, "Kidnapping a country's representative from her own wedding practically makes you all international criminals. Are you all out of your minds?! Why would you follow such a clearly stupid plan concocted by him," Cagalli challenged, jabbing a finger at me. "Who asked you to even do any of this in the first place? It was completely reckless and foolish," Cagalli growled, then she turned to Tyler. "You especially Tyler, should understand the consequences of this stunt, with what you mother does."

No one answered right away, for a couple of reasons between them. Then Tyler spoke up, "Perhaps you're right about what we did being reckless Cagalli and I'm well-aware of the consequences of interfering in politics. I've been watching them longer than you and chose to stay out of them when I can."

I noted the deepening silence on the bridge at the mentioning of my observation of politics. Yet, what Cagalli said implied that I have more experience than I've personally said, and she once again mentioned my mother. The work that I've put into not connecting my mother to me, I would rather that not all go to waste. I know for a fact that Natarle had worked to try and find out who my mother was, never succeeded, but still. "However," I said looked to Kira, knowing that were he to explain this, it would go better than if I were to.

Kira picked up on my signal to take over, "Cagalli, you didn't really give us much of a choice but to do what we have," Kira said, gaining Cagalli's attention. "Current events have made the world uncertain true, yet if you insist on doing stupid thing like this, then things will only get worse than they are now."

It's amazing at times like this to see the wisdom Kira can come up with, if only that naiveté of his didn't come up as often as it does. "What stupid things," demanded Cagalli, setting herself up for what needed to be said.

Lacus touched Kira's shoulder, "Kira, maybe it would be best to not," she started.

I know Lacus wants to not hurt Cagalli in this but softening the blow doesn't help and with what she about did to the future of Orb and more so to herself. I exhaled, "I'll say it if Kira doesn't Lacus, I've no problem with saying what should really be said in this. It's the part of caring about someone else that is not easy, but you do because you do care," I said flatly.

Kira touched Lacus' hand, "Tyler is right Lacus, there are things that need to be said and it's probably best I say it," Kira replied, before he turned to focus on his sister, "Cagalli."

Cagalli seemed to get more defensive with both what Kira and I said, "Wh-what do you know about what I do," snapped Cagalli. "I'm one of Orb's representatives, responsible for serving and protecting the people of Orb! There are so many things that I have to worry about, you have no idea about any of it!"

Kira sighed, but kept a calm tone of voice, "Cagalli, do you really think what you've been doing is the best course of action," he posed. "Do you think that marrying Mr. Seiran is in the best interest for Orb, or for you even? Do you believe any of what you are saying in your heart Cagalli?"

Cagalli hesitated, but then glared back at Kira, "Of-of course I do, why wouldn't I want to get married now?!" There was silence from the rest of us on the bridge, since Cagalli hadn't said that in a way that wasn't convincing, Tyler 'coughed' in a way that kind of sounded like him saying 'BS'. She became a little flustered by the air, "I-I had no other choice, everyone around me was saying it was the best option for Orb. Things are shaky right now and stability is needed, you wouldn't understand," she shouted.

I couldn't stay silent after hearing that, "And you really thought that marrying the whiny jerk Yuna Seiran would bring stability," I question. The very thought of Yuna stabilizing anything in politics with his personality was ludicrous. I shook my head, "And I'm told I could be stupid and blind to the blatantly obvious when I was in my teen years with putting my life at risk, you could show me up Cagalli."

Cagalli gained an expression of shock and rage, "What is that supposed to mean Tyler, you don't know anything about this!"

I folded my arms, "You can't honestly believe that the whiny jerk Yuna would do this for the 'good of Orb'. What did he promise you that he would do, if you agreed to marry him Cagalli," I asked, actually curious what the spoiled idiot used to trick Cagalli.

Silence hung on the bridge at my questioned, which didn't help Cagalli, "He… he said that he would do his everything he could to protect Orb, no matter what," she stated.

My eyes widened at hearing that for two reasons, for that could potential be seen as a threat for some and I didn't believe for a moment that Yuna's idea to protect or was the same as those currently in charge of Orb. Then, things must be really strained if Cagalli was convinced by that kind of promise, and/or she needs to change who she's around. "And you believed that a spoiled brat like Yuna Seiran would protect the best interest of the people of Orb? Trust me when I say that your father, Lord Uzumi and those like him are the best leaders that Orb could have right now."

Cagalli looked to the floor, "I… I-I don't know anymore. Things are becoming so confusing, I don't know what to think or do. I've tried to hold to my views, but it just," she replied, but broke into sobs

"Cagalli, the new war is horrible, and it has made things hard, but that shouldn't mean that you throw away all hope," Kira assured. "It's not too late Cagalli, things aren't so far gone that they can't be changed."

I nodded, "He's right, which is surprising give his naiveté normally doesn't help him like this. But in this," I stated as I focused on the blonde. "Kira is correct, it's not too late to work to change things. As long as you are alive, there is always hope, don't give it up. I can assure you, none in the Federation have given up on peace, you father included and other ministers of Orb."

Kira strode forward and took out the ring that apparently, Athrun had given her before leaving for the PLANTs. The next time I see him, I make him spill the story of how that happened, for he hadn't said anything about that. Cagalli looked at the ring, and tears came to her eyes, "We all make mistakes Cagalli," Kira said, "But, what matters is that we fix them and learn from them."

Cagalli fully broke down crying after that, while the rest of the bridge crew minus Kira and Lacus returned to work including myself. There were still a few hours before we get to the Republic and there were things to do before that.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I'll leave off here until the next Phase. This is a Phase that I've been planning for a while for a couple of reasons. One of the major reasons was the introduction of GN Solar Reactors along with a few other things from the "Gundam OO" series. Plus, Tyler had the opportunity to kick some serious rear and show off a bit in this Phase as he didn't the last Phase. I hope that you readers enjoyed this Phase and some of you take the time to write a review and tell me what you think. Until the next Phase.**

 **Reishin Amara**

That is true, but honestly, I'm kind of glad that it isn't to the level of SEED or SEED Destiny. Abilities of Coordinators would be neat, but at this time, I don't think people could choose wisely how to use the idea (personal opinion).

 **Titanic X**

The only other thing I can say in my defense, is those in control of the Alliance and its states wouldn't let such a 'truth' be accepted by the general public.

 **Ken Wise**

Well, I wouldn't disagree, though thankfully Tyler is sturdy, and he heals fairly well and at a decent pace. Two are saving graces that Tyler is blessed with and that has saved him more than once.


	35. Phase 35: Turbulent Waters

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 35, it's an action-packed chapter, but I will admit, it doesn't move the story as much as I would like. However, I decided to split what this chapter was going to be into two Phases rather than have an extremely long Phase. My usual disclaimer still applies and enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 35: Confusion at every Turn

December 20th, 73 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Carpentaria, Oceania Union

The Minerva arrived at Carpentaria after the fight with the Earth Forces fleet in international waters. Repairs and resupply was done for the Minerva and a few days later, Captain Gladys received the Minerva's new orders. The Minerva was assigned to go with two other Vosgulov-class subs to join in the operation that was in the works to deal with the Alliance's Suez base. So, after a few days in Carpentaria, the Minerva departed out into the Indian Ocean, going towards the Suez Canal. They were accompanied by the Degtyarev and the Nyirgongo with them and the trip across the ocean was uneventful.

Meanwhile, the John Paul Jones arrived in Gulf of Aden south and slightly east of the Suez Canal and the Alliance base that was to be a forward base to defend the canal. The "base" itself, was still under construction, to be a defense against any that would approach the Suez base by water from the south. The locale men were being forced to do the work of building the base, the men's families were being used as hostages to make them work. The time constraint was heavy as ZAFT or the Federation could discover this base before it was done.

Neo had got into contact with the base's commander and gave him the rundown on why the John Paul Jones was here for. Current intelligence put a ZAFT force coming this way, the Minerva among them, assumed to be heading for the Suez base. The base's commander wasn't interested in helping Neo or others from Phantom Pain. However, the privileges that Phantom Pain had to take command and overrule others, gave Neo a way around this disagreeable officer and that's exactly what he did. Neo knew that if this base were to be discovered, that would make trouble later on. Plus, the loss of the Gaia during the battle against the Federation's Asgard Base had put Neo's team one machine down.

The Chaos and the Abyss would do fine, but the Minerva and its mobile suits had proven rather resourceful in previous encounters. Neo would be very satisfied if that ZAFT ship were to be destroyed or even being sunk would be good. The Alliance needed a serious morale boost, since lately, there had been anything but with the recent losses against ZAFT and the Federation. Then, with the Federation essentially closing their borders to the Alliance, things had been even more difficult, and the top brass were sending the flak down from them.

Neo ordered the captain of the Jones to keep the ship in its assigned position while the mobile suits deployed. Then he headed down to the ship's hanger and met up with Sting and Auel, who were waiting to board their machines. The Windams had been equipped with their Jet set equipment as the upcoming battle would be over the sea. The Alliance began launching their mobile suits and heading the direction that the Minerva was suspected to be traveling in.

The Abyss was the only machine that didn't fly in the air but used its mobile armor mode to travel underwater. The Chaos and the other Windams flew in squads towards their target that was getting closer to them. Even the Windams that were in charge of guarding the base launched, which didn't go unnoticed by the locales being forced to work. To them, that was seen as a good number of their guards would be away for a time and they were the more dangerous of those overseeing the base's construction.

When Neo's turn came to Launch in his own custom Windam, he finished checking over his machine's systems. "Finishing things with that ZAFT ship would really make my day," Neo said to himself, recalling the trouble he and others had with the Minerva. "Neo Roanoke, Windam taking off!"

The Minerva had come into view of the African Community and the Middle East by midday. And it wasn't too long after that, when the Minerva's sensor operator reported multiple signals incoming and identified them as Earth Forces mobile suits. Talia was surprised at hearing this, of course she knew that they would encounter Earth Forces, but it was earlier than expected. The Minerva and her allies were a sizable distance from Suez, so the question of where these Alliance forces came from was coming to mind. She told Meyrin to communicate to both subs of the situation and then declared Condition Red.

Burt Heim reported that the Alliance force was made up of forty Windams as well as the Chaos. Talia didn't like hearing that, for it had been a while, back in space since encounter any of the stolen mobile suits. "Where did this group come from," posed Talia.

Burt put in some commands, in hopes to answer the question, but he had no luck, "I can't find any vessels or any other Alliance craft in range."

Talia knew that there was not the time right now to figure out where their attackers were coming from. "Lower the bridge, prepare for anti-mobile suit combat and establish connections with the Degtyarev and the Nyirgongo," she ordered.

The Minerva's pilots quickly suited up and proceeded to their mobile suits, readying themselves to go out. The Impulse with the Force Silhouette, the Saviour and the Osiris launched, while Rey and Lunamaria were on standby to counter possible attacks that got past the others. Athrun took point while Aila was on the left and Shinn was on the right as they faced the approaching Windams.

Sting and Neo saw the three mobile suits come from the Minerva and instantly noted that one of them was unfamiliar. Neo tried to bring up data on the machine, but there was nothing, which implied that it was a new ZAFT model. It had to have joined the ship sometime after the Gulnahan incident. Not too long after seeing the new mobile suit, Sting shot forward towards the Saviour. Neo tried to tell Sting to be careful, but the Chaos was flying forward, showing that Sting was unlikely listening, but if he wanted to go against the unknown, so be it. Instead, Neo decided to handle the two that he and the others had encountered already. The gold suit had the more skilled pilot according to the data, while the white and blue machine had different equipment sets.

Shinn surged forward and began shooting down Windams, realizing that there were quite a lot of them. " _Shinn, don't get too far ahead, we're outnumber in this battle, so quality, not quantity matters,_ " Aila communicated.

Athrun was going to say that they would do better working as a team, but he was forced to dodge as the Chaos attacked him. Athrun shifted the Saviour into its mobile armor mode, which gave him better mobility and speed over the Chaos. Aila and Shinn managed to stay in the general vicinity of one another as the Windams started closing in around them. However, Neo rallied the other Windam pilots to work together to separate the ZAFT mobile suits so that they could be picked off one by one.

On the Minerva, Talia was wondering where these Alliance forces were coming from, as there weren't any known bases for the Earth Forces around the area. The closest Alliance base was the one at the Suez Canal and that was too far from the area to send mobile suits. There had been no ships detected in range that could be the carrier for the mobile suits, so there was no logical means for these Alliance mobile suits. Talia told Meyrin to get on the line with the Degtyarev and the Nyirgongo, "Captain Darius, where did these mobile suits come from, do you have anything that would help explain," she asked.

" _I realize it seems strange, but we've detected nothing; no ships, nor any other mean. Degtyarev, have you found anything,_ " Captain Darius posed.

The captain of the Degtyarev replied that they were seeing nothing, which left the question of where the Alliance force attacking them had come from. All three ZAFT vessels had been searching for signs of some sort of carriers for the Alliance. There was a possibility that there was an Alliance base around somewhere, but there was no intel on such activity around the general area. Yet the search was put on hold as both submarines detected a sonar contact, which was identified as a mobile suit, specifically the X31S Abyss. The submarines started launching mobile suits, while Talia ordered Rey and Lunamaria to equip underwater gear and head down under water.

Meanwhile, both the Osiris and the Impulse were being hard pressed to defend themselves against the onslaught from the Earth Forces. The Saviour was dodging the attacks from the Chaos and a few of the Windams. Athrun was forces to utilize his piloting skills to evade and fire back and destroying some the Windams. Aila was switching between the high-energy beam rifle and beam machine guns to fight back against the Windams, also adding the twin barrel vulcan guns. The Impulse was made to set it shield in front of its cockpit, while Shinn shot back with the Impulse's beam rifle.

Under the water, a number of GOOhN sub-aqua mobile suits ZAFT used, were setting their sites on the Abyss. By the time Rey and Luna entered the water, the GOOhNs were sending the torpedoes they had at the stolen machine. The Abyss evaded the torpedoes with its superior mobility underwater and then rushed forward and lance to start destroying the GOOhNs. Luna and Rey headed for the Abyss to stop it from destroying their allies.

Shinn was still being drawn away from his allies as he fought against his opponents. Neo had to admit, that the pilots from the Minerva with exception of the new one had improved. Yet, after a bit, a sight caught Shinn's attention for a moment, which was an expected collection of structures that looked out of place. Neo was caught up in attempting to taking down the Osiris while the Chaos kept going against the Saviour. That left Shinn left to deal with the few Windams that were attacking him as he drew closer to the structures.

At the unfinished Earth Forces base, alarms began sounding, and the soldiers rushed to defensive position. On the other hand, those that had been forced to work and build, decided that now was the best time to escape, so they dropped the tools and took the opportunity to run and get to their families. The locales heard the sound of gun fire start and hurried to the chain-link fence. Some got in front of the damaged sections of fence and helped others through one person at a time going through small holes into the ditch. Alliance guards noticed the movement shortly after it started and began shooting at the people that were sliding into the ditch and trying to climb up the other side.

The Impulse came into close view of the unfinished base, and even though fixed defenses began firing at the Impulse, yet due to the Impulse's phase shift armor, the guns did little. Shinn used the CIWS guns in his suit's chest to destroy the turrets shooting at him. Then Shinn got a view of what was going with the locales down in the ditch and the sight of them getting gunned down incensed him. These people were being killed and all they wanted was to be with their families! He wouldn't just stand by and let people die just because some believed they should!

Neo was seeing that this fight against ZAFT had morphed into a lost cause and the Windams that they borrowed had been wiped out. The enemy was in the process of discovering the base that was being built and none of the major targets had been taken down. Neo had to cut losses and contacted the Jones and told them to be ready to pick them up. Then, Neo ordered Sting and Auel to fallback, neither of two liked the order to retreat. Auel was irritated enough to claim he could take out one of the submarines and set out to do what he said. Rey and Luna attempted to stop the Abyss, but the Abyss managed to destroy the Degtyarev. The upwelling geyser that came from the sinking of the submarine was massive and couldn't be missed.

Shinn was destroying the Alliance forces and their equipment, first to take their attention off the people they were trying to escape, but also, to make the Alliance pay for what they had been doing. Aila, with the Osiris in its mobile armor mode, flew over where Shinn was razing the base, frowning at what she was seeing. As the Alliance mobile suits fell back, Athrun also flew over to where the smoke and fires were happening and witnessed Shinn destroying the Alliance base. The sight of Earth Forces' personnel running away and yet dying as they did so, brought back terrible memories from the previous war. " _Shinn, stop this! None of them can fight back any longer, so enough of this,_ " Athrun shouted over the radio.

At hearing Athrun, Shinn ceased attacking the base and moved over towards the ditch that had chain-link fence on both sides. The people on both sides fled out of the way as the Impulse approached the ditch. The Impulse grabbed both fences and pulled them upward and out of the ground completely, then let them drop. Once the fences were down, the women and children moved forward, while the men slide down the side of the ditch, the separated families and loved one reunited in the ditch.

By sunset, the mobile suits returned to their ships, and the Minerva resumed its journey towards Suez along with the Nyirgongo. The pilots were dismissed once back onboard however, before Shinn was able to leave the hanger, he was called out, "Shinn."

Shinn turned to see Athrun approaching, "Yes sir," he asked.

"Come with me, I would like to discuss something with you before you go off duty," Athrun stated.

Shinn was kind of curious as to what Athrun wanted to talk about, he followed Athrun into the pilot lounge. Athrun was gathering his thoughts along the way, for what Shinn had done on the battlefield shouldn't have happened. Shinn saving those people wasn't a bad thing, but things could have gone far worse than they had! Athrun saw that Shinn had potential to be a great pilot, but he was playing the hero and that came with cost of lives. The problem as Athrun saw it, Shinn didn't see the danger that could have happened, and he had to understand before such came to lives being lost.

Athrun reached the pilot lounge and turned to face Shinn and folded his arms, "Shinn, what happened out there today," he posed.

Shinn was kind of taken aback by the question, "What do you mean sir? I went out and fought the Earth Forces, like Aila, Rey, Luna and you," Shinn answered.

Athrun sighed, noting that Shinn was missing the point that he was trying to get across, "And tell me, what was your location in relationship to the ship for the majority of the battle?"

Shinn took a moment to think, "Um well," he began, before he started to see what Athrun was probably pointing out, "A distance from the ship sir."

Athrun nodded, "Yes, do you understand why that can be a rather problematic position?"

Shinn lowered his gaze, as he believed he knew where this was going, "Yes sir, I might not get back and defend the ship if the Minerva was in danger," he said evenly.

"That is true Shinn," Athrun said. "However, if that were the only thing that was done today, I wouldn't be having this conversation with you."

Shinn looked at Athrun, wondering what he was talking about, Athrun continued, "What you did to the Alliance base, wasn't wrong, but things could have been different than how they did. Imagine if you saved those people, but because you were away from the ship, Rey or Lunamaria was shot down and killed where they wouldn't have been if you had been close to the ship."

Shinn was shocked at what Athrun said, for it was completely unfair to pose, "Forgive me if it sounds insulting sir, but the scenario you paint is unfair," Shinn snapped.

Athrun nodded, "Indeed it is Shinn, but I bring it up for a reason, for the scenario I depicted is possible. The point I'm making, is that your decisions effect those around you. You might at some point find yourself in a situation that you will be forced to choose between two or more options and the outcome of each option will end with someone dead. The real choice you get to make is who it will be that dies, not if someone dies," Athrun iterated.

Shinn didn't like what he heard, and it irritated him, "And what you would you know about what you say," he demanded.

Athrun was somber, "By personal experience unfortunately. During the last war, I was ordered to steal a mobile suit along with four others. It came down to a comrade who was also a friend of mine and myself going for our targets, but we were pinned down by enemy forces. I was faced with a choice, go for the machine or cover my friend for him to make a dash for his target. If I had made a dash out for the suit I was to obtain, I wouldn't have likely made it without being shot and it was the same if my friend ran for his target. In the end, my friend lost his life covering me in my decision to rush for my target."

Shinn couldn't think of anything to say, so Athrun kept going, "You have potential Shinn, but you also need to think about your choices. Today, the battle was won however, the Degtyarev and her crew were lost as a price. So, be aware that what you do will have an effect on others that you need to consider. I say that so that you don't make decisions only to regret them and blame yourself for what happens Shinn."

 **-Line Break-**

Western Pacific Ocean

It was mid-afternoon by the time we came close to Shira. Before surfacing, Tyler left with the Exia to return it to Teswa as he was borrowing the mobile suit. After the Exia left, the Archangel surfaced and made contact with Shira's docking center. The Archangel was given permission to dock, no real issue with the procedure, as the Archangel is considered a part of the Federation Military. It was recorded after the Second Battle of Jachin Due, and Archangel then was seen off duty until further notice. Where the last time that the Archangel had been here in Shira, the policies had not been well-received, there was just a cursory inspection and that was all.

After docking, the kids walked off the ship with Reverend Malchio and Caridad Yamato, Lacus, Kira and Cagalli followed closely behind them. For the crew of the Archangel, they along with the kids were invited over to the Prime Minister's residence as guests. When they arrived, they were greeted by the staff there. The niceties that the staff showed, frankly surprised all but Lacus, Kira and Cagalli. The invitation to the Prime Minister's residence was unexpected by the crew of the Archangel.

The Republic of East Asia's Prime Minister Ellen Blass had a well-known reputation in politics, even nicknamed the "Dragon of the Republic", but it was said that she was quite different off the political stage. The citizens of the Republic all said nothing but good things about their leader whenever asked. The woman was loved the people as they kept reelecting her each time elections came up in the Republic. Minister Blass was on her fifth straight term, so the woman and her cabinet had to be doing enough right in the Republic's citizens eyes.

Upon arrival at the Minister's residence, the kids began running around the immediate area, even though Caridad and Lacus attempt to calm them down and keep them together. Cagalli was kind of embarrassed by the display the kids were making, especially in this place as the owner was a woman that Cagalli respected the most. And Cagalli had a great deal of embarrassment today sent her way, from being kidnapped from her own wedding, then having to admit what she had on the bridge of the Archangel. She didn't see how things could be worse than they were now, but fate as it so often does, was good at proving such wrong.

"My my, it hasn't been this lively around here since the Horizon Jubilee, and I prefer this over that," said a feminine voice.

Everyone turned to the woman that came into the room, she was in a blue blouse and dress pants. Cagalli was horrified to see that she had been wrong about things not being able to become worse. Kira smiled at seeing Ellen as it had been a while since he had visited the Republic and seen Tyler's mother. In fact, in had been close to a year since he and Lacus had visited the Republic, to see Lacus' father Siegel who lived here. The rest from the Archangel stared at the woman and assumed that she was Ellen Blass. Ellen bowed, "To all of you, it is nice to meet you all, my name is Ellen Blass," she introduced herself.

The kids all rushed over to Ellen, and crowded around her, vying for her attention all at the same time. Cagalli moved forward, trying to get all of the kids organized and behaved, but the children didn't listen to her. Ellen squatted down and did give the children the attention that they were clamoring for. The sound of a door behind everyone came and they all turned, "I see that everyone else got here before me," said Tyler walking towards the group.

"Tyler, surprised you got by the front gate," remarked Andrew Waltfeld.

Tyler laughed, "You assume that I need to use the front gate, I know other ways to get inside here other than the front gate. Besides, I know those at the security checkpoint and they let me in with no issue, since I'm not a stranger to this place," he replied.

"Oh, and why would that be," asked Murrue curiously.

Instead of answering, Tyler strode forward into the view of the Republic's Prime Minister, "Hey, you're looking well as usual, and popular with the kids, must be a nice change from politics," Tyler said.

Ellen's gaze shifted to Tyler, "Indeed, and I hear that you have pulled not one, but two of your illustrious stunts, one last night and the other earlier today," she replied.

Tyler moved a hand to rub the back of his head, "You don't say, take it that you got to talk with Uzumi then," posed Tyler.

Everyone was watching and listening to the exchange with fascination as it continued, "Yes, Uzumi called me a couple of hours ago and regaled me with the damage left from the activities that occurred last night. Then he told me what happened earlier today that I wouldn't doubt that you had a hand in," Ellen said tiredly.

Tyler chuckled somewhat nervously, "Have to say, the man is well informed, did he say anything specific," he questioned.

Ellen gazed at Tyler for a moment, "As it happens Tyler, Uzumi asked me to tell you thank you for your actions, they were much appreciated."

Tyler smiled, "Glad to play a part, helping others in need, even when they don't necessarily think they need it is something I take seriously even if it doesn't look like it, you made sure of that mom."

The last word Tyler said, registered in the minds of those listening, then the implication sunk in. Many in the crew of the Archangel had been curious about who the parents of Tyler McGregor were, Natarle chief among them. Heck, there were some that had even made wild guesses as to who they could be. However, none of them in their most ludicrous imaginations would have ever guessed that the woman in front of them could be related to the trouble making young man. Murrue was the first to find use of her voice, "Wait, the Republic's Prime Minister is your mother Tyler?"

Tyler twisted around, "Yep, she," he said, gesturing to Ellen Blass, "is the woman that is responsible for bringing me into the world, whether you see that as a good or bad thing. And now, perhaps you can understand why I've gone to the efforts of making sure that my actions don't get connected to her?"

For those that had been original members of the Archangel's crew, it did make all the sense in the world why Tyler would want the identity of his mother secret now. With her being a major political leader in the Human Federation, with whatever Tyler might have done, it wouldn't be good for that to be traced back to Minister Blass. Ellen herself, who had been giving the children attention, rose back up, "Hard as it is to imagine with how Tyler acts at times, he is indeed my son," she confirmed.

Cagalli held herself back from blowing up at Tyler, she just faced Ellen, "Then why have you not curtail behavior like ruining official functions Ellen," she asked curtly.

Ellen sighed and rub her temple with a hand, "You refer to his ability as he puts it, to crash parties. Tyler developed that behavior on his own, my attempts to discourage it have not had the desired results unfortunately."

Tyler smiled, "I learned the art of mischief from dad, he was the quiet type that you should watch for he could do a neat prank. I was but a humble student of the art when I watched him," he piped up.

Ellen sighed, "Yes, your father did have that side to him and it did come out from time to time, but he knew better when not to give into those urges to not make a scene like you do," she remarked.

Ellen had a meal prepared for her guests' dinner, which was welcome after recent events. After dinner, all but the Archangel crew, with the exception of Andrew Waltfeld and Aisha were taken by Tyler to Shira's airfield and they all divided themselves into two groups to board the two helicopters waiting. Tyler made mention that the place he had arranged was easier to reach by air, before he climbed into one of the helicopter pilot seats, while Andrew and Aisha got behind the controls of the other craft.

The two helicopters took-off and the one Tyler was flying took the lead as they headed to wherever Tyler had arranged for the kids to go. The kids enjoyed flying in the helicopters as for most of them, it was the first time they had gotten to. The flight lasted close to half an hour and the sun was setting when they came out of the wide canyon they flew through to an area surrounded by mountains and a house in the middle of the area. The house was not small, nor was it huge, but somewhere in between, which had the children ooing and awing as they saw it coming closer.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I brought the helicopter I was flighting down and hovered in to land in front of the house, the kids cheering, which got a smile to come to my face. Lacus and Kira made sure the kids on their craft didn't jump out and just going running around the place they were. Lacus once again asked me where we were and added the question of who it was that lived here. I merely told her what I had before, which was that she would find out soon enough in essence. It was kind of meant to be a surprise for her and the kids who it was that I went to for help for their situation. I know it will be a bit of a shock for most and for Lacus, likely a bigger shock, but in the end, it will work out, I feel it!

To say I wasn't disappointed in my expectation, was not wrong in any way. Caridad and Malchio were herding the kids from the helicopter they rode on over to where we were, when the door to the house open and I smile widely at seeing Siegel Clyne. "Hey Siegel, sorry for not bringing them earlier, but my mom insisted on providing them dinner beforehand," I greeted.

All attention shifted to the former chairman of the PLANTs, "It's fine Tyler, I would be surprised if Ellen would let these energetic individuals go without getting some time with them," Siegel replied.

Kira was looking at me to staring at Siegel to shaking his head but saying nothing. Lacus rushed forward and hugged her father, "It's good to see you Lacus, I'm glad you're safe. After being told about the attempted assassination you went through, I've been losing some sleep," greeted Siegel, before he turned to me. "Tyler, you have my gratitude for defending and saving my daughter's life."

I rubbed the back of my head with a hand, "Not a problem my good man, always ready and will to help a friend with whatever. It was probably better that it was me, Sakura would have not stopped at just eliminating the assassins but would've hunted down those that sent them and done the same," I said.

Siegel chuckled a bit, "Yes, Sakura would do just that I have no doubt," he replied.

The job of settling in the kids to the house that Siegel lived at currently took a bit of time, for it was dark by the time it was done. But once it was, Kira, Lacus, Waltfeld, his partner and I headed back to Shira's airfield in the helicopters. All other than myself went back to the Archangel, while I went back to the Normandy. I didn't reach my quarters before I bumped into Lisa, "Oh hey Lisa, thanks for holding down the ship while I was away," I said in greeting.

My friend nodded, "Don't mention it, the Normandy received new orders by the way," she said.

New orders? I wonder what we will be doing, "And those are Lisa," I asked.

She handed me a datapad, and I glanced over it and felt a mix of surprise and unpleasantness. The order had the Normandy going back to the field, I expected that, but not what we were assigned to do. Currently, there is dispute with borders with the Earth Alliance and the Federation, specifically borders between the Euros Coalition and the Eurasian Federation. The Normandy was to head to the Channel of Dardanelles, which was between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Fighting was expected to break out soon, in the next few days at most, the tension was that high.

After reading over the orders, I sighed, "When were these received Lisa," I inquired.

"This morning," she answered.

I took a moment to think, "Then we head out 0800 tomorrow, that should get us there by late evening or during the middle of the night the same day."

Lisa nodded, and I resumed the journey to my quarters, it had been a long day and it had started really early thank to those trying to kill Lacus. The sight of my quarters was a welcome one, I just fell onto my bed and was out within minutes.

The next morning came, and the crew of the Normandy working to get the ship ready to move out. I contacted the Archangel and gave them a simplified rundown of what was going on and what the Normandy was to do. Murrue actually said the Archangel could go with the Normandy, which I think was her and the crew wanting to do something. I wasn't going to say no to extra help, so I agreed to the offer from Murrue of the Archangel accompanying the Normandy.

It was after eight in the morning, when the Normandy left the port at Shina, the Archangel following shortly afterwards. We took to the air and began making the journey towards the area that the Normandy was assigned to go. The trip took us across the Republic and the Equatorial Union and continued on to what was known as the Middle East. From there, we would go northwest to the Dardenelles Channel area.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Red Sea

The Minerva entered the Red Sea after the battle with the Alliance forces at the Gulf of Aden. Granted, the loss of the Degtyarev wasn't nice or helpful, but the results of the battle could have been worse. Yet, allies from Gibraltar and forces from a base near the Black Sea that were heading for the Alliance's Suez base, so meeting up with them should help in the goal of breaking the control that the Suez base gave the Alliance.

The Earth Alliance's Suez Base controlled the canal between the Mediterranean Sea and the way to the Indian Ocean and from there, the Pacific Ocean. That wasn't all that the base had influence over, it was also a supply base from which distributed to Alliance bases in the Eurasia Federation and the South African Union. The Suez Base had made things more difficult for movements and operations for ZAFT. Hence, the objective of going against the Alliance Base, to disrupt the absolute control of the Alliance. The destruction of the base wasn't necessary, and if not for the abuse of the control of the canal, this operation wouldn't be needed.

So, when orders came to change course and detour for the ZAFT base by the city of Diocuia, the crew of the Minerva was wondering what was going on. They parted ways with the Nyirgongo and went over land, heading for the ZAFT base. A full day went by as the Minerva traveled without much events of note. The Minerva dropped into the eastern Mediterranean Sea as the sun rose and she turned to point towards the Dardanelles Channel. Beyond that, was the Sea of Marmara and the city of Diocuia and the ZAFT base. Another day went by with little happening, but the tension was building as they got closer to the Minerva's new destination.

It was the earlier part of the morning, when the Minerva was approaching the entrance of the strait, that things changed. Ahead of the Minerva, right in front of and even through the Dardenelles Channel were both Earth Alliance and Federation forces. The Dardenelles Channel, formerly the Dardenelles Strait had once been longer than it was now according to historical records. There had been a narrow stretch of land that had come from the northern landmass. That had changed over time as the stretch of land sink into the ocean, making the 'strait' into a large channel that was between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Marmara. On the northern side of the strait, was Federation forces faced off against the Alliance vessels on the south side of the channel.

The issue for the Minerva was that the Federation and Alliance were duking it out and making passing through the channel essentially suicidal. From long-range observation, it appeared to that the fighting had only recently started, but the reasons were uncertain. Talia Gladys had the Minerva come to a halt and called a meeting of particular personnel on the ship.

When all that were called for assembled in the briefing room, which included the pilots, Arthur and Talia herself, there were mixed reactions. The pilots were wondering what was going on, since their orders to go against Suez had changed and now they had come to a stop. Talia began the meeting, "Our current orders are to travel to the ZAFT base around the area of Diocuia between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Normally, we would sail though the Dardenelles Channel to the base however, currently, that is a problem," started Talia.

Arthur brought up the live feed of what was ahead of them, and all the Minerva's pilots looked at the ongoing battle with varying expressions, most of which were of shock and worry. The battle that was being fought out even seen from a distance, was huge, ugly and neither side appeared to show signs to be willing to give to the other. Talia continued where she had paused, "You can see it for yourselves, a harsh battle is going on, the Federation versing the Alliance."

"The captain and I believe from what we see, that this battle has to do with a territorial dispute," Arthur added.

Talia nodded, "That being the assumption, it would be best that we not be involved with the dispute. Still, we need to get pass this, going around will take a good deal longer and will like being filled with other issues. So, it comes down to choosing between going around this conflict taking longer or jumping into the battle ahead of us," she stated.

Lunamaria spoke up first, "I say go around this, like the captain said, we shouldn't get involved in this fight."

"It doesn't matter in my view," Rey said.

Shinn shrugged, "I agree with Rey, either way works, both have their pros and cons."

Aila was studying the feed of the fight, "I would actually vote for going forward and getting into this battle. Before now, we've been taking on the Earth Forces that come our way by ourselves, in this it wouldn't be the case, or at least, all the attention wouldn't be on us," she iterated.

Talia turned to Athrun, "And what about you Athrun, what are your thoughts on the choices," she asked.

Athrun didn't say anything right away, he just looked at the battle and thought about what the best course would be. Truthfully, going around was no better than fighting to Athrun, the Alliance wasn't going to leave the Minerva alone. And as Aila had mentioned, if the Minerva joined the fight ahead of them, then the attention wouldn't be focused on them alone. "Both choices have merit, but if I were to suggest one over the other, then I would say that going forward and as you put it captain Gladys, jumping into the battle, would be the better of the two choices," Athrun stated.

Talia nodded, "I came to the same conclusion. Then all of you are to suit up and standby to launch out in your mobile suits," she ordered.

All the pilots saluted and headed off to do what Talia ordered, while Talia turned to Arthur, "We're going to go to condition red Arthur."

"Yes ma'am," Athrun replied.

The two raced back to the bridge, Talia ordered the Minerva to set course toward the channel ahead and prepare for combat. As the Minerva drew closer, the real intensity of the skirmish between the Federation's military and the Earth Forces became clearer. Ships of every known classes were visible for both the Alliance and the Federation, firing at one another. The clash of mobile suits above the ships, was a mess and following individual suits was nigh impossible. Explosions filled the air along with beams going back and forth, muddling any signs of who might be winning this fight. The battle wasn't pretty for either side, though the Alliance was appearing to be taking more harsh losses by a margin, but not a very large one. That was not to say that the Federation was winning and had the advantage, they were taking losses as well.

Talia had Meyrin contact the lead ship for the Federation, and when she had, the Federation captain was curt and to the point with telling Talia to state her business or cut the communication. Talia could understand the tone, it wasn't appreciated to be interrupted while you were in a battle. So, she told the Federation officer that the Minerva was trying to get to Diocuia and to get through the channel, the Minerva would like to 'unofficially' help the Federation in their fight with the Alliance. The Federation Commander replied that it wouldn't be refused, but that the Minerva would be watching after itself. Talia acknowledged the point that the Minerva would be defending herself.

The Minerva moved towards the Federation side of the Dardenelles Channel, taking a place close to a few Dolphes-class cruisers. The Impulse was the first to launch out, Shinn going with the Force silhouette for this fight. The Saviour and the Osiris came out of the linear catapults and were followed by Lunamaria's ZAKU Warrior with the gunner wizard and Rey's ZAKU Phantom. The battlefield was even harsher looking up close for the Minerva's mobile suit pilots.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The battle against the Earth Forces in the Dardenelles Channel had been going on for hours, I had started just after sunrise. The tension had been building to its breaking point even before the Normandy and Archangel got here early yesterday morning. It had broken when the Alliance initiated its assault on the Euros Coalition side of the channel. Both the Alliance and us defenders had ended out having to start staggering resupply for mobile suits between the first and second hour of this battle. The Earth Forces were stubbornly fighting on without stopping, drawing this fight out into the hours it has been thus far.

I myself, had to go back to the Normandy by the end of the third hour and do so again at the end of the sixth. Nuclear reactors have lots of power, but it's not infinite or limitless, the Freedom had to go in at about the same rate as I did, but other mobile suits had to resupply more frequently. The Strike Rogue and the Shadow were forced to resupply more often. Cagalli had been adamant about doing something and she settled on piloting for some reason. Then, Lacus volunteered as well and she picked the Shadow as it was the other mobile suit on the Archangel available. Kira hadn't been the keenest on letting Lacus go out, but I kind of pulled him aside and leveled with him that Lacus was going to go out whether any of us wanted her to or not. Kira begrudgingly accepted my point, though he still didn't like it, but we needed pilots and mobile suits out on the field.

Anyways, when the Aurora's resupply was complete, I headed back out to the battlefield for likely another long fight with the Earth Forces. I was wondering when this was going to end. Either the Alliance force would retreat, or they would be wiped out, I was hoping for the former rather than the latter, but it's looking more like the latter with how long this skirmish was going.

I saw that like for much of the battle, Cagalli and Lacus were sticking together, which worked for them. Lacus was fairly good with the Shadow… not as good as I was with it, but I'm a top pilot and had lots of practice and Lacus hasn't. Piloting a mobile suit is more Sakura's thing, but Lacus does decently with the idea, especially as she doesn't do it a great deal after the First Alliance-PLANT War. Cagalli… Well, I'm of the opinion that she has issues that she's working out, but that's my personal opinion and Cagalli isn't fond of listening to those lately. I mean, yes, I authored the plan that got her out of being married to the jerk Yuna Seiran and that might have been a tad embarrassing. I don't think she's going to let that go for a while, even though I came up with the plan to help her, the things I do to be helpful, I tell you.

Honestly, Kira and I were the ones that should be out fighting and not the two girls, they're too nice for this kind of thing. Heck, Kira is too kind-hearted for duking things out with the Alliance, but I think that he was getting restless. I know the feeling, this conflict was getting bad fast, the Alliance was just being led by idiots these days.

Back to the fight, the battle had a long while ago become tedious and now it was more grueling, and it would continue to be I wager. I resumed where I had left off, shooting at Alliance mobile suits, them shooting back at me, I block them, they get damaged or destroyed. I did catch sight of the Freedom back on the field doing the same as me, for whatever reason, Kira and I were a tad more popular than others. However, it was around twenty minutes after I was back on the field that I saw an odd machine coming from the bowels of an Alliance Spengler-class. The machine I was guessing was a mobile armor, not of a type I've seen before now was bigger than any mobile suit. It was definitely larger than an average mobile armor by a notable margin, it was green overall and had an orange stripe up the middle. It appeared to be well armed and could take on opponents from multiple directions, if the weapon positioning was anything to go by.

A second one of the same type of mobile armor was being deployed from another Spengler-class. I certainly didn't like the look of the mobile armors, the weapon loadout appeared to be meant to destroy on mass scale. The two mobile armors launched and floated forward, shooting at any Federation mobile suit that came near them. The projectile cannons were annoying, but their heavy beam cannons were harsh and had a tendency to destroyed what they were aimed at. So, I made the closest of the two mobile armors my target, moved closer and brought out my plasma cannons. Yet, when I fired at the mobile armor, it deployed what looked like a field over itself, which blocked my shots.

I'd heard rumors that the Earth Alliance had been attempting to develop a shield or field that could block beams and conventional weaponry. It looks like they were successful in doing so, but why not use it until now would be my question. The idea complicates things a margin admittedly, since that field being on means that ranged weapons won't work the same if at all against the mobile armor. That leaves one option, getting up close and personal, and that came with risks, due to the weapons the craft had.

I backed up a bit and found the Freedom coming up next to me, " _Tye, any idea what that thing is,_ " Kira asked.

"Nope, I've never seen that thing, my guess is it's a newer type of mobile armor for the Alliance. The problem is it has a field that can block most if not all ranged weapons, so taking it out will be a bit more of a challenge," I replied.

There was a pause, " _Any suggestions on how we can disable it,_ " Kira pose.

I thought for a moment, trying to figure out a way to take out the mobile armor and not potentially get killed for it. Then an idea popped into my mind, "I think I might have a way to do it, we double team it. We charge it at high speeds, you go over it while I go under it and was cut with beam sabers as we pass. If we can disable that field's emitters, then it will be easier to disable it from being able to cause trouble," I stated.

" _That would put us in the line of fire you know Tye,_ " Kira said.

I didn't miss a beat, "Then isn't a good thing that we're good at dodging my friend," I posed.

I heard Kira sigh, " _Okay, let's do it then,_ " he returned.

Kira and I began flying towards the mobile armor, the Freedom above the Aurora. I shifted the Aurora into its flight mode and began firing the vulcan guns at our target to throw its pilot or pilots off. The mobile armor took notice of Kira and I approaching, the projectile cannons began shooting at the two of us. We were weaving out of the way of the shots, which were added to by the energy cannons, that the readout said was a multi-phase beam. Still, Kira and I were up to evading as we kept closing the distance between us and the mobile armor. It was becoming obvious that the pilot of the armor was getting more desperate as the Freedom and Aurora got closer.

Just before flying under the mobile armor, I switched the Aurora to its mobile suit mode and drew a beam saber. Yet, before Kira and I reached the craft, where it had multi-phase beam cannons, changed into claws which quickly started to glow red. As the Freedom when over the top of the armor, it tried to make a swipe to grab the Freedom but missed. The thing also made a lunge at me as well, but like with the Freedom, it missed me. Kira and I zoomed over and under it, using beam sabers to cut gashes into the machine. Kira clipped off the center fin, where one of the field emitters appeared to have been, while I cut a line that had arcs of energy going after I passed, meaning I sliced some power lines.

It was now time to test whether the charge that Kira and I made, produced desired results of disabling the reflection field. I took out the Aurora's beam rifle and took aim while the mobile armor turned to face me. I shot its right back arm, and there was no field that blocked it, meaning Kira and I disable that reflector. Using a plasma cannon, I took the shot and the mobile armor got a hole through it and exploded.

Nonetheless, Kira and I quickly became separated again by Alliance forces and I was forced back onto the defensive. For the next twenty minutes, I tried to make headway, but had very little to show for the efforts. The Earth Forces were dug in and were giving up, plus another Spengler-class vessel appeared, and with it came the two Gundam-types that I last saw during the assault on Asgard. The green one soon enough made its way towards me, clearly looking for a fight, why with me, I can't say.

The pilot, whoever they were, weren't half bad, yet they also gave off some of the signs that Stella Loussier had. That said to me that they were probably from the Enhanced Human Project, and they could be mean and dangerous. The suit certainly had an array of weapons to use, and its pilot was utilizing most if not all of the arsenal. The next full thirty minutes, I spent dancing with the green Gundam-type, neither one of use doing significant damage to one another. However, my guess was my opponent was running low on power, since they don't have a nuclear reactor as I do.

The next thing I registered, I had beams shooting towards me and I used the deflection shield to prevent the beams from hitting me. When I spotted the one who had fired at me, I found myself looking at yet another mobile armor, but this one I've seen specs for, but never seen in person, the Alliance's TS-MB1B Euclid. It had some similarities as the one Kira and I took down but was smaller and had less weapons to work with. I also bet that it has a reflector like the other one, which will make dealing with it annoying.

I activated the Aurora's stealth system and disappeared from sight and the mobile armor was quickly occupied by others. It was as I was working my way around to get behind the mobile armor, that I spotted mobile suits that I'm fairly sure are on the ZAFT ship Minerva. Why the Minerva would be around here, I haven't the faintest idea and honestly, I don't care by this time. This battle has been going on for long enough, any that help out in bring this to a close, I say the more the merrier.

Anyways, I did manage to get behind the mobile armor, noticing that the reflector that I expected it had, was emitted from parts on either side. I landed on the center section of the armor reappearing, took out a beam saber and stabbed one side, getting the emitter and using my beam rifle to puncture the other emitter. Leaping off of the armor, forcing it to drop a distance downward while I took aim with one of my plasma cannons. I fired and made a hole through the machine and it was destroyed by exploding.

Yet, I was not given a break at all, Earth Forces mobile suits attacked me, and I had to do acrobatics to evade. I received help in the form of a red Gundam-type mobile suit, shooting at the Alliance suits. A few minutes of watching the fighting style of the one helping me, I knew it was Athrun in the suit. And thankfully, Athrun and I can still read each other and make a heck of a team. As if to prove the point, we both moved forwards at the Alliance mobile suits in sync. Athrun shifted his suit's beam rifle to the left hand and I tossed the Aurora's beam rifle up to him and he caught it. I drew both my beam sabers and surged forward at the Earth Forces machines, Athrun covering me by firing the beam rifles in rapid succession. We destroyed the series of mobile suits, me slashing and Athrun pegging the others. Athrun dropped my beam rifle and I caught it before flying off to other areas of the battlefield.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Shinn and Rey were working together on fighting the Earth Forces, both taking in the difference in the ways that the Federation and the Alliance fighting. The Federation clearly utilized team work far more than the Alliance did, while the Alliance relied on numbers. The Alliance forces were definitely not making this battle easy, they were determined to get a foot hold in the Federation's Euros Coalition territory.

It wasn't long after coming onto the battlefield, that the Alliance sent out mobile armors, two of them were the same as the Minerva faced on its way to Carpentaria. The difference was that there were two of them instead of one. Rey and Shinn began approaching the closer Zamza-Zah, but Rey got separated from Shinn. The Impulse kept going towards the mobile armor, yet Shinn caught sight of a mobile suit that he had seen images of, the X10A Freedom. It was one of the more well-known mobile suits from the previous war for the things it did. With the Freedom, was the red Federation mobile suit, the same one that had been seen around Armory One.

The two machines zoomed towards the other Zamza-Zah, avoiding the shots from the mobile armor. They sliced at the armor as they passed, the Freedom over the top and the other along the underside. The red suit shot its beam rifle at the armor and destroyed one of its legs, before using one of its cannons to finish the mobile armor.

Shinn refocused on the Zamza-Zah ahead of him and before he reached it, the Osiris launched an attack against it. When the Zamza-Zah was distracted, Shinn closed the rest of the distance and dodged the glowing claw that had got him the last time. He drew one of the Impulse's beam sabers and slammed it down into the middle and slashed towards the front. The mobile armor lost its ability to fly and fell, hit the water before blowing up.

Shinn didn't get long to appreciate the job he did, because the Chaos and the Abyss along with a group of Windams began attacking him and Aila. However, Federation mobile suits broke up the unfair fight and separated the Alliance machines, letting Aila and Shinn come up for air. As the battle dragged on, the Minerva's mobile suits had to start coming back to the ship to resupply. When Shinn brought the Impulse in to resupply, he decided to go with a different silhouette flier, which pretty much required the Impulse be disassembled.

The Impulse launched out again assembled with the Blast silhouette equipped this time. When Shinn arrived back on the battlefield, he quickly spotted a new mobile armor attacking. The Saviour and Impulse moved to intercept the armor as it turned towards the Minerva. Yet, when fired upon, the mobile armor activated a positron reflector it had, blocking the incoming beams. The reflector prevented any effective attacks from Athrun or Shinn, while allowing the mobile armor to fire away with its high-energy beam cannons and gatling guns. However, minutes later, the Aurora appeared on the center section of the armor. The red suit took out a beam saber stabbing one side clean through, destroying the reflector emitter, then used its beam rifle to do the same damage on the other side. After destroying the reflector emitters, the Aurora leapt off the mobile armor, forcing it downwards and shot it first with its beam rifle and then a heavier beam cannon. The result of the actions was the mobile armor fell and then exploded.

Shinn was shortly occupied by other Alliance suits and was separated from the Saviour. Nonetheless, Shinn did see the Saviour again, helping the red Federation suit from earlier. The sight of the Saviour shifting its beam rifle to its left hand was odd, but then came a scene that Shinn wouldn't soon forget. The Federation mobile suit tossed its beam rifle upward, which was caught by the Saviour. Then, the Federation machine rocketed forward with a beam saber in each hand, hacking and slashing while the Saviour used both beam rifles to cover the red suit. The two together took down between twenty-five and thirty Earth Forces suits in around a minute.

It was unreal to Shinn seeing such synced teamwork, it had been as if both Athrun and the other pilot had been reading one another's mind. But, Shinn was forced back to fighting when he was attacked by Earth Forces machines. Nevertheless, the surprises weren't done appearing yet, and the one that came next shocked the pilots of the Minerva, with the exception of Athrun. It came close to three quarters of an hour later, when the Aurora suddenly became able to see attacks coming without looking. It didn't stop there, the other part of this 'surprise' was even more unbelievable, and that the pilot had become incapable of missing. Every attack from the Aurora hit the intended target, even if the Alliance suit was attempting to dodge. It was like the pilot of the Aurora already knew where their target would be before they did, which sped along this battle among other things.

It was midafternoon when the Alliance fired the retreat signal and the battle came to a close. It had lasted about ten hours in total, the Minerva coming in between the sixth and seventh hour. The Minerva's mobile suits returned, and the ship proceeded forward toward Diocuia.

 **-Line Break-**

Western area of the Republic

Earth Forces launched from a base that was close to the northwestern border of the Republic. They were keeping low so as to not be detected by Federation forces after crossing the border. The Alliance force's mission was to go to a 'facility' close to the northwestern border and retrieve one of the Alliance Extendeds that was there for some reason. The soldiers were prepared for some resistance as there could be some, there was not much information on the place, nor what or who was there. The Extended, Stella Loussier, was wanted for an upcoming mission was the explanation from the top brass.

The sheer amount of danger and risk involved in this mission, was clear and not even joked about. The Earth Forces were crossing into territory that they had no influence or sway in and those that had that, weren't fond of the Earth Alliance at all, especially the military. Relations between the Alliance and the Federation were the worst they had been historical speaking. If any of the Earth Forces were caught in this, they were on their own and they all knew that. Mobile suits would be following them soon, but when the Federation forces here in the Republic, those pilots would be outgunned and outnumbered quickly.

The soldiers were silent as they traveled on the aircraft towards their destination, all of them with a serious air. The one person that wasn't a soldier was nervous, as there was so little information on the place they were going. But the nervousness could be due to stress as there was lots of that lately for those that worked at Lodonia Lab. It was shortly after Dr. Moss disappeared that the Alliance had changed how things ran. Things hadn't improved, just became more unpredictable than it was when Dr. Moss had run things. The journey took less than half an hour, before the first sight of the area their mission would take place in. Structures and buildings for habitation were spread around the valley, while there were some larger buildings at one end of the valley.

Meanwhile, the aircraft weren't fully silent or undetectable, there were some around Shangri-La that heard the sounds of four transports approaching. Mina Moss had been preparing to retire for the night, when she registered the sounds of the aircraft. And as Federation forces wouldn't approach from the northwest, nor at this time of night, there were only two possibilities, either ZAFT or the Alliance forces were coming. Personnel from either group would not come here at this time if it was for friendly purposes. So, Mina grabbed the modified revolver she had, and a bag filled with darts filled with mixtures that Mina herself had come up with.

Next, Mina headed over to where her girls slept and woke them up and told them to go to the hanger that Shangri-La had. The girls headed off without question, whereas Mina made her way outside, activating the alarm that Shangri-La had to alert the inhabitance of trouble. The girls were going towards the three mobile suits that they piloted in the previous war and were still completely capable of using. No matter who it was coming here to complicate things, the fools would not be greeted nicely at all. If it was the Alliance as Mina suspected, then they would get a firsthand experience of what candidates from the Enhanced Human Project could do. When Mina had gotten outside, the sight of Alliance aircraft hovering low to drop off their occupants. Mina loaded the cylinders of her revolver with fatal darts and then proceeded towards the valley of Shangri-La.

The second the first group of Alliance soldiers touched the ground, they headed forward towards the valley. They were quickly forced to be aware of their surroundings when gun fire came their way from some of the larger structures. The Alliance soldiers returned fire, but kept moving forward, searching for their target. However, they were taken by surprise as people that ranged from appearing to be teenagers to young adults, came out of the darkness and attacked them. These individuals quickly proved that they knew how to fight and could kill by overwhelming the Alliance soldiers that were coming into the valley. As more Alliance soldiers came, more inhabitance in Shangri-La woke and joined the fight against the Alliance forces.

Stella had been sleeping, but Max had woken her with his whining and it didn't take long for Stella to understand that something was happening that wasn't supposed to. As Stella approached the door, it was kicked open and a soldier in an Alliance uniform came in. When the man spotted Stella, he strode over to her and grabbed her arm, "Stella Loussier, you are to come immediately for a-" the man stated, but he never finished instead grunting in pain.

Stella saw that Max had bit down hard on the man's leg and was holding fast, even as the man tried to shake off Max. The puppy that she had been looking after, was attempting to protect her, even if Stella couldn't identify the reason why, other than they were friends. However, the soldier managed to shake Max off and send the puppy smacking into the nearest wall with a yelp. Witnessing the sight of Max getting hurt, had the effect on Stella that she wished to hurt the soldier for what he did. In fact, Stella rushed forward without thinking and crashed into man, wrestled the gun from his grip and then turned it the soldier and pulled the trigger.

After the soldier stopped moving, Stella hurried over to where her canine friend had landed. Max was breathing, but he was clearly hurt by being flung as he had. Stella put down the gun and carried the puppy to the bed and set him down gently. Max opened his eyes a small bit and licked Stella's hand, before he closed his eyes again and didn't move much. Seeing this angered Stella, she went over and grabbed the gun she had taken from the soldier and headed outside.

The scene outside was one of chaos, the candidates that were around Shangri-La were fighting back against the Alliance forces. The sounds of battle echoed around the valley as the Alliance kept trying to accomplish their goal. Mina was walking around, shooting the soldiers that she came across, leaving them in agony before their deaths occurred and looking for the one in-charge of these invaders. Mina wasn't happy in any way to see Earth Alliance personnel again, every time she was around them, they only caused issues for everyone else. Mina might have 'loosened up' somewhat after leaving the Lodonia Lab, but she still detested others interfering with her work.

Although the sight of the Raptor, the Sinister and the Bandit coming out from behind the waterfall and shooting down the Alliance mobile suits that were taking to hover around the valley certainly brightened Mina's mood, if only a little. Her daughters were proving their skills by beating the Alliance pilots with ease and that brought a smile to Mina's face. Lori was already organizing counters to the intruders and was steps ahead of the fools, things were going as well as they could all things considered.

It took more than five minutes for Mina to find the one she sought, identified by the man giving out commands to others. Mina approached the small group of soldiers, her revolver reloaded and ready. She shot darts at the soldiers as he got closer, which got the attention of the rest as their comrades fell to the ground and quickly began to writhe in pain. Guns were pointed at Mina, who didn't react at all to other than shooting darts at all but the leader of the bunch. She then focused on the leader who was still standing, "Your intrusion is not appreciated at all you foolish jar headed soldier," Mina stated coldly as she pointed her revolver at the leader.

"You bi**h!" shouted the lead Alliance soldier.

Mina didn't move, "It's fitting as well as ironic, that you come to interfere with my work, and yet it is the results of my work that is repelling you," she remarked.

The leader shook his pistol at Mina, "Who the hell do you think you are," he barked.

Mina glanced over at the one non-soldier here and only other standing, to which the man flinched. Mina knew the man, had seen him before as he had worked at the Lodonia Lab, so she shifted her gaze back to the lead soldier, "You can ask Mr. Matthews, he's likely the only one using his brain for its purpose at the moment."

"D-Dr. Moss," uttered Matthews, tones of fear audible.

Mina calmly moved her revolver's cylinder to be open, reached into her bag of darts and took out some more and loaded the empty chambers. Then she flicked the cylinder back into place and pointed at the soldier, who after seeing that the revolver was loaded with darts, was laughing. Mina simply shot him with a dart at the neck and then trained the gun on the scientist. "Start talking Matthews, I doubt I need to iterate what will happened if you don't, for it is still the same as before. And for your information, the dart I'll shoot you up with, is my personal blend that others named "view of hell"," Mina said emotionlessly.

Matthews went pale at hearing what Mina intended to shoot him up with should he not do what he was told. To hear that the darts being fired off the revolver contained mixtures that Mina Moss came up with was scary enough. Seeing the idea was worse, as the soldiers writhing on the ground in pain made clear the type of mixtures being used. For the former head of Lodonia to say that she would use one of the concoctions that had been given a name by others that Mina Moss had worked with, said the mix was especially nasty from her, and the woman was not nice to begin with. Matthews did the best option he had in this, he spilled his guts about what he knew about the question. "The Alliance forces that were sent here were to retrieve an individual and bring them back for something. The individual was Stella Loussier, I don't know what Logos wants her for, only that they need an Extended for whatever it is," he said in a panic.

Mina suspected that Earth Forces personnel might be sent here at some point, it was one of the risks of leaving the influence of the Alliance. Nonetheless, of the candidates here at Shangri-La, why pick Stella Loussier as the one to bring back? That was the point of this that didn't make logical sense to Mina. But Matthews didn't appear to know more than what he had said, so Mina waved her revolver, "Fine then, make yourself useful Matthews, ignore the Alliance soldiers you see," she stated.

The man did what he was told, knowing that Mina wasn't one you questioned if you wanted to live without pain. Mina then took out a com-unit, "Lori, it would seem that these intruders are here to pick up, their target is Stella Loussier."

" _Stella Loussier? But, why her of all the candidates here,_ " Lori asked.

"Honestly, I don't know the reasons. However, I doubt they intend to leave without her, so either we wipe them all out or have some follow them back to their base they came from," Mina replied.

" _As usual, that's easier said than done, but I'll see what we can do on the first option. The second option is your department Mina,_ " Lori shot back.

"Agreed Lori, and no need to be nice to these Alliance Marauders, if we don't handle them, then I wouldn't doubt the Federation Military will," Mina said, before ending the conversation with Lori.

She then connected to the Bandit's cockpit, "Deborah, the Alliance forces are here to take Stella Loussier, should they do so, you and your sisters are to follow them back to their base. When you three find the base, do your best to prevent the Alliance from taking Stella further away. And it would be best that none of you are seen following, do you understand," Mina posed.

" _Yes mother, we'll do it,_ " Deborah replied.

Mina then moved on to finding what soldiers she could, making them pay for their interference in the work being done here. At the same time, Stella was going around, helping the others like her here deal with those that were intruding. However, a group of Alliance soldier managed to overpower the group Stella was with and dragged her away. Stella fought back the best she could, but the men restraining her were stronger than she was. The dragged her to an aircraft and once on board, the craft lifted into the air and began flying away from the valley that Shangri-La was in.

The next sight that Stella saw was the view of an Alliance base the aircraft was coming into and it was not a sight that Stella wanted to see. When the aircraft landed, Stella was forced off the craft and was being taken to one of the large structures on the base. Stella struggled as she was dragged by the soldiers. Even when she was taken inside, things didn't improve at all, for Stella didn't want to go back to what she had been doing before Shangri-La. That in mind, she fought harder to break the hold that the soldiers had on her.

Even seeing Neo, Sting and Auel didn't help Stella, she didn't want to be here and wanted to go back to Shangri-La. Things had been going well and circumstance had been improving for her, so Stella wanted to continue in that. Whereas, Sting and Neo Roanoke were baffled and worried at seeing Stella struggling against the Alliance personnel. All they had been told was Stella would be brought to this base for them to pick her up. Nothing had been said about how or where she was found, just that she would be brought here. Sting moved forward, "Stella, calm down, you're going to be okay," he said.

Neo hoped that hearing Sting would help Stella calm down, but it did nothing as the girl continue to struggle. She broke free of those that were holding her down and made distance from them. Auel walked forward towards Stella, "If don't stop Stella, then you're going to die," he said in a sing song voice.

Sting rounded on Auel and started chided him on using another's block word, but then Auel received a fist to his cheek. Auel stumbled back a few steps, before he looked up and saw that Stella had been the one to hit him. Everyone else in the room was stunned at what had just happened, not only had Stella struck Auel, she hadn't reacted like she normally would to her block word being said. True, Stella after striking Auel, clutched her head with clear signs of pain, but she wasn't losing control like she would before. Clearly something had changed while she had been separated from Neo and the others of her trio.

Neo was going to see what he could do to calm Stella, but the ground shook before he could, which was followed by men and women scream and the sound of explosions and weapon fire. Sting put an arm around Stella as Neo went to the entrance of the building to see what was going on. The sight of three mobile suits unknown Gundam-types attacking the base was not a welcome one to Neo. He was really starting to wonder where Stella had been brought from and why she had come to this base particular. This Alliance base was uncomfortably close to the Republic's border and the Federation had tightened their security lately.

Neo rushed back inside and grabbed one of the men that had brought Stella, "Where did you bring Stella from," he demanded.

The man Neo was demanding information from was shaking, "A backwater settlement," the man stuttered.

That wasn't enough, the mobile suits outside were here for a reason and Neo was worried that some idiot had done some border hopping. Border hopping came with serious repercussions these days and with the relations between the Alliance and the Federation was bad, it could lead to the Alliance fighting both ZAFT and the Federation at the same time. "And was that 'backwater settlement' on the Republic's side of the border?!" Neo posed.

The soldier didn't answer, but he didn't have to, his silence said that wherever those that had retrieved Stella had gone for her, it had been in Federation territory. Now the three Gundam-types were razing the base and doing an admittedly an impressive job. Neo let go of the soldier and turned to Auel and Sting, "We're leaving now," he said before he grabbed Stella and began guiding her towards where an aircraft was waiting.

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **There was lots of stuff in this Phase, mostly battles, but that's where this went. The next Phase will be more story advancement and less fighting, it's the exchange in my view. Thanks for reading this Phase and some of you leave comments and reviews, peace out all!**

 **Duked**

The wedding scene was more meant to be a power grab for the Seirans as Uzumi and those who agree with him still has the overall control of Orb politics. Yes, politics play a horrid part and it was for kicks and giggles for me as is kind of referred to for Tyler's characteristics 'party crashing'. The GN Drives are not the exact same as from Gundam 00, there are similarities but that's all I'll say for the moment.

 **KakeruPB**

Why thank you, you'll be in for treats as this story keeps going, for it crosses with ideas from Gundam 00. As for Lacus' mobile suit, I've been creating one for her, but it won't come into play until later. I hope I can say it will be worth the wait, but Lacus is going to play a part soon enough, I promise. I forgot to mention that she wears the Kimono from Destiny as she looks better in my opinion in it.

 **Titanic X**

I don't like the way America is portrayed either, and in the next Phase is went that starts changing!


	36. Phase 36: Hidden Truths

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 36, less action packed than the last one, but moves the story forward. But, as in canon there are times where there is story development and there are events that are similar in this Phase that take place in the middle of canon of SEED Destiny. There is a minor change which you will read about and I'll identify in the closing notes. Also, I know this Phase is on the longer side, but it's how it came out and I hope you enjoy it. My standard disclaimer is still in effect and have fun with reading the Phase!**

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Phase 36: Hidden Truths

January 1st, 74 C.E.

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-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

The Minerva communicated with the dock control center at the coastal city of Diocuia, which was by the Black Sea. It was the closest city with docking for ships the size of the Minerva to where they had been and was in territory that wasn't under the influence of the Earth Alliance. There was a ZAFT base on one side of the city while on the other side there were Federation facilities. The inhabitance of the city were technically Federation citizens as they were on the border of the Euros Coalition.

The Minerva came into one of the docks at the ZAFT base, where it could get repairs and resupply which were needed. A sigh of relief was being let out as they came into the dock they were assigned to by those onboard the Minerva, it had been a long last couple of days. Once in the dock, Arthur looked out the window at the view there was of Diocuia, "So this is Diocuia, I've heard of this border city and it's a beautiful one," he remarked.

All the crew of the Minerva were granted shore leave while the ship was undergoing repairs. For those who left the ship first, they came onto a scene of many soldiers gather in front of two mobile suit. It was odd to view at first, but as it unfolded, a pink mobile suit was helped down and on its hands was the PLANT idol Lacus Clyne. Seeing that, filled in the unknown facts and said there was a live concert by the girl, though why she would do such in Diocuia of all places was a bit of a mystery.

Those still on the Minerva were also getting a view of the concert, as it was being transmitted around the city. The fans of "Lacus Clyne" were watching with joy, while others were merely looking on with curiosity. Athrun was stunned at seeing 'Lacus' or really Meer Campbell here doing a concert, it made no sense. Even as he watched Meer perform, it kind of felt like this was some kind of indoctrination, but that was crazy. Meer's performance certainly showed the differences to Athrun, between her and the genuine Lacus Clyne. Yes, the voice was identical, but the choreography was different, more towards the flamboyant side. It was like seeing someone trying to be someone that you know and can't quite do it perfectly, but, that in fact, was exactly what Athrun was seeing.

While the concert was going on, the prototype of the new X2000 GOUF Ignited mobile suit and a black colored ZAKU Phantom moved to the side from their position they had come down to after carrying the pink suit. Out of the cockpit of the GOUF came a young man in his early twenties, with a height of close to six feet. The man's name was Heine Westenfluss and he had amber blonde neck length hair and green eyes. He was wearing his ZAFT red uniform with a FAITH crest on the left wing of the collar. The one that descended from the Phantom's cockpit, was a young man that was only around a year younger than Heine himself. His name was Heero Collins and he was a small margin shorter than Heine, possessed spiky dark brown hair and Prussian blue eyes. Heero was also in a ZAFT red uniform, which he dusted off when he reached the ground.

Heine came over to where Heero had descended to, "Did you get a view of the ship that just came into port Heero," asked Heine.

Heero turned to Heine, "Yes, that matches the images for the LHM-BB01 Minerva that are on file," he said stoically.

Heine stared at Heero's expressionless face and shook his head, gaining a small smile, "You Heero need to get out more. With the way you talk and act, others would assume that you have little to no emotion," Heine replied.

Both Heine and Heero strode over to the shuttle that landed just after them, stood and saluted as Chairman Durandal came off the craft. Durandal returned the salute from Heine and Heero with a nod and went on his way. Durandal glanced over to the performance and smiled a bit at how Meer was entertaining the crowd. With the conflict that had been going on in the surrounding Alliance territory, there was definitely a need for something that could brighten the mood in general.

Meanwhile, Shinn, Athrun, Lunamaria and Meyrin had exited the Minerva to get a closer view of the concert. Shinn didn't understand why his friend Vino Dupre and Yolan Kent like the idol Lacus Clyne, even seeing her in live performance. Sure, her voice was pretty, and she had fairly good looks, but that was about all. Then the woman Shinn was seeing didn't fit the Lacus Clyne that stories said had fought in the previous war at all. She just appeared to be a singer, not someone who had been on battlefields of war. Athrun was simply looking on at Meer, still attempting to figure out why she would be here, for it didn't fit. The difference between Meer and Lacus just became clearer the more Athrun saw of her.

"Say Athrun," Luna piped up.

Athrun turned to look at her, "Yeah?"

"Did you know that Miss Clyne was going to be here," asked Lunamaria.

Athrun stared at Luna, for how was he supposed to know that Meer was going to be here. He was a soldier, the one that Lunamaria was referring to was a singer. The arrangement that was an engagement, had been dismissed during the second half of the First Alliance-PLANT War by the words of Patrick Zala himself. However, it was becoming clear by a number of developing factors, that the engagement dismissal was never recorded and so, it was like it never happened. The way Meer had acted around him, also implied that the 'engagement' was still in place, which was odd. "No, I didn't know she would be here, why would you think I would," questioned Athrun.

"Well, you two are engaged aren't you," commented Meyrin.

Athrun felt more awkward at hearing that, what could he say? The truth was that the engagement had been dissolved, but other groups said Athrun and 'Lacus Clyne' were still engaged to be married at some point in the future. Athrun had done a bit of looking into the point himself and had been shocked that records had stated that he was indeed engaged to 'Lacus Clyne'. The oddest piece to it, there was no name supplied for the witness or the one responsible for arranging the idea. "We were at one time, a lot has happened since then," Athrun replied.

"I suppose that you both are busy people these days with everything that's going on. So, you can't keep in contact twenty-four seven I guess," Luna remarked.

The truth of the matter would be denied by the facts that have been recorded, so Athrun couldn't set things straight. Not being able to say the truth in this was wearing on Athrun, "Something like that I guess," he mumbled.

The crowd watching "Lacus's" performance, was cheering as she kept going, both the soldiers and the citizens viewing the show. Within the citizens watching, two individuals were viewing the concert, though it wasn't with interest or because they were fans. One was a young man that was eighteen now, with brown hair and green eyes, was none other than Tolle Koenig. Next to him was his 'official' girlfriend and working partner, Miriallia Haw how was also eighteen, almost nineteen. The two of them were watching this performance with mixed feelings as to what the saw and what they knew. "Hey Mir, any ideas as too why there's someone that's posing as Lacus singing here of all places," posed Tolle.

Miriallia shook her head after she got a couple of pictures with her camera, the two of them had been freelance photographers since the end of the First Alliance-PLANT War. "No, I can't say I do Tolle, but I don't think this is just happenstance either," Miriallia replied.

Miriallia and Tolle were about to slip away through the crowd, but Tolle spotted something through his binoculars. His eyes widened, "Mir, look over here and have your camera ready," he said.

"Why, what do you see Tolle," asked Miriallia

Tolle waved her over, and when she moved to be next to him, he pointed to where he had been looking, near the backstage of the concert. "Zoom in your camera and tell me if you see who I do," he suggested.

Miriallia did as Tolle said, wondering what he was referring to, but once she zoomed in her camera lens, she gasped. "Is that the PLANT's Supreme Council Chairman Gilbert Durandal," she whispered.

"Certainly looks like it to me, can't begin to guess what someone like him is doing here right now," remarked Tolle. "Yet, how much do you want to bet that this concert is related to him being here in some way Mir?"

There was clicking of the camera taking pictures before Miriallia spoke, "I'm not taking that bet, I wouldn't doubt they're related. Come on, we need to get these pictures ready Tolle."

Miriallia and Tolle weaved through the crowd watching 'Lacus' perform, and once free, they began to hurry to the other side of the city. Yet, along the way to their destination, they crashed into someone and came to a halt. "Sorry," said Tolle automatically after bumping into whomever he and Miriallia had.

"Don't sweat it, but where might you be going in such a hurry Tolle," answered a voice.

Tolle and Miriallia looked up and saw Tyler McGregor in front of them, "What the, Tye," questioned Miriallia.

Tyler smiled, "That's my name among friends, don't ware it out. So, back to my question, where are the two of you going in such a hurry, and what are you doing around Diocuia to start with," he said.

Miriallia told Tyler their story, of being here as a recent battle between the Federation and the Alliance had taken place and this was the closest they could get right now. Then they had come across the concert that was being given by 'Lacus' that was drawing so much attention from those around here. After Miriallia finished up telling Tyler about what she and Tolle were doing around Diocuia, he put a hand to his chin, "Yes, I've heard the concert since coming off the ship I'm assigned to. But, you mind showing me the pictures you took, that might help get more of an overall look of things."

Miriallia brought up the images on the portable terminal that Tolle had that she had taken after slotting in the memory storage device. She showed Tyler the shots she got, which the first one that caught his eye was one of Athrun, "Can you zoom in on the collar of Athrun's uniform."

Tolle did as Tyler asked, and all three saw the white crest on the left wing of the collar, "What is that crest about," inquired Miriallia.

"That's the crest that members of ZAFT's FAITH, their best of the best, and that is odd that Athrun would be chosen for that," Tyler muttered.

"I don't know," Tolle said. "The way that you and Kira talk about him, I would think he would deserve to be one of the best ZAFT has."

Tyler sighed, "FAITH members aren't just skilled Tolle, they're given privileges that most are not. Membership in FAITH, that's more a symbol of trust that they will do what the chairman tell them. So, for Athrun being a part of FAITH, that says more things unsaid," Tyler replied.

Miriallia resumed going through the pictures, and the other picture that caught Tyler's attention, was those that had Gilbert Durandal. To see evidence that the Supreme Council's Chairman was here when times were so volatile, suggested things. "Say Miriallia, Tolle, could you do me a favor," asked Tyler.

Tolle put an arm around Tyler's shoulder, "Hey now, you should know that you only need to ask Tye," replied Tolle.

Miriallia nodded, "That's what friends do for one another," she added.

Tyler smiled, "Thanks you two. Could you get a message to Athrun? I think there needs to be a talk with him and some others, myself included. I can arrange one side and the place but getting in touch with Athrun and not be asked questions that would be better not answered to everyone who isn't involved. There is a set of ruins a short distance out of the city, that is the place, in two days. If you can get that across to Athrun and not to all of those around him, then I would be ever so grateful," Tyler iterated.

Tolle and Miriallia agreed to the request, and the three parted, Tyler making his way closer to where the concert was happening, the other two heading off in the opposite direction. When Tyler got in view of the performance, he could only stare at 'Lacus' sing and dance. This was the first view that Tyler had gotten of the stand-in Athrun had mentioned and he had to admit, she looked quite a lot like his friend and even sounded identical when singing. However, there were subtleties that screamed that the girl was a fake to who she said she was. For one, Lacus would not be as flamboyant as the girl was and this concert felt more like a ploy for drawing attention.

As the singing went on, Tyler wasn't the only one that wasn't focused on 'Lacus Clyne', Talia Gladys was looking around as well. And the sight of Gilbert Durandal caught her attention as him being here was odd with things as they were currently. Arthur Trine was next to Talia enjoying the concert, "Must say ma'am, it's a wonderful coincidence isn't it?"

"Yes, an interesting coincidence," she said flatly.

Lacus Clyne being here was as much a coincidence as Gilbert Durandal being here was, which was none at all in Talia's view. She may not know the reason, but she was sure that Gilbert was here for something to do with the Minerva. She left Arthur to watch the performance and walked over to where Gilbert was to get some answers. She didn't get answers from Gilbert, as he waved her questions off, but invited her to dinner. Rey joined up with Talia as they were guided to where 'dinner' would be held a hotel in Diocuia closest to the ZAFT base. There Gilbert was waiting for them, "So, are you surprised by what has been here in Diocuia upon your arrival," he posed.

Both Rey and Talia saluted, "Yes, quite the surprise sir," Talia replied.

Gilbert closed the distance between them, "You are looking well, word of your recent exploits has reached the homeland and myself. I know that I am well pleased with what you've done," Gilbert said.

Rey felt happy to hear Gilbert was pleased with the efforts that he and the others had made. He couldn't ignore the urge and moved forward and hugged Gilbert. After a few minutes, the three took seats at the table, Gilbert and Talia on the side with two chairs and Rey taking one of the five on the other side.

At the entrance of the hotel, both Heero and Heine watched as the car drove up and dropped off the four pilots of the Minerva. The pilots from the Minerva were wondering what reason they were called here for, and only Athrun had any inkling as there being a higher up that arranged this. Although, they were surprised to see there were two red uniformed personnel waiting for them and one was a member of FAITH. Yet, the pilots were guided by the two to the balcony where the table had been set up. Heine and Heero saluted, "Sir, we have brought the Minerva's pilots," Heine stated.

Durandal rose and approached the five pilots of the Minerva, "Ah Athrun, it's good to see you once again," Gilbert greeted.

Athrun shook the hand that Durandal offered him, then Durandal glanced at the other pilots, "I'm sorry, I don't know any of your names other than Miss Lakeen here," he said gesturing at Aila.

Aila bowed slightly, "I'm honored that you know my name sir," she greeted.

Lunamaria smiled and saluted, "My name is Lunamaria Hawke Chairman Durandal," she introduced herself.

Shinn then took his turn, "Shinn Asuka sir."

Durandal smiled a bit, "Ah, the pilot of the Impulse. I must admit, the recounting about the Impulse have been intriguing to listen to."

Shinn looked away from Chairman Durandal, "I've just been doing my best Mr. Chairman and I've gotten lucky," he admitted.

Durandal chuckled at Shinn's answer, "Quite modest and humble of you to see your actions that way. If only there were more like that in the world, then the current storm of conflicts might not even be happening as it is."

The Chairman gestured towards the table, "Please, take a seat," he said.

Everyone took seats at the table, the Minerva pilots on the side opposite of the Chairman and Captain Gladys, while Heine and Heero sat at the ends of the table. Tea was brought for everyone before the Durandal continued, "What you have accomplished both against the Alliance's Lohengrin Gate and their unfinished base forward of Suez are impressive. Then you fighting alongside the Federation on your way here was another feat in itself," he said. The Chairman paused, "If only it were so simple to fix the turmoil that has been spreading across the world."

Talia turned to Gilbert, "Does that mean there have been no new developments with the Earth Alliance," she asked.

Durandal thought for a moment, "In space, nothing has changed really. There are skirmishes here and there, but other than that there is no activity from the Alliance's Lunar base. As for what is happening on Earth, I'm mostly in the dark. I only know that the Alliance has been trying to acquire territory and has been having little success thus far. Relations between the Earth Alliance and the Human Federation have become some of the worst they have been. As things stand, the two are pretty much at war, but there was never an official declaration for it. What the reasons are for the Alliance to pick a fight with the Federation, I haven't the faintest idea."

Durandal sighed, "It leaves the question, what are we doing here? There are those who wish for freedom and to live in peace but are being oppressed," he stated.

"Has there been any progress made with a cease-fire," questioned Talia.

The Chairman shook his head, "No, the representatives from the Alliance aren't willing to accept a compromise to any demands they've made. It makes the war all the more saddening, as I know the majority wish for it not to continue. Yet unfortunately, with things as they currently are, there is little to nothing that can be done to change that, though it will not stop any from trying." The Chairman smile a bit, "But forgive me, the subject of war and ending it, should not be something that I bring up with soldiers like yourselves. You all understand what war can be like, having been on battlefields as you have. Ending war without fighting is much easier said than done and far simpler than starting a war."

Athrun knew the subject well, war was easy to start, but hard to stop and end, that was the lesson of the First Alliance-PLANT War. "You're right sir, but," Shinn started, but trailed off when everyone looking at him, "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, please go ahead, should you have something on your mind, then please go ahead. I value the comments and opinion of those who fight on the frontlines, so please, go on," Durandal remarked.

"Well Mr. Chairman sir, avoiding fighting is good when it can be done, but when others attack, we need to defend against them. If we don't stand up against such, then all we care about will be taken from us and lost. Innocent people that just want peaceful lives and not want to be involved in any of the fighting shouldn't be denied that," Shinn iterated.

Athrun couldn't argue with Shinn's view, but there was more to bringing it about than he said, many more factors. "As right as you are Shinn, there is more to such things. I was asked once, if a person kills for vengeance, then is killed because they are a killer, then how will peace ever be found or obtained." Athrun paused, and there was silence, "When I was first asked that, I couldn't come up with a good answer to it, and even now, I'm still at a loss. But, I'm still looking for the answer, that's why I'm here I suppose, back on the battlefield."

There was another period of silence, before Chairman Durandal spoke up, "Yes, that is essentially one of the real problems in current times." Durandal rose from the table and strode to the balcony, "Why do we keep fighting when there is no end in sight? Why don't wars ever disappear? Throughout history, the cries of the hatred for war and the pain it brings. What are some of your thoughts?"

Shinn was the one that spoke up first, "We sir, there has always been people that are selfish and foolish, who are low enough to do horrible things, even causing war, which only take away and nothing else. There are still those who think of nothing other than themselves such as Blue Cosmos or the Atlantic Federation."

Durandal nodded, "Yes, there are many like that, they want what others have, they hate, fear, and despise those that are different than them. People keep fighting for reasons like these even as those who have common sense and logic in themselves try to show different ways. And yet, there is a different side to war, a more hopeless and unforgiving side, more merciless." Durandal paused, "For example, you saw the mobile suit that Mr. Westenfluss," he said gesturing at Heine, "Is a new model rolled out days ago. It's at times such as what the world currently faces that new model after new model are invented and created. On battlefields, missiles are fired, mobile suits blow up and many things are destroyed, and why might one ask? What reasons could there be for such events and actions, what possibilities would make such necessity? Why would factories need to keep building and designing weapons like mobile suits when they could just as easily produce other things rather than weapons?"

Everyone was staring at Gilbert Durandal, some flabbergasted at the implications he was making. Still he continued, "The battlefield is flooded with new weaponry by all sides, so much so that the demands for supply is difficult for producers to keep up with."

"Chairman, what you're implying," Athrun began.

Durandal held up a hand, "Indeed Athrun, it's a scary idea to contemplate isn't it? Think of the cost of a single non-custom machine, if you think of it as a business, no other venture has such a high turnover, the profits gained would be enormous," he stated.

An air of unease came over all there, "That would be sick and twisted for someone to think like that," muttered Lunamaria.

"Sir, this is getting disturbing, my apologies if it seems insulting," Shinn said.

Durandal waved a hand in dismissal, "No, you're absolutely right, such a mentality is disturbing. But, it is what war has brought about and nourished in some, it warps people into a different way of thinking. To those, if something involves a profit, then it's on the table as a possibility."

Athrun swallowed, "You're talking about those who make money making weapons for whoever pays them," he posed.

Durandal nodded, "Precisely, when the war is over, there would be no need for weapons and their profits and income dry up. But then, what if there was another war, why then, profits would be guaranteed. Therefore, people with that mentality desire war, they wanted it more than anything else."

"That's sick," Exclaimed Shinn.

Athrun kept his mouth shut, but he knew of the type that Durandal was describing, those with their war cries of death to those who were different. Yet, what was nagging Athrun, was why did Gilbert Durandal bring this subject up now and with those present. Sure, it irritated him, but it was affecting the others in subtle ways, so why talk about this at all?

Durandal continued, "They're enemies, they're dangerous, we can't trust them, fight them they say, they attacked us, we can forgive nor forget, fight them. Throughout history, there have been those that urge others to make war, think of such as a business and a chance to make newer and better products, all for their own profit." The Chairman paused, "If we look in the shadows, I would not doubt we would find Logos behind it. After all, they created Blue Cosmos and create the weapons that most fight with."

Athrun could no longer stay silent, for he had heard of this platform, even if not by name until now, "Even if what you say is true sir, there have been some who have seen this Logos other than you yourself I would think," he said.

Durandal smile, "You refer to the Federation's Military. Yes, they and the Federation as a whole seemed to already be aware of Logos and have steered clear of them as if they were a plague. I only wish others saw Logos as the Federation does, for they are as a plague that wipes out those it comes in contact with. If possible, I intend to change all of that for the better however, this task will be the most daunting that humanity has ever faced."

 **-Line Break-**

Athrun took to wandering around the city when evening came, as much to get time to think without others around him. Chairman Durandal had offered the pilots of the Minerva to say at the hotel he was at. Athrun had told the others to take him up on the offer and he would go back to the Minerva and take care of things, but Rey said he would do that. Then, Meer had come along and that had complicated things as well as made the situation awkward and embarrassing. So, Athrun managed to drop off Meer and then headed out for his stroll.

The subject matter that Chairman Durandal had brought up was weighing on Athrun's mind. He didn't disagree with most of it, it was more the implications that nagged at Athrun than what was said. This war going on wasn't getting nicer than the previous war, in fact it was getting just as bad and could get worse. That was not what bugged him, it was that Durandal shifted the blame onto an entity and made it vague. The nebulous way that the Chairman talked about Logos set off something in Athrun's mind that he couldn't pinpoint. He admitted that he was still trying to figure out why he was fighting, but still.

Shinn's view of selfish and/or foolish people being partly to blame for the current and previous war. But, there was more to the causes for war than that, and some of the reasons used were ridiculous. However, those that fought them, could also be warped into something as bad as what they fight, Patrick Zala proved that.

Nevertheless, as much as Athrun would like to believe that Gilbert Durandal was genuine in his wish of wanting peace, there had been something nagging in the back of his mind. The man used truth, but there were gaps and unsaid implications used among those truths. Durandal had said the hatred and despise those that are different was true, yet then he threw in 'the different side of war'. And where there were those that could see war as a business, the way that Gilbert Durandal had put it was strange. It was not the points about profits that had worried Athrun, for that had been disturbing as the Chairman had said, nor was it the 'warping of people', Athrun had seen that before. The mentalities that came after warping were the dark side of humanity, it was the exchange, for the good potential that humanity had, it also possessed evil as well.

It was more the timing that Durandal brought up the subject, it was like he was trying to scare certain individuals into agreeing or something along those lines. Then to mention the platform that had been causing issues by name, that had many implications. Granted, the Chairman had been correct that the Federation had steered clear of Logos and had been doing so almost from the beginning. However, it had been Gilbert Durandal's last line that had caught Athrun's attention the most. The wish to change was one thing, but it sounded like Durandal intended to try and change all of humanity and that if it happened had long-lasting and far-reaching effects.

Athrun was brought out of his thoughts when he felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned, he found himself looking at two faces that he had gotten to know over the last two years. Miriallia Haw and Tolle Koenig had become the go between for Kira, Tyler and Athrun after they went their separate ways. "Hey there Athrun, hope I didn't scare you or anything," Tolle greeted.

Athrun gained a small smile, "No, just was deep in thought about somethings," he replied. "So, what has you two around here, the view is nice and everything, but I would assume there's more of a reason."

Miriallia nodded, "Originally, we were trying to get some pictures of the skirmish between the Federation and the Alliance," she began.

"We got some sweet shots, even some of Tyler and Kira doing amazing things," Tolle piped up.

Tolle shushed when Miriallia gave him a look, "We came here to start seeing whom would be interested in the shots we took. After all, it is the livelihood we have as freelance photographers, but then we found out there was a live concert and that the PLANT's current Chairman was here, and so we took a few more pictures," she continued.

Tolle then once again came in, "Then, when we were going to see who would want the shots we took, you'll never guess who we bumped into, quite literally in fact!"

Athrun still had a small smile, seeing some of the reasons why Kira had attracted Tolle to him and the two becoming friends. "Who," he asked.

"Why Tyler of course," Tolle answered.

Athrun nodded as after the battle in the Dardanelles Channel, it was possible for Tyler to end out around here. Miriallia mentioned that Tyler had asked to see the photos they took, and he had been interested in three but two of the three were of particular interest to him. The first had been of Athrun, but specifically the FAITH crest, Miriallia and Tolle even told Athrun what Tyler had said about it. Tyler though it odd that Athrun was made a member of ZAFT's FAITH, not because Athrun couldn't do what was required, but 'loyalty to the Chairman' and 'unsaid things'. Pictures of Meer had caught Tyler's attention, but not much more than seeing someone pretending to be some he knew.

The shot that Tyler had been the most interested in was a picture of Gilbert Durandal. Athrun understood what Tyler would wonder what the Chairman would be here, Athrun had himself and still did. It didn't fit and was clearly not random, which left the question of why Durandal came. The conversation turned to Miriallia say that Tyler had a request, which involved Athrun. Apparently, Tyler wanted a talk between him and 'others' along with Athrun, away from the city and potentially eavesdroppers. The place Tyler had in mind was a site of ruins that was a moderate distance from Diocuia, and the meeting was going to happen the day after tomorrow.

Tyler would arrange the other side that would participate in this meeting. But the reason that Tyler wasn't asking Athrun about this directly, was there could be questions that were better not answered to those not involved. Athrun agreed to the meeting and said he would be there, since he wanted to talk with Tyler and Kira.

Athrun returned to the hotel that the Chairman was at and invited to stay at for the night at the very least. He found out what room he would have, and found it to be good, it had been a long day, full of facts being shoved onto himself. So, Athrun went to bed instead of spending time studying data or just sitting thinking about things.

The next morning dawned, and for Athrun, it was nice to be able to sleep in a bit for it was rarer these days. Yet, Athrun didn't have long to take in the feeling as the fact he wasn't alone in his bed was made absolutely clear when there was a shift to Athrun's right. He glanced that direction, and found a person sized lump next to him, he could only stare at it for a moment. Then Athrun grabbed the covers to see who it was that had snuck into his room, for either they had made a mistake in the room or they were doing something they shouldn't.

When the covers were lifted off, the sight that met his eyes was not one he had thought he would see. There next to him was none other Meer Campbell, in of all things, a semi-transparent slip around her body, still revealing outfit. This was the first time that Athrun had woken up with a girl next to himself, and it wasn't like he thought it would be. Heck, if anything, Athrun imagined that if this situation came up, it would've been Cagalli that would be in that position with him. Yet, this was totally unexpected, and this went beyond actions that engaged couples do! The thought of this must be what Tyler had gone through with Sakura, ran through Athrun's mind.

Athrun backed up from Meer out of reflex, even if it was delayed a bit, and fell off the bed to the floor. He was trying to come up with an explanation of why Meer would be in his bed, but nothing came to him. And now that Athrun thought about it, it was the first time that he had the chance to really get a look at Meer. Yes, he knew that she was a female, but with what she was wearing and looking so defenseless, it was hard to not notice her hourglass figure. Athrun was a guy, and like most guys, it was hard not to stare a bit at a woman's figure. Yet, the question of what she was doing here in his room, came back to the forefront of Athrun's mind. When he had gone to sleep, there had been no one next to him, so Meer had to have come in after he was asleep. But, why she would come to his room, Athrun couldn't guess, it was going too far for an act. True, Meer had said something to the effect of being a fan of his when they had met, but this went beyond that.

Soft moaning drew Athrun's attention, and he focused back on his unexpected bed companion, to see that Meer sat up and was rubbing her eyes sleepily. Athrun finally found use of his voice, "Meer, what are you doing in my room?"

Meer blinked as she looked at Athrun, then she smiled before she moved and hugged Athrun, to which he stiffened. "Hmm… good morning Athrun," Meer mumbled as she held him in an embrace.

Athrun was wondering how things could be worse than they were right now. Maybe if Cagalli were to walk in on him right now and that, was something that he didn't want in any way, other than that, Athrun couldn't think of much that could match that much. A knock at his door, quickly had Athrun eating his thoughts and swallowing them, "Good morning Commander, are you up yet," came the voice of Lunamaria.

The knock and Lunamaria's voice, got Meer to release Athrun and look towards the door, then she got off of him and headed for the door. "I was thinking that maybe we could go to the dining room together if you're interested," Lunamaria was saying.

Athrun didn't think it would go well if anyone were to see Meer in his room like she was right now, especially not a member of the Minerva's crew, let alone a fellow pilot. "Yes, I'm awake Lunamaria, but if you could give me a few minutes to make myself presentable please. Go on without me and I'll catch up with you in a few minutes," Athrun answered.

"Okay, I'll see you shortly sir," Lunamaria said, before her footsteps echoed in the hallway.

Athrun let out a relieved exhale that Lunamaria didn't see him with Meer in his room wearing what she was. There would be rumors that would come from that which he didn't want at all! He turned back to face Meer, "What are you doing in my room Meer," Athrun asked.

Meer smiled, "I thought that we should be closer to each other, we are engaged after all, so I figured that sleeping in the same bed would be a start, is that wrong," she answered simply.

Those were words Athrun wanted to hear, but not from Meer, more from Cagalli, but she wouldn't say those yet, and perhaps not anytime in the near future. Athrun sighed, "Look Meer, first of all, we are not engaged. The engagement between Lacus Clyne and myself was dissolved whether it's officially admitted or not. Second, we barely even know one another, so sleeping in the same bed is something that shouldn't be done."

That talk and explanation between Athrun and Meer continued after returned from breakfast and Athrun was thankful that she was decently dressed when he got back. That had made the conversation a tad easier, but it was still not the nicest talk that Athrun had. It made him wonder how Tyler had done this with Sakura as well as feeling sorry for him too.

 **-Line Break-**

Washington DC, Atlantic Federation

In Washington DC, the capital of the Atlantic Federation, Joseph Copeland was in his office, waiting for the call from Lord Djibril. Events had not been going well for the Earth Alliance, careening downhill would be more accurate ever since declaring war on the PLANTs and ZAFT. Copeland had some doubts before, now they had become serious concerns and just being told to not worry wouldn't be enough. He wasn't the only one having second thoughts, other leaders and advisors within the Politics of the Alliance and even within the Earth Forces, there was a growing number who wondered if the current direction was the best one.

Copeland was brought out of his thoughts as a beeping signal that there was an incoming call. Then, on the screen ahead of him appeared the face of Lord Djibril along with smaller pictures of other members of Logos. " _President Copeland, your secretary said something about you wanting have a word when we had the time sir,_ " Djibril greeted.

"Yes, that's right," Copeland started. "This war against the ZAFT isn't going the way that you sold it to me Djibril. If anything, then things have been going close to the opposite way that you claimed they would. I understand that things don't always go as they're envisioned, but this war is going beyond such a point."

Djibril's expression was schooled and controlled, " _The war against ZAFT is moving along President Copeland. Granted, it could be going better, but war isn't always smooth, that is an unfortunate given,_ " he responded.

Copeland had expected something like that being said as a way of things are going in the direction those influencing things intended. "And tell me, is fighting against the Federation and losing against them the majority of the time also a given? Or do you still think that events are nothing to be concerned with," Copeland posed flatly.

Djibril was working to keep himself appearing calm, " _The conflict with the Federation is unavoidable sir. Attempts were made to settle things with them without it coming to fighting and violence, they refuse the efforts._ "

Copeland grunted, "So instead, you say that the Earth Alliance should fight both ZAFT and the Federation at the same time. Maybe you should go see the fighting in person Djibril, the closer view may give you some things to think about. This war at first seems like a way to move forward, yet all that's been happening is results that force all backwards. All your methods and 'suggestions' have brought Djibril is more problems than any have solved," he stated.

Djibril was thinking what he could say to turn this around, for it was sounding like the leader of the Atlantic Federation was having serious misgivings about working with Logos. Logos needed the Alliance for clients, since ZAFT was shying away and the Federation would still have nothing to do with them. But, one of his associates spoke up before he could, " _You are quite right President Copeland. It has been a mistake ignoring the signs of extreme risk as we have and for that we wish to make amends._ "

" _Truly President Copeland, you exemplify the qualities of a great leader, looking out for those you represent,_ " said another Logos member.

" _We will make the utmost effort to help in negotiation to help the conflict to ease and peace to come sir, rest assured,_ " said a senior member.

Copeland hummed, "We shall see," he replied before ending the call.

The meeting left Copeland to think deeply about the relation he had with the members of Logos. The relation had seemed beneficial at first, but it was becoming less so as time went on. Ever since declaring war on the PLANTs and ZAFT things just felt doomed to failure, and problems popped up everywhere, far more than those that were solved. Logos didn't seem to have issues affecting them, if anything, then they had business booming for them, while others were paying for it.

Copeland dismissed the advisors that were in the room currently, trying to decide what was the best thing to do. Even after the assurances of some of the members of Logos, he wasn't convinced that things would work out nicely as they said that they would. And yet, with the actions of the Earth Alliance, there would be few that would have an interest in listening to the truth. Yet, there was a slim chance, but it would require complete transparency as well as not letting Logos know of the possible exchanges. Copeland sighed and then locked the room and requested a secure communication line before he took the first leap of faith.

The vid-screen on his desk came up with an image of a woman that Copeland had only spoken to a few times. " _This is rather unexpected President Copeland,_ " greeted Ellen Blass. " _I would hope there is a reason for you calling other than an attempt to convince me to join your senseless fighting._ "

"No, this isn't about that Blass," Copeland replied. He paused, "I would like to talk and discuss some things, but the discussion can't take place over a com-line. You I would hope will at least give me a chance to talk, for things have come to a point that the current standing is not wanted."

Ellen noted that there was a difference from the Joseph Copeland that she had seen months ago and now. She folded her arms, " _You have my attention Copeland, name the time and the place,_ " she said.

Copeland knew that this meeting would be better were it not to be where others could listen in on, so the Atlantic Federation wouldn't do. That being said, the Republic worked out better for the talk to take place for several reasons.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Ruins a distance from Diocuia

I had driven to a site where ruins stand, which was made up of columns and arches, what was left of what historians say was an old temple. The site was out of the way and wasn't visited this time of year much, which is why I thought it would be a good place to have a much-needed talk. I still had a radio jammer transmitter, just in case there should be someone trying to listen in on what doesn't concern them. Kira and Cagalli were very eager to talk with Athrun when I had contacted them, but Lacus had said that it would be better that she not attend. I could understand, there were people looking for her and unlikely good intentions in mind if the assassination attempt was anything to go by. When Miriallia called me and said that Athrun had agreed to meet with us, it had lifted a weight off my mind.

Once I got to the site, I made my way down to the standing columns, finding that I was the first of those who would be attending. I found a spot that would do for setting up the radio jammer transmitter which none would notice, as it was nestled in an alcove. The sun was close to starting to set when I caught sight of the Freedom flying towards the ruins. It came to land in a cave under the site, and around ten minutes later both Kira and Cagalli came up a set of steps that led up from below. I greeted them and guided them to a place to sit and wait for the others that were supposed to be attending this meeting.

The next to arrive were Miriallia and Tolle, they drove like I did, which left us only waiting for Athrun. Miriallia and Tolle began asking about what had happening in Orb, as all they had heard was that Cagalli had been taken from her wedding. Kira began retelling the event, during which Cagalli glared at me and I was snickering at the memory or such a wonderful party crashing. When Kira got to when Kira and I flew in, Tolle joined me in snickering at imagining the scene, especially after I added my viewpoint. I was fondly remembering the scared jerk Yuna quaking in his shoes and if the Shadow's audio sensors were working right, he had been squealing like a little girl for a bit too!

However, a sound caught my attention, which was that of thrusters of an aircraft. I turned the direction that the sound came from, and I had just enough time to see the red mobile suit from the battle in the Dardanelles Channel in its mobile armor mode before it went over us. And here I thought I was the one to make flashy entrances, but Athrun is out doing me today. The red machine came to be above before it shifted into being a mobile suit and came to land in an open area at the site. This was the first up-close view of the red mobile suit that apparently Athrun had been assigned to work with. The framework of the machine was similar to the stolen ZAFT suits that I've seen a few times. However, the backpack sections did look uncannily similar to the Aurora's own, which made me wonder about ZAFT development, for they don't have blueprints of my mobile suit.

The two hatches in the torso opened and out came Athrun, he descended via a zip-line to the ground. Athrun approached us at a walking pace, there were no signs that he had been followed out here, but I was prepared if that did come up. We weren't on bad terms by any means, it's just that we're on different sides of the current growing war. Although, I'm thankful our sides aren't fighting each other at the moment, can't say if that will last. I stepped forward and put out a hand, "Glad you could make it, a bit of a flashy entrance, but that's fine," I greeted.

Athrun grasped my hand, I pulled him into a short embrace. I had hardly let go, when Cagalli pretty much threw herself at Athrun, hugging him with vigor… and a kiss or two if I was seeing correctly. Perhaps something happened between Athrun and Cagalli that hasn't been told to the rest of us? Because they are certainly seemed closer than they were the last time that I saw them together. I mean, Cagalli had requested that Kira return Athrun's ring, which came as a surprise to me. I totally support the couple, even if I tease them a bit, I think that Athrun and Cagalli look good together, far better than her and Yuna Seiran. It took a bit for Athrun to calm Cagalli down, honestly, it was cute to watch.

Once Cagalli had reined in her feelings, the conversation began with me putting forth the 'ice-breaker', "I must say, the Minerva seems to be getting around a lot as of late, things that active or is it just that ship getting a heavy workload? I mean, the last I understand, it was heading for Carpentaria, yet to be around here puts it a long way from there."

Athrun shrugged, "Truthfully, I can't say which it is, the Minerva is definitely popular with the Earth Forces," he replied.

I smiled a bit, "Yes, the first ship of a class does seem doomed to be popular that way, the Normandy has gotten that a bit too," I said.

Our discussion began with the battle in the Dardanelles Channel and how ZAFT mobile suits had appeared during the latter half. "So, you were in the battle a few days ago, why did ZAFT come into it," asked Kira.

"Yes," Athrun replied, then he began to tell us about what circumstances had brought the Minerva to the Dardanelles Channel. According to Athrun, the Minerva had been south of Suez, dealing with Alliance forces in that area. The Alliance had been constructing a base close to the entrance to the shipping lanes that come from the south of the Alliance's Suez base. Apparently, they had been forcing the locals to do the job, which is one of the reasons the Earth Alliance is becoming disliked by any who have sense and logic. They use others through threats and holding hostages to do the work they want done.

After taking care of the base, the Minerva had been heading for the Alliance's Suez base, where they would be joined by other ZAFT forces to attack the base. Nonetheless, on the way there, the Minerva had received ordered to divert and head for Diocuia. Little explanation had been given as to the change in orders, which was a tad odd especially when it's a ship participating in an operation on a strong enemy base. That only said to me that Gilbert Durandal being here isn't a coincidence or a happenstance, but what I was having a hard time figuring out, was why. The Minerva had come against a snag when it came into view of the skirmish between the Federation and Alliance due to territorial dispute. The Minerva had joined in helping the Federation 'unofficially' to help the battle come to its conclusion quicker.

The meeting with Durandal, had started fine and ordinary, but it hadn't stayed that was for all that long. The fighting the Earth Alliance was doing was dumb, as they were taking on ZAFT officially, while going against the Federation under the guise of securing the world's safety. It's dumb and clearly an excuse for them to justify their actions, when there really isn't a justification other than the hatred of Coordinators and for some to make profits. Anyways, those who were being taken advantage of by the Alliance were crying for help from both the Federation and ZAFT. However, there were so many of them and the Alliance was doing their utmost to silence them before they got help.

There had been small talk, before the discussion shifted to a subject that honestly, is an odd one for several reasons. It was mentioning of the business element that can drive conflict and specifically, the naming of Logos that caught my attention. There will always be those that resist and fight against change, along with those that put forth effort to affect the changes to what they want. It's part of 'the balance of humanity' good and evil both exist, normally more good, but not always. Yet, Durandal's focus on Logos isn't exactly wrong, those who are a part of the platform pretty much are all about profits and see nothing wrong with 'stirring up trouble' if it promotes business. But, the view that mobile suits and other weapons created are only a means to destroy, is one I disagree with.

Machines and other 'weapons' are what one makes of them and what they are intended and used for. Nonetheless, it's that view which Logos has, that is the reason that the Federation has nothing to do with them period. The reason I believe that Logos and its member haven't been brought to task, was they were good at hiding who they were and weren't easy to find normally. However, I would think that if Durandal knows about Logos, then ZAFT would avoid them like the Federation does. If that were to happen, then Logos has only the Alliance as its client base and that wouldn't keep the profits going without conflict. That brings circumstances to where they are now, war between the three factions.

Still, the way Athrun described Durandal was presenting the subject, there has to be more to this. What it could be, I don't know, but I've learned that ignoring my intuition rarely ends well for me when I do that. Athrun summed up his part, "I can understand that what brought this war on might not have been avoided, but the Alliance has been making the chaos worse for everyone. If not for them, then things would be as bad as they are."

I was gazing at Athrun finishing up his narrative, kind of worried at the las line said, for there is more than just the actions of the Alliance's actions that brought things to what they were currently. Granted, the Earth Alliance weren't helping themselves or anyone else with what they've been doing, no denying that. But the recent escalation of the conflict was due to a number of things and not just by one side. Kira spoke up before I did, "Are you sure that the Earth Alliance is completely at fault," he posed.

Athrun was forced to pause at the question, yet he said nothing in answer. So, I spoke instead, "I don't think that either of us are saying that the Earth Forces haven't been playing a part in bringing around the current conflict. However, to say that they are the only ones that should be held responsible for what horrible things have been going on would be rather narrow minded I would say."

Athrun gained a somber expression, "Yes, I suppose you have a point… things have been stressful as of late," he said.

It was at this point, that I thought it would be best to employ the means that I had setup to make sure that this conversation doesn't get eavesdropped on. I used the remote that I had to activate the radio jammer transmitter, which would make any listening devices get only static. It might be seen as overkill and me being paranoid, but I just prepare for the worse-case scenario. With that done, I plastered a smile on my face, "I know the feeling of stress my friend, been coming to me more frequently due to recent events," I remarked.

Kira looked to me, "Yeah, I suppose that's right, how's your left thigh by the way," he asked.

The gunshot wound I had gotten while defending Lacus was healing, but I don't always get the time to take it easy to help injuries to heal up. I shrugged, "The gunshot wound doesn't smart or sting like it did for the first few days, still throbs a bit though," I replied.

Athrun gained a worried and shocked look, "Wait, gunshot wound?! When did that happen Tye and what were you doing that had you taking a bullet?"

Kira and I hesitated, as we hadn't told our friend about the assassination attempt on Lacus just yet. It wasn't something to be mentioned or discussed over an unsecured channel and even that I would question using. Kira found use of his voice first, "Athrun, the view of the current conflict being the fault of the Earth Alliance entirely, is it shared by those who live in the PLANTs?"

Athrun gave a blank look, "Why do you ask that, and what does it have to do with Tye getting shot at," he asked.

I exhaled, "More than you might think Athrun," I said. "And I would ask more does Chairman Durandal feel that the Alliance is completely to blame."

Athrun didn't answer right away, but after a minute he sighed, "Honestly, I can't say definitively for either. I got the impression that Durandal blames Logos more than anyone else, but he didn't make much of a distinction between them and the Alliance. However, you still haven't stated what any of this has to do with you taking a bullet Tye."

I frowned, "Athrun, what we're about to tell you will not be easy to believe or accept but understand that the said event and the implications that come with it simply point the way they do." I paused and took a breath, Athrun giving me his full attention, though it looked apprehensive. "A little over a week ago, an assassination attempt was made against Lacus," I stated simply.

Athrun's expression morphed into horror, "Is she alright? Why didn't you contact me to tell me about this earlier," he questioned.

"First, we didn't know where you were at the time, so contacting you was difficult," Kira replied.

I took over from Kira from there, "That, and those doing the said assassination attempt was done by a group that was or had been members of ZAFT special forces."

Athrun gaped a me, "Tye you can't be serious, this isn't something to joke about," he said firmly.

I kept the serious expression on my face, "I'm not joking, and I am being serious Athrun, the group that I ended out fending off were special forces level trained and the information that I came across before the event bore strong implications to ZAFT, specifically their black opts," I replied flatly.

"Tye, that's not possible, ZAFT has more reason to keep Lacus alive than kill her, so why would any from ZAFT try and assassinate her," Athrun posed.

I was thinking on how to explain this to Athrun, but Kira beat me to it, "Why don't you tell us about the 'Lacus Clyne' that's been appearing on the media lately, what's the story on her?"

I nodded, "Yes, I viewed a bit of the concert she was giving a few days ago. I will say that the girl is doing better than most I've seen with mimicking another. However, I could tell easily enough that she wasn't who she claimed to be and that she needs to study more to pull what she is off to fool those who know Lacus."

Athrun's gaze fell, "You mean Meer," he uttered.

I shrugged, "If that's her real name, then yes, we are referring to her," I said.

"All I know is that she's standing in for Lacus while other were searching for her, other than that, I don't really get why she's doing what she is," Athrun responded.

I was suspicious at this, a stand-in was one thing, but a 'replacement' is completely different and the difference between the two is time. A stand-in was to be temporary, and normally for a short period, a month or less being the average time for the idea, though it can last longer on rare occasion. But normally, anything beyond more than a month, makes me think that said individual was being used as a replacement, whether by their knowledge or not. "And do you know around how long this Meer has been standing in for Lacus Athrun," I posed.

Athrun took time to think, "It's been a few months at least, beyond that, I don't know for sure. The information that she was given, I'm led to believe that it came from the First Alliance-PLANT War as well as a bit before that. Mostly because she believed that Lacus and I are still engaged to be married, and so she acts… more flamboyant around me."

Both Kira and I looked at one another, then back to Athrun, "Flamboyant you say, what do you mean," asked Kira.

"Yeah, start explaining yourself man," I added, agreeing with Kira. "Then you can spill the goods later on giving Cagalli here," I said, jabbing a finger at Cagalli, "a ring. If the explanation is good enough about this 'flamboyant behavior', and Kira and I will let you get into the story with Cagalli another time."

Athrun was starting to blush a bit, "Well first, I haven't been enjoying any of the behavior, nor have been asking for it."

I nodded, "Yeah, but my intuition tells me that you didn't refuse as much as you could, taking into account your good manners and everything," I shot back.

Athrun looked away from me, nor was he meeting Cagalli's gaze, not that I blame him. "Meer, when she's around me, tends to cling to me and does flirt, though that is thankfully not much in public often," he iterated, but then the volume of his voice dropped an amount. "Then yesterday, I found that she slipped into my bed without asking or me knowing it."

"She did WHAT," Cagalli demanded in a shout, along with going up to Athrun and grabbing the black jacket he was wearing.

Kira moved forward and tried to calm Cagalli down, while I just broke down laughing at her reaction. When Kira managed to pull Cagalli off of Athrun, I walked over to him, "So, how does it feel to wake up in a bed with someone else that you didn't go to sleep with my friend," I inquired.

Athrun looked at the ground, "It wasn't nice at all, contrary to popular belief," he answered.

I patted his shoulder, "Athrun, I know precisely what you mean, feel the same way when Sakura does that to me." I paused and then leaned up and spoke in Athrun's ear, "I'll ask this in the hope that I can help sway Cagalli from asking, but what was the girl wearing when you found she snuck into your bed?"

Oh, did Athrun's blush get more pronounced when I asked that question, which was a telling answer. My friend didn't say anything, but I understood, "I take that to mean that she was wearing something that would give a rather compromise impression to others. Again my friend, I feel for you, I would bet you haven't forgotten what Sakura was sporting when you stayed at my place years ago," I whispered.

Athrun nodded, "Yeah, I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I saw her in my bed in, as it happens, something that was more revealing than what Sakura had in the instance your referring to."

That had my mouth fall open, before I schooled my expression, "How revealing are we talking man? Should I be worried about his girl doing things that she shouldn't? I say what I said before, Cagalli may be a bit rough in some areas, but she's a very good match for you Athrun. That kind of thing doesn't come along often, you don't let such pass you by dear friend," I urged.

Athrun shook his head, "No, I was just caught off-guard, especially when Meer invaded my personal space. It could have been worse, I almost had a comrade walk in just as Meer was waking up. Thankfully, I managed to get said comrade to go on ahead of me and not see what I was dealing with."

I was shocked and kind of worried about the reply, for it said this Meer was bold and unashamed to assert herself. Granted, it doesn't sound like it's to the extent that Sakura shows, but that can still be risky to be around. I glanced over at Cagalli and saw that Kira was still occupying her attention, then turned back to Athrun. "Your secret is safe with me Athrun, Cagalli won't hear about it from me, I promise you that, and you can give the story about Cagalli and your ring later," I assured.

"Thanks Tye, it's appreciated," Athrun commented.

I turned back towards Cagalli, "Hey Cagalli, give Athrun some credit and trust. You should know by now that he wouldn't be so unfaithful or flippant, so relax, because I doubt Athrun is seeing anyone else for a serious relationship," I said.

Cagalli twisted to face me, and seemed to be about to chastise, but Athrun moved forward and embraced her, which served to calm her down. After a few minutes, the conversation went back to where it had been before being sidetracked. Kira and I gave a general summary of what happened during the event that was the assassination attempt against Lacus. It was clear that Athrun didn't like what he heard, and I can't blame him in that. However, actions done from the background isn't new, such happened during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Athrun didn't agree with some of the stuff that Kira and I told him was likely implied.

Yet, evidence strongly said that there was someone or a group around the PLANTs that had made and attempt to kill Lacus. They had to have access to ZAFT R&D for the mobile suits that were used, for the model was only starting to be mass produced and was only available to ZAFT. Then there was the stand-in Lacus Clyne, or rather I'm think this Meer is being setup as a replacement with the length of time that's gone by. She was influencing the masses, to what end, I couldn't accurately say at the moment.

Athrun was hesitant, "I'm not saying that you two are wrong, but do either of you honestly think that someone from the PLANTs, perhaps even Chairman Durandal had something to do with the attempt to kill Lacus."

Kira looked away, where I did not, "Look Athrun, neither Kira or I are saying that Chairman Durandal ordered the hit on Lacus. I'm not saying he's completely innocent, nor am I saying that he had nothing to do with it, there isn't enough information to say either way right now," I said. I decided to change the subject, to try and help things along, "So Athrun, don't take this the wrong way, but what is your impression of being made a member of FAITH? For I think it does play a part in this, even if it doesn't seem like it," I stated.

Athrun frowned at the question, "I've been questioning being made a member of FAITH as well, for it was out of the blue and hasn't made a great deal of sense. The freedom to act as I see fit is one thing, but I feel that such is being put on my shoulders with expectations that I don't see or know about," he answered.

It appeared that Athrun was in conflict about things right now, but I don't know why. "Athrun, what's wrong man? You're clearly having issues about things, and though war isn't pretty, what's troubling you isn't about that, is it," I asked.

Athrun shook his head, "No, you're not wrong. Sadly, the fighting makes more sense than the reasons that are used for the war itself as well as the claims as to what should be done to stop the war. But, I don't think that should mean that the war has to continue," he said.

Kira and I agreed with Athrun, and we parted ways after saying something to the effect of, 'watch your back and be careful who you trust and what you say'. It is hard to have those you know on a different side than yourself. Athrun being on the side of ZAFT makes being there for him and helping him if the need arose more complicated. Even having friends on the same side can make situations more difficult.

Athrun got back in the mobile suit that he came in, before he took-off and then flew off in the direction he had come from. Kira and Cagalli left in the Freedom shortly after Athrun flew off, leaving Miriallia, Tolle and me. Tolle and Miriallia said they needed to get to work with their photos and so they also headed out. I took the time to retrieve the radio jammer that I had setup and headed to the vehicle that I had driven here. I packed the device and got in the car and began heading back towards Diocuia.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Lunamaria was uncomfortable with the assignment she had been given by Captain Gladys that she was doing right now. She was to follow the Saviour to wherever it was going and try listening in to the conversation that Athrun was having with whoever he was. What reason there was to listen in on Athrun talking to others while off-duty, Lunamaria couldn't guess. The assignment itself felt kind of wrong in a way to spy on Athrun. However, as the captain had stated that Shinn, Aila and Rey were going to have a different job to do, that left Lunamaria to do this.

So, Lunamaria was driving down the road which led west out of Diocuia as the signal of the Saviour had headed in that direction. The trip lasted for hours, and ended out at a set of ruins, where the Saviour had landed. Lunamaria parked the car a distance away from the site, fetched the listening equipment she had. She then climbed quickly up to a cliff that overlooked the site and ruins.

Down below, there were six people there, Athrun of course. There was the guy, Tyler McGregor as well as of all people, Cagalli Yula Athha. What the Princess of Orb was doing here, Lunamaria hadn't any idea. The last she had heard, Miss Athha was supposed to be getting married to a guy that it had been arranged with beforehand. Yet, during the ceremony, she had been kidnapped by some in mobile suits. There were rumors about the incident, but what had actually happened beyond a few facts, Orb wasn't saying. The other three people below, Lunamaria hadn't seen any of them before and so, didn't know who they were.

Athrun greeted two of the individuals as one would friends, while Lunamaria readied the listening device that she had. Once it was ready, Lunamaria pointed the receiver towards the group and then concentrated on what was being received, though she was still watching as well.

So, when Miss Athha threw herself at Athrun and even kissed him, that took Luna by surprise. It was odd because she was supposed to have been married and it wasn't to Athrun as far as Luna knew. Then, Athrun himself, was supposed to be engaged to Lacus Clyne, so what was going on? The other people seemed taken somewhat off-guard at the public displays of affection, yet not as much as Luna though. Things calmed down after a bit and the conversation began, " _I must say, the Minerva seems to be getting around a lot as of late, things that active or is it just that ship getting a heavy workload? I mean, the last I understand, it was heading for Carpentaria, yet to be around here puts it a long way from there,_ " said the voice of Mr. McGregor.

That was an interesting view of what had befallen the Minerva, and not entirely wrong, for the Minerva had been busy and gone many places. But, Luna was more curious how Mr. McGregor knew about what the Minerva had been doing, for some of the tasks should not be publicly known. Athrun appeared to shrug in response, " _Truthfully, I can't say which it is, the Minerva is definitely popular with the Earth Forces,_ " he replied.

" _Yes, the first ship of a class does seem doomed to be popular that way, the Normandy has gotten that a bit too,_ " McGregor replied.

The way they talked openly to one another, implied that Athrun knew Tyler McGregor as more than just a simple friend. It also serves to make Luna realize that she knew little about Athrun personally, and more just what was commonly known about him. " _So, you were in the battle a few days ago, why did ZAFT come into it,_ " asked the guy with brown hair, wearing the black jacket and pants.

" _Yes, the Minerva had just gone against the Earth Forces a distance south of their Suez Base,_ " Athrun started. " _They had been building an advance base for Suez from what evidence was there. After that, the Minerva was supposed to join up with other ZAFT forces that were going to attack Suez. However, along the way, we received orders to change our course for Diocuia, though there wasn't much of a reason given as to why as I understand it._ "

That made Luna recall how odd that change had been, no one really said anything about why it was happening back at the time. Even the captain seemed to be out of the loop as to why the Minerva was being taken away from the operation against Suez. Then to find that the idol Lacus Clyne had been performing there suggested that there was something more going on.

Athrun kept going, " _Then the Minerva came upon the fight between the Federation and the Alliance in the Dardanelles Channel. We were still under the orders to reach Diocuia, so it came down to choosing between getting into the battle ourselves or going around it. In the end, as you probably can guess, it was decided to get involved and help the Federation military unofficially._ "

The fight had been different than Luna had thought it would be. True, she had been against going into the battle when the 'vote' was being taken, but that wasn't the point. She had heard the stories and the rumors about the Federation's military and how they fought differently than either ZAFT or the Earth Forces, like most pilots do. However, seeing the idea in person, was a completely different experience and Luna got a glimpse as to possibly why the Federation was seen as the strongest of the three factions. Their team work was fluid on every single level, whether in small teams or overall as a whole fighting force, it worked the same. That was something that neither ZAFT or the Earth Forces had been able to achieve to the same level.

" _At Diocuia, seeing the performance was unexpected, and felt kind of like of a type of indoctrination, it was weird. Then to find out that the Chairman was there as well, it made me wonder what was going on, for the two points couldn't have been an accident,_ " Athrun iterated.

Luna didn't disagree that Lacus Clyne and Chairman Durandal being in the same place at the same time felt odd, but it could be a coincidence. Also Athrun, when she asked him didn't seem to know any more about Miss Clyne being there. The two were supposed to be engaged to be married in the future. Granted, they were both busy these days, but with them engaged, one would think that they would keep in contact. Still, Athrun had waved off the questions she had asked, Luna had attributed it to stress, but now she wondered if it wasn't something else.

" _When the sun was setting, myself and the other pilots on the Minerva other than one who wasn't with us were called to a meeting,_ " Athrun was saying. Luna focused on listening, making sure that the receiver was pointed where she would get the best reception. " _It started fine, but it didn't stay that way for ever long. It was when-_ "

Suddenly the transmission crackled and then became static and Luna had to take off the headset. Luna quickly began checking over her equipment to make sure it was all working and she found it was. So then, the question was what was happening for the transmission to cut out like it was? Luna scanned the area below but saw nothing that stood out as a possible cause to the problems in her listening. The timing of when the transmission cutting out couldn't have been a coincidence, it was right when the conversation was coming to an important subject. It became clear to Luna that the listening equipment was not going to help her anymore. She instead, looked down, watching the group and trying to figure out what they were saying.

All that Luna could say, was the conversation looked to have a serious and heavy feel to it. Athrun looked to be describing something, to which the others appeared to either worried or kind of suspicious. Then Athrun said something that brought on silence and it was an uncomfortable silence, Luna could feel that even where she was. Then the brown-haired guy spoke up, and whatever he said caused Athrun to hesitate. McGregor spoke up, what he said, Luna couldn't hear, but it got Athrun to become somber. The gloom that had come was lifted by Mr. McGregor saying something to Athrun, followed by the brown-haired guy speaking up after him.

Those two said a few lines to each other, and something that was said caught Athrun's attention and got him to speak loud enough for Luna to hear him. "Wait, gunshot wound?! When did that happen Tye and what were you doing that had you taking a bullet?"

Luna focused hard at hearing what would be said, for 'gunshot wound' made no sense with what she had heard thus far. However, what was said by the guy Luna didn't know, was said too softly for Luna to hear. Athrun appeared confused by what had been said, before Mr. McGregor added to the conversation, which only seemed to baffle Athrun more. That was followed by assumedly an explanation, but it was still too soft for Luna to catch. Athrun said things here and there during the explanation, but not a great deal, then something was said that got Athrun to show disbelief about the subject.

Mr. McGregor spoke and whatever he said, Luna observed that it didn't help Athrun's disbelief, though Athrun seemed to believe whatever was being referred to as truth. Yet, then there was a shift in the conversation and judging by Athrun's gaze going to the ground, it was not a subject he wanted to talk about. Athrun said some things, to which the others had differing reactions in response. Then Athrun said something that caused silence to hold for a bit, it was broken by Mr. McGregor and the brown-haired guy appearing to ask questions. Whatever was said, made Athrun… blush! Luna stared for a moment to make sure she was seeing things correctly, for she had never seen Athrun Zala blush. It did make him fairly cute, Luna had to admit that, and she had thought Athrun was handsome, but as he was engaged, she didn't have a chance.

Athrun was attempting to explain about whatever the conversation had turned to, but the two he had been talking to kept questioning him. Nonetheless, Athrun said something, which got Miss Athha's attention and caused her to shout, which Luna heard clearly, "She did WHAT?!" At the same time, the girl went up to Athrun and grabbed his black jacket he was wearing and pulled him to her.

That mystified Luna, Miss Athha was mad about something, but what it was, Luna couldn't guess. The brown-haired guy moved forward and began pulling Athrun and Miss Athha apart, the two then began arguing. While they argued, Mr. McGregor and Athrun seemed to be whispering to one another. Whatever they were talking about, it was embarrassing to Athrun and was becoming more so as the whispering went on. When the talk was done, Mr. McGregor looked towards Miss Athha, "Hey Cagalli, give Athrun some credit and trust. You should know by now that he wouldn't be so unfaithful or flippant, so relax, because I doubt Athrun is seeing anyone else for a serious relationship," he said loud enough for Luna to catch.

That one line made so little sense to Luna, but maybe, it had something to do with when she had gone yesterday to see if Athrun wanted to go to breakfast and he had seemed flustered. The talk continued and changed subjects again by what Luna could tell. Athrun was hesitant about the subject matter whatever it was. The responses that Athrun got, didn't comfort or dismiss what was bothering him. The more that Luna saw, the more she wished she could hear what was being said. But, the few tries that she made to use the listening equipment, there was still only static. That said perhaps something was interfering with the receiver, what, Luna didn't have a clue.

After a while, the talk ended, and Athrun boarded the Saviour and took-off, flying back towards the Minerva. Luna packed up and started heading back towards the car, when there was a sound caught her attention. She turned as saw the X10A Freedom flying away in a different direction than the Saviour had. Luna hurried along back to the car she drove here in and started the journey back towards Diocuia. However, along the way, the car had trouble and Luna was forced to stop. Things just seemed to be going badly for Luna on this assignment, first the listening equipment, now the car wasn't working correctly, and she was stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Luna was trying to think of what to do, the assignment she was on was supposed to be kept quiet. So, explaining why she was out here would be harder and something she didn't look forward to. Luna was weighing her options, when a tap came at the door window, which scared her. Upon looking to the window, Luna saw Mr. McGregor standing outside the car, making motions for Luna to roll down her window. She did so, "Evening Miss, didn't think I would see you again, definitely not out here. So," he posed, "Having car troubles I would assume?"

Luna nodded, "Yes, today had been one of those days that things haven't been going right," she admitted.

"Yes," replied Mr. McGregor, "Everyone has days like that. Well, as uh, you're in such straits, perhaps I can help you out by giving you a ride to Diocuia, I'm going that way myself anyways."

Luna hesitated for a moment, but then decided to take Mr. McGregor up on his offer for a ride, hoping that it wouldn't be like the last one he had given her. She agreed, and then grabbed her pack before walking to the car that had pulled up behind hers. Luna got in the passenger's seat and made sure that her seatbelt was on tight, then looked to Mr. McGregor. "Please don't drive like you did the last time," Luna pled.

Tyler looked of at Luna and gave a small smile, "Not to worry, this is a rental, and I only do drifting and what goes with it driving my own car," he returned.

The trip back to Diocuia was quiet, the only question Tyler asked was where Luna wanted to be dropped off at. So, after getting back to Diocuia, it was dark, but Tyler drove onto the ZAFT base and to the dock that the Minerva was in. Luna thanked Tyler for the ride, which had been much tamer compared to what she had experienced the last time.

Tyler watched Lunamaria head for the causeway to the Minerva, surer now that the teen had been attempting to listen in on the conversation that had been happening. Why she had been sent to do so, Tyler couldn't say at the moment. He drove back to where the Normandy was docked on the other side of Diocuia and returned the car. Back on the Normandy, Tyler returned the radio jammer to Chief, who he had borrowed it from. Nothing had changed or come up while Tyler had been out to meet with his friends, though Tyler hadn't expected anything to happen.

Tyler went to his quarters and went to bed as it had been a long last few days and he hadn't gotten a great deal of sleep. He had been sleeping for hours, when a beeping began, bringing him out of the slumber that he had been enjoying. Tyler glanced over at the com-station and the clock besides it, seeing that it was three in the morning. He rolled over to face the com-station, irritable at being woken up in the middle of the night. Tyler connected the call that was waiting for him, finding that the call was from Kira. Tyler sighed, "Not to say that I don't like and appreciate you calling Kira to talk or chat, but it's the middle of the night. So, what are you calling about now that can't wait till morning," he asked.

Kira gave Tyler an apologetic smile, " _Sorry Tye, I know it's early, and I was for waiting until morning to get in touch about this, but everyone else was insistent about talking with out as soon as possible,_ " Kira replied.

Tyler blinked and stared at Kira, "You'll have to forgive my grumbling and irritability it's early and I was sleeping decently for a change. So, you care to define whom you refer to when you say everyone else Kira," he inquired.

" _Well,_ " Kira started, but then Andrew Waltfeld appeared on the screen, along with Aisha, Lacus and Murrue, " _this is pretty much everyone._ "

" _See that Kira managed to contact you, that's good,_ " Waltfeld said.

Tyler rubbed his eyes and yawned, "Would someone please tell me why I've been woken up at this hour? If there's a reason then that's fine, but if this is someone's idea of a joke, then I'll hang up and go back to sleep right now without further discussion. So, get on with it, I don't care who does the explaining," Tyler grumbled.

Lacus spoke up, " _Tye, I was thinking that it would be better if I go up into space and do what I can to help there. However, ways of getting to space are being watched heavily and I think in better that I not be noticed going to space._ "

Tyler leaned his head on a hand, "And what brought this on Lacus," he asked.

" _With everything that's going on, we need to know what's going on around the PLANTs as well as on Earth and the media isn't reliable really anymore. So, I believe I could do more in space than I am doing down here on Earth, the sooner that this conflict ends, the less lives that will be lost,_ " she justified.

Kira frowned, clearly not keen on letting Lacus go up to space, Tyler merely shrugged, "Sure, if that floats your boat Lacus. However, I still have yet to hear what this decision has to do with me and my sleep was interrupted, so do get to the part that has to do with me," he said flatly.

" _As Miss Clyne said, the means that one gets up to space are being watched by both the Earth Alliance and ZAFT. Were she to use one, they would very likely notice and be after us rather quickly, which would make things more difficult in the long run,_ " Waltfeld said, taking up the narrative. " _As you've shown yourself an expert at coming up with crazy plans, it was hoped that you could do so for us in this._ "

"Normally, I have more information to work with when I come up with plans," Tyler said tiredly.

Then ensued a discussion of what could be done to help Lacus to get up to space and not be noticed by ZAFT or the Alliance. Kira didn't say much, nor did Tyler, as he was trying to stay awake and attempt to come up with something. He even got onto the Information Network to see if anything would stand out as a possibility to work with. As the discussion went on, no progress seemed to be made, that was until Tyler spoke again, "Yo all, if you could hush up for a bit, I'm cooking up something that fits the bill you have handed me." Everyone else went quiet after Tyler spoke and Tyler continued, "I happened to see that one Miss "Clyne' completes her 'comfort tour' as her current series of concerts is being called, which comes to its end today and so, she heads back to space tomorrow. She'll need a place to get a shuttle launched, and the Chronos mass driver would be the most likely. That sounds like an opportunity to get Lacus up into space without a lot of problems."

Tyler explained what he was cooking up, about how Lacus could pose as the idol that was ironically using her name and take the shuttle in her place. Lacus would have to do some acting as her stand-in was more open and flirtation in public. Tyler would pull the strings to have things ready a tad earlier so that Lacus could use the shuttle. Kira still was apprehensive of Lacus going into space, and really of Lacus leaving and separating for a while. But, in the end, the plan that Tyler suggested in order to get Lacus into space. This only left the current day for Lacus and Kira to say their farewells to one another before the separation began for an unknown period of time.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy headed out from Diocuia later that same morning, and the Archangel met up with them, traveling under them as they both headed towards Rome. The reason that was stated for Rome being that 'Lacus Clyne' would have far less problems taking off from there, due to the security already in place, which would bring less hassle for all involved. I had even called ahead and found out that I had been exactly right on my assumption of the stand-in Lacus choosing to utilize Chronos to get back up into space. I had also 'made arrangements' for the shuttle the girl was supposed to be taking a little after midday tomorrow, to be ready a bit earlier. Then, I put myself in the position of being Miss Clyne's escort to the launching facilities to make sure that Lacus got where she needed to go and have less inspections done to her.

As a secondary measure just to setup things for the best-case scenario, I even swallowed my pride and called Sakura. The woman that is my stalker, was for "some strange coincidence" around Rome as she put it. I didn't call her out on that, but laid out the situation with her baby sister was in. Sakura instantly agreed to help in the efforts to get Lacus into space, more so after I offered to take her out to lunch as motivation. Why might I've gone to Sakura for help, because no one can scare ZAFT personnel as efficiently spitless as Sakura can by a large margin! The woman's reputation still precedes her with ZAFT, even with her retired, all still seem to be afraid of her to some degree.

We arrived at Rome in the early afternoon of that same day I came up with the plan, the Archangel didn't dock for long, just enough time for Lacus, Aisha and Andrew Waltfeld to disembark from the ship. The Archangel then left the dock at Rome and dove under the water, while the three stayed on the Normandy for the time that remained before the shuttle launch. Sakura found her way onto my ship just before evening set in, how she knew where it was docked, I haven't the faintest idea. Once all involved were present, the finer details were discussed on how to successfully get Lacus into space and have her safe for a time.

The main point in this was that Lacus would have to act differently than she normally would and in a way that was somewhat embarrassing for her. Lacus is not flirtatious, nor flamboyant by nature as her 'stand-in' has shown herself to be. That kind of behavior I would assume is reserved for Kira, not that my friend would notice a great deal of it due to his naivete. So, I told Sakura to give Lacus some lessons/coaching in the idea, and Waltfeld was all for that after seeing how Sakura was around me which surprised him. Also, Sakura said she arranged for a group to be waiting for Lacus up in space to take her to wherever she would see the need to go. Sakura and I also had a 'agreement' of how we would pass off things when we met back up.

The night came on, the Normandy's guests were given accommodations, Sakura chose of course, to sleep in my quarters, but I tolerated it for Lacus's sake. The next morning came and the needed preparation were finished, which had me in my more formal uniform. The dress Lacus wore was a bit on the more skin revealing side and I could see the subtle signs that Lacus didn't like the outfit that Waltfeld and Aisha obtained for her. Sakura was left to go where she would help the best, since she was to delay ZAFT personnel that would be bringing and guarding the stand-in.

Meanwhile, I drove Lacus, Aisha and Waltfeld, who had a wig on to look like the apparent manager that Miss Meer had. It was just about noon when we arrived at the spaceport that Chronos has and it was as busy as the other occasions that I've been here. Granted, when the car I was driving came to a stop and I opened the rear door, an amount of attention shifted to us. That attention increased when Lacus came out of the car, and people started to press forward towards us. Thankfully, those in charge of security here stepped in and began crowd control. There were shouts and requests for autographs for Lacus which she did some, keeping up the image that the stand-in had made.

It took us about fifteen minutes to reach the spaceport interior, where things began to go smoother. The shuttle was ready to go, everything was in order as it could be, it was just a matter of getting Lacus onto the shuttle and not having the stand-in show up before the launch. At the boarding gate, I bid farewell to Lacus and wished her a safe trip, much more formal that I would normally, but got to keep up appearances in this. After watching Lacus boarding the shuttle, I made my way out of the spaceport to meet up with Sakura.

It didn't take me long to find Sakura, the feeling of cold fear in the air along with the crowd of people in ZAFT uniforms was a dead giveaway. And I couldn't help the smirk that came to my face at seeing that Sakura was as I had hoped, delaying the stand-in and those with her wonderfully! In fact, as I drew closer, I heard the stuttering of the ZAFT personnel at Sakura's questions of what they were doing and why.

I schooled my expression and got into my part of the act Sakura and I were putting on, "Hello everyone, what's going on here," I posed seriously.

A man, whose hair made me believe that he would be the manager of the stand-in as it looked like what Waltfeld had. He stepped forward, appearing relieved at seeing me, a Federation officer coming up to them, "Thank goodness, this woman came up and has been delaying us sir," he said to me.

"Is that so," I replied, plastering a stern expression on my face. I closed the distance between Sakura and me, "Ma'am it would seem that you're bothering this group, so I'm going to have to ask you to come with me and leave them alone."

The ZAFT personnel flinched and were looking at me like I was completely nuts and had lost any common sense I had. Sakura gave me an icy glare, I didn't back down, since I knew she was acting, as she would normally act much different than this. Sakura held the glare for long enough to be extremely convincing and credit her well-earned reputation, before she huffed, gave a final glare to the ZAFT personnel before getting behind me. I bowed to the man that had spoken and the stand-in Lacus next to him, "I apologize about the trouble sir, we in the Federation do try to keep the peace as efficiently as possible," I said.

The stand-in waved a hand in dismissal, "No, thank you very much for your help good sir," she said.

It's still a tad uncanny how close her voice matches Lacus's, I smiled, "My pleasure Miss," I left open the sentence to have her give her name even though I knew it already, part of the act and everything.

"My name is Lacus Clyne sir," she answered.

The faulting of my expression was done so well, even my mother would have a hard time knowing it was fake. "I'm sorry, did you say Miss Clyne," I asked in a worried tone.

Her manager nodded, "Yes, why do you ask sir," he posed.

My worried expression morphed into a look of bafflement, "Well um, it was my understanding that Miss Clyne had already arrived at the spaceport and boarded the shuttle prepared for her." The sound of a shuttle racing down one of the runways here at Rome's spaceport was heard and I glanced in that direction. "In fact uh, I think that would be the shuttle taking off now," I said in a mystified voice.

The manager took a few steps forward, "But, Lacus Clyne is right here, so who boarded that shuttle," he demanded.

I shrugged, "I can't say that I know sir. I caught a glimpse of them, and after seeing you, I have to admit that they did look very much like you two." I bowed again, "I am terribly sorry about this clear mix up, to help in this, I will personally see to it that another shuttle is readied for you as soon as possible."

The process of getting a shuttle for the group wasn't hard, I'd done most of the work beforehand. The arranging I had done, had been worth it, and I unexpectedly had the help of Lanus Trays, who was on Earth at the moment. I didn't ask the man why he was on Earth, and with Sakura asking the favor, he had said to do what we saw fit. That was akin to permission to do whatever we wanted without worrying about policies and procedures… with good judgement of course.

So, when all was said and done, I met back up with Sakura, who was waiting outside the spaceport. "Your acting was superb Sakura, you had the ZAFT personnel seriously quaking in their shoes, it was amusing to see," I remarked.

Sakura in response to my comment, hugged one of my arms, "Aw, how nice of you to say so, those sniveling fools need to get some backbone if you ask me, but that's not new," She replied. She started forward, dragging me with her, "Now, as for lunch, I spotted a nice-looking place that we could go, so let's be off!"

I hope that Sakura won't abuse my offer to treat her to lunch, to satisfy her interests in me!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

Word reached the ship that Lacus had launched safely into space, and that news did relieve some of the stress that had been collecting for the crew. Lacus was putting herself at risk and in danger by going up to space, since both the Alliance and ZAFT were searching for her. Kira was trying to put on a good face, but he was worrying about Lacus and what could happen to her. His mind was taken off of that for a period of time when he got a call from Miriallia, say that she, along with Tolle and even Sai wished to help out with the current situation. In fact, she said that she and the others were on their way to the Archangel, being brought by a pilot that was being assigned to the Archangel for the time being. Kira informed Murrue about what Miriallia had told him, and she said that she had also received a message to that effect.

It was in the early evening that three mobile suits were taken onboard the Archangel, two ended out leaving shortly afterwards though. Kira went down to the hanger to greet those that had come onboard. When he reached the hanger, Kira found Miriallia and Tolle, but also their friend Sai Argyle, who they hadn't seen much of after the First Alliance-PLANT War. The friends greeted one another warmly, as the mobile suit that was staying on the Archangel was locked into a dock.

The mobile suit looked to be a modified Excel Fighter, for it had two thruster packs, one behind each shoulder attached to the large wings. Its armaments were made up of a high-energy beam rifle, weapons built into its barrier shield, along with the vulcans in the head. Then, on both thruster packs' outside, there were a pair of beam cannons. The customize mobile suit was unexpected, but it was only outdone slightly by its pilot that came out.

The man's appearance wasn't the odd point about him, for he looked 'normal' enough. He was slightly taller than Mu La Flaga had been, but not by much. He had shoulder length brown hair, which was a tad unkempt and messy. His eyes were blue and had facial features that were fairly common with those from the Euros Coalition. He looked to be in his early to mid-thirties, but what stuck out, was the air about him, for it was like some leaders have, but also somehow very easy going.

"I must say, this be one of the nicer hangers I've been in, aye it is, much better than the ones I used to be around years ago," remarked Cormag his accent clear and different for those hearing it.

For those in the hanger, this was the first time that any of them had heard a person with an 'Irish' accent. Supposedly, it came from the islands in the northwestern area of the Euros Coalition, but it wasn't as common as it once was. Cormag seemed to take notice that most if not all in the hanger were staring at him, "What be you lads and lasses starin at," he asked.

No one said anything in reply, so Kira smiled a bit, "I think we're just being thrown off by your accent sir," he answered, to which others nodded slowly.

Cormag made his way down to the deck, "You tellin me that you've never met or heard an Irish speak to you laddie," Cormag questioned, sounding a bit shocked.

Kira shook his head and Cormag sighed, "I know that those with the accent are rare now-a-days, but still, hurts to have to accept the fact." Cormag then inclined his head towards Kira, "The name's Cormag Swift, and before you ask, me accent's completely natural, and I'm proud of it. It's one of the prides of me family, we've been able to keep the Irish accent, they really are quite somethin and is one of the few surviving ones from before the Reconstruction War. Plus, I have to admit, you would be amazed and amused at some of the reactions I've gotten lad, tis really been funny."

The crew of the Archangel didn't know what to make of Cormag Swift at first, he was different than any other pilot, sort of like Tyler, but not in the same way. It was nice to have those who had been with them during a major portion of the First Alliance-PLANT War back and helping at the very least. Murrue had the man come to her quarters to talk with him, so that she could get a feel on him. When Cormag entered, he bowed to Murrue, "Tis a pleasure ma'am, never been under a female captain before, first officers yes, but not captains. Me name is Cormag Swift, hopin that we can get along," he greeted.

Murrue smiled, "Yes, it's nice to meet you as well Mr. Swift," she said.

Cormag shook his head, "No need to be so formal, I've never been that fond of bein called Mister, it doesn't fit me. The title tends to make me think someone's referrin to me father, and though I respect the man, may he rest in peace, I don't think I'm all that old yet," he iterated.

Murrue felt kind of refreshed somehow with the accent that Cormag Swift had, she ended out nodding, "Very well Cormag, forgive me if it sounds odd, but none of us on this ship were expecting to have a pilot assigned to her. So, there will be less of a welcome," she replied.

"Oh no worries ma'am," Cormag returned, "In fact, I kind of prefer it that way, with a record like mine, many try rolling out the red carpet if you know what I mean. The idea can get rather tiresome, I can tell you, specially when I worked for the OMNI Enforcer organization. Then, after you're around for a time, they blame you when things don't go the way they want, it was such a horrible atmosphere back then, and I doubt it's improved since."

Murrue was surprised to hear that Cormag Swift had worked for the Earth Alliance at one time. Yes, the same could be said of her, but still, "You were with the Alliance before?"

"Aye, I was, for close to two years of the First Alliance-PLANT war. But I got fed up with taken orders that didn't make sense and the commanding officers were getting dumber as the war kept goin," Cormag answered. "I was a mobile armor pilot, said to be one of the best accordin to others, but I don't entirely agree. Though it's true me pilotin style was quite unique, and that did tend to catch ZAFT pilots off-guard more often than not."

One of the best mobile armor pilots?! Murrue couldn't recall an armor pilot by the name of Cormag Swift, perhaps he had known Mu and Mu had known him? "I see, did you know the 'Hawk of Endymion," Murrue asked.

"You mean La Flaga, sure I knew him. He had talent and learned quick, one of the better ones I helped train to pilot a mobile armor. I was even the one that recommended that he try a Moebius Zero Armor when others just laughed and said that La Flaga wouldn't be able to do it. But I was right, aye the lad proved me right better than any ever had. Tis a shame really that he went down during the assault on Jachin Due, La Flaga was truly a rare man," Cormag answered.

Murrue gaped at Cormag Swift now, for if what he said was correct, then there was only one pilot he could be. Mu had told her about the one who had taught him how to pilot a Moebius Zero armor and how he had respected him. if this was the same person, the he had to be the pilot known as the "Silver Eagle" the best pilot the Earth Forces had during the first war and arguably still the best the Alliance had ever had. Heck, the Silver Eagle had even taken on the Black Zephyr and their match had ending out in a draw and no one else could claim that. Even after vanishing, stories of the Silver Eagle were told to help morale during hard times and now apparently, that pilot was assigned to the Archangel.

Cormag kept going, "La Flaga was somethin else, like me, he could take on mobile suits in an armor and be about equal a good amount of the time. The only other one I've met like him was a lad by the name of McGregor, and he's in a different league when he goes all out."

At hearing McGregor, Murrue came out of her thoughts, "Wait, when you say McGregor, are you referring to Tyler McGregor," she inquired.

"Indeed I am, the lads skilled, no denyin that, certainly gave me a serious workout, more than the Black Zephyr did by the end. It was really due to the lad's inexperience that gave me an opportunity to win in a match against him," Cormag iterated.

Murrue smile softly, "I can't argue that he is talented, doesn't seem to matter what he was piloting."

"What makes you say that," Cormag posed.

Murrue kept smiling at the memory of the mock battle that had shown that Tyler was a skilled pilot. "He got roped into a mock battle by Mu years ago, flying a mobile armor, and he ended out win against a mobile suit without being hit once."

Cormag laughed, "Is that right? Nice to know that McGregor didn't let the lessons I gave him go to waste."

 **-Line Break-**

Shira, the Republic

A little over a week went by since the short conversation Ellen had with of all people, the president of the Atlantic Federation, Joseph Copeland. When the call came from the man, Ellen expected she would have to listen to a rant of why the Alliance was doing the right thing in their war against the PLANTs and ZAFT and that the Federation should get onboard. However, Ellen had been surprised when Copeland had asked for a talk in person and inferred that he was having a change of heart with the war. It may be nothing, but with this new war was still picking up momentum, Ellen would mind a chance at possible ending the conflict sooner and less lives lost.

President Copeland had said that the conversation would be better done in the Republic, possibly meaning that there were those in the leadership of the Alliance that had differing opinions than what the media was saying. As this meeting was to be kept confidential, Ellen had made arrangements to make sure that Joseph Copeland's visit here not be known to the media or anyone that didn't need to know.

So, when Copeland arrived in the Republic, he was discreetly escorted to the minister's residence, with no one noticing. Ellen greeted the current leader of the Atlantic Federation kindly enough and had him take a seat in her office. When Ellen took the chair behind her desk, she gazed at Joseph Copeland, "As I said before, what you said caught my attention, what is it that you wish to discuss?"

Copeland shifted uncomfortable, "I admit, looking back now, that declaring war on the PLANTs was a hasty decision and I'm not trying to justify it right now." The man paused, then continued, "Ellen, how much do you know about the business platform known as Logos?"

Ellen frowned at the question, "An amount, enough to know it is best to not have anything to do with them, why do you ask," she posed.

Copeland didn't answer right away, appearing to be having internal conflict, but after a few minutes he spoke. "It was them that came up with the plan to send nuclear weapons at the PLANTs, even before the allotted time had passed." Copeland rubbed his temples, "Events have only been getting worse from there and I'm being reduced to a figurehead only. That wouldn't be as bad if not that lives are being lost, and at heart, I still think that innocent bystanders shouldn't have to pay the price of war."

Ellen was processing what the man said, it made sense that Logo would be involved with the attempted nuclear strike against the PLANTs. But, it sounded like members of Logos were calling the shot from the background for the Alliance's side of the war. "How much of Logos's influence determines the actions of the Alliance currently," asked Ellen evenly.

Copeland thought for a moment, "I can't say exactly, but enough that they are directing much of what the Alliance does, including the fighting against the Federation's military."

"So then Joseph, what is it you want from me," Ellen questioned.

Copeland exhaled, "Honestly, I don't know if anything can be done at this point. Nevertheless," he said reaching into the briefcase he brought and took out collection of papers, "in these documents, you will find the names of the members of Logos and where a majority of them can be found on a regular basis. Also, the names of the members of Blue Cosmos that essentially are at the beacon and call of Logos. A list of their activities are also within the documents, I would think you can get these to those that can use them to remove those causing this mess."

Ellen was stunned, if the collection of papers contained what Joseph Copeland said they did, then this could change the flow of the war. But the question was, why would Copeland give these to her, there had to be more to this. "What is it that you get out of this Joseph? If these documents contain was you say they do, then this would be akin to you betraying those that fun the Earth Alliance's efforts against Coordinators. So why, what has changed for you to consider this," asked Ellen quite curious what could have changed.

Joseph Copeland frowned angrily, "I've not really been a fan of Logos, but there has normally been enough that agreed with their mentality that they normally get their way. And if pieces Junius Seven hadn't fallen to Earth, then perhaps this war would still have come, I don't know." Copeland took a breath, "I know that there are members of Logos that are horrible individuals and can't be truthfully called human beings. However, that doesn't mean that those caught up in their webs of lies are the same as them. I know… I know that the Federation's military is defending and protecting their citizen and I don't… fault them for it."

Copeland stopped, clearly having difficulty continuing, then the realization came to Ellen, why Joseph Copeland was so angry. "You knew someone that was kill because of the ongoing conflict between the Earth Forces and the Federation military," she said.

Copeland's head fell, "I… I thought that if they were to go one of the Federation's member nations, that the chances of them being affected by this war, that they wouldn't die. I know that telling the only family that I still have to that, was foolish but," the man trailed off.

Ellen gazed sadly at Joseph Copeland, "So, you have learned the truth of what war is all about by losing those you care about. We now have something in common Joseph, you now understand as I, that war does not bring good results, it ruins and destroys. The real question you should be asking yourself, how far are you willing to go to stop this war from causing the same pain to others? Is your reputation worth keeping or are you willing to use the position you currently hold to make as many changes for the better that you can before others attempt to forcefully remove you?"

Joseph Copeland looked at Ellen, "As I said, I'm more a figurehead right now," he grumbled.

"No, you are the president of the Atlantic Federation regardless of what any other says until your term is up, or you are removed from the office," Ellen said firmly. "You have executive powers within the Alliance, use them! If what Logos does is wrong to you, then block them in every way you can."

Phase End

 **A/n**

 **I leave the story off at this point for the next Phase to pick up at. Now the change that I mentioned before, in Phase 34. It's when Tyler was fighting off the team trying to assassinate Lacus, the second wound he received was changed from a graze to having a bullet pass cleanly through his left thigh. I thought it would feel better with the flow of the story especially within this Phase. Next, the interactions between Copeland and Logos and then later Ellen, is the start of parting from canon. Lastly, there is an event I'm building towards with the separation of Lacus and Kira, which will be fairly clear when it comes, but that's all I'll say for the idea. As always, I would ask some to take the time to write a review and tell me what you think, ask questions, whatever you like. And thanks to those who do so before now, it is appreciated, peace out until the next Phase!**

 **Just A Crazy-Man**

I'm glad you liked the last Phase.

 **Titanic X**

So, as this Phase has revealed, Copeland is having more than just doubts, he has reasons to go against Logos. And over the next two or three Phases, I will cover how the Alliance has been continuing the "Enhanced Human Project".

 **KakeruPB**

Glad you liked the last Chapter. I think that Lacus's Kimono does fit her as well, Kira is lucky, not that he knows it yet, his naivete and everything. As for the Freedom not being seen in a bad light, it's that way for now. **(Spoiler Alert)** However, the Freedom will still get destroyed later on, I won't say how or why at this point as there is more to the story coming. And yes, Tyler did use SEED mode at the end of the battle, it's the way he can own on the battlefield and is still one of the reasons he's among the top ranked pilots as Cormag implies.


	37. Phase 37: The True Horrors of War

**A/n**

 **Sorry for this phase took this long, but it is longer than average as well, so there is reason for it taking the time it has. My standard disclaimer applies, and I hope that you enjoy this Phase!**

* * *

Phase 37: The True Horrors of War

January 29th, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Andrew piloted the shuttle through the ascent from Earth's surface without notable incident. The Earth Forces and ZAFT would look into the mix up, no question, but since it had happened at a Federation-controlled spaceport, the other two factions could only inquire, not investigate. The Federation's well-established reputation of handling internal issues and problems was not challenged any longer, even if grumbled about loudly. So, the first step of getting Lacus up into space could be considered successful. What the next step would be, that was harder to say as what would happen once in space hadn't been discussed in great detail yet.

Sakura Clyne had mentioned something to the effect that she had called in a favor for them for transport temporarily, though not much on what she meant by that. Andrew wasn't going to question the woman, he knew better than to make that kind of stupid mistake. He had met the Black Zephyr twice before the ascent into space, both face-to-face encounters during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Andrew had seen that the reputation she had was earned many times over and she knew what she was doing. If she said she had done something, then you better believe she had done what she said and shut up period!

So, when he spotted a Nazca-class vessel approaching, he was a tad worried, but when it came into visual range, things made more sense. The Nazca-class had custom coloration of black and red, which told what ship it was, none other than the Black Jade, the Black Zephyr's person ship. Andrew knew that there were still those who severed the current leaders of ZAFT and the PLANTs, but were still at heart, loyal to ZAFT's Champions and Treize first and foremost, even if they weren't with ZAFT now. Andrew flew the shuttle into the open hanger of the Black Jade without further consideration.

Once the hanger was pressurized, Lacus and Andrew exited the shuttle and looked around. They didn't have long to do so, as they were approached by a member of the ship's crew and escorted them to the Black Jade's bridge. When the both reached the bridge, the captain turned and bowed to Lacus, "Miss Clyne, welcome aboard the Black Jade," he greeted Lacus with deep respect.

"Thank you for letting us onboard captain," Lacus returned.

The captain shook his head and smiled, "Think nothing of it, to be able to help Commander Clyne in what ways we are able is forever an honor and pleasure ma'am. We will be escorting half way towards the moon, where you will be transferred over to the group that will take you wherever you wish or intend to go."

The Black Jade sailed forward through space, to wherever they would meet those that would transport Lacus and Andrew to their destination. Andrew was itching to get into contact with the Eternal when he could. The ship had been hidden after the First Alliance-PLANT War from both ZAFT and the Earth Forces. The Eternal had been the first thought of places that Lacus could go, but with the timing, the Eternal had been on the opposite end of the Debris Belt. The ship had been being supplied by the Federation Military, so the Eternal was okay. DaCosta was making sure things kept running smoothly on the Eternal, which left Andrew little to worry about. However, with the series of events that had been happening, Andrew wanted to know what had been going on up here in space as much as Lacus did.

Lacus on the other hand, simply wanted to know what the conflict had been doing to both space and the moon, for on Earth it had been harsh. Even if this war was not having the same destructive damage here in space, it would still affect those that lived in space and on the moon. While on the Archangel, Lacus had felt a bit useless and that had been getting to her. Sure, like Kira, Lacus could pilot a mobile suit and there had been extra mobile suits on the Archangel, but that wasn't enough to her. It was the difficulty that she had being part of the family she was a member of, the Clyne family. Her father Siegel Clyne was the not just the politician, he was the promoter of their ideal of peace between all of humanity. Sakura was the warrior, the protector and defender of the Clyne ideal, firm and unmovable in that. Even with her retired from ZAFT, that point about Sakura hadn't become less true, if anything she was stronger in that now than before. Yet, what did Lacus stand for or do for the belief that she shared with her father and sister?

It was a question that had been plaguing Lacus a growing amount as of late and she still didn't have an answer to it. Nonetheless, she could see that things as they were wouldn't help find the answer to the question. That was one of the major reasons that Lacus thought that coming into space would help her in the pursuit of searching for the answer to the question. As painful and unwanted as it was for her to leave Kira, Lacus knew that time was of the essence. People were dying every day in increasing numbers, it was a sign that the conflict was getting worse the longer it went on.

A little over an hour went by, before the Black Jade came to the place that the mentioned transfer took place. The ship that appeared was one that Lacus had only seen once, and it had been a glimpse during the Second Battle of Jachin Due, whereas Andrew was in a mild state of shock to see the ship. The vessel they saw was three-hundred-fifty meters in length and was red overall. Its shape was similar to the with the central ship length being connected to a wing structure at the back section. It was clearly well-armed for battle should the needed come, with an array of weaponry. Lacus didn't know why this ship was picked to help her, but she could clearly see that Andrew recognized the ship and that there was something about it that was of note.

"Um, Mr. Waltfeld is there something about that ship that has you as surprised as you are," asked Lacus.

Andrew glanced over at Lacus for a moment, "Well Lacus, that ship is one that most within ZAFT, whether presently or not know for the personal battleship and command center of Admiral Treize, the Salong. I've only heard that the Admiral retired a little over a year ago, so to see his ship makes me wonder if that was merely a way for him to leave ZAFT and do other things," he replied.

Lacus had many thoughts start swirl in her mind with what Andrew had just said. It was no secret or unknown fact that Lanus Treize had a great deal of influence within the ZAFT organization. When the man said he was 'retiring' there were many that attempted to convince him to reconsider the decision. The official reason he gave was that the war had ended, and he wanted to spend time with the family he had. Yet, what Andrew had stated brought the question of the decorated and unofficial leader of ZAFT had to 'retire'.

Lacus herself had only met the man a select few times that she could recall, what she knew mostly came from her father and sister. Her father saw Lanus Treize as a trusted friend and had said that he would always be a loyal defender of the PLANTs. Sakura respected Lanus and she didn't respect just anyone, Lacus's sister's loyalty was earned not given, she had made that clear. But more than that, Sakura would do what Lanus said without question and that was more than mere loyalty from her, that was complete trust and that was extremely rare for Sakura to give out at all.

A shuttle was prepared for Lacus and Andrew, which then took them over to the Salong, where they were welcomed and escorted to the ship's bridge. The bridge of the Salong was slightly different than other ZAFT vessels and clearly bore a resemblance to the Eternal's own. It was even likely that the Eternal's bridge design was based on this ship's own as the Salong was built before the Eternal was.

"Aw, glad to see that you both have arrived safe and sound Miss Clyne, Desert Tiger" said a smooth male voice.

Both Lacus and Andrew turned towards the speaker and saw none other than Lanus Treize himself, in a variation of the ZAFT commander uniform that he was known to have on most times. Andrew bowed, pretty much due to reflex as most ZAFT commanders would do in the presence of this man. "It's an honor to see you as always Admiral Treize," Andrew greeted.

Treize chuckled, "It has been some time since I've heard such a tone in a greeting, though there is no need of such, it is refreshing." Treize then turned to Lacus and bowed his head, "It is a pleasure to see you once more Miss Clyne, it has been far too long. The resemblance you bear to your sister is striking as how much you both look like your late mother."

Lacus was startled a bit at mention of her mother, for it was rare outside of the company of her father and/or sister. Tasara Clyne had died when Lacus had been very young, she couldn't really remember much about her mother other than vague feelings from her earliest memories. Most of the facts Lacus did know came from Sakura and a few from her father and they had said that she had been a caring mother. The pictures that Lacus had seen had shown that she and Sakura did bear a notable resemblance to their mother. However, Lacus knew little about her mother outside of those facts and she had no idea who else would know about her mother.

"So then, you knew my mother Mr. Treize," asked Lacus.

The smile that Treize had softened, "Yes, I knew Tasara, an amazing woman she would show herself to be, stubbornly independent as well. My wife and Tasara were friends from their teenage years by what I understand. It was also my wife and I who introduced Tasara to your father, and those two made a magnificent pair. And it is that I think, which made losing Tasara to the circumstances that we did that made the loss all the harder for Siegel," he remarked sadly.

Lacus frowned at hearing that, for she had been told of the 'circumstances' to which her mother died in. It had in the early part of the fifth decade of the Cosmic Era as the PLANT Supreme Council was being formed. Tasara had "become sick", but really, some sort of toxin had been given to her somehow. The particular poison slipped to her, had been uncurable and she had been given a period of time to live. Lacus vaguely remembered asking both Sakura and her father why so many were sad at some point, though the answers she go were not recallable, still it hadn't helped her understand. It was later determined that her mother had been killed by a terrorist from what was Blue Cosmos.

"Thank you for the information," Lacus said gratefully. "I don't remember a great deal about my mother, she passed away when I was still very young. I've always been curious about what she was like since I don't have many memories of her."

"It is unfortunate that you don', Tasara was woman of conviction much like yourself," Treize commented. Then the man gained an air of business, "So, to the heart of the matter, where can I take you Miss Clyne?"

Lacus thought for a moment, but still could not answer the very question that had been plaguing her. "Honestly, I don't know exactly. I came up into space originally to try and learn what's really going on, for the media isn't trustworthy much anymore. Yet, I can't think of how to go about searching for the truth," she admitted.

Treize appeared to consider what Lacus said for a moment, then he gained an expression of realization, "I believe I might have an idea where you can start in your search. Where the media cannot be taken at face value, I have found that the Federation's Information Network tends to be reliable. There is usually enough there about current events to give a fair picture that is believable than other sources."

What Lanus Treize said about the Federation's Information Network was true as far as Lacus had understood. However, there were two issues which had Lacus not going to it from the beginning; access and the vastness of the network. Access to the Information Network was something she had as being in a Federation member nation, but like all citizens, it was restricted access to a degree for a couple of reasons. If there was classified information, then it wasn't viewable by anyone, one needed access codes and Lacus had none. The other reason that Lacus hadn't been using the Information Network was that it was huge and changed often. She didn't know how it was organized or sorted, and without that knowledge, it would be like looking for a single book in a massive library without any kind of catalogue.

Lacus sighed, "I've considered looking through the network, but I don't know what I'm looking for specifically enough to search effectively or else the information that I want to view is encrypted and locked, so I can't look at it."

Treize had a thoughtful look, "It can seem that way at first, but perhaps if you have those that help run the network to assist you, the task would be more doable."

Andrew spoke up at that comment, "That would be all well and good sir, yet finding an individual that does know how the Federation's network works is difficult."

"Granted Tiger," replied Treize, "That is unless you know where a number of them tend to be, which I do."

Lacus's head snapped up at hearing that Lanus Treize knew where those who understood how the Information Network operated could be. "And how do you know such information sir, if you don't mind me asking," she posed.

"I became aware of such when I accepted an offer to be a part of the Federation Military's leadership. I believe much the same ideals that the Human Federation does, including the work that is needed for true peace to come," Treize answered.

That answer stunned both Andrew and Lacus a great deal, for it wasn't expected at all. Lanus Treize had retired from his position as the unofficial leader of ZAFT to do other things by his own statement. So, to learn that he was now one of the leaders of the Federation's Military gave a feeling of suspicion, not about Treize, but those he left within ZAFT. It wasn't surprising to know the Federation Military had made an offer to Treize to work with them, more that an offer hadn't been made before now, if they hadn't. Lacus refocused on the matter at hand, "Where did you have in mind to find those who understand the workings of the Information Network," she questioned.

Instead of answering directly, Treize face forward, "Helm, set course for Luna Base," he ordered.

"Yes sir," was the prompt reply from the crewmember.

Treize turned back to Lacus and Andrew, "The Federation's Sapientai Luna military complex or Luna Base, I would think fits what you are looking for in your quest."

Hours passed before the Salong came to range of the Moon and it quickly descended to fly a short distance from the silver surface of Earth's satellite. The Salong flew over the moon's surface in the direction of Serenity City, or rather the ship was heading for the Federation's lunar base Sapientai Luna or Luna Base for short. The base represented the major for the Federation presence on the Moon, much to the displeasure of the Earth Alliance with the base was a short distance from Serenity City. The visible section of the base was in a crater at the southwestern edge of the area called Mare Tranquilitatis. There was man-made structure enclosing the crater interior with a dome in the middle looking over the crater's lip. Inside the crater and below it was the majority of the Federation base, so the actual size of the base was unknown to the Earth Forces and ZAFT. The base had natural shielding from the lunar terrain along with the armor plating used to reinforce the crater sides. The most notable purpose of Luna Base was that it served as the main hub in space for the Federation's Information Network. Information from the network's informants would come to Luna Base to be distributed to wherever requested.

The Salong communicated with the base and when it came into sight of the crater, an opening revealed itself in the crater wall close to the surface. The ship entered the docking facilities that Luna Base had and the Salong's crew waited for the process to finish. Once fully docked, Lacus and Andrew disembarked the Salong with Treize with them. For the next hour, it was explained to those at Luna Base why Andrew and Lacus were here by Treize himself. After the explanation, Treize apologized that he was leaving them here, but with events as they were, he was needed else where for the time being.

When Lacus and Andrew had settled into the quarters that were given to them, the two got to work. Andrew first contacted DaCosta on the Eternal and gave him a list of tasks for him and the rest of the crew to do. The Eternal might have been repaired from the damage that she had taken during the Second Battle of Jachin Due, but there was more to do to make her ready. Thankfully, there had been others that had left ZAFT and the PLANTs after the First Alliance-PLANT War that had been helping. The new built METEOR units needed to be picked up and there was a need for fine tuning around the ship among other things. DaCosta said that he would see to the tasks and would also arrange for Aisha to come up and get onto the ship as well. Andrew was once again glad he had taken DaCosta under his wing years ago when another commander wanted to get rid of him. DaCosta had got good at anticipating the needed task and could be counted upon to see them done.

Meanwhile, Lacus got 'tutoring' on the system which organized the Information Network. The explanation of how the network was sorted was very helpful and Lacus changed her view about the Information Network. The organization system was actually very clever in her opinion, it made sense overall with seeing what happened here at the main hub.

The system dealt with incoming information from all sources in the same manner, which was to sort into categories. There were three groups for incoming info; critical, needing to be determined, and public. Information that went into the critical group was looked at immediately and was normally encrypted further so that only those who were seen as high enough rank saw it and they would make the call if the info was dangerous and needed instant attention or otherwise. The group that was needing to be determined, was processed to see what the information was and then sorted further. Said sorting was done by groups of people here at Luna Base and other hubs. The public group was where information that was not dangerous either politically or militarily was made accessible to any in the Human Federation.

Seeing the filtering process was interesting to Lacus, for the sheer amount of incoming information was massive and then some. The only thing that was more unbelievable than the amount of information, what where it was coming from, and usually more whom. There were people that were aids to political leaders in both the Earth Alliance and the PLANT Supreme Council. But it didn't stop there, people that were close to or in groups such as Blue Cosmos and other groups of like mind also supplied the network. Lacus couldn't imagine the real risk some were taking to get the information they were, for some would no doubt be arrested and imprisoned, if not just killed outright. And yet, their bravery wasn't seen and would probably only be known to a few other than themselves ever.

As Lacus began sifting through what there was on current events, there were some things that began to pop out to her. The war as it was right now, seemed more to be pushed forward not by the leaders of the Alliance themselves, but others with influence either on them or over others. That was the general consensus on what had sparked the start of this conflict even before the drop of the remains of Junius Seven had done so officially. The incidents that had preceded the colony drop, like the raid on the Milos research station and the attack and theft at ZAFT's Armory One were terrible, but there were facts that could be gleamed from them. The theft at Armory One was fairly obvious to get the latest ZAFT mobile suits and the technology they had for the upcoming war.

The raid on the Federation scientific station, was to gain access to the Information Network itself. While the Alliance team that was responsible for the deaths of all on the station were successful at getting into the network, security measures prevented them from taking info of value without it being made unreadable. The files they had tried to obtain however, were very dangerous in the hands of those who bore ill-will towards the PLANTs, for they gave position of ZAFT forces on a regular basis among other things.

Yet, those were only the first points that implied that there was a group behind the scenes pulling and manipulating the strings. Specifically, the group that was being inferred was a pro-military platform called Logos. The group's existence was known to the Federation before now, since Logos had attempted to make deals to the leaders of the Federation both political and Militarily to do business with them. All those offers had been refused and the Federation had nothing to do with Logos. Instead, it was the view that this Logos should be starved out and allowed to fade from the world with the problems it clearly presented.

After the "Break the World" incident, the Earth Forces had prepared two overall responses, one for the PLANTs and the other for the Federation. The attempt to launch nuclear weapons at the PLANTs was uncalled for and criticized by many, which a number were silenced before being heard. The efforts to cultivate Anti-Coordinator sediment were fairly obvious looking back, but the lengths that were gone to were ridiculous. However, the fact that so few recognized the efforts for what they were lent credence to the skill of those doing the manipulation.

The response intended for the Federation was much less simple than what was done to the PLANTs. Where those in this Logos, seemed only interested in money and/or the destruction of Coordinators, with the Federation there were additional points of conflict. Logos seemed to both wished to control the Federation and destroy it at the same time. Or rather, the non-cooperation from the leaders of the Federation had angered members of Logos yet they desired the 'untapped customer base' they saw the Federation as. Hence, the plan to strike and take the Asgard Base, the Federation's Earth-based headquarters as a show of strength.

After that assault failed, there was a clear change of tactics from the Earth Forces which hadn't been seen so clear since the previous war. The change came in the form of acquiring territory in any way possible including; oppressing the local people, eliminating the leadership of the area or even trying to turn people against the leaders through propaganda. Thanks due in part to the Information Network and the loved leaders of the member nations, no territory had been taken by the Alliance. However, those that weren't part of one of the member nations weren't as lucky, many fell to the Earth Forces and for many, with a lot of blood spilt for the transition. The only place that got out of that for the time being was the United States of South America and it was due to its own military putting a lot of effort in.

Fighting was breaking out at least once a week somewhere in the world or in space and the driving force was only building. To what end this force was driving towards, Lacus couldn't tell with what she knew, but it was clear that the end would not be for peace as the idea is generally accepted.

 **-Line Break-**

Diocuia, Earth

The gossip from local inhabitance from around the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea had given credit to some unconfirmed rumors that ZAFT intelligence had come across. The rumor was that the Alliance had a complex somewhere around the Suez area where they did illegal activities and even possible horrifyingly unspeakable things. There were a few stories of people encountering individuals, normally children that appeared "hollow" and "missing things they shouldn't" to the point that the individuals seemed almost dead. The select few that had seen the "Alliance facility" even at a distance, swore that the place was haunted, for people that went in, never were seen coming out.

Gilbert Durandal after hearing the rumors and a story or two, ordered a search for this "Alliance complex" when he had arrived at Diocuia. And it was a couple of days later that a few potential sites were found, to which it was decided that the Minerva would be assigned to investigate. Chairman Durandal at the last moment, insisted that he would go with the Minerva on this investigation on what the Earth Alliance had been doing. He also hoped to see the successful results of the operation against the Alliance Suez base along the way. Also, there were two more mobile suit pilots assigned to the Minerva; Heine Westenfluss and Heero Collins.

When ready, the Minerva headed out from Diocuia towards the Suez Canal with Chairman Durandal onboard. It two a couple of days for the Minerva to reach the canal, during which Heine put forth effort to get to know his fellow pilots. Heero on the other hand, stayed as stoic as ever, even when Heine tried to involve him. Along the way, more data on the most promising site for the suspicious Alliance site was received. The additional information only solidified the motivation to investigate to be done as soon as possible.

So, when the Minerva got to the Suez Canal, Talia sent Aila, Rey and Shinn with their mobile suits to scout out the Alliance site ahead of the Minerva. The ship would follow after assessing the situation at the Suez base, however long that would take. With their orders, Shinn launched in the Core Splendor and combined into the Force Impulse, while Aila took-off in the Osiris and Rey in his ZAKU Phantom. The three traveled for around fifteen minutes, before they came into range of the site, which was surrounded by trees. The complex itself was in a clear area and was made up of a couple of buildings. Aila, Shinn and Rey circled above the complex for a minute, looking for any signs of activity and saw none.

The overview of the place made it look somewhat like a small town, as there were buildings that were clearly meant to be living habitation. While there were other structures that provided services to the other buildings, but there were structures that the purpose was harder to determine from above. The three landed next to the facility and lowered to the ground and met up at the entryway of the central structure. The feel and the silence that hung thick in the air around this place didn't go unnoticed by any of the three. "Does anyone else feel the ominous air here, is it just me," asked Shinn uneasily as they looked around the area of the building entrance.

Aila faced the stairs that led downward into the largest structure, "It's not just you Shinn, the air here says many things, and none of them are comforting in any way. Both of you are to be on your guard and alert, is that clear Rey, Shinn," posed Aila.

""Yes ma'am,"" both answered promptly.

The three advanced at a steady pace inside, guns out and sweeping for any signs of traps laid for them or others lying in wait to kill them. The interior of the structure was dark, but things were visible enough to see the basic layout for a moderate distance ahead. The first space they came into was some sort of lobby area, but it was messy as if it had been turned into a battlefield. As the three moved forward, Aila kept going forward as Rey went off to the left and was peering into the rooms off the large corridor, while Shinn was doing the same to the right. It quickly became clear that this place was used for scientific work of many sorts, mostly from the medical and science equipment.

Aila kept going down the main corridor, until a door that had a plate above it with writing she couldn't make out with the lack of light currently, caught her attention. She couldn't say what it was that drew her to the door, but she entered the room, which was mostly pitch black except for the dim light coming from the corridor. Aila felt along the wall by the doorway she came in by for a switch to light up the room and find clues as to what this place was. When she found what she was looking for, she pressed the button and lights began coming on throughout the room. The scene that met Aila's eyes was horrifying, and the more she took in the more mortifying the image became.

The room was large, and seemed to be a laboratory, specifically for work done on human beings. There were large tanks filled with liquid and there was even a couple that had something inside them, which vaguely looked human. Other equipment and tools in the room also denoted that this room and perhaps this place had been doing human experimentation.

Aila moved forward slowly, glancing around the room, which was becoming more abhorrent the farther Aila went in. However, she stopped about halfway inside, for Aila saw bodies strewn before her, on one side adults and the other… bodies of children! Aila had to grab onto the nearest object to prevent herself from collapsing to the floor and throwing up. It wasn't the smell, nor even the horrible sight of the signs of human experimentation that sickened Aila, it was this picture before her, children being killed. And by the red stains, the children had been fighting to live when they had been gunned down by whoever it was that killed them. Aila had a good constitution compared to average, after all, she'd seen what war did. But this, was evil even by her standards and was sickening to see the evidence of at all. Yet, Aila ended out retching an amount before she regained control of herself.

Aila had just gotten her gut under control, when the sound of others coming into the room came to her ears. "What the hell is this," uttered the voice of Shinn.

Aila rose and had begun turning towards her two comrades, when the sound of Shinn's voice came again, "What the, Rey! What's the matter, talk to me!"

Hearing that, Aila rushed in the direction of the door to this room, and she found Rey on his knees a hand over his heart. The young man was clearly in a great deal of pain, from what Aila couldn't say, but right now it didn't matter. "Shinn, get on his right. We need to get Rey out of here immediately. We'll call the Minerva when we get outside, hopefully Rey would be able to keep it together until they arrive," Aila ordered.

Shinn did as Aila ordered, while she came up on Rey's left, then they assisted Rey in getting to his feet. The two helped Rey get out of the room and the group made their way toward the steps they had come down to enter this structure. They set Rey down and leaning against a wall as his condition didn't appear to be getting any better. Aila ordered Shinn to use the Impulse's communication equipment to contact the Minerva and tell them they needed help as soon as possible.

Shinn ran to the Impulse and ascended the zip-line to the cockpit and dialed a channel to the Minerva. "Minerva, do you read, this is the Impulse," he asked, keeping the worry about Rey from coming into his voice.

The next near half minute felt much longer than it really was, " _We read you Impulse, what's your status,_ " asked Meyrin.

"We reached the site, but something has happened to Rey. We need assistance as soon as possible," Shinn replied.

On the Minerva, Meyrin processed what Shinn had just said, then turned to captain Gladys, "Ma'am, we have just received a message from the Impulse, according to them something has happened to Rey. They are requesting assistance as soon as they can get," Meyrin informed.

Talia didn't like hearing that at all, the three pilots were only supposed to be scouting out the Alliance complex that the Minerva would be inspecting soon. She told Meyrin to reply to the Impulse that the Minerva would be there as soon as they could be and to tell the flag ship here as the Suez base of the current situation. Meyrin did what she was ordered, while Talia ordered the Minerva to ready itself to launch immediately. Within minutes, the Minerva came up out of the water and started flying in the direction that the mobile suits they sent had gone.

Back at the Alliance site, while Shinn went off to do what she had told him to do, Aila stayed with Rey, trying to figure out what was going on with him. Nothing she saw helped her determine what was affecting him, "Rey Za Burrel, if you can hear me talking to you, then look at me," she said clearly. Rey didn't do what she said, which just confirmed that Rey was unable to register the world around him right now. Aila made sure that Rey was breathing well enough to not suffer more harm than he was already was dealing with.

Darkness fell before the Minerva spotted the Impulse, the Osiris and the Phantom at the Alliance site. The ship landed and quickly afterwards, personnel were on the ground setting up floodlights and securing the area. The ship's doctor and his assistants were off with a gurney and made their way over to where Rey was with Aila next to him. Rey was taken back to the Minerva while setup for the inspection of this site continued. By the time the setup was completed, more ZAFT forces had arrived to reinforce the Minerva, including Chairman Durandal himself who had been transferred to a different ship before the Minerva had set out for here.

The first teams entered the main structure with Athrun and Heero at their head, while Aila and Shinn went kept back on the Minerva with Rey to get checked over. Aila was given a clean bill of health ahead of Shinn and she instantly went and joined those looking the site over and searching for traps left by the Alliance. The initial investigation took hours to search from top to bottom and disarm and remove the explosives and other ideas left behind by the Alliance. It quickly became clear that those that had been here, had put forth effort to make things hard if not fatal for any that should come after them. It was also obvious that the Alliance was trying to hide something, for they had cleaned this place of certain things, data being one of the main ones. But, something had forced the Alliance to leave before doing a thorough cleaning, what had happened was unknown.

Shinn worried about Rey, for his reaction had come after seeing the large room with medical equipment didn't make sense to him. The Minerva's doctor was saying how the captain was being careless sending the three pilots to an unknown Alliance facility with the information that there was. Shinn would have argued, telling the doctor that Aila, Rey and he had looked around hard before entering the main building. Aila had even told them to be on guard and they had been proceeding cautiously, so there was something to be said with that. Yet, before Shinn could give a defense, Rey woke up in the bed he had been placed when brought back onboard, saying that he was fine and thanking the doctor and nurses for their hard work.

Once the complex was deemed safe enough, both from traps and biological dangers, it was reported to Talia as she had been made the head of this operation by the Chairman. The report was appreciated, but it also left the question of what had triggered the condition that had affected Rey. Talia and Arthur entered the complex and the stench of rotting flesh hit them both as they continued forward. The two met up with Athrun who had a respirator on, further inside and upon seeing them, reached into a pack nearby and drew out two more respirators and offered them to both Talia and Arthur. "The smell is strong, these do help, but they don't fully filter the stench, but it's better than nothing," Athrun stated.

The two took the respirators and put them on and the magnitude of the rotting smell went down a good margin. Talia then faced Athrun, "Doubt I want to know, but what is the source of the rotting smell," asked Talia.

Athrun looked away, "The source is actually two things we're finding, the first is that some of the equipment here has stopped working, and in turn, what the equipment has been preserving has… spoiled I suppose you could say." Athrun paused, before he continued, "The other contributing factor, is that opening the way further into this complex have revealed dead bodies, a growing number of them."

"What do you mean dead bodies Athrun," questioned Arthur.

Athrun didn't answer right away, but he did after some time, "It might make more sense if you see what I'm talking about. However, I warn you, what you will see will sicken and disgust you in ways words don't do well describing."

Athrun motioned for Talia and Arthur to follow him and they did so. As they passed some of the soldiers, both Talia and Arthur noticed that they were all shaken to some degree, which increased the feeling of foreboding. The three came to a stop in front of a large heavy door with soldiers on either side, including Heero Collins. They stepped aside as the door began opening, the stench of rotting dead bodies got a great deal stronger. When the way forward was fully open, Talia and Arthur entered the room and stopped at what was before them. The room itself appeared to be a gathering area of some kind, for there were tables and groups of chairs with them, even if they were strewn around the room. What drew the most attention, were the bodies and the blood stains around them.

Bodies were in several places were around the area, adults were mostly together in groups, whereas the bodies of children were seemed to be in trios mostly. There had been fighting, of what kind and/or reason for it were hard to determine from just looking at the what laid before them. That scene was only the beginning of the horrors that this place contained, the further that those trying to piece together what this complex could be for, the less the desire to know more became. The clear evidence of work and experimentation being done on human beings were hard to see. The images of adults herding children, the bodies of children in tanks hooked up to wires, along with the holding cells. The air of mortification and fear was heavy and very difficult to ignore even for those that had the discipline to normally do so.

The investigation of the place was done in shifts to give breaks in this terrible work, to help handle the physical and mental stress. The effects of the stress were obvious with most, the sights seen inside the complex were traumatic to many. When Athrun was given a break, he went back to the Minerva and sat in his quarters, trying to make some kind of sense to the things he had seen. He had heard a rumor that there were those in the Alliance that would do things that were covered up and this place would definitely qualify for that description. Yet, to do human experimentation and on children no less, that was a low for even the Earth Forces.

However, feeling what he was right now, Athrun recalled a conversation he'd had with Tyler more than a year ago. The reason that the memory was coming up was Tyler had appeared and acted very unlike his usual self. At the time, Tyler had appeared extremely haggard and sickened and he had been somewhat despondent, like Athrun felt like now. Tyler had said something to the effect of he had just gotten off a hard assignment but have given no addition detail. Perhaps he knew about something like this, and right now, Athrun could really use someone to talk to about what he had seen.

That in mind, Athrun asked for a secure channel outbound and used the information that Tyler had given him. A minute later, Tyler's face appeared on the screen Athrun was using, " _Athrun, this is an unexpected call, what's going on my friend,_ " Tyler asked.

Athrun took a steadying breath, "Tyler, I'm sorry if this is an inconvenient time, but I need someone to talk to right now and I would think you could help me understand some things," he replied.

Tyler didn't answer right away, but did eventually give a reply, "I take it that whatever is going on with you is hard to swallow in some way?" Athrun nodded, "I see. I have the time at the moment to lend a listening ear, so what's happened?"

Athrun gave a summary of some being sent to look over a site that was assumed to have belonged to the Earth Alliance. Something had gone wrong as one of those sent had medical issues, so the Minerva had gone to the site. Upon arrival, the three sent ahead were given medical examinations, others including Athrun entered the complex to search it and make sure it was safe for investigation. The sights Athrun had to see while searching the facilities had been horrible and Athrun had some difficulty recounting them.

Tyler quickly had an expression of pity mixed with anger set on his face and Athrun told him of what he had seen. When Athrun finished he was silent, Tyler exhaled before speaking, " _Athrun, word cannot express how much I wish you hadn't seen any that you had, it is truly mortifying, disgusting and above all, evil._ "

It was as Tyler said that, which had things click in Athrun's mind and a realization came, "You seen a place like I've been describing, haven't you Tyler," Athrun posed.

Tyler didn't answer immediately, but that told more to Athrun than the answer when it came, " _Yes, I have unfortunately been in a place like you've described my friend… a little more than a year ago. And I'll tell you, the images that have been burned into your mind, you can't get rid of them, I've tried and haven't been able to._ "

Athrun then asked the question that had been bouncing around his head, "What is such a place even used for?"

Again, Tyler was silent for a moment, " _There are things I can tell you that you can repeat to others, but there is also thing I could say that you'll have to keep to yourself Athrun, understand that,_ " he stated before pausing as if to gather his thoughts. " _I imagine you recognized equipment that is used for… work on human beings for medical purposes normally. That should've been your first clue that the place did human experimentation, which by law of all the factions is illegal if it isn't to save a life and guideline on that are pretty specific._ "

Yes, the equipment Athrun had seen had given the impression that human experimentation could be done among other things. Nonetheless, that didn't explain the bodies that had clearly killed by bullets. Tyler kept going, " _However, it's not like there aren't those who think themselves above the rules and law set, we both know that._ " Athrun nodded in agreement as the statement was true, " _Honestly, the place it sounds like you found was used for altering humans, natural-types pretty much so that they are able to fight on par with your average Coordinator soldier._ "

That revelation from Tyler shocked Athrun for a moment, more for the implications rather than the fact stated. It would mean that the children had likely been the subjects of such work, "Tye," Athrun started.

Yet Tyler cut over him, " _I know is can sound crazy, but there is proof of this already. Heck, you, Kira and I have encountered and fought a few of those that came from these kinds of places. As an example, and you are not to go talking about this in much detail, you remember those three sisters we met around April of last year?_ "

Athrun thought for a moment about the question and did recall meeting three girls that appeared to be a little more than a year apart in age. "You mean the three… Galena Sisters I think they called themselves," Athrun inquired.

" _Yep, they are who I refer to, they came from such a place. I'm not the fondest of admitting it, two out of those three just about did me in for good during the Battle of the Republic, since they are the ones that were piloting those custom Alliance mobile suits,_ " Tyler shot back. That nagged at Athrun, those three girls had seemed to him like normal girls you might find anywhere at the time. Still, Tyler continued, " _I'm aware it doesn't seem like they're capable of such, but they are. The reason they are so normal looking now, as I understand it, would be that they and others like them that are found are sent to be treated and stabilized at a place which I can't actually tell you where it is. It's a deal that was made for some that used to make kids into living weapons during the previous war or something along those lines. That's kept hush hush, but for most I've met that come from laboratories such as the one you found are not at fault themselves. Those that alter them do some really messed up and horrible things to them to get what those funding such want apparently._ "

 **-Line Break-**

Heaven's Base, Greenland

The aircraft that Neo and the others had escaped with, had gotten a view of the Eurasian base in flames and smoke rising from the ruins as they left. The three Gundam-type mobile suits had been efficiently bringing the destruction of the base. With how efficient the machines were doing the job, Neo wondered if they were like or similar to Stella, Sting and Auel. Stella had been restrained for the whole trip, as she was still resisting Alliance personnel that came near her. The line she kept repeating was that she wanted to go back to 'Shangri-La', which Neo guessed was where she had been. What had happened to her there, Neo couldn't say, he had tried to ask her, but honestly, her response was the same, she wanted to go back. It was clear that this Shangri-La, had some sort of effect on Stella, and one she had responded well to and wanted. But, her recall was out of his hands, she had been called for and she was to be brought for whatever it was that she was needed for.

Neo looked out the window down at their destination as the aircraft he was on swung around to begin its approach to the current Earth Alliance headquarters. Heaven's base was surrounded by mountains on the west and to the north, while there are snowfields to the south and the sea to the east. It had snow most of the time, but there were also means to keep the snow and cold from interfering with the operation of the base. The aircraft Neo was in touched down on a runway brought Neo out of his thoughts about how close things had been with leaving the Eurasian Federation base near the Republic's border.

Stella was taken off to be 'treated' and reconditioned, to fix whatever had been done was what the medical personnel said. What that would entail, Neo couldn't say, and he didn't exactly want to know what was going to be done to Stella. Sting did express that he was worried about her, for a couple of reasons, chiefly that there was clearly changes that shouldn't happen with Extendeds. Stella didn't show signs that she had undergone maintenance for weeks and for Extendeds, that was extremely risky to their health. Yet, Stella didn't have any of the symptoms that come from lack of maintenance, which was pretty much unheard of. The reaction she had displayed when hearing her block word was completely different from before, it didn't 'disable' her like it was supposed to.

Stella was taken to a lab here, while Auel and Sting were taken elsewhere to get the maintenance they needed. While the three were getting work done on them, Neo took the time to catch up on what had been happening in the Alliance's efforts in the war. To say that the Alliance was doing not so well in the current conflict, would be a gross understatement in a way that words weren't said in public due to common manners. The Earth Alliance was not losing just yet, but they certainly weren't winning against ZAFT and definitely not against the Federation's military. ZAFT was holding the Alliance off and forcing them into the defensive, and the Alliance's attempts to change that hadn't yielded the desired results. The fight against the Federation and to have them 'fall into line' were failures each and every one of them. Each loss to the Federation, seemed to make them stronger in the next encounter, or at least they became more efficient at forcing the Earth Forces back.

Honestly, it would take something close to or equal to a miracle to reverse and have momentum going the Alliance's way. The real risk of the Federation and ZAFT getting together in an Alliance was becoming more a possibility with every skirmish. If they did work together, then the Alliance hadn't a prayer of winning the war, the only thing that could be seen as mercy if the two other factions allying, was that they would be quick to finish things and feel generous. There was also rumors that some of the leaders of the Alliance were having second thoughts about the war, and it was hard to blame them thinking that way with how things had been going.

Neo was 'treated' to a lecture from Lord Djibril personally, which was rare, about the work he had been doing. The lecture wasn't nice, as it was pretty much having his failures pointed out and no one likes that, nor did Neo. He was not given a chance to put forth a defense for what had resulted from his efforts. Although, Djibril wasn't yelling, simply saying that the Minerva had been too much for Neo to handle, but Neo would be given another chance since his record before now had been a shining example of success. He would be given the newest mobile suit developed by Logos, so he could deliver and observe its performance, the GFAS-X1 Destroy Gundam.

Stella Loussier was to be the suit's pilot as a natural human couldn't handle working with the machine and a Coordinator would never be used as it would be an insult. So, an Extended fit the need, really only an enhanced human could pilot the Destroy Gundam.

Neo was briefed upon what the Destroy was to do, and it took effort to keep his mouth shut when he was told the machine's purpose. In 'simple terms', the Destroy Gundam was to cause destruction across the Euros Coalition and put large amounts of fear into the leaders of the Human Federation, the goal was to get them to do what the Alliance or rather members of Logos and Blue Cosmos told them to and go on from there. Neo wasn't sure about this assignment, true it could work out the way it was being explained to him. However, it was just as likely if not more so, that the Federation would take down the Destroy Gundam and then turn what they still had at the Alliance. Granted, until he saw the Destroy Gundam, Neo couldn't be sure, but powerful as it could be, the Federation's military would probably find a way to take it down, it was a matter of time.

Hypothetically speaking, if the Federation sent most if not all they would have at the Alliance, the toll would be high and that was putting it mildly. If the Earth Forces survived, then ZAFT could wipe what was left. So, the plan to use the Destroy Gundam, was a serious gamble with extremely high risk with potential marginal gains. And while Neo was known for making a gutsy gamble from time to time, and this plan likely authored by Djibril was one that he wouldn't seriously consider this idea. There were just too many points that could cause this idea to fail and far too many unknown factors. Neo had learned from observing others and personal experience that making assumptions about things was asking for trouble.

While the final adjustments and preparation were being made with the Destroy Gundam and the planned operation for the giant mobile suit, Neo took the time to go over the details of the operation. The Destroy Gundam wouldn't be alone in the destructive trek across the Euros Coalition, it would be supported by Windams along the way. The specs for the Destroy Gundam did give the impression that the machine would give any that would attack it serious issues if not just destroy them. The arsenal the unit had was no joke nor small in any way with six heavy beam cannons, twenty-two non-heavy beam guns just to name a few.

Then there was the matter of Stella, according to the doctors that had examined her, she shouldn't be functioning effectively at all. None of the medical personnel could even say what had actually been done to her. Such news hadn't been pleasing to the higher ups, especially when it was said that her performance had drop slightly. Personally, Neo thought that Stella seemed fine other than resisting Alliance personnel, in fact, she appeared more stable overall than before. From experience, stability was more preferred over extremely high performance as such was more reliable more often than the other, but that wasn't his call to make.

To bring Stella's performance back up to the level it had been before, she underwent reconditioning. Again, Neo didn't ask what that involved, but the cries from Stella didn't give good impressions to what was going into the idea. A part of Neo urged him to stop the process, a part of him that made itself heard from time to time. Normally, the part of him would be fairly simple to ignore with his military discipline, but in this instance, it was harder to refuse the urge. Neo had thought it was a sense of justice or honor, but at a time like this, he wasn't as sure about that. This part of himself, really made him question what he was doing and who he was on a level that little else did.

The first view of the mobile suit that Neo got of the Destroy Gundam, caused him pause for a few reasons. The first of a number of points was the sheer size of the machine, for it wasn't around the average or expected size of a mobile suit. It was around three times larger than other mobile suits, it could probably crush other mobile suits under its feet. It had features that were common with Gundam-type mobile suits besides the backpack it had attached. The machine shouted 'weapon of mass destruction' with every part of its body, not just by the weapons equipped. The Destroy Gundam itself, was classified as a transformable mobile suit, and would launch in its mobile armor mode, which hovered over the ground at low altitudes through the use of thrusters mounted in its backpack. It could transform into MS mode by rotating its lower half 180 degrees, lowering the arms and flipping the backpack to the back.

Its designation, "GFAS-X", stands for "Gressorial Fortress Armament Strategic - EXperimental". However, despite the suit's large size, the Destroy Gundam required only a single pilot unlike the mobile suit models that it was developed from, such as the Gells-Ghe. Stella Loussier was determined to be the most compatible for the first Destroy unit and so, was chosen to be the pilot.

For its complete arsenal, on the main body there were a couple of weapons, but most were on the backpack section and arms. The main body weapons consisted of the head-mounted 200mm energy cannon and four 75mm CIWS, three chest-mounted 1580mm multi-phase energy cannons. Both arms could detach, and each were equipped with a beam cannon and 5-barrel hand beam guns. The detachable arms also function like DRAGOON pods, thus allowing the suit to attack its target at any range, regardless of obstacles standing in the way. The suit's backpack was equipped with three sets of weapons, including the two twin barrel high-energy beam cannons, the twenty thermal plasma composite cannons mounted around the backpack's outsides circumference, and the four 6-tube multipurpose missile launchers. Besides the vast arsenal of offensive weaponry, the Destroy still had the three positron reflectors for defense, mounted on the arms and the forward part of the backpack.

Once the final preparations for the operation that involved the Destroy Gundam were finished, those that would participate readied themselves to go. Yet, before leaving, Neo went to those that managed the mainframe and when he found the head of that task he got down to the beef he had. "Listen, when the Destroy is transported away from here, you need to remove the data on it from the mainframe completely and leave no trace. It needs to happen before the start of the upcoming operation, it will be too late if you do it later," Neo said firmly.

Neo would have gone on in enforcing the reasoning as to why what he was saying needed to happen, but the base's head came into view, "Roanoke, trying to arrange things are you," said the base commander.

The one that Neo had been talking to slipped away and Neo faced the base's commander, "Arranging sir? I can't say I know what you mean, I was merely suggesting a wise course of action, that's all," Neo replied.

The base's commander came to a stop in front of Neo, "I've read portions of your record Roanoke, your performance and drive to get results is something else and I can respect that. However, your habit of stepping on the feet of others above you or going around them is just as well-stated and recorded. You are not in command here Roanoke, so if you have a suggestion to give, do it through the proper channels."

Neo held in the sigh of frustration, as he went around high-ranking officers as many of them did nothing until it was too late! "Very well sir, I was suggesting to those that manage this base's mainframe, that any data on the GFAS-X1 Destroy be removed before the operation begins," Neo said.

The base's commander folded his arms, "And what is your logic in suggesting that Roanoke?"

"Because sir, when the Destroy begins making its path towards Paris, I guarantee that the Federation's military will do serious digging into finding any information they can get on it. Should they acquire specs on it, they will exploit every weakness the Destroy has to take it down. Hence the reason I'm saying to remove data from the mainframe, for this will be the first place they will come digging," Neo explained.

Neo expected the base commander to scoff or even laugh at his logic, though it was true and proven over and over. Yet, the man did neither, "I'll admit that you have a point with the Federation coming looking for information on the Destroy Roanoke. Nevertheless, this base's security on its systems are being prepared as we speak for such a thing. So, while your concerns are appreciated, they are not needed," the man answered.

"Sir, the same was said about JOSH-A in Alaska, and the Earth Forces have been paying for that the rest of the previous war and years after that. If the information is in anyway accessible, they find a way to get it, that's why it needs to be removed from the mainframe," Neo shot back.

The base commander was silent for a moment, "Your suggestion will be taken into consideration Roanoke. Now, I believe that you have a transport to catch or you will be left behind captain."

Neo knew that he had done as much as he could in this, now he could only hope that someone would do what he suggested. The Destroy along with Neo, Sting, Auel and their machines were shortly transported to an Earth Forces base in the Eurasian Federation. They were all loaded onto a new land battleship that had been built during the time between the previous war and the current conflict. The Hannibal-class looked much like a giant tank with four large tank-like tracks and a large dome in the center for large mobile armors. The ground battleship was design to function as a carrier on Earth when not close to the sea for the Earth Forces.

The Hannibal-class Bonaparte sailed across the Eurasian Federation without much of a hassle. Doctors were keeping a close eye on Stella, for whatever they had done had come at a price according to them. The change that had happened in Stella was starker than how she had been before being captured during the assault on Asgard. She was clearly scared of most things around her and that fear was being used to get her to do what she was told. Neo felt bad at using the same fear that had been instilled along with the trust Stella still showed she had in Neo.

Upon approaching the border between the Eurasian Federation and the Euros Coalition, the Destroy Gundam was deployed. The first city in Federation territory was taken by surprise by the Destroy and the Windams. There was minor resistance, which was beaten back quickly and the Alliance group kept going forward. The eventual target/destination was to be Paris, the capitol of the Euros Coalition. The mentality was that if its capitol fell, the rest of the Euros Coalition would follow shortly thereafter. Neo knew better than to believe that this operation would be so simple or easy. It may be going well now, but it wouldn't be for long, the Federation's military would keep fighting back and the longer this went on, the more Neo and the those with him would have to fight against.

The Destroy Gundam quickly showed that it was a war machine that could raze a city on its own and repel assaults against it. The positron reflectors it had combined were able to protect the mobile suit from attacks from most ranges. Between the reflectors, CIWS guns and its arsenal, approaching the Destroy was very difficult. The Destroy and those with it continued onward into the Euros Coalition, carving a path of destruction as they drew closer to Paris. Around each city they passed, they met resistance in the form of Federation's military forces, and the size of the defending force grew with each settlement. However, the counter offensives merely slowed the progress of the Destroy Gundam and not stop it completely.

 **-Line Break-**

Luna Base, Moon

When the news of an unknown giant mobile suit starting a path of destruction from the border between the Eurasian Federation and the Euros Coalition, work to stop the attack started. That involved more than those fighting against the unknown machine, but also groups attempting to minimize the number of people in the projected path of the giant mobile armor. Those at Luna Base were scrambling to try and supply information for those fighting the giant mobile weapon. The first place information gathering was done, was the Alliance's headquarters at Heaven's Base. The security merely delayed those hacking the system, once inside the base's mainframe, it took just a few minutes to find specs on the giant machine slaughtering people. The specs were copied and examined for anything that could assist those fighting and giving their lives.

Even Andrew and Lacus were trying to do what they could to help after hearing about the unexpected attack. This move may seem to be coming out of nowhere, but there were some clear facts that pointed to a group that wasn't the Earth Forces doing this. The question that was unanswered was why this action was being done at all, there was little benefit that would result for any that made much if any sense.

After some examination, potential flaws and weaknesses were found and that information was sent to Earth in the hope of assisting with stopping this rampaging machine. The alarming point discovered, the giant mobile suit was powered by a nuclear reactor for a power source. That fact alone would make dealing with the mobile suit more difficult and its arsenal made things hard enough. Then, the death toll was already climbing, and it was doing so at a heart wrenching and staggering rate. Those that had hacked into Heaven's Base got back to work to perhaps find more information that could explain why this event was happening.

 **-Line Break-**

The Destroy kept making its way towards Paris, only slowing somewhat around cities and pretty much razing the city, along with resupplying when needed. It was when the Destroy Gundam reached the eastern outskirts of the city of Berlin when it and the Alliance Windams were brought to a halt. The force they met at Berlin was the largest thus far and the Windams were hard pressed to follow the Destroy Gundam. The Destroy was using its weapons to try to mow down those that were in its way, but this force was better at not getting hit than those that had tried to stop the Destroy before.

Inhabitance of Berlin were being evacuated as fast as possible, but with the Destroy was making the task extremely difficult. The Destroy Gundam was taking out Federation mobile suits, but their numbers didn't seem to be going down as quickly as predicted. Neo himself, had to admit being impressed with the efforts of the Federation Military forces, they were having little success and were dying in high numbers, but that apparently wasn't deterring them. But the fact was the Destroy had been halted and the longer that was the case the riskier this operation would become. Neo didn't kid himself, the Federation would somehow find information on the Destroy Gundam and they would then use that to handle the mobile suit, it really was only a matter of time.

After a period of time, the Destroy managed to make some progress forward, but the momentum didn't last long. Reinforcements began arriving for the Federation, the first were ZAFT forces from their Gibraltar Base. They were shortly followed by Federation forces coming from multiple directions, stopping the Destroy's progress and bringing it to a complete halt again. Within a period of less than half an hour, the defending forces had increased by double what it had been when the Destroy reached the city. The Destroy didn't take extensive damage from those obstructing it, though many were trying.

Yet, with the state Stella was put in by those at Heaven's Base, she saw all the approaching mobile suits as frightening monsters. That in mind, Stella was shooting down any that got close to her, she could think of little else due to the adjustments made to her. In that task, Stella was utilizing the Destroy's full arsenal to great effect, as seen by the destruction produced around it. The positron reflectors would be activated to block incoming beams and other weapons, thus the Destroy still stood, and moved forward at a pace that even a snail could match. The city of Berlin was suffering from the battle, structures taking damage and collapsing, the people that lived in the city were running for cover, many not making it to any before they died from the effects of the battle.

 **-Line Break-**

The Normandy had headed out from Rome to assist in the western Pacific Ocean with deterring Alliance activity. However, when the news of the group rampaging across the Euros Coalition came, the Normandy turned around and sped back towards the Coalition. The information that was coming in as the Normandy traveled towards where the 'giant monstrous machine' was causing destruction, the reports were not encouraging in any way. The mounting death toll was horrible and getting more so with the more that came in about the group that was carving a path to wherever they were. The group would be brought to a stop at the city of Berlin, which the Normandy headed for at high speed.

The view of the battle was hard to see, flames were burning from ruins, the smoke rising acting as a marker from a great distance. The destruction silhouetting a large form, around three times large than an average mobile suit. The figure was assumed to be the giant machine that had been sighted and described in the reports thus far. The Normandy came to the surface of the water, launching its three Excel fighters and the Aurora Gundam. Not too far behind the Normandy, the Archangel appeared as well and sent out its own mobile suits. The Freedom, the Strike Rogue along with the custom Excel fighter and some of Orb's MVF-M11C Murasame suits zoomed towards the battle. Then both ships came out of the water after sending out their mobile suits to join the other defenders in this battle.

It became clear to those just jumping in to the event, that the giant mobile armor had other Earth Forces Windams with it to help protect it from any that tried to execute close-quarters attacks and strikes from behind. The only reason that those Windams weren't being shot down and focus turned on the large machine, was the giant's arsenal was making that a much more difficult task to accomplish. The weapons that were the real issue were the plasma cannons mounted on the sides of the dish structure at the top of the mobile armor, making approaching the suit pretty much suicidal. Being in front of the giant was slightly worse as that's where the heavy cannons were pointed and those caught in their path didn't usually survive.

Things were not looking very good, the unknown and the Windams with it had been brought to a halt, but not disabled. The casualties were mounting at an alarming rate and that didn't look like it would change very soon as things stood. Reinforcements were being scrambled from Asgard, but they would take time to arrive and time was not on the side of the Federation. Then there was a shift in the fight as ZAFT forces started appearing on the field assisting the Federation forces. A lot of the ZAFT force was from their Gibraltar Base, but there were others from places other than Gibraltar, including the Minerva.

Talia was shocked and even angry to see the destruction unfolding before them, for the scale was massive and horrifying. The scene wasn't enough to rob her of her mental facilities, and she ordered her crew to Condition Red and the Minerva's pilots to get to their mobile suits. Shortly after arriving on the field, the Saviour and Osiris launched from the side catapults. They were followed by Heero's black custom ZAKU Phantom and Heine's GOUF Ignite, then Luna's red ZAKU and Rey's white ZAKU Phantom. The Impulse shot out of its catapult and combined into the Force Impulse then joined the other machines from the Minerva.

The sheer destruction the battle had and was bringing was staggering to the ZAFT forces joining in. This was easily one of the harshest battles in the ongoing war thus far, mostly from the death toll that was mounting, both those involved and those not. The giant mobile suit was clearly well-armed and didn't seem to be worried about running low or out of power anytime soon. Then, the Windams with the giant machine were doing a fair job at keeping Federation suits at enough of a distance to keep them in the range of the weapons of the giant machine.

The Gundam-type mobile suits headed to different areas of the battlefield to be more effective. The Aurora headed straight for the giant mobile armor and was joined by the Impulse and other ZAFT and Federation machines. Tyler knew that things in this fight would improve when the large mobile weapon was disabled and/or taken down, even if a little. For Shinn, seeing the people below running away in fear reminded and brought back memories of when the Alliance had attacked Orb during the First Alliance-PLANT War. He had never forgotten the fear he had felt back then, nor the gratitude to those that had defended him and his family. He did not wish for any to feel what he had back then.

Cagalli in the Strike Rogue went towards the Windams with the giant machine, with her were the Murasames. Athrun joined the group with Cagalli, for a few reasons, though he wasn't sure if Cagalli was piloting the Strike Rogue, but he suspected that she was. Cagalli was in pain seeing the destruction all around, along with the people that were dying in the crossfire. It also fueled anger in her as events such as these did nothing good, only brought misery and it was that which made no sense! Athrun, even after reenlisting with ZAFT, he knew that battles and what they involved would be things he would see. However, that didn't justify what was being done right here, even with the Alliance doing what they have, this move didn't make logical sense. Yet, the group came against the Chaos before they could get to the Windams and were forced to start fighting the green mobile suit.

Aila, Heero and Heine stayed together and headed towards the Alliance Windams as many were. All three didn't like seeing the battlefield that this city had been made into. War wasn't unknown or uncommon to Aila, Heero or Heine, but this went beyond the price of war, this was massacre and slaughter. The three ended out bumping into the stolen X31S Abyss, who was appearing to be 'enjoying' shooting at the people down below. The three quickly occupied the Abyss and stopped it from killing people on the ground.

The Freedom, and the custom Excel Fighter were joined by the red ZAKU and the white ZAKU Phantom as they also headed for the Windams. The sight of what was being done to this city was painful for Kira and filled him with sorrow. The people that lived here hadn't asked for any of this and many were dying for it right now. Lunamaria was angry as well as sorrowful at the scene that this fight was. True, the people on the ground weren't with the PLANTs, but with the Federation, yet that shouldn't mean that they should be dying for this war. Rey was focused in on the battle and the orders to assist in the efforts to repel this force from here. Cormag was doing much the same as Rey was, but there was pain as his home was within the Euros Coalition.

The Archangel, the Normandy and the Minerva also moved forward supporting their mobile suits from a distance. They were also some of the few ships that could move over land and not bound to the water.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

This whole battle shouldn't be happening in the first place and whoever is responsible for the "bright idea" that brought things to this point will be made to pay at some point! That thought and other similar to it ran through my mind as I took in the death and destruction that was being done all around. I was still making my way closer to the giant mobile armor, since with the addition of ZAFT forces was making the task easier. Others were now keeping the attention of the Windams that had been making getting close to the large machine much harder. There was a white and blue Gundam-type following me now, and I won't say no to extra help right now with how things are.

As shots began to fly from the giant mobile suit, I evaded out of reflex, and I witnessed that some with me were destroyed. That made me angrier, but I reined in my emotions as they would only interfere and get me to be stupid in decision making and that was a very bad idea currently. It was obvious that taking down or even disabling this mobile suit would be a serious challenge. And thinking that there was little that could make this task harder or worse, fate as it does around half of the time, proved me wrong. That came in form of being contacted by Lisa, " _Tyler, new information has come in on that big machine._ "

I was weaving out of the way of beams coming at me as I received the communication, so I was not much in the mood to talk. "Lisa, I'm rather busy with not getting shot down at the moment, this giant mobile armor has a vast arsenal and is showing it off heavily! So, if whatever you got isn't going to help me with that task or getting it to stop, then it can wait," I replied.

" _I can see the machine is making trouble, yet part of the information is specs for that thing, meaning we know the weapons shooting you,_ " Lisa started.

Well, as nice as it is to be able to know what weaponry is being sent in my directions is, that's not what I would call very helpful. "That's nice and everything Lisa, but if that's all you have, then it isn't the most helpful to me right now," I shot back, returning fire against my opponent.

There was a slight pause, " _The main fact that you should know, which you won't appreciate, is what is powering that thing, a nuclear reactor,_ " Lisa told me.

Hearing that caused me to have a double take, "You're telling me that tall and gruesome who's shooting without regard for anyone else has a nuclear reactor onboard Lisa," I asked flatly.

" _Unfortunately, yes,_ " Lisa returned.

I sighed, "Thanks for the info Lisa, I'll keep that in mind," I replied, before closing the com-line.

Knowing that the giant machine had a nuclear reactor powering it, complicated the situation further in several ways. First and most importantly, shooting my opponent right now through the torso would have catastrophic consequences. Second, with nuclear power, this machine would keep going for a while as it had a large power supply. So, the task of handling the big mobile weapon safely, required that its reactor be shut down or drained before the machine is dealt with… great. I suppose that the best course of action forward would be start disarming the thing weapon by weapon.

Before I could get to doing just that, the 'giant mobile armor' shifted parts of itself and changed into a mobile suit. …Things just keep getting better and better, don't they?! The suit raised one of its arms and on the ends of the fingers were beam emitters, which were aimed at myself and my allies. I moved in front of the blue and while ZAFT suit, activating the Aurora's shield's deflector. The beams bounced off my deflector and forced my opponent to bring up their own positron reflectors to block what went back in their direction.

Then, I surged forward, drawing a beam saber, focusing on one of the large vents on the backpack the large mobile suit possessed. My thoughts were that if I could take out enough of the vents I could find, then the hovering that my opponent was doing would be hindered, less mobility, easier target to hit. I did acrobatics to close the distance between me and my opponent aiming for the left side. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught glimpses of the ZAFT Gundam doing much the same as I on the opposite side as I was approaching.

However, the large mobile suit charged the beams on the sides of the backpack then fired forward, forcing my allies and I to break off from our approach. Yet, I was not going to accept nothing for the attempt I made with the lives being put in danger or being lost! I threw the activated beam saber I had, knowing that it would be destroyed regardless if it hit the intended target or not. Nevertheless, even as I dodged the beams aimed at me, I also saw the Aurora's beam saber sail behind the enemy's reflectors which activated a second too late to prevent the saber's flight and penetration of one of the large vents. The vent seconds later exploded, rocking the mobile suit and caused hesitation on the machine's pilot's part.

That moment of hesitation was just what was needed for my allies and I to rush forward and begin our assault. Up close, the positron reflectors didn't help our opponent, the weapons it had still were a constant worry, but the task of disabling this mobile suit became a more doable thing. Less than a minute later, the ZAFT Gundam scored a hit on the vent on the right side, rocking our enemy again. The next thing I registered, the arms of the giant mobile suit detached, telling me that they were like DRAGOON pods. I flew upward and drew the attention of my opponent completely on me, giving an opening for one of my allies to take to get an attack on the cockpit.

To say that evading the arms using the finger beam cannons was hard, was not quite accurate. The combination of the pilot's skill and the weapons being used against me was having me call on piloting skills that I don't use in every battle or regularly. The ZAFT Gundam did take advantage of the opening I had created and got in a clean slash with a beam saber at the lower torso. Once that happened, the arms attacking me returned back to the docks, giving me the chance to back up a bit. I saw that the slash had revealed the cockpit of the giant mobile suit and when I had the optics zoom in to hopefully get some view of the interior of the cockpit.

The view that I got of the pilot inside got me to pause for a moment, for I swear that there was something about the pilot that was familiar. As I continued to gaze at the zoomed in image of the cockpit, the pilot looked up and I got a view of their face. Seeing the face of the girl, it took me a bit to realize that it was the same girl that I had picked up around Asgard and had taken to Shangri-La. How the girl had gotten to be in this giant mobile suit, I couldn't begin to guess since she should be at Shangri-La. What I could see of her expression, Stella… if I recall her name correctly, was terrified to the point that she was unlikely fully coherent if much at all.

The point that to deal with this machine required its reactor to be shutdown came back to my mind. If Stella could calm down enough to stop attacking and cooperate, then this mobile suit could be disable and Stella alive in the end. That outcome is much more preferred than the alternative of her dying along with much of the city's inhabitance in a nuclear explosion. My attention was caught by the ZAFT Gundam readying itself to rush forward and deal a likely devastating blow. I opened a channel that the pilot of that suit would hear, "ZAFT pilot wait, hold on and don't attack yet."

" _What are you talking about?! This is a chance to take down this suit and bring this battle to an end,_ " returned the ZAFT pilot.

The voice sounded younger than mine, the middle of the adolescence age range were I to guess, likely sixteen or seventeen. Not that he didn't have a point, but he was missing the fact of our opponent had a nuclear power source that could potentially detonate and that was to be avoided best as possible. "I doubt that the pilot in that giant machine is doing what she is by choice," I said.

" _Wait, the pilot is a girl,_ " was the reply I heard.

There was a pause, before the sound of a gasp, " _It's her, what is she doing here?_ "

So, the guy knows Stella, that's interesting and everything, and I don't doubt that there is a story to how the two met. However, the current situation is kind of something we shouldn't leave to stew as it is. "How she got inside that cockpit, I can't say, but it's clear that things had been done to her to have the world around her not be as it appears would be my wager. She looks scared to the point that she's close to being out of her mind. If we can calm her down and have her lower that mobile suit's weapons, then there is a chance to get her out alive. Plus, that giant machine has a nuclear reactor in it, and while it is running, then it would be a bad idea to just shoot the machine carelessly. Doing so would have drastic and horrible consequences to those who are close in the air and on the ground," I explained.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The fight against the giant mobile armor to stop it from continuing its rampage was the major task of those defending Berlin, but it was only part of this battle. There were smaller skirmishes around and mostly behind the mobile armor. While Tyler and Shinn had gone straight for the armor along with others joining them along the way, groups formed to go against the Windams, the Chaos and the Abyss.

Cagalli had been aiming for some of the Windams originally, but she and the Murasames with her here brought to a halt by the Chaos getting in their way. The stolen mobile suit began firing its weapons at those from Orb but was shortly forced to evade attacks sent its way. Cagalli scanned around for the one responsible, and she spotted the same machine that Athrun had come to the meeting weeks ago outside Diocuia. She did have the mind to communicate to her allies that the red Gundam-type was not an enemy and to not shoot it down. Athrun made sure not to lose sight of the Chaos, nor underestimate the machine or its pilot as they had proven potentially dangerous. He kept shooting at the Chaos, keeping his opponent on their toes, and he was helped by Orb mobile suits and the Strike Rogue.

Sting quickly found himself in a bad situation that was growing worse the longer he was in it. He was outnumbered by those attacking him, and they were working as a team. When Sting aimed at one of them, they would start moving and Sting would fire one of the Chaos's weapons, but his aim was off as others would force him to dodge. There was also the red mobile suit from the times that he and the Auel were helping Neo pursue the ship he had been chasing. That one was more than just annoying, mostly since the guy had skill and was more than good at piloting. Sting did manage to hold his own for a time while the Destroy Gundam was doing what it was meant to. But then, Stella for some reason stopped firing the arsenal the giant mobile suit possessed.

Sting's situation didn't improve as those fighting him pressed forward against him, forcing him to pay attention to them and not the Destroy Gundam. Nearly two minutes went by, before Sting decided that it would be in his best interest to fallback and retreat. He was outnumbered and outgunned right now by those attacking him and they would overwhelm him given enough time. Sting made contact with the land ship that he had been on during the travel to here, telling them that he was returning.

However, just after Sting broke away from those swarming him, two of the Murasames got above the Chaos and came down shooting at Sting. The Chaos tried to evade, but the third shot from the two mobile suits from above pierced one of the DRAGOON pods, destroying it. The other pod followed, severely cutting down the Chaos's thrusting power, causing Sting to panic and try to fly towards the Bonaparte. Yet, as he went, the Murasame team leader moved up from below and the Saviour did the same from above, both rushing at the Chaos. Sting saw the attacks coming too late and wasn't able to move out of the way when the Saviour used a beam saber and sliced just below the Chaos's head and the Murasame slashed off its legs at the hips.

The three sections of the Chaos fell towards the ground, the legs caught by a beam, while the torso and head dropped into the smoke below and disappearing. The Strike Rogue, the Murasames and the Saviour after seeing the Chaos disappear, moved on to a different part of the battlefield.

At the same time, the Osiris, the GOUF Ignited and the black ZAKU Phantom were going against the Abyss. While doing so, the three were also helping defend the routes the city's inhabitance were using to escape the battle. The Abyss and the three Windams with it weren't making fighting while defending easy at all. Nevertheless, working together; Aila, Heine and Heero managed to take down the three Windams, leaving the Abyss. The stolen ZAFT mobile suit, then took up to shooting at the ground at the fleeing people to get back at its opponents. Aila took up blocking the weapon fire from the Abyss as did Heine, while Heero kept shooting at the Abyss.

The Abyss's pilot quickly became more reckless as their attacks had little to no effect on their intended targets. Things didn't change as time moved on, and Auel was getting more than just frustrated with the unchanging result. No matter the weapon he used, whether beam, projectile or physical blade, none of them could destroy his opponents. The beams were evaded or blocked, the dual cannon couldn't find Auel's targets and score an effective hit, nor could the beam lance ignited or not, cut any of them into pieces. What frustrated Auel the most was the gold machine was one that had escaped destruction before and was doing so again. Failure was not acceptable repeatedly from any that were a part of the Enhanced Human Project, not before or now.

Auel ended out swinging the beam lance at the Osiris and when he had lunged forward with what looked to be a clean puncture. However, at the last moment, a metal whip wrapped around the lance and jerked it off course from hitting the Osiris. Heine took out his suits beam sword and swung at the Abyss, still holding the lance with his slayer whip. Auel dodged and let go of the beam lance since the whip wouldn't release it. Heine threw the Abyss's lance away and continued trying to disable or destroy the Abyss and was joined by Heero, while Aila kept on the defensive.

Auel's anger got the better of him and he became more violent in his attacks on all around them. Aila had her work cut out for her defending those fleeing the destruction and chaos as her allies kept the pressure on the Abyss. The Osiris was blocking and deflecting shots from the Abyss, not noticing the mobile suit quickly closing the distance. Before Aila realized it, the Abyss was in front of her, aiming its multi-phase beam cannon at her. The cannon was charging and there was no way at this point for Aila to get out of the way in time. Yet, Aila was thrown hard to the left in her cockpit and as she looked to what could cause this, she saw Heine's GOUF where the Osiris had just been. The Abyss's multi-phase beam fired and hit the GOUF's shield, before shortly blasting through and going through the torso. The orange GOUF exploded as Aila watched, and the pain that came at seeing the death of a comrade washed over her.

On the other hand, Auel was a bit satisfied to see that he had taken down one of his opponents, but the feeling didn't last very long. The Osiris and the ZAKU Phantom both rushed the Abyss from different directions before Auel got his mind back on task. Next thing Auel knew, his two opponents had gotten close, the Osiris had a beam saber and the Phantom its beam tomahawk. They slashed at the Abyss and Auel thought his opponents had missed, but the shaking that came from behind said otherwise. The Abyss's shoulder binders had been severed from the main body and they dropped towards the ground.

Auel realized that he was losing and if he stayed much longer, he would not return from this fight at all! The Abyss had lost its beam lance and its shoulder binders, which included the dual cannons and the 3-barrel beam cannons, along with the torpedo launchers, more than half of the Abyss's arsenal. So, he figured that it would be best to cut the loss and retreat so that he could live to fight another day.

While that was going on, the Freedom, custom Excel Fighter and the Minerva's other two mobile suits were going against the Windams. The fight was made more arduous as the giant mobile armor was firing at all around it, then the Windams were not easy opponents either. However, the Windams were being worn down by the defenders and then destroyed when they were overwhelmed.

Neo was fending off the combination of the Federation and ZAFT forces defending the city and trying to stop the Destroy Gundam. The defenders were making fighting them and keeping all of them from getting closer to the Destroy a laborious job. The Gundam-type and the custom Federation machine were seemingly more powerful than their allies. Although, the red ZAFT ZAKU and the white Phantom were also adding to the issues that the defenders were making for the Destroy and those with it.

Out of that group, Neo ended out fighting the Freedom and the custom Federation suit switching between the two. Neither pilot of the mobile suits were unskilled, Neo knew that from the data there was on the Freedom and could tell the same was true with the Federation machine. Both seemed to be able to know attacks would come from beforehand and so could evade them with apparent ease.

Neo did kid himself, he had read what information there was on the X10A Freedom after seeing it around the Dardanelles Channel. It was certainly one of the top mobile suits when it had come to power and capabilities during the previous war and still was a machine to be reckoned with. The official records said that the Freedom had been badly damaged or destroyed in the Second Battle of Jachin Due. However, that was clearly either false or some group had built a new one or rebuilt the original Freedom.

The custom Federation fighter was based on the current model they had, which had been proving more difficult to deal with than the ZAFT ZAKUs among other models. This version had two thruster packs, one behind each shoulder attached to the large wings. The high-energy beam rifle and the weapons built into its shield were annoying as they were frustrating to dodge. Also, on both thruster packs' outsides, a pair of beam cannons could swivel and fire at their target. Neo in a short period came to realize that luck played a part in his continuing survival if not a little more than his piloting skill.

Neo just managed to get some distance from the Freedom and threw one of his anti-armor penetrators. The Freedom intercepted the penetrator with its shield but had to throw it away before the penetrating dagger got through. Neo had taken out his beam rifle and would have started firing at the Freedom, but never got the chance. His suit's jet striker was punctured in two separate places, one on either side of the wings that allowed the Windam atmospheric flight. The next thing that Neo knew, the jet striker wing was sliced into three pieces as the Federation machine shot upwards behind Neo himself. It instantly became clear to Neo that he had lost most of his thrust and hovering ability from the last enemy attack. Still, the bad news wasn't done coming his way, as the Freedom then followed its ally up with shooting off his suit's arms. Then, as Neo started falling downward, he knew he had lost in such a way that he couldn't blame any other or deny the fact. Neo's head was bounced around as his Windam was caught by Cormag, and he blacked out from the restraints breaking and his head smacking the forward console.

Kira still had an odd feeling around this custom colored Windam, somewhat familiar and yet different, more with whomever was piloting it than the machine itself. That in mind, Kira asked if Cormag could take it back to the Archangel and the man said he would be back out on the field shortly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The task ahead of calming Stella down was looking to be a tall one, especially with her appearing as terrified as she was. Nonetheless, I believed it was possible and who knows how much the girl has been put through that she didn't ask for or deserve. I stored the Aurora's beam rifle put up my suit's hand showing that I had no weapon to work with in them and then began carefully approaching the large mobile suit's cockpit. As I got closer, I took off my helmet and set it on the forward display, then flipped the switch to have the Aurora's cockpit open and my seat rise upward.

I came into the open air, looking forward towards the gash that had been made in the huge suit. The battle was still going on around us, my allies keeping others from interfering with the attempt to calm the girl down. I still had a communication device to work with, so I connected an open channel, "Stella, my name is Tyler McGregor. We met over a month ago before you were taken to Shangri-La, do you remember that?"

Stella froze and then looked at me, " _Shangri-La,_ " she questioned.

"Yes, the place that you were getting help to be able to live a normal life without violence," I said clearly and slowly so that she understood what I was saying to her. The less confusion she experiences, the less likely she will pick up shooting again.

Stella stared at me for a moment, " _You mean, I can go back there and get away from this scary place,_ " she asked with the tones that made it sound like I was offering her salvation.

I nodded strongly so that she could see the motion, "Yes, all you need to do is have the machine you're in lower its weapons and keep calm."

The huge machine started lowering its weapons and had me sure that I had her convinced to do as I told her. With that being the case, this could be settled shortly and in the better case-scenario. However, suddenly Stella gained an expression of terror and raised weapons up again, " _NO! DON'T COME NEAR ME!_ "

Quickly glancing around for a source for the girl to possibly act like she was, and the only difference I saw was that Kira in the Freedom had come around where I was. "Kira stop stop," I shouted, and my friend came to a halt, "I got this man, I need you to back off steadily and let me handle this Kira, trust me."

" _You sure Tye,_ " asked Kira.

"Yes, I can handle this, go help somewhere else for the time being, I'll explain later," I replied.

Kira backed off and thankfully Stella hadn't fired any weapons, she was frozen where she was, shaking a bit if I was seeing correctly at the moment. I refocused on the scared girl in the machine in front of me, "Calm down Stella," I said evenly to her. "Tell me what is making this place so scary to you, use words, not weapons."

There was a short period of silence, then Stella began speaking, " _There's so many monsters here… there everywhere I look, I'm so scared of dying,_ " she said, her breathing pattern reflecting the fear she was experiencing. " _I was told that destroying the monsters was the only way to make them go away, but no matter how many I shoot at, more appear…_ "

The way she said monsters, it gave me the impression that someone conditioned her to think any that approached her were enemies or 'monsters'. It did explain why the Windams had been staying behind and a distance from this giant mobile suit, otherwise they would get mistaken for enemies. "Stella, listen to my voice, the monsters you're seeing won't hurt you as long as you keep calm. Don't let the fear you're feeling overwhelm you, do that and we can help you get away from these monsters and back to Shangri-La," I assured.

" _That's right Stella, lower the weapons and we'll help you leave this place,_ " the ZAFT pilot said. " _Let us save you so that you don't die, we can help you live safely and happily._ "

The ZAFT pilot and I waited for a bit to see what Stella would do, yet after a short period, the giant mobile suit lowered its weapons fully. I took that to mean that the girl was doing as we had been telling her to do. So, I slowly moved the Aurora forward towards the revealed cockpit, which I can do with the pilot seat up and outside the cockpit itself. Once I had my mobile suit close enough, I had one of the Aurora's hands rise up and give me a path to the huge suit's cockpit and switch the Aurora to autopilot to keep it where it was.

The restraints that held my pilot suit to the seat released and I rose carefully to maintain my balance, for it was a LONG way to ground below. I jumped to the Aurora's hand and then leapt the moderate distance to where the gash the other Gundam had made in the lower torso. I smile a bit when I looked at Stella, trying to show her that there was little to worry about and I certainly wasn't a danger to her. Seeing that she was secured into the pilot seat by normal restraints, I moved forward slowly so not to startle her. "Okay Stella, nothing to worry about, I'll get you out of here and then we can get you back to Shangri-La and this nightmare can end," I remarked.

I took out a knife and cut the restraints holding Stella in the seat and then took her hands and helped her get up. However, before I could get her and myself back to the Aurora and away from here, beams began zipping past my mobile suit too closely for comfort. In fact, I had to send remote commands to the Aurora and move out of the way of the beams that whizzed by. That still left Stella and I with the issue of not having a way to leave where we were, then I got a glimpse of the ZAFT Gundam and an idea. It would be best for Stella to get away from this huge machine, but there was still the need of shutting down the giant's power source.

I activated my com-unit, "ZAFT pilot, I need you to come close to the cockpit of the giant mobile suit. I had to move my machine to not get hit, but Stella here still needs a ride," I stated.

The response I received, was that white and blue Gundam to come and hover in front of the where Stella and I were. A hatch opened in the torso, revealing the cockpit of the mobile suit and the red suited pilot inside. The pilot then got out of his seat and stretched an arm out towards the girl, "Stella, come here, I'll help you get down and get help, everything will be okay," he said.

"Shinn," questioned Stella.

So, these two have met somewhere before now, the plot thickens, I wonder what there could be between these two teens. Yet, as there is a battle raging around us, there is not the time for them to have a reunion or catchup time right now. I gently pushed Stella towards this 'Shinn', "Go with him Stella, I believe he will keep you safe. I promise that you will get to go back to Shangri-La and I don't make promises that I don't fully intend to keep."

Stella did as I said to and climbed into the cockpit of the ZAFT Gundam, but before the hatch closed, Shinn glanced at me, "What will you do?"

I waved the teen to go, "There is one more job to be done, this machine's power source needs to be shut down before this mobile suit is taken down. Just focus on keeping Stella safe and not being shot down, we are still on a battlefield after all," I replied.

The kid nodded and then shut the cockpit and moved away from the giant mobile suit, leaving me where I was. I activated the Aurora's stealth system remotely, before I reentered the cockpit of the huge machine. I was just about to get down to the process of safely shutting down the nuclear reactor on this thing, but the second I sat in the pilot seat, weapon fire came in my direction and I was forced to deploy the giant's positron reflectors. The need of attention to get off of me was obvious to me, the question was how do I do that? I rapidly figured that help was the best option to go with that may give me the time to get this machine's reactor to turn off.

I used my com-unit and opened a channel, "This is Captain Tyler McGregor, I need some cover for a bit from anyone that is able," I stated.

The rain of beams and projectiles didn't let up immediately, so I couldn't drop the reflectors and I needed to have the least amount running with this suit to disable the nuclear reactor. Then a short period past, and the barrage lessened enough for me to look up to see what was going on. In front of me was the red ZAFT Gundam that Athrun used to get to the meeting that happened recently. Along with that mobile suit, was the Freedom, both working to keep weapons to be fired in my direction.

" _Tye, we'll distract those firing on this thing, so get out of it quick,_ " Athrun said to me over the radio.

"I will leave in a minute or two, I need to shut off the powerplant this thing has first," I returned.

" _What are you talking about, just get out of there,_ " Kira interjected.

I sighed, "While this machine's reactor is still up and running, I can't do that. As long as this suit's nuclear reactor is active, there is too much a risk of it detonating from being punctured by a beam or projectile," I stated firmly.

" _Wait, that giant mobile suit is powered by a nuclear reactor,_ " uttered Athrun.

"Yep, I'm not happy about it either, that's why I'm in the cockpit of this thing, so I can shut the reactor off. So, if you two could buy me a little time, it would be ever so appreciated," I replied as I got down to the task I was here to do.

Let me tell you, shutting down the nuclear reactor was going to be no small task, the designers made sure of that. Diving into the mobile suit's operating system required me to employ my hacking skills and so did getting to the programs that controlled the reactor. But I managed to get to what I needed, and it took me about a minute to get through the process of a reactor shutdown. With the nuclear reactor turned off, the mobile suit stopped and stood like a statue, all its weapons returning to inactive positions.

I didn't waste any more time, I clambered out of the cockpit, sending commands to the Aurora to come to hover in front of this machine's torso. I had the Aurora move a hand to close the gap and make it less likely that I fall to the ground and my death. Leaping to my mobile suit's hand first, then getting back to my pilot seat, I sat back in my seat and felt the restraint system lock my suit in. My seat lowered into the cockpit and the hatch slid into place and I focused back on the ongoing fight. I did thank my two best friends for their help, since they had been keeping unwanted attention off of me.

The first order of business in my view, take down the giant mobile suit/armor that had been razing the city and killing people en mass. I brought the Aurora's plasma cannons out, charged them up and aimed for the beam cannon emitters in the upper torso. I opened a communication channel for all to hear, "Attention all defenders of Berlin, the giant machine has been neutralized from a dangerous detonation, let the shots fly!"

After saying that, I fired my plasma cannons and was satisfied to see the beams make neat holes in the giant mobile suit. My shots were soon followed by others that quickly peppered the huge machine along with my continued weapon fire. It didn't take long before the giant mobile suit to lose parts and then toppled over and crashed down to the ground.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Heaven's Base

Lord Djibril was not pleased at the feeds of the operation that the Destroy Gundam was involved in. Things had been going so well, everything was going according to plan as they should be for a change. The Destroy was beautifully showing off its destructive power and that it could grasp victory even over the "Mighty Federation". Even his colleagues were impressed by the machine's performance and were not telling him how his plans were stupid and worthless. And Djibril was basking in the praise he was receiving and feeling things were going their way at last. With the Destroy Gundam and the others that were being finished, the world would come to understand that Coordinators were the parasites they truly were and should be exterminated. Naturals were the rightful leaders of humanity and any that said anything to the contrary, were only fooling themselves. The Destroy would keep others in line or simply wipe them out and rid the world of the foolish ideal that Coordinators were not mistakes that needed to be dealt with.

There were a few of Djibril's colleagues that grumbled about the destruction and the rebuilding that would need to happen later. Djibril ignored them and stated that as the Federation was being forced back for once, this was progress. The current operation that the Destroy Gundam was carving a path to the capitol of the Euros Coalition, would be an example and lesson. Wherever there were Coordinators free and treated as human beings, destruction would come and change that. Such would be the mentality that would deal with the problem that all Coordinators posed, not just ZAFT but also those within the Human Federation.

The momentum the Destroy created kept going for a couple of cities that it razed, no one seemed to be able to stop the machine. That was one of the point of the Destroy's design, it could overwhelm and eliminate anything in its path and little could do anything about that. Granted, the price for such capabilities was the pilot couldn't be a Natural-Type human, but the Extendeds could handle the job, so it wasn't much of an issue. So, Djibril was proud to see what the feeds were showing and was enjoying the show itself. To him, this was poetic justice served up to the leaders of the Human Federation and he believed it was about time they have some sent their way.

However, that changed when the Destroy Gundam reached the city of Berlin, there it was brought to a halt. Djibril saw it more as an annoyance at first, but that morphed into anger and then fury as the Federation's military swarmed the Destroy. Before, they had been simple flies buzzing around the Destroy, but around Berlin, they were having marginal success against the Destroy Gundam somehow. Like before, the Federation somehow seemed to figure out weaknesses of their opponents when they shouldn't have any clue. The quality had thoroughly frustrated Djibril again and again, for it was one that made getting the Federation into line more of a serious issue.

When the toppling of the Destroy Gundam occurred, followed by its destruction, Djibril was having difficulty not losing control. Somehow, the Federation had turned the tables and pulled a victory out of sure defeat that they were being forced to experience. Even ZAFT sticking their noses into this shouldn't have done that, it shouldn't have made much of a difference. Still, the Destroy had been taken down in the end and hadn't managed to reach the Euros Coalition's capitol to rain terror down and scare the Federation into compliance!

 **-Line Break-**

Berlin, Euros Coalition

With the Destroy Gundam down, it was quickly blasted into pieces, and the work to end the fight came swiftly with the Federation and ZAFT forces working together. The majority of the Windams were destroyed or rapidly surrendered, those that didn't ran away the best they could. The land battleship the group had was found and disabled but not destroyed, so they could stand as witnesses against those who were responsible for this destruction. Mobile suits were staggering resupply during the assessment of the damage and death toll went on.

When it came time for Shinn to return to the Minerva, Stella began showing signs that whatever was wrong with her was getting worse. The expression that she had told that she was feeling pain, from what, Shinn couldn't guess, but it worried him. So, when he landed the Impulse in the Minerva and got to the hanger, he helped Stella to the infirmary as he condition was worsening as time went on.

Once Stella was brought to the Minerva's infirmary, the doctors began examining her to try and figure out what was going on. Unfortunately, even with the tests that were done, the Minerva's medical staff couldn't identify what was wrong with Stella other than things were off. In fact, they were baffled by the results of the tests, for the readings for somethings were higher than they should be and there were others that were lower than was normal. That only explained some of what was happening with Stella, there were still parts that none could come up with a way to explain the reactions she was having. The ship doctor told Shinn that he really couldn't think of what could be done for the girl, though they were trying to stabilize her.

Meanwhile, Tyler returned to the Normandy as the cleanup had been going on for the battlefield that Berlin had become. Tyler had lost sight of the blue and white ZAFT suit that had helped him against the giant mobile suit. The reason Tyler worried about not knowing where that machine was located, was that the girl Stella Loussier was onboard. That girl had clearly had things done to her which she needed medical help for by those that had stolen her from Shangri-La. If memory served him right, the ZAFT suit was one of the Minerva's own, which would mean that it likely returned there. The problem with that was ZAFT vessels aren't normally equipped with what's needed to treat any from the Enhanced Human project. That in mind, the sooner that the girl be transferred to the Normandy and taken back to Shangri-La, the better for her. So, Tyler had Doctor Noll and some of the others from the Normandy's medical staff prepare what they needed to transfer Stella to the Normandy as smooth as possible. The Normandy made landfall by the time the needed preparations were completed and with Tyler in the lead, the group left the Normandy and headed for the Minerva.

With things as they were currently, getting onboard the Minerva would be difficult without assistance of a member of the crew preferably. Then Tyler spotted the Saviour heading towards the Minerva and an idea came to his mind. Tyler contacted Athrun while he approached the ship, " _Hey Athrun, sorry for calling you at the moment, but I need a big favor, which is getting me and some others onto the Minerva ASAP,_ " Tyler said.

Athrun was first of all, a tad surprised to hear Tyler's voice, but the tones said he was serious with what he was saying. But the question of what Tyler required getting onto the Minerva wouldn't leave Athrun. "What do you need to do on the Minerva?"

Tyler then gave a short explanation of how the Impulse had likely brought someone back with it. He made a summary of how the Impulse had been helping him against the Destroy Gundam and had taken the pilot as Tyler himself had been unable to at the time. Tyler had lost sight of the Impulse and the logical explanation was that the pilot of the giant mobile suit had been still with the Impulse when it had returned. Tyler mentioned that the pilot was one of those that the Alliance had secretly altered, and such had issues they couldn't change themselves. The Minerva wouldn't have the needed equipment to help the individual and that was why Tyler and those with him needed to get on the Minerva ASAP.

Athrun understood that time was critical in this situation, so after landing on the Minerva, he used his authority as a member of FAITH and ordered that the chief mechanic of the Minerva lower the bottom lift the ship had in its hanger. Once the lift was down, Tyler and those with him got on it and they were shortly brought into the Minerva's hanger.

By the time that Tyler's group came into the hanger, Athrun had gotten out of the Saviour after moving it to a dock and descended to the hanger floor. He saw that Tyler was still in his Federation pilot suit, meaning that he hadn't taken the time to change, which showed how time-sensitive this situation likely was. So, Athrun simply led the way for Tyler and the medical personnel with him to the Minerva's infirmary. By the time the group arrived at the ship's infirmary, Stella's condition was taking a turn in a much less nice direction. She had begun to have bodily convulsion to the point that she was quickly strapped down on the bed she was on.

Doctor Noll seeing the all too familiar symptoms of poorly done, if not botched conditioning, knew things were very bad. "Smith, get a dose of Straton Serum ready," Noll ordered.

The assistant stared at Doctor Noll for a few seconds then nodded and slid the case he had onto a flat surface. While that was being done, Stella was turned over with the help of the ZAFT medical personnel and held her down. A vail and needle was handed to Doctor Noll, who made sure that there was no air in the needle or vail, as she muttered that she couldn't believe she was doing what she was again. The needle was put in around the middle of Stella's neck and the substance was injected into her. It was less than half a minute after the injections that the convulsion began subsiding and Stella became still.

The process of moving Stella to the stretcher so that she could be transferred over to the Normandy to get treatment didn't take all that long. Shinn was still looking worried at the girl as she was being pushed out of the Minerva's infirmary. He couldn't say what it was about Stella that held his attention as much as it did, but his thought kept returning to her. Shinn watched as Stella was wheeled towards the hanger to be taken to a different ship, the one that had apparently descended with the Minerva after the Break the World incident, the Normandy. Shinn was trying to think if there was a possible way that he could accompany Stella to wherever she was going to be taken to.

Captain Gladys was entered the corridor as Shinn made up his mind of what he would attempt to do. "What is going on here," posed Talia.

Tyler and Athrun turned and faced the captain of the Minerva, and they both bowed slightly, "Captain Gladys, nice to see you again. I apologize for coming onboard your ship without asking first, but time was rather critical and so," answered Tyler.

Athrun took up the narrative where Tyler left off, "I had Chief Aves lower the Minerva's vehicle lift to help him and those with him onto the Minerva after he gave a short explanation of the situation."

Tyler took over from Athrun, "The young lady that you might have glimpsed being wheeled towards the hanger, needs medical attention that unfortunately can't be found on the Minerva, no offense intended. So, she is being transferred to the Normandy where she can be helped, nothing to worry about on your part."

Tyler bowed again, "Nice to be on the Minerva, even for a short time, but think I best be on my way," he said then turned and took a few steps towards the hanger.

"Captain, I request permission to accompany the girl to her destination," Shinn stated, taking everyone there by surprise.

There was silence for a minute, but then Tyler spoke, "Captain Gladys, a word in private if you could spare the time."

Talia nodded and led the way towards her quarters, Tyler grabbing Athrun as he followed the woman. Once the three arrived at Talia's quarters, Talia took a seat behind her desk while Tyler and Athrun stood in front of the desk. "I apologize for the outburst from him, I did not foresee that coming from him," Talia said.

"Yes, about this Shinn… uh, can't say I know his last name now that I think about it," Tyler replied, leaving it open to have a name supplied.

"Asuka, his name is Shinn Asuka," Athrun answered.

Tyler nodded, "Right, Shinn Asuka, under normal circumstances, his request would be refused as non-Federation personnel aren't allowed to be on Federation Military vessels. However, there are exceptions to that policy of course, rare as the can be. From a previous observation, Mr. Asuka has a positive effect on the young lady and she needs as many of those as she can get right now." Tyler gazed at Talia, "Which brings me to the question I would ask, what is your honest opinion of Shinn Asuka, that may not be on his service record?"

Talia took time to consider the question about Shinn, for it made her think. Shinn had originally been a ZAKU Warrior pilot and a backup for the Impulse Gundam, but still had shown that he was a hard worker. Aila had recommended him to be the pilot of the Impulse when she had volunteered to take the Osiris, saying he had experience and her choice had been proven a very good one. Talia had to admit, the crew of Minerva had come to depend on Shinn piloting the Impulse in the defense of the ship. "Overall, I would say that he is dependable, perhaps he is still somewhat lacking in experience, but he tries," Talia replied.

Tyler twisted to look at Athrun, "He's been under your command Athrun, anything you care to add?"

"The only other point I can think to add, would be that he does have times that he will sometimes not think his actions through," Athrun said.

Tyler gave Athrun a deadpanned look, "Only sometimes? This Shinn is in his mid-teens is he not? I know that I had times that I was reckless and didn't think things through much at his age, it's part of adolescence. We in this room I would think all know and have experience in such things, don't we?"

Neither Athrun nor Talia answered, for what Tyler had said was true, the teenage years were the ones that many could be reckless and not think actions through. Tyler sighed, "I guess the last thing I would need to know would be where he should be sent to return him to this ship, were he to travel onboard the Normandy," he stated.

"The Minerva will be at ZAFT's Gibraltar Base for the next two or so weeks if no major event comes up," Talia remarked.

Tyler was quiet for a few minutes, considering whether it was worth letting the teen travel on the Normandy. There were a number of policies in the Federation Military that the action would go against and Tyler himself would have to justify with the higher-ups. It was standing policy that non-Federation personnel were not to be onboard a Federation Military vessels unless specific circumstances are present. The list of exceptions wasn't long, nor gave a great deal of loopholes to use, the idea had been made pretty clear. Although in this case, Tyler could pass letting Shinn be on the Normandy as part of a medical emergency.

The real issue was if Shinn Asuka could be trusted to not talk about what he may see. The Federation was well-known for not being open about what it does or why and that hadn't change yet and there was no hint that such would. The internal workings of Federation vessels were not known to those outside of the Federation Military and the leaders preferred it that way for the time being. "Can Mr. Asuka be trusted to keep his mouth shut about things he may see that are not made public," Tyler posed.

"Why would you ask that Mr. McGregor," asked Talia curiously.

Tyler put up his hands, "I don't make the rules or policies, but I'm held to the standard set by them, whether I like it or not. There are things and ideas with Federation vessels that are not public knowledge that are not to become so right now. Being in a military organization, I think you would understand there are things that individuals are not to talk about without permission, this is the same idea," Tyler explained.

It wasn't Talia that answered Tyler's inquiry, but Athrun, "I believe that Shinn can be trusted with information that isn't public."

Tyler nodded slowly, "That's good enough for me. That just leaves permission or denial to the request by the ship's captain. If you grant Mr. Asuka's request, then understand that he will be treated as any other member of a Federation vessel's crew. He will be expected to follow the rules after having them given to him and pull his own weight."

That left Talia with a decision to consider, did she grant Shinn's request to accompany this girl he mentioned and travel onboard the Normandy or not. There were pros and cons to letting Shinn go and telling him that he was to say on the Minerva. If Shinn's request was approved, then it could be a good experience for him that few get. Nevertheless, the teen would also be representing ZAFT on a Federation vessel. The relationship between ZAFT and the Federation's military were fine, but seemingly the smallest things could change relation with factions these days. However, should Talia refuse to grant the request, should there be something that came up, it would be very helpful to have him on hand. Yet, Talia herself had been under officers that weren't inclined to grant requests and she didn't want to be like that with her crew. So, Talia took some time to weigh both sides of the choice and said nothing for a few minutes.

Tyler and Athrun waited for Talia to give her answer to whether Shinn would be permitted to go or not. Finally, Talia exhaled, "I suppose that with the clean up around here taking some time, so it should be okay with me," she admitted.

Tyler hummed, "Sounds good to me," he said, before turning to Athrun, "Tell the kid he's got six minutes to be outside if he wants a ride, otherwise he's got fifteen minutes to be at the east end of the landing area, the other end in essence from here or he misses out. Time is not something that is in abundance right now, so we can't wait too long."

Athrun acknowledged the point and headed off to tell Shinn his request was granted and to get moving. Tyler headed for the hanger and used the vehicle lift to leave the ship and went looking for a working vehicle. Athrun found Shinn in his quarters, looking to be packing some things, it told Athrun that Shinn either thought his request would be granted or he was going to go anyways and ignore orders. Athrun cleared his throat, getting Shinn to look up, "Planning to go somewhere Shinn," he posed.

Shinn looked away, "Uh, maybe, I don't know just yet," he answered unconvincingly.

Athrun smiled a bit, "Well, the captain has acknowledged your request and has approved it," he stated.

Shinn did a double take, "S-She approved me accompanying Stella?"

Athrun nodded, "Yes, and if you hurry off the ship in the next few minutes, then you'll get a ride to the ship you'll be traveling on. Should you miss that, the ship is all the way on the other side of the ship landing area."

At hearing and processing what Athrun had said, Shinn grabbed the bag he had been packing things into and rushed out of his quarters. Along Shinn's way to leave the Minerva, Lunamaria and Rey who had just come back in minutes earlier tried to ask him where he was off to, but Shinn kept going. Athrun came upon the confused Luna and Rey staring the way that Shinn had gone, "I take it that Shinn ran by here then?"

Both Luna and Rey turned to face Athrun, "Where was he going in such a hurry," asked Luna.

"It is my understanding that he brought someone back and that individual was transferred to another ship. Shinn wished to accompany them, and Captain Gladys granted the request," Athrun explained.

Shinn managed to get off the Minerva and was looking around as a jeep type car was driving up to where he was. Tyler looked at Shinn for a moment and simply stared, "Okay, I'll give you that you got a healthy amount of determination kid," he admitted.

"Thank you sir," Shinn replied.

Tyler sighed, "I'm not one for formalities, so are you getting in, or are you walking the whole way," he posed.

Shinn put his bag in the back and took front passenger seat, then Tyler drove in the direction that the Normandy was in. When they got into sight of the vessel, Shinn was in slight awe at seeing the Federation ship up closer than he had been before. Tyler stopped a short distance from the ramp that led into the Normandy's hanger and exited the jeep. Shinn grabbed his bag and followed Tyler up the ramp.

The first sight of the Normandy's hanger was intriguing to Shinn as it was unique and different from the Minerva's own hanger. The rail system in the floor to move around mobile suits looked neat and the imagination of how it worked went through Shinn's mind. Right now, there were four mobile suits, three current Federation fighter models and the red Gundam-type, though it wasn't red with its phase shift deactivated.

As Shinn was looking around the hanger, Tyler asked Chief Volyon to have the ramp retract and close. Then he went over to a console and contacted the bridge, "Lisa, let's get underway. Tell Paris that once we're underwater, he can drive as he likes, he is just to do his best not to be caught doing things that are discouraged."

The Normandy's ramp retracted and was stored before the frigate lifted-off and headed northeast towards the Arctic Ocean.

 **-Line Break-**

The Minerva

Aila and Heero came back to the Minerva when their shift ended and saw the Saviour and the white ZAKU Phantom launching from the ship. Aila was exhausted even with the battle over, it had taken more of a toll than she had thought it would. Having to witness Heine's death had been hard, more so with it having occurred with Heine taking a shot that was meant for herself. The only point that made the matter worse, was Aila would need to inform the captain officially of Heine's fate.

She went looking for Captain Gladys to get the task of stating what happened to Heine over and done with. It didn't take all that long to find her for Aila, when she found her she saluted, "Captain, I have something to inform you of," she stated.

Talia didn't know what to expect from Aila after she said that, but there was a feeling of a bad omen. However, she gestured for Aila to go on, "I regret to inform you that Heine Westenfluss was killed in battle," Aila said.

Talia had to exert effort not to flinch at hearing that Heine Westenfluss had been killed. The loss of one of the pilots the Minerva had was always hoped not to happen even if there was the chance. Aila then gave some detail about the circumstances in which Heine had died in. It was clear that Aila felt that she bore a portion of the blame for Heine's end as he took an attack meant for her. Talia thanked Aila for informing her of what had occurred to Heine even if it was painful it was to her. Before Aila went off to get some sleep, Talia did inform her of the other change there had been, "Also Aila so that you know, for the time being, if the need comes up, then Rey will be piloting the Impulse."

Aila blinked at that, "Alright, and why wouldn't Shinn be doing so captain? Was he injured during the battle," she asked.

Talia shook her head, "No, he brought another back and unfortunately, the ship doctor couldn't do anything for them. The individual was transferred to a different ship and Shinn requested to accompany them to their destination."

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **All righty then, I'll leave off there for this phase and pick it back up in the next phase. There are a few things that I would like to clarify/point out. The first is thing I would like to state, is that there is a reason I had Lacus go to where I did instead of the Eternal, I will reveal that later. Second, there have been some that wanted me to not kill Stella, you're welcome for doing just that, but there is more to why I did, you'll have to wait to learn that. Finally, I have nothing against Heine Westenfluss, his death came as I really don't have much else I can do. However, I had his death mean more I think than what happened to him in canon, so that's just how it will be.**

 **The other thing that I wanted to state a few of the reasons I've taken so long to write this Phase. First and foremost, a serious case of writer's block, the Battle of Berlin was not so bad, it was what came before and after that which caused frustrations. Second, I've been looking for a job, and finally found one recently. For those who have been out of work and no money inflow, you understand what I'm talking about. Lastly, and perhaps the oddest, inspiration for future events have been coming to me during the period of writer's block. Whether that means that upcoming chapters come faster, I have no clue, I hope so, but no promises.**

 **Please keep the reviews coming, they do help me improve my writing and move the story forward. It might not seem like they do, but they do, so write one and tell me what you think. I don't care if there's misspelling as long as I understand what is being implied or said, I value the input. Sorry if it sounds like I'm preaching, it's been rough the last few weeks, just cut me a bit of slack for now. Peace out until the next Phase!**

 **Titanic X**

The groundwork I have laid so far are the start of Logos's downfall, but I'm not going to reveal how I'm planning to do the idea.

 **Just a Crazy-Man**

Glad you like the story so far, it makes the work and time put into it worth it.

 **KakeruPB**

There will be more to what goes down with the Freedom than is done in canon. But that comes over the next few Phase.


	38. Phase 38: Changing Tides

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 38, as I mentioned, most of it was written by the time I finished the previous phase up. My standard disclaimer still applies, enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 38: Changing Tides

March 2nd, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

The aftermath of the Alliance's attack on Berlin and the other cities was fully seen when dawn of the next day came. The real scale of the destruction suffered by Berlin was visible in the light where darkness had covered a good portion before. The approximately three hundred fifty square mile area that the city took up, more than half of that was in ruins. The death toll was increasing by the hour as more bodies were found and estimations between the dead and the missing painted a terrible picture. The cries and screams of sorrow and anger of those morning and calling for loved ones echoed in the air as the cleanup kept going.

ZAFT forces were aiding in the search efforts for the missing alongside the Federation's forces that were here now. The help was not refused at all, not with what had happened, boundaries between the factions were put aside as the work was attended to. There was more than enough to do for even the short period recovery for those that had survived, then the search and attempted identification of the injured and dead kept all busy. Shifts for mobile suit pilots to go out and help in the efforts were hours long, though for most, it seemed longer timewise.

The blanket of snow gave the view of white on the landscape, but the signs of destruction marred any beauty that this land had undergone.

Athrun, who was between sorties currently, could only stare out of a window of the Minerva, trying to wrap his head around the recent event and why it had occurred at all. It made no sense for any within the Earth Forces or the Alliance to have done or caused this destruction or the sorrow that came from it. Rampaging in the Federation's Euros Coalition earned no one much and the backlash would be far worse for whomever was responsible. The death toll alone would motivate the Federation's military to determine who was responsible and then 'take care' of those involved. Some of those that had planned and helped carried this out would have known that and what kind of consequences they would face, so the question was why did they still go through with it?! Were the orchestrators of this tragedy losing their minds, or did they real think that there wouldn't be repercussions from this action?

Nevertheless, what was scaring Athrun more right now, was how things were falling into place to become almost exactly as they were during the latter half of the First Alliance-PLANT War. The fighting wasn't going the exact same, but tragedies that were occurring with little thought were happening as they had before, and it left Athrun fuming. In this recent battle, so many people had been killed, both involved in the battle and not, which included at least one from the Minerva, Heine Westenfluss. According to Aila, Heine had been helping her stop the Alliance mobile suits from killing those fleeing from the fighting, mainly the Abyss. Heine had saved Aila from being taken down by the Abyss but died in the process. He would be honored as a hero for his actions and efforts officially soon enough after the cleanup.

What would come as a result of the attacks on the Euros Coalition were uncertain, but they wouldn't be nice or pretty. The seemingly endless cycle of one group being attacked and then fighting back against those who attacked them was just getting worse. Seeing the evidence brought back to mind the conversation that he had with Chairman Zala, the one he realized that Chairman Zala was not his father any longer. The memory gave a bitter taste in Athrun's mouth and he hoped that things would not go in the same direction that they had been going back then.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Minerva, Talia and Arthur were also gazing out over the view of the ruins of Berlin. Smoke still rose from portions of what was left of the city, there were areas that were nothing by rubble. Talia after a bit couldn't keep silent, "This is beyond appalling, it's monstrous! The Earth Forces as bad as they have been, have committed a new low with this tragedy. Perhaps they have gone mad from how the war has been going and not getting what they want, but this is still inexcusable."

"You're right ma'am. I mean, I know that the Earth Alliance's and the Human Federation's relationship haven't been great, supposedly the worst they have been, but that doesn't explain doing this," Arthur said gesturing at that destruction in front of them.

Talia sighed, "Seeing this brings back to mind what the Chairman said in Diocuia, what are we doing here? Those who wish for freedom and to live in peace but are being oppressed, things are coming full circle to what they were during the previous war. Nothing has really changed since then and why is that," she stated painfully.

"It could be that which I think motivates the Chairman to work as hard as he does," Arthur mused. "The wish to live in harmony, both Coordinators, Naturals and other types of humans is the answer to not repeat the mistakes of the past. So, if there are those who are against that, shouldn't they be eliminated right away and be done with the issues they create? If that doesn't happen, then the end of this war is not even in sight in the near future, if ever."

Talia exhaled, knowing that Arthur wasn't exactly wrong, but the subject was more complicated than that. "You may be right Arthur, but then does that make us so different from those we stand against?"

 **-Line Break-**

The Normandy

The day after starting out from Berlin, Shinn had been able to get over the slight state of awe he had gained upon coming onto the Normandy. The ship itself was quite an interesting design internal and was different than the Minerva's. The Normandy was smaller than the Minerva was, but not by a great deal. There seemed to be little to no wasted space in the Normandy, each area had a purpose it was designed for. Whether this was the standard mentality with the designing of Federation vessels, Shinn couldn't say. But it was clear that planning went into the ship's design both inside and out.

Shinn had been assigned one of the sets of crew quarters, which supported three people rather than two as the Minerva's non-officer quarters did. The one he shared quarters with, was named Luke Lascy, one of the three pilots for the Normandy. The other two pilots according to him were girls, so shared quarters themselves. And after settling in, he managed to find where the infirmary and visited Stella. She was doing better than when she was had been while in the Minerva's infirmary, but she was still in problematic health. Shinn was still worried and wondered what had happened for the girl he had bumped into around Shira to be in a mobile, then to end out like this. He may not know her well, but this girl seemed too nice to be a pilot for a giant mobile armor that had ravaged cities.

While in the infirmary, Shinn did talk to the ship doctor and found out a little more about what could be happening to Stella. She apparently was involved in something called the Enhanced Human Project. From the few details that the Normandy's doctor Maya Noll gave, Shinn was appalled by the idea the project was. He felt sorry for Stella as well, for the things she had likely done weren't her fault, it was her conditioning that she was given that was responsible. By what Shinn was told, Stella had been undergoing 'treatment' to have what work had been done fixed or undone so that she could live a life like any other person could have. The reason that Stella had been in pain was that whatever had been done for reconditioning, had been done poorly or wrong. According to Doctor Noll, the best chance for Stella was to take her to a place called Shangri-La where there with those who could perhaps help her.

When Shinn left the infirmary, he moved the information that he had learned to the back of his mind as he was to receive his assignment of duties today. He was directed to the vice-captain of the Normandy by a member of the crew as they would tell him of his duties while onboard. He didn't know what to exactly expect, the Minerva had been his first ship assignment and the deputy captain Arthur Trine had been an understanding officer that would listen to an explanation. The feeling Shinn had gotten with the members of the Normandy's crew gave the impression that the captain and deputy were liked and trusted, so he was hopeful things would go okay.

Shinn knocked on the door to the vice captain's quarters and was told to come in before the door slid open. He walked in and saw that there was an office setup on the right side of the room and living quarters arrangement on the left. Shinn's attention shifted from taking in the room, to the woman sitting at the desk. Her height was average by what Shinn could tell, along with her mid-length black hair. She was wearing a Federation less formal uniform and was going over what appeared to be paperwork. The woman looked up, "I assume that you are Shinn Asuka correct," she posed.

Shinn snapped to and saluted, "Yes ma'am, reporting for duty," he replied.

The woman put down the papers that she had been looking over, "My name is Lisa Malto, I'm the vice-captain of the Normandy. You've already met the captain," she stated.

Shinn was a bit confused, he didn't recall meeting a person that he would guess was a captain yet. "Um, I don't think I've met the captain of this vessel yet ma'am," he replied.

Lisa sighed, "Yes, Tyler does come off that way more often than not. The one you came onboard with is in fact, the captain of this ship Tyler McGregor, hard as it might be to believe."

That caught Shinn by surprise, the guy that had given him a ride and had been with those that had taken Stella was the captain. The guy hadn't come off as a commanding officer, a potential team lead sure, but not a ship officer. He'd had looked to be somewhat younger than Captain Gladys and she was seen as a young captain compared to others by what Shinn understood. Lisa then regained his attention, "You have been made aware that you will be work while you're on this ship like you would on the vessel you were assigned to in the ZAFT organization."

Shinn nodded, "That point has been mentioned yes," he replied, kind of curious what kind of tasks he would be asked to do. His skill set was in piloting a mobile suit and the things such involved. Shinn did have some general skills as to ship operations from his time in the military academy as it was some of the required courses, but not enough to take a station and be confident in operating it.

Lisa picked up a page and scanned it, "By what ZAFT's military academy records state, you are quite a talented pilot, but also did fairly well with system operation, specifically the search and detection station, is that correct?"

Out of the console stations that were a part of the bridge operation course, search and detection had made the most sense to Shinn. The other stations were understood to be important in the functions they performed, but they were still hard to do for Shinn. He nodded to the question, "Yes, out of bridge stations, search and detection made the most logical sense to me as it was explained."

Lisa acknowledged his answer, "When on duty, that will likely be the station you will fill, we have been somewhat shorthanded in some places and that is one. Don't worry, you'll get pointers and can ask questions if you have them, it's not like you're going to be thrown into a job you know absolutely nothing about."

Shinn nodded, still kind of apprehensive about doing bridge operation but, if that was what he had to do to see Stella to wherever she had to go, then so be it. Shinn's first duty shift came latter that day, and he reported to the Normandy's bridge just before his shift was supposed to start. The bridge itself was different than the Minerva's both in layout, the first notable point being length. There were consoles around the edge of the long room as well as some surrounding the center area. The center area appeared to have two chairs, likely for the captain and the vice-captain towards the back and a display of the ship's status above the center. There was a bit of a hallway that led to what was clearly the helm at the end opposite of the lift to the bridge.

"Ah Shinn, you still had a few minutes before you were due to report for duty," said someone ahead of Shinn himself.

Shinn looked to the speaker and found himself gazing at Tyler McGregor and he remembered what the vice-captain had mentioned about him. He saluted, "I thought it would be good to come a bit early captain," Shinn replied.

Tyler exhaled heavily, "I believe I said before that I'm not one for formalities, I see them more as a hinderance and causes for awkward situations. If you insist on being formal then sir will be acceptable, the only time that I see a reason that I should be referred to as captain, is in serious situations such as combat."

Shinn nodded, "Okay sir."

Tyler pointed to a station on the right side of the edge of the room, "That would be the search and detection station which you will be working at during your shift," he said.

Shinn made his way over to the indicated console where a woman was vacating. She was shorter than Shinn himself by a margin but looked older than Shinn was by a few years. She had shoulder length pink hair and turquoise eyes which he noticed as she bowed to him, "Hello, my name is Feldt Grace, it's nice to meet you," she greeted.

Shinn returned the gesture, "Likewise, my name is Shinn Asuka."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy was traveling towards Shira, taking a route through the Arctic Ocean as there was less traffic normally. That had two major bonuses, first less trouble would possibly come our way and delay us in getting to our destination and two, less likely to be caught doing things that are discouraged, which lets us travel faster. Stella's condition was… not nice and that was putting it mildly, Doctor Noll said something to the effect of the results of a botched reconditioning. In other words, the girl was as much a victim as those she had seen as monsters and killed in response. Knowing that certainly brought on the urge to hunt down the idiot or idiots thought that such was a good idea in any sense and make them suffer. However, that would be a waste at this moment, yet like Muruta Azrael, I await the day such face justice!

Still, the kid Shinn Asuka was interesting to observe, for two reasons. First, he had two different sides he showed, whether he did so knowingly or not. The first side was what was seen while he was 'on-duty', he was focused and dedicated and that was good. The other side was quietly worrying about Stella, which presented itself by the kid going around doing small things multiple times. The second reason was he kind of had me thinking of a mix of how Athrun and Kira were a few years ago during the previous war. The line Talia Gladys had said made sense by the end of the second day, he was dependable and tried, just lacked experience which was expected at his age.

Yet, my hunch that Shinn would have a positive effect on Stella was right on the money, for she had responded well to him. And that girl needed any help regardless of the kind that she could get right now, it would improve her chances of making it through what she was experiencing. Plus, he had helped in providing a break in the duty shifts for Miss Grace and the other that tended to be at the search and detection station. Shinn was clear a good kid, which makes it not so nice that he is involved in this current war.

It was as I switched off with Lisa, that I headed off to the ship's mess hall to grab a bite to eat before getting together with my bed. Nevertheless, upon getting to the mess, I spotted Shinn sitting at a table looking to be deep in thought. I grabbed a tray of food and then went over the table Shinn was at and sat down. Shinn glanced up, "Oh sorry sir, I didn't see you come up," he said.

I waved a hand, "Don't sweat it, and I said before, you don't need to use formalities, they don't sound right to me," I replied. I took a bite and swallowed, "So, what's eating you Shinn, you had a real serious look on your face and it isn't natural for teens to have on a regular basis. Talking does help, as stupid as it may sound, I know from personal experience, so I'll listen and won't judge."

A full minute went by before Shinn spoke up again, "Why did people do what they did to Stella," he uttered.

I set down my eating utensils, "That's a complicated yet simple question, depending how detailed an answer you care to get." I paused to think about how to go about answer the question, "It may be hard to see, but I wouldn't doubt that Stella was once a Natural-type human at some point in the past. Then she was taken to a place where that was change and she was morphed into a living weapon and soldier. The simple reason is there are those who hate Coordinators, but still want to beat and out do them and are willing to sink to committing horrible acts to achieve such."

"But that makes no sense," Shinn interjected.

I nodded, "You are right, it doesn't make sense, but I never said the reasons did or would make sense, for logically they don't. Those that have and pay for individuals, normally children to be made into soldiers don't see them as people but as tools. How that should justify what is done, I don't have any idea," I replied. Shinn didn't say anything to that, so I continued, "It is my understanding that you were around an Alliance complex recently, one that shows evidence of what kinds of things are done to make those like Stella."

Shinn's eyes went wide as he gazed at me, "How do you know about that place," he asked.

"Well, Athrun happened to mention some things plus, you assume that there is only one place like the one that you saw, which assumption is wrong," I said evenly.

Shinn's mouth fell open, "There are more places like the one east of Suez?!"

"Yep," I said sadly, recalling my own experience in the complex that was in the Siberian area of the Eurasian Federation. "I have myself been in one of those places and I still have nightmares about some of the things I saw there."

Shinn gained an expression of anger, "But why? Why do some do such horrible things and get away with them?"

I smiled with pity, "An age-old question, and the best answer is that they convince others that their methods can get something they want. Those kinds of people were identified a few years ago as humankind's true enemy and that is exactly what they are," I reasoned.

"You're referring to Minister Blass's speech during the closing part of the previous war," Shinn said.

I nodded, "Yes, she did put the idea in such a way that is simple enough for most to understand what is coming across. Although, it can be pretty much be divided into two categories, which are for gain and the other is for obsessions."

"What do you mean," questioned Shinn.

Taking the time to gather my thoughts, I then began, "There were originally six points to identify those that are humankind's true enemy, four of which could go in both categories. The real differences between the two categories is what they are aiming for, which as I said are for gain or obsession. Those that are working for gain, want this war for their profit and gain are making sure the conflict continues or else their profits dries up and they don't want that. Then the other side where obsession is the driving force which vendettas can be seen as said obsessions. With vendettas and obsessions, the reasons for them only have to make sense to the one that has them and none else."

Shinn nodded slowly, "I suppose that makes a kind of sense, though it's twisted," he said.

"I agree that it is twisted," I remarked, shrugging as I gave my reply, "That doesn't change the fact that there are individuals that are like that. Unfortunately, I've met a few personally and find them to be horrible people to be around."

Shinn was sober after I agreed with him, "So then, are we doomed to fight over and over," he uttered.

I smiled a bit, "It can seem that way sometimes however, as long as there are those who don't give up nor give in to either side of humankind's true enemy there is always hope." Shinn was looking at me as I kept going, "While there is even one individual that will fight for peace no matter what, then there is still hope for the conflict to end. I myself know that I will fight to bring peace, and not just for some or one faction, but for as many as possible," I stated firmly.

Shinn's head fell a bit, "You make it sound so easy and simple," he said flatly.

"I admit, fighting for what you believe in regardless of the situation or circumstances is much easier said than done. It becomes easier to make the decision to stick to one's beliefs than it used to be, even when it has you defying orders. But, I truly believe that such courage and caliber is what it will take to stop the chaotic mess that others have created to bring the world and the human race to the current situation. Any human being can stand for what they believe in, it is a choice and it is doing that which is the first step to moving passed the causes that bring conflict." I felt a smile form on my face again, "I think if people were to take a moment to stop looking at the differences between one another and see the commonalities, many of the issues that are being focused on would be seen as stupid and fade."

The rest of the conversation between Shinn and I was more small talk than anything else. He seemed like a good kid from what I could tell and that is going well for him. The only issue will be that a good yet considerate person, would be others tend to pick them to use for their goals. There were definitely some parallels between Shinn and Athrun as he was during the previous war.

The trip to Shira was uneventful, but then the route of the Arctic Circle was one of the least used by seaborne traffic. Shinn did okay with the search and detection station, he learned quickly and asked question on things he didn't know. The three-day journey came to its end when we docked at Shira. Stella was shortly then flown off to Shangri-La to get the medical attention she needed. While the Normandy was getting repairs and maintenance, I took Shinn to the underground transit system and we went to Shangri-La. The visit was short as Stella was not able to have visitors when we got there, but Shinn was assured that she would be okay given time.

After that, I saw Shinn to a transport that would take him to Gibraltar and to the Minerva. He thanked me for letting him travel onboard the Normandy for the few days that he did and that it had been a good experience for him. When the aircraft took off, I watched it go, wondering what the future held for Shinn Asuka. He was a rare type of person, much like myself or my two best friends from what I've seen. I certainly hope that good events will find him, but I doubt that bad events will miss him.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Aprilius One, Lagrange 5

Gilbert Durandal sat at his desk, waiting for the signal that he would be broadcasting. This message that he would give, could influence and shape the path that the human race was going down and Durandal wasn't going to miss that chance. Done right, Durandal could use this broadcast to get most of the world and the colonies on his side, even possibly a portion of the Federation. If he could get enough support, then he could bring the Destiny Plan to fruition and accomplish what no one had before now. Only when everything fell into its proper place, would real peace come to be and Durandal would succeed where others had failed.

The signal was given and Durandal began, "Greetings to one and all that are hearing and viewing this broadcast. My name is Gilbert Durandal, I am the current Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council." Countless people around the world watched and listened as Durandal spoke, "I am aware with recent events, it may appear unseemly for me to be making a broadcast at this time, especially with the state of war between the Earth and the PLANTs. But please, I humbly request that you forgive me, and I beg you to indulge me for what I have to say. My message is meant to be for all human beings, regardless of type, circumstance or current situation."

The broadcast that Durandal was making was being transmitted through every form of media and communication channel possible so that it reached as many as possible. The majority of the human race paused as Durandal continued, "Allow me to start by explaining why this war that is going on came to be in the first place. I'm sure that many of you are wondering the reasons why it is happening as the reasons given so far make so little sense. So many are dying because of this conflict and it is only right that all know the real reasons why it has come to be."

The broadcast then started showing images of the battles that had been fought in the war thus far, many from the recent Battle of Berlin. "I know the images being viewed are shocking and terrible to see, but they are what has been happening around the world. The oppression people that do not wish to fight in this war and those who simply desire to live in peace has come to the point that it should not and cannot be ignored or silenced any longer," Durandal stated. Recordings of the rampage of the Alliance Destroy Gundam came up as he kept speaking, "The Earth Alliance's newest weapon of mass destruction emerged from Eurasia more than a week ago. It carved a path of death and destruction through the Euros Coalition, destroying whole cities and their populations as it went."

Most that were viewing the broadcast could only stare in horror at the images being displayed of the destruction brought down. However, there were those that were not happy in anyway with Durandal's speech, Lord Djibril chief among them. First, to see more footage of the failed results of the Destroy Gundam's deployment was infuriating to see, for it was a reminder. Second, Djibril was getting the feeling that Durandal was going towards a very dangerous place in his iteration.

Durandal kept going, "This weapon began its assault without warning and struck without mercy or discrimination for its targets. It along with the mobile suit force with it wiped out three full cities and a good portion of a fourth, massacring most of the citizen as they went." Djibril was demanding that this broadcast be cut-off and stopped as he started to realize where this was heading. "ZAFT forces did their utmost to stop the rampage of this weapon, but by the time it was done regrettably, many had lost their lives," said Durandal.

Nonetheless, a portion of those viewing the recordings of the Battle of Berlin that were being shown noticed that they looked off. Among them, Athrun almost instantly took notice that in the footage, there was no sign of any of the Federation's military forces. There had been Federation forces, more than ZAFT, and yet, the footage had none of them there where they should be. The fact nagged at Athrun, for it made little sense, why would any, Chairman Durandal included alter footage of the battle like this? What benefit could there be to tell part truths in this?

Athrun was by no means the only one that noticed the clear difference from the footage and what had actually happened around what had been the city of Berlin. Kira along with the crew of the Archangel also saw that there were major elements missing from the recording, the Archangel itself for one. But the biggest element was that there were only ZAFT forces fighting the giant Alliance mobile suit, which wasn't correct at all.

Tyler at viewing this, first felt angry that someone had altered the recordings of the horrible event. However, after a bit, Tyler calmed down enough to see this in a more objective view point. The way that the footage was altered, gave the impression that ZAFT and ZAFT alone were the ones that came to the aid of those under the attack of the Alliance. What that was being used for, Tyler only guessed that it was to gain support for something. Honestly, it was a type of vailed insult directed at the Federation and more its military, to have Federation citizens in danger and their military not be there to protect them. It was part of the well-established reputation of the Federation Military, they would go above and beyond the call of duty to protect and serve the Human Federation's citizens. Then, the Archangel and the Normandy were 'mysteriously missing' from the battlefield being shown when they had been there. In the end of it, the Impulse had been shown to be the one to finish the giant mobile suit, rather than the collaborative effort that had really done the job.

The question left in Tyler's mind, was why would Durandal portray the Battle of Berlin in such a way when he should know that the validity of this 'footage' would be challenged by the Federation at a bare minimum. The subject matter that had come up at the meeting around the ruins outside Diocuia came back to Tyler as well. The specific focus that Athrun had said Gilbert Durandal had on Logos, it could provide a potential explanation for this. If ZAFT was seen as the heroes, then Durandal could possibly turn the anger and hatred towards Logos. Yet, after Logos was defeated, then what? That was the point that was bugging Tyler, there was still critical information missing that could reveal the goals of those doing this.

"The cities of Earth have been under assault by the Earth Forces for months. Why has this been happening many would ask," Durandal stated. "The Earth Alliance declared its goal to be the liberation of those under the tyranny of ZAFT at the start of this conflict. Yet, I would ask each and every one viewing this broadcast, is the burning cities and people suffering look like any sane definition of 'liberation'?!"

Durandal took a moment to calm down as his voice had risen in volume, "While it is true, that the PLANTs and ZAFT disagree with a number of the Alliance's policies, as well as a few that the Human Federation hold, that does not mean that we see this war or conflict as the answer to such difference in views. We are united with those that wish to help and preserve humanity as it has become, not just Coordinator, but for all types of human beings. For those that wish for a life of peace and normalcy, you are not alone, we give support to those like you."

Video of victims of the Alliance's most recent attack were then shown, to add to the drawing feelings that this broadcast had been creating. Some of the individuals, it was clear to many that had been involved in the war that they were saying lines that they had been told to, in order to help support for ZAFT. "The Earth Alliance has scorned attempts and desires for peace from others, instead they tried to silence those that want to work towards peace both on Earth and in space. They have even attacked member nations of the Human Federation not involved in the war, showing that nowhere is safe nor do borders matter to them. For those that don't cooperate with the Alliance, they brand as enemies and traitors, then attack and kill them, regardless if they are men or women, they even do such things to children," Durandal iterated angrily.

"Such acts are vile and unacceptable," Durandal stated, losing his calm deminer more than he had a moment ago. "Why I ask, why do these thing 'have' to happen at all?! Why does peace have to be denied to all just because someone else says so?! Who says that we should have to fight, that war is the only answer to settle our standing disagreements and problems?! Who is it that tells us this, and why can't they just leave us alone to live together hand in hand in peace," he just about shouted, before 'Lacus Clyne' came into frame and placed a hand on Durandal's shoulder.

Durandal appeared to calm down a bit, while Lacus spoke, "It is fact that this war was started by a single event, an act truly terrible and horrifying. The Junius Seven Colony drop affected and hurt so many people, but it was done by a few Coordinators. Those individuals responsible had lost their way and their views were incorrect, that doesn't justify their actions, but it shows that wars drive people to do horrible things. The event is regrettable, and we never will forget that we were unable to prevent the event from happening completely." Tyler noted that once again, there was no mention of the Federation Military's involvement, and he believed that was on purpose. Also, he was surer now that this 'Lacus Clyne' wasn't a stand-in, but a replacement for the genuine Lacus. The girl continued, "Nor the tragedies that followed the event. For the many affected, there will never be the same 'normal' that they knew, and the suffering will continue for a long time."

Lacus took a breath, "With events like these, it may have been inevitable that a war would come. Nevertheless, we cannot let such things doom us to endless fighting, destruction and death." She paused, but then kept going, "This constant state of chaos and war brings misery and sorrow and nothing good, it takes away those we care about from us, never to return. We cannot let this continue, look forward towards the future with hope. Cry out your tears of sorrow and sadness, but once you're done, please listen to what the other side has to say. We can return to a world of light and peace, in my heart of hearts I believe that it is not just possible but doable. As was stated in the previous war, 'now is the time to stand together, doing so is how this war will come to its end', do not give up on peace for it is the shared desire of people everywhere."

Tyler involuntary tightening of his fists at hearing his mother's words being used for whatever vendetta was being built up to. She had never meant her words she gave after the Alliance's attack on the Republic to be used as a war cry and yet, here they were being put to that. She had even said that during her speech and that made him suspicious of Durandal all the more.

And then, Durandal spoke again, "I too, believe that peace is still entirely possible for all of humankind. But, there have always been those that would prevent such harmony at any and all costs. They have always been with us since antiquity, and they have demanded that people fight for a collection of reasons. Those reasons have ranged from entertainment to changes in leaders. History gives evidence of this, from ancient gladiators and warriors in deadly contests to revolutions to dethrone corrupt leaders. However, more recently in human history most often, it is for profits to be generated for a group or individuals."

The realization of whom Durandal was referring to, began to sink in to some and the number of those who understood grew quickly. Yet, Durandal didn't stop, "You're a coward if don't fight and you're a traitor if you don't do as your ordered to, these and other rationalizations are used by them. They invent enemies out of and from nothing, then 'give' you the means to attack those which they have invented and point you in the direction they want. With the profits they make from this, the last thing they would want is a world of peace and understanding. It is these kinds of people that are behind the tragedies that have been happening in the world and in space. As it was aptly put years ago, such people are humankind's true enemy, and they are still hiding among us. They work from the shadows and reap the profits from the suffering and death of others."

Lord Djibril screamed for the broadcast to be cut-off and/or blocked immediately, as he realized what Durandal intended to do. The man was leading up to placing all the blame for the current war and the previous onto Logos entirely. If Durandal succeeded, that would turn all the factions against Logos and there would be none to turn to for help.

Durandal continued, "Most if not all know of Blue Cosmos and their hatred of Coordinators, they refer to them as 'dangerous mistakes that shouldn't exist or be permitted to live'. But, what most don't know, is that Blue Cosmos was invented by the very same people that bring about war to drive profits and revenue for themselves. These individuals don't come out onto the public stage as themselves but operate from the shadows. They constantly work to 'secure' means to keep their profits flowing, whether that is inventing new enemies when there are none or causing conflict to ensure that war rages somewhere so that they will have 'business'. History has a title for such type of groups and people, calling them the merchants of death, currently they are the shadow military-industrial platform known as Logos."

Pictures began going across the broadcast paired with names as Durandal kept going, "The individuals you are seeing pictures of, are all confirmed as members of the Logos group. Some of them have already met their ends, but many of them have up to this point escaped the demands of justice!" Durandal paused and then the serious expression he had morphed into a look of pity, "And yet, those that members of Logos have use and abuse are not at fault, they are victims as much as those who Logos destroys the lives of. Please, do not hate them, they are in desperate need of help, for they are being forced to do what they are, or are being tricked in to committing the acts they do," pled Durandal. Images accompanied this of individuals that were clearly hurt or were being restrained and raving.

"Logos makes efforts to point out the differences between people, all so that they can have war happen to gain profit for themselves. They have brought about one war in this era along with the current one ripping the world and colonies apart, bringing chaos to increase business. This seeming endless war with no end in sight must be stopped! Change is required for that to happen and is needed not sometime in the future, but now! So, I vow here and now for all that are hearing or viewing this broadcast, I along with ZAFT will do our utmost to destroy Logos wherever they hide. From the depths of my heart, I wish for true peace to be experienced by every single member of human race. It is time that human beings say, 'enough is enough, we will have no more of this war for profits! We refuse to fight this created conflict for others to gain from to enjoy their interests, we will have peace'," Durandal exclaimed.

Durandal kept going in his speech to announce a military campaign against Logos in order to wipe them out. When it ended, people everywhere talked, discussed and argued about the subjects that Durandal spoke on. Reactions to Durandal's speech varied between those who viewed and listened to it when conclusions began to be reached. For a good portion of the population on Earth, support for ZAFT skyrocketed along with the anger towards Logos. Many within the Earth Forces and the Alliance deserted from their organization and joined in on the hunting down of members of Logos.

Nevertheless, the response from Federation citizens differed from others and it wasn't the subject matter of the broadcast that they were focused completely as others were. The explanation of the current war was understandable, the Human Federation kept their citizens informed in general what was happening. If citizen wished for more information then, they could request more, and it would be given to them most of the time, unless it was classified. What was really irking the citizen of the Federation, was that the Federation's military was being shown not defending their citizen. It was a fact that the Federation Military had done a great deal to earn the loyalty from the Federation's citizens they protected and served. Durandal was using what had befallen the Euros Coalition for his benefit to announce and push his campaign.

The leaders of the Federation's member nations were kept busy for a time calming their citizens' irritation and outrage. The Euros Coalition's citizens shouted outcries for the correction of what had been stated and shown and theirs wasn't the only voices. There were even demands that ZAFT be told to take back what they showed and said by telling the full truth and not just parts that show them in a better light and to be forced if necessary. The out crying was calmed somewhat when unaltered footage from the Battle of Berlin was released to both the other factions. After that a statement was given that the broadcast had made the mistake that there was only ZAFT forces involved and Federation forces weren't there doing their utmost to protect the people effected by the event.

The revealing of Logos existence was a surprise for many outside the Human Federation and had incensed anger and rage against them. The Federation had known of their existence and the response to the platform was to have nothing to do with them. The Federation's reasoning was that organizations such as Logos require a client base to survive, so less clients then they would starve in multiple ways. Once staved out, Logos would fade into the depth of history where they belonged and would be unable to cause the trouble they were. The 'military campaign' that was announced, was seen as unnecessary and would not attain the desired results without a heavy price paid by many.

So, that in mind, the Federation made it clear that the campaign against Logos was of no interest and would not help things move forward towards true and lasting peace. That stated, the Federation's military nor any within the Human Federation would be participating in the campaign in the foreseeable future. The response was not received well by the PLANT Supreme Council nor leaders of ZAFT, for they had kind of hoped for the Federation's military to help in the campaign. The Federation's military was still the strongest of the factions and their Information Network would be extremely insightful and cut the time it would take to find all the known members of Logos. But none involved in the campaign could say anything to the leaders of the Federation to get them to change their standing on the campaign.

As the campaign against Logos began, the other notable change that happened was the announcement of the United States of South America joining the Human Federation. However, most were more focused on destroying Logos to give much attention to the announcement of the addition to the Federation members. Most people outside the Federation began hunting down the members of Logos that had been shown during the broadcast. Even the members of Logos that were hiding within the Federation's member nations, faced investigations by the Federation itself. Those that were members of Logos either denounce Logos or were thrown out of the Federation territories. Those thrown out where they were quickly left to the mercies of the mobs that hunted them.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, the Republic

As the Normandy was undergoing repairs and maintenance at Teswa, the crew and I were pretty much on shore leave until that was done. Durandal's broadcast hadn't helped the mood I'd been getting into lately, it made it boil more if anything. I mean, the guy had made an insult by having the altered footage of the Battle of Berlin in which there was no Federation force doing their duty. And apparently, the citizens of the Federation had been raising a big stink about the implication that the Federation Military wasn't at Berlin when it was attack among other things. That's a compliment to those like myself that are soldiers in the Federation Military, for it showed that those we protected appreciated the efforts.

Then, Durandal's campaign or vendetta against Logos was a mess in potentia just waiting to blow up. Sure, he could possibly take down members of Logos if that's what he real is after, which I doubt. Yet, the bloodshed that will come because of that will be harsh and it will unlikely stop anytime soon, which in turn means the war will keep going for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the Federation had made it perfectly clear that we would have nothing to do with the campaign against Logos. The Federation won't participate nor interfere in it or help either side period. I don't know how long that will stand, but hopefully it will help for a time, especially as the United States of South America joined the Human Federation. Assistance was being sent their way since the war wasn't on its way to ending, and it was assumed that the Federation member nations would at some point become targets,

It was a few days after Durandal's broadcast, that I was contacted by Kira, which I didn't expect. I mean, I had communicated with Kira after the Battle of Berlin briefly before I had gone looking for Stella Loussier in order to help her. So, I figured that Kira was calling to discuss Durandal's speech for there was a lot said and more unsaid I believe in the broadcast. I had been at my place at the time and sitting down as it happens thankfully, as what Kira told me instantly had me putting aside Durandal's speech and would have had me floored. " _Hey Tye, I know that I'm calling out of the blue, but I have something I thought you should know,_ " he opened.

"Oh, and what would that be my friend, does it have something to do with Durandal's broadcast? I'll give the man that he is long winded and can make things sound nice, but he isn't as good a man as I thought he was," I said.

Then came the line that came out of nowhere and if I hadn't been sitting I could have gone to the floor. " _Well no, you see, during the take down that giant mobile suit, an Alliance mobile suit was brought on the Archangel by the other pilot assigned to the ship. The Alliance pilot was knocked out, but… when we saw his face, it was like seeing Mu La Flaga again,_ " Kira said.

What Kira was saying and implying shouldn't be possible! Mu La Flaga had died during the Second Battle of Jachin Due when he had been defending and saving the Archangel. The man was one of those that had earned my respect for he had proven that he would go freaking beyond the line of duty to defend those he cared about without any hesitation. That was one of the reasons I had pled his case to get him the Federation's Medal of Honor. I mean sure, it's possible that Mu could have survived somehow, but it would have been slim and come with a heavy price I wouldn't doubt. Surgery on someone is more likely, Durandal had done it for his 'Lacus Clyne' puppet after all. Kira kept going, " _Then after some tests were performed, it was discovered that the man is Mu, his DNA and other vitals were a one-hundred percent match to the Archangel's records._ "

That flabbergasted me good, for that meant that the one they found had to be Mu La Flaga and he had survived the destruction of the Strike. If it was a fake, then he wouldn't have been a complete match to the medical records the Archangel has. Kira further went on to tell me that 'Mu' had apparently said that his name was Neo Roanoke and he was part of the 81st autonomous mobile group. the name didn't ring any bells for me, but the mention of the '81st autonomous mobile group' certainly did, for it was nicknamed 'Phantom Pain'. It was assumed to be a black opts part of the Earth Forces, since they tended to do dirty work more often than not.

Of course, the crew of the Archangel that had known Mu were confused, for the guy had a personality that wasn't like Mu's much at all. When I asked how others were taking the news, Kira said that confusion was the most prevalent, but Murrue was not handling it well at all. I can't say I blame her, to hear Mu is alive but not Mu La Flaga had to be hard to hear with the relationship those two had been developing. It was likely that some in the Alliance or Logos went through the effort to put a different personality in Mu, it is possible even if it isn't nice.

Kira summed up the conversation by saying that it had been decided for the Archangel to head back to Orb for the time being. The chances that Federation member nations could come under attack were on the rise and I would bet that Cagalli was worrying about that. They would cross the Eurasian Federation, which should go unnoticed with the chaos that's going on right now. I wished him and the Archangel good luck and safe travel before the contact was ended, but I was still left with a feeling of unease.

Phase end.

 **A/n**

 **And that's where I'll leave off for this Phase. I know this phase is much shorter than the last one, but there is a reason, this phase is setting the stage for the next phase as it will have more in it. The next phase will likely take longer to come as there is more writing I need to do in it than this one. Thank you to you readers that take the time to look at my story and write reviews, they help. See you all when the next phase is done!**

 **Just a Crazy-Man**

I'm glad you like the way the story is going so far.

Well first, thank you for saying that this is a good story, it is appreciated. The reason I think may play into the reason that my story gets read less than others, is some people don't prefer non-canon characters being in a story among other things. As for writing something in Naruto and advertising, I kind of stopped watching and reading things from Naruto some time ago, nothing personal.

As for why people disliking Seed and Destiny, Gundam is divided into different centuries and lots of people like the Universal Century. Yes, some might say Kira is too overpowered, but I would disagree, his machines just tend to fit his piloting style more than his opponents more often than not. My merging of technology from different series has only started with Gundam 00, it will keep going. I've been considering using the RX series, such as psyco-frame and other things, maybe that will come in later, I can't say yet.

 **REVANOFSITHLORD**

I'm trying to write when I can, life doesn't always make that easy.


	39. Phase 39: Past Heroes Dishornored

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 39, and this is the first of the treat of three, yes three Phases that are posted now. Normal Disclaimer applies, enjoy the story as it continues!**

* * *

Phase 39: Past Heroes Dishonored

March 13th, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Shira, the Republic

It was days after the message Durandal gave to the world, the moon and the colonies, and still the after-effects were rocking all humanity. After immediate damage-control was seen to within the member nations of the Federation, the leaders of each were in agreement that a meeting together was needed. The quick refusal of being involved with the campaign against Logos was given because it was seen to immediate escalation of the bloodshed, but further discussion was required for a more definite answer. That was one of the subjects of the meeting, to discuss Durandal's message and what would be the best course of action to take going forward.

At the appointed time and date, Ellen Blass was in her office and had it locked for security and privacy. A meeting of all the Federation's political leaders didn't happen all that often, two or three talking with one another yes, but not all of them. For such a purpose, a network of emitters had risen from out of the floor and the ceiling, which formed a half circle. The emitters formed a panoramic display with Ellen's desk on the open side so that she could view all displayed. Finally, there was a camera focusing in on Ellen so that those transmitting to her would see her as she would see them. This system was in place so that any leader could see the others in a conference-type setup which tended to work the best. The first that Ellen saw appear on a display was Uzumi Athha, "Uzumi, good to see you, I hope things are going fair in Orb," Ellen greeted.

Uzumi smiled a margin and nodded, " _As well as expected for the moment, recent events have made things somewhat uneasy for most overall. I wish the same is true or better for the Republic and you,_ " he returned.

Ellen shrugged, "Chairman Durandal's broadcast has had a ripple effect and portions of it or rather what was missing wasn't taken nicely to put it mildly. There has been many stating just how unhappy they are and how insulting the altered footage is among other things," she replied.

A different portion of the display changed and the image of a man in his late sixties. He had half a head of grey hair and a goatee that was also grey, while his eyes were hazel. He was wearing a crisp white suit and had an almost natural serious expression on his face. " _Ellen, Uzumi, I do hope that I'm not too early to this meeting,_ " the man said, whose name was Markus Noventa.

"Not at all Markus, your punctuality is refreshing as it always is. How are things going in the Kingdom of Scandinavia," Ellen asked.

" _Yes, it's not far from the path the giant mobile weapon forged into the Euros Coalition,_ " added Uzumi.

With Markus Noventa being the leader of the Kingdom of Scandinavia, its citizens were his responsibility. And at the question, Markus frowned, " _Things are okay, fairly stable for the time being. We are doing our best to help the survivors of the first two cities attack by that monstrosity. There are a scant few of them left alive compared to what the population was. So many are still in shock from seeing everything they know vanish in front of their eyes. The current mood is definitely strained for the general public among other things from the blow that this massacre dealt, it is different than anything done before now. Then Durandal's broadcast, whether he intended it to be or not, has stirred things up and not helped stability,_ " Markus said.

As Markus finished, the image Marina Ismail appear on a section of the panoramic display, " _I see that I'm not the first here,_ " she greeted.

Ellen shook her head, "No Marina and you're not late. We're still waiting for Dianna and our newest colleague Brian Stegmeyer from the United States of South America's leadership," she replied.

Marina nodded, " _I would be shocked if Dianna hasn't been extremely busy since the attack on the Euros Coalition. Truly, a tragic chain of events that has stolen so many lives and distorted others forever. And what was it all done for,_ " she asked sadly.

There was audible agreement to the statement made by Marina, " _Indeed, a horrible series of events it has been for great many and I would like to know why it happened as well,_ " said a different female voice flatly.

Another image came up on the display, that of a woman in her thirties. She had a regal-looking face with blue eyes. Her blonde hair was long with two braids, one on either side of her face and framed it. Ellen smiled, "Dianna, it's wonderful to see you."

Dianna Soreil, the current head of the Euros Coalition's republican style government with the title of President. She along with Marina were the youngest of the Federation's political leaders. However, Dianna who normally kept herself well-kept and presentable, looked to have not slept for days. " _Dianna, you look as if you haven't seen a bed in days,_ " Uzumi commented worriedly.

" _Your observation isn't wrong, I haven't slept for all that long in a while Uzumi. I've been busy cleaning up the mess that a giant mobile suit made,_ " Dianna remarked sharply. Then she rubbed her eyes, " _My apologies to you all, the lack of needed sleep has been taking its toll by getting the better of me and it is having me momentarily forgo using manners._ "

" _No Dianna, you are not at fault. What is the condition of your citizens,_ " Marina asked with concerned tones.

Dianna exhaled heavily, " _To say that It's not the best by any means would be an understatement, many are still reeling from the destruction made by that monster. I won't regale you with all the details, but I have grown weary and the pain in my heart keeps burning when I listen to the cries of those looking for their loved ones they haven't found, along with the morning for the lost,_ " she returned tiredly.

A fifth image appeared of an older man appeared, " _That does sound terrible President Soreil, my deepest heartfelt condolences to you and your people. If there are things that can be done to assist, then please don't hesitate to ask._ "

The man's name was Brian Stegmeyer, and he was the leader of the United States of South America. He appeared to be in his late sixties but in good health. "Glad you could make it President Stegmeyer, welcome to you," Ellen greeted.

" _Thank you, the welcome is appreciated,_ " replied Stegmeyer, " _On behalf of the citizens of the United States of South America, we are joyful and relieved our request to join the Human Federation was accepted. With the world and the colonies in the state that they are lately, some stability helps keep people calm somewhat and that is preferred over the alternative._ "

" _Indeed, if only lasting stability was so easy to obtain for all,_ " remarked Uzumi.

Ellen took a breath, "Dianna, I doubt any of us want to know the answer any more than you want to think about it. However, how bad are the estimations of the damage and the death toll thus far from the attacks," she inquired soberly.

Dianna didn't answer the question right away, but the expression that was on her face made it clear that the information was not good. " _Reports are still coming in on the more detailed surveying in the Berlin area and the third city assaulted. The two other cities that were attacked… one might as well just say they were essentially demolished._ " Dianna inclined her head, " _Markus, you have my gratitude for the assistance that your nation is providing to the survivors of the first two cities._ "

Markus merely nodded, " _It is the least that can be done right now, I only wish that we could do more for those poor people. Lord knows that they have suffered far more than any should. I highly doubt that I'm the only one that desires to assist those effected by this,_ " he replied.

Dianna gestured to the participants as a whole, " _All of your thoughts for the victims are certainly welcome, it's one of the good things any in the Euros Coalition is getting lately. Still back to the subject, it will take years to recover from this sequence of events in many ways. I would rather not talk about the cost other than it won't be small in any way when the total is calculated. As for the most recent estimate on the casualty count, it was rapidly approaching a hundred thousand lost the day before yesterday._ " Dianna said bitterly. _"It is believed that there will be at least double that by the time surveying is done and that's the best-case scenario as much as it pains me to admit._ "

Hearing the estimations were horrifying, even knowing that things were bad after the tragedy, the figures were staggering! And the pain felt wasn't just from what resulted from the actions of those that attacked the Euros Coalition. With Durandal's announcement of his military campaign against Logos, the pain and suffering of the victims were being used to justify more fighting. Also, much of the aid that could have and would have come for the victims, was now being used by ZAFT for their campaign along with them mostly ignoring the cleanup still going on by this point now.

It was Marina that broke the silence that had fallen, " _How did such tragedy turn into a rally cry and call to arms to continue the senseless killing?_ "

" _Sadly, it is because there are those who focus on what they desire more than standing accountable for the trail of bodies they produce,_ " commented Markus sorrowfully.

Ellen listened as the conversation went on, wondering to herself if any kind of change would tip the recent motions back toward moving in the direction of peace. There came a quiet beeping from a small terminal on Ellen's desk, and when she looked down there was a message. The message was from her secretary and it said that there were two incoming calls, one from an individual that Ellen had invited to participate in this meeting.

" _I mean, what the hell were the ones that came up with the string of attacks thinking?! If they were at all thinking in any way and I would question that along with their sanity,_ " Dianna was saying angrily.

"We can understand your anger and frustration Dianna," Ellen said cutting over Dianna, "your people have suffered when they shouldn't have, and we feel for you and them. However, perhaps if I might suggest, there may be a way to get an answer or at least some idea as to why the attacks did happen, if any here are interested."

Everyone showed expression of surprise to shock, " _Ellen are you saying that you have an idea as to why the attacks on the Euros Coalition happened,_ " asked Markus.

Ellen shrugged, "Do I myself have an answer, no I do not. Nonetheless, I happen to know one that might have information that could enlighten us, or at least some better idea than we do. Does anyone mind letting two others participate in this meeting that I invited without consulting any of you first," she replied.

Uzumi was the first to reply, " _I've certainly have no issue with two others joining in if they can help shed light on why these attacks came about._ "

" _I second that opinion,_ " Markus remarked.

" _I'm in agreement with Lord Athha and Minister Noventa on that,_ " said Stegmeyer.

" _If we might get an explanation, then I am all for as well,_ " Marina stated.

All turned their attention to Dianna, to which she sighed, " _Very well Ellen, if whoever you have in mind could provide us insight as to why and preferably a good clue as to whom is responsible, I can and will do my best to keep my frustration and anger in line,_ " she answered.

With all in agreement, Ellen had the two incoming calls put up on the display and so all the Federation leaders saw the two new comers. One was Joseph Copeland and the other was a woman that looked to be in the same age range as Ellen herself. She had brown hair that had two sausage shaped curls on either side of her head behind her ears that went down to her collar bone, while her eyes were dark blue. The woman's name was Sally Po, and she was the head of the Eurasian Federation currently.

Most of the Federation leaders showed visible surprise at seeing the two leaders of the major powers of the Earth Alliance. Dianna quickly gained an expression of displeasure, " _Ellen, why are the leaders of the major states of the Alliance joining us? I said I would be tolerant about this suggestion, but there are limits and they are being pressed against hard right now,_ " she all but growled with fury.

"Dianna," Ellen started in a firm tone, "At least hear them out, from what parts of their side I've learned from Joseph, they have been manipulated like many have in this current conflict." Dianna appeared to be about to snap a retort, but Ellen turned her attention to Joseph Copeland and Sally Po. "It is nice that you could both join this meeting, you will have to forgive our colleague, Dianna has been dealing with a great deal of stress from the attacks of the citizens of the Euros Coalition."

" _I would imagine so,_ " Copeland said, _"My heartfelt condolences to your citizens President Soreil, if there is some sort of aid that can be provided, please name it,_ " Copeland said.

The greeting from Copeland did not get received well by Dianna, for rage came to her face, " _Condolences… aid Copeland?! The best aid my nation could have from the Alliance would've been the attacks not occurring in the first place!_ " snarled Dianna, before she reined in her outburst. _"Do you comprehend how many lives were either ended or changed forever from that giant mobile weapon of the Earth Forces made? I attest to you the number is not small and it is still growing as we speak!_ "

Sally Po then spoke up for Copeland, " _We can assure you Miss Soreil, we wish the same as you in the attacks never happening. What has come to pass on your nation and more its citizens should fall on no one."_ Sally frowned as she continued, _"Hard as it may be to believe and accept, the Alliance itself, nor the Earth Forces were responsible for the series events that causes your people's pain. Joseph and I have been working with the leaders of the OMNI Enforcer organization to try and find out who was involved in the incidents so that we might be able to tell you as a way to show that we wish to help the victims, Nonetheless, we have yet to find out definitively who is and who is not involved, not for a lack of trying and it is ongoing._ "

There was a moment of silence at Sally's statement, before Marina spoke, " _If the Alliance itself was not the ones carrying the attacks out as you say, then why were there Alliance mobile suits with the giant weapon?_ "

" _There are groups that are a part of the Earth Forces technically but take orders from others outside of the Earth Forces' top brass. The separation of politics and military has been growing wider and there is also a division developing within the Earth Forces,_ " replied Copeland.

Ellen put a hand to her chin, "When you say division and 'others outside of the Earth Forces' do you refer to Logos or some within the organization and those who listen to them," she inquired.

Sally frowned, " _That is what our findings have found thus far, combined with how Logos has shown to work. And Joseph and I have seen enough to say that the way Logos runs internally, is different than is seen from the outside, what you say Minister Blass is more or less accurate,_ " she remarked.

Markus hummed thoughtfully, " _Alright, should_ _that be the case, then what reasons could Logos have had to attack the Euros Coalition in the manner it did,_ " he posed to all the participants of the meeting.

No one answered at first, but then, " _I can't say for certain, but my best guess would be some wanted to attempt using the Coalition as an example to scare everyone else on Earth into compliance with their ideas of how the war should be going, especially the Federation member nations,_ " Copeland said.

Sally nodded, " _That would make sense, twisted as it is Joseph,_ " she agreed.

The sound of a growl drew everyone's attention to Dianna, " _So, you're telling me that all the destruction and deaths that have happened from the attacks on my nation and its people was intended to be some sort of ridiculous fear tactic,_ " she demanded angrily.

Copeland looked down, " _That would be my educated assumption, though I think the plan itself was made by Lord Djibril,_ " he replied.

Dianna was fuming and shouting as both Markus and Marina tried to calm the woman down. Ellen was thinking since the name Lord Djibril sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't place where she knew it. "Joseph, this Lord Djibril, what do you know about him? What kind of tasks does he do for Logos? I know the name from somewhere but can't place where I've either heard it or if I've even met the man," Ellen asked.

Copeland thought for a moment, " _From what I understand, he is one of the more influential members of Logos. He tends to be their salesman to clients, at least he has been the one that I've had contact with the most. He is the one that insisted that a nuclear strike against the PLANTs was a necessity and convinced enough to get it to happen. Also, what happened to the Euros Coalition does seem like something he would encourage and do, since he has made it known that he doesn't think highly of the Human Federation,_ " he replied.

" _Djibril is also, one that meets with potential clients, especially ones that could provide a great deal of business. And as the Federation doesn't do any business with Logos, they would like as much as they could get, as well as access to Federation technology I wouldn't doubt,_ " Sally added. " _The one time I met Djibril in person, he came off as calm and confident, perhaps had aristocratic mannerisms taught to him at some point. I believe he is also the one leading Blue Cosmos now that Muruta Azrael vanished._ "

The last line helped things click in Ellen's mind, there had been a man that fit those facts that had approached her during the Horizon Jubilee. The man had been well-kept and had at first seemed charismatic when she had met him. However, when he had turned the conversation towards a possible deal with Logos, Ellen had kindly refused and walked away. "Yes, I think I know to whom you refer now, he has short grey hair and blue eyes, tends to be well-kept in his appearance," she questioned.

" _Yes, that is a fair description of Djibril,_ " Copeland returned.

Ellen nodded, "I see, he attended the Horizon Jubilee and used it as an opportunity to attempt to have me agree to a deal for business with 'an interested party' as he put it that he was representing. Although, when I asked further, he didn't mention Logos or any organization specifically, only some known businessmen that I can recall," she commented.

" _Wait Ellen,_ " said Dianna, and Ellen glanced at her, " _Are you saying that you've met this Lord Djibril before?!_ "

"Yes, he left a bit of an impression," Ellen replied. "I just hope that he is different than the previous leader of Blue Cosmos, but if recent events are anything to judge by, then he isn't."

" _Perhaps, rather than focusing on who is responsible at the moment, we can discuss what can be done to discourage and hopefully prevent another incident like has already happened,_ " Stegmeyer suggested.

Uzumi nodded, " _Agreed, one tragedy like this is beyond horrible, we must do what we can to stop a repeat of it from occurring another time,_ " he stated.

Dianna sighed and looked to calm down the most she had since the beginning part of the meeting. " _You have a good point Uzumi. I don't like that this happened to the Euros Coalition nor its people, but I would not wish it to be experienced by other nations or colonies either, not even by the PLANTs or the states of the Earth Alliance,_ " she admitted evenly.

The discussion turned to potential options to prevent a giant mobile weapon from making a path of destruction in another nation. This also included both Copeland and Po, as their own nations could be turned into targets if Logos or even maybe Durandal were to learn that they were talking of cooperation with Federation leaders. Vigilance of course was going to be needed to be done by all, yet there would be required to give enough warning to muster the needed force to stop another giant mobile suit. Still, as options were discussed, the conversation shifted to Durandal's broadcast and what had and would come from it.

"With Gilbert Durandal's message, there was a lot said and I believe more unsaid. What I get out of reading between the lines isn't encouraging me that peace will be a likely result for a long while if at all," Ellen remarked.

There were mutterings of agreement to Ellen's statement. " _I can't see how the campaign against Logos will do anything other than continue the bloodshed that this war has wrought,_ " commented Marina sadly.

Dianna scoffed, " _It's obvious Durandal is using the attacks on my nation to gain support for his goals from as many as he can. And to him, I would say how dare he even consider doing so! Durandal is manipulating people to the same degree as Logos and as far as I'm concerned he's not much better than those he is hunting if at all._ " Dianna gestured to Ellen, " _The only thing that I find a bit more ironic than his hypocrisy, is the words he quoted from Ellen can be applied to himself._ "

" _Indeed, that does appear to be the case,_ " Stegmeyer said, " _Yet, that leaves the question, what are Gilbert Durandal's true intentions? Will his campaign on Logos end should he hunt down all its members, or will he simply target others after eliminating Logos that stand in the way of his goals?_ "

" _Durandal said that he wishes for true peace to be experienced by every single member of the human race, but his actions don't say that at all, more the opposite in fact,_ " Uzumi remarked.

Ellen put her hands together and interlaced her fingers before having her chin rest on her fingers. "While I agree with the concern that Durandal won't stop with the members of Logos and believe that there is truth to Dianna saying Durandal is being a hypocrite, I firmly think there is more to his message. I'm of the opinion that Durandal believes that he can bring about something that he himself sees as peace. What that actually is, I cannot say with the facts known as they are available right now, but I feel that his view is not the same vision of peace that those of us here have," she said.

" _Yes,_ " Markus agreed, " _I too feel that Chairman Durandal has a different vision of peace than any of us. His point in pinning the blame on Logos was one thing, whether it is to the extent he claims or he is exaggerating, who can say at this point. Yet, his emphasis that those who have committed crimes and done wrong 'for Logos' as he put it but aren't known members of Logos are victims in need of help. That set Durandal in the position to be seen as a kind of heroic savior, and such figures can have a great deal of influence, history shows us that. The real potential issue is also given by historical accounts, a number of individuals in that type of position used that influence not for good, but for their own selfish ambitions until their end._ "

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence with the way Markus painted Gilbert Durandal. " _If what Minister Noventa says turns out to be true of Durandal, then does that mean we should assume one of our nations could have ZAFT forces paying a non-friendly visit at some point in the near future should we not agree with his views,_ " asked Stegmeyer.

" _I wouldn't be entirely surprised if it happens with how circumstances are developing. I fear that it is more a question of when rather than if such comes to pass,_ " said Copeland soberly.

Ellen sighed, "With how circumstances are indeed heading, more so with how similar they are becoming to the previous war, I would have to agree Joseph. Whatever it may be that Durandal is after, I'm skeptical that those of us who disagree or decline to be a part of Gilbert Durandal's vision and scheme will be allowed to look good to everyone else or be left alone for long."

There was an even more uncomfortable silence at Ellen's assessment, until Sally Po spoke, " _I don't know if I speak for all of us here, but do you seriously believe that Chairman Durandal would have ZAFT attack a nation of the world just for not agreeing with as you say Minister Blass? The strength of the Federation's military isn't argued, and it's to their credit and the citizens of the Federation make it clear what lengths your military will go._ "

"I mean no offense Minister Po, but I hope you have not forgotten what the actions of Muruta Azrael and through him the Earth Forces and the Alliance were responsible for during the First Alliance-PLANT War. A portion of your enlisted people were killed by the stunt he planned and had carried out at JOSH-A. It was all to eliminate ZAFT forces, but oddly, there were no Atlantic Federation personnel, no offense implied against you Joseph. Or we have more recent examples, like some within the Alliance or Logos using the Federation Military helping prevent nuclear missiles from killing the innocent people living in the PLANTs that had nothing to do with the Junius Seven drop, to start attacking member nations." Ellen exhaled heavily before she kept going, "So I regret to say yes Miss Po, I believe it's entirely possible that Gilbert Durandal will order attacks on any of the nations of Earth, using justification that benefits him and his image as a kind of hero of humanity."

" _Even if that does not occur somehow, it would be best for us all to prepare for the situation that has been painted I would think,_ " Markus said.

" _Indeed,_ _the phrase that does come to mind right now,_ " spoke Stegmeyer, " _Is united we shall stand, but divided we will fall._ "

Marina smile, " _Truly wisdom that phrase is, working together can and will make a difference if storms are to come._ "

And so, measures were talked about to hopefully prevent horrible events of attack on any of the nations of Earth by either Logos or ZAFT as both could do so. An agreement was made between all the political leaders where Earth Forces that hadn't deserted and Federation Military forces could travel into one another's territory without fear of being shot at without provocation. That would help in responses to any unexpected strikes by ZAFT and their new allies. It was also agreed upon that this meeting and what had been discussed would not be revealed to others unless necessary, but all would keep in contact.

 **-Line Break-**

PLANTs, L5

Gilbert Durandal was looking over the responses from his speech that he gave about Logos as there had been mixed reactions in the weeks that had past. Many on Earth and colonies were now supporting ZAFT and Durandal's campaign against Logos, which was one of the intentions of the broadcast. There was a portion of the Earth Alliance that wasn't in full support of Durandal's campaign, but nor were they helping Logos. That being the case, Durandal was fine with leaving them be for the time being, perhaps his speech had shown them the truth about Logos and they just needed time to come to terms with what they had learned. There was time to work with for the moment, so for those that were in support of the campaign against Logos could be given time to think.

Nonetheless, the reactions of the Federation were predicable, yet also disappointing as well. Durandal had hoped that his broadcast would shake things up within the Federation and that they would then be more willing to help in the campaign against Logos. The help of the Federation and specifically their Information Network would speed things along greatly. And at first, there had been impressions that perhaps some of the Federation might be convinced to help which had been encouraging.

The first reply from the Federation leaders had been hurried and hadn't felt definitive, but what followed had been firm. That had been reinforced by the outcries that there had been information left out of the broadcast that shouldn't have been from the Federation had come. Their outcries of things being left out had been annoying and had taken some effort to have looked over by others. And while those claims might be true to an extent, Gilbert didn't let those dampen his work he was pushing forward. But he had to applaud the loyalty of the Federation's citizens toward their military for it was impressive to say the least. Yet, the Federation's military reputation of what they would do for those they served was well-established, so it was understandable even if not helpful in this.

As an overall result, the Federation was ignoring the broadcast and its subject matter, which wasn't what Gilbert had wanted. If anything, then the Federation was now strengthening its standing and position both against Logos and ZAFT itself, they were staying out of the conflict the best they could. Then, the United States of South America had formally announced that they had joined the Human Federation, adding to their numbers and influence on Earth. It was clear that the Federation wouldn't help any from Logos, though that would eliminate a good portion of places in the world for members of Logos to run or hide.

But, that left the issue that the Federation could and likely would become when the Destiny Plan was introduced to be dealt with at a later point. Durandal wanted to be proactive and handle such problems before the Destiny Plan was announced, but that might be possible right now. However, Durandal still believed that shaking the strength of the Federation was feasible. He also saw it as a necessity for the future that he had in mind that the Destiny Plan, for the odds that any within the Federation would agree to be a part of the plan were extremely slim to none as things stood now. And Gilbert had found from past experience that it was better to deal with problems before they became worse, and it was usually easier and simpler as well.

The Federation's strength, both for its military and member nations, had always been and still was in the solid unity in purpose and overall belief they held. If that united front could be shaken, then there was the possibility that the Federation could be convinced to join in and help in the Destiny Plan if it was presented in the right way to them. The difficulty in doing just that, was the united cause they held hadn't changed since the Human Federation's establishment. Yet, neither was the Federation lacking in facts, logic and conviction that kept their standing as strong as it was. Then, the strength of the Federation's military was hard to deny, even by Durandal himself. Nevertheless, if that strength was proven to not be as firm or as solid as was accepted, then maybe that united cause could be portrayed as somewhat faulty. Should that task be accomplished, then citizens of the Federation could be directed to the possibilities that the Destiny Plan could bring about.

It was common fact that the Federation's military had ships that unofficially were symbols of their strength, thought he Federation's military didn't officially say that. Said ships would have records of not only success, but of also going into situations that have harsh odds stacked against them and yet coming out victorious. So in theory, were one of those to go down or made to surrender unlikely as that was, then the opportunity for pointing out weakness could appear. It was a gamble and a risky on if it didn't play out well true, but it seemed the option with the best potential at the moment.

As for which ship Durandal had in mind, the Archangel had become one of those symbols for the Federation as it seemed unsinkable and at least one mobile suit onboard had thus far proven undefeatable. Such facts were established during the previous war and still held true and it was not for the lack of others trying to destroy the X10A Freedom or the Archangel. The pilot of the Freedom was also the 'Ultimate Coordinator' and the 'Perfect Human' Kira Yamato and Durandal would have no qualm if he could be rid of the young man, he preferred it. The young man represented a path for the human race that Durandal had disagreed with and the Destiny Plan couldn't have any like him as he would be an abnormality in it.

It was dwelling upon those facts, which gave Durandal an idea to perhaps justify a moderate scale attempt to deal with that ship and the Freedom. Defeating the Freedom, let alone the Archangel as well would be a tall order, but the Minerva had shown itself to be up to tall tasks. The X10A Freedom Gundam was formidable by its specs alone, but its pilot made the machine equal to if not exceeding a super-weapon. Kira Yamato had shown clear signs that he had the "power of change" from the records of the Freedom's battles and the other mobile suits that he was assumed to have piloted. Whether that was by the design of Kira Yamato's father and chief engineer Ulen Hibiki, Giblert couldn't say for sure, it wouldn't be a shock if it was. To have a fair chance to best the young man, one with the same kind of power would be required and the Minerva had such pilots. Durandal had noticed that Shinn Asuka had the power of change or as some called it, "SEED Factor". Athrun Zala did as well, but Durandal had some doubts that he would willingly fight and defeat Kira Yamato, there was too much evidence that they were friends still and that would probably affect his judgement.

As the facts were, there would need to be a story as to why the Archangel needed to be dealt with, for just saying so would be seriously questioned. The justification Durandal had in mind that could work was that the Archangel, was to say that ship still working for the Earth Forces, and through them, were at the command of Logos. Granted, with their actions during this war and the previous one, passing them off as an enemy would be hard, but not impossible. All that was needed was something that could be seen as a connection to Logos in somewhat and then the Archangel could be passed off as a 'sleeper agent' of Logos.

Durandal was searching through videos of the war and stopped when he came to a specific recording. The recording was of the custom Federation fighter bringing back the remains of an Alliance Windam to the Archangel. The Windam was purple overall and had been glimpsed a few times by the Minerva before now with the Alliance forces they had encountered, with the stolen mobiles suits from Armory One no less. The video fit so well that it was like it was made for this purpose alone, for it meant the suit was part of the Alliance's "Phantom Pain" regiment and they had a connection to Logos.

Durandal smiled a bit as this recording fit what he needed to make it appear that the Archangel was actually working for Logos. It could be portrayed that the Archangel was rescuing them, revealing their true colors. With the video clip in hand, Durandal called on some of the heads of ZAFT and got down to telling them why the Archangel needed to be dealt with. Kira Yamato and the Archangel would only become a problem if not handled and they would become a larger one the longer they were ignored. And the less obstructions there were for the Destiny Plan, the better Durandal saw thing to be.

The operation, named "Angel Down", was conceived for the purpose of dealing with the Archangel and the X10A Freedom, whether by surrender or destroying them. Durandal even gave a fairly detailed narrative of how the Archangel and the Freedom had been playing everyone around them for fools the whole time as they were rescuing an enemy. This translated to both of them being spies and supplying information for Logos while staying hidden from all others and now had helped an ally of theirs hoping no one noticed. The other point that was made was that the operation was to be kept quiet and not made known to the public.

The first step of the operation was to find the Archangel as it had vanished after the Battle of Berlin and hadn't been seen since. However, over the next day, an AWACS reconnaissance DINN caught sight of the Archangel traveling east across Eurasia. With knowing the location of the Archangel, ZAFT top brass have one of the newer Compton-class land ship and two smaller Petrie-class land ships pursue it. The vessels headed out from the ZAFT base by the Black Sea, chasing the Archangel. Orders were sent to the Minerva to head towards the area that the Archangel was in to assist in the operation.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The Archangel had been traveling across Eurasia, heading back towards Orb at the request of Cagalli. She was getting worried about Orb with the start of the campaign against Logos had announced, not that it would be attacked necessarily, but for the unrest that would come after the broadcast from Durandal. Also, it was obvious that the battlefield that the city of Berlin had been turned into had an effect on Cagalli. Not only solidifying her resolve in helping end this war, but also that talking alone wasn't enough, but it could help on the path forward. She even started to see why her father had possibly done nothing to stop Kira and Tyler from 'kidnapping' her from her wedding. She had learned many things while on the Archangel that she wouldn't have doing the politics of Orb among other things.

The trip thus far had been uneventful, no Earth Forces had paid any attention to the Archangel at all. The feeling on the ship was somber since the Battle of Berlin, for the battlefield had been beyond horrifying. That was followed by the man that Cormag had brought back being positively identified as Mu La Flaga beyond all doubt. So, the quiet trip was taken as a time to reflect as there had been little time to do so before now.

Murrue wasn't saying much other than giving instructions to the crew since finding out that the man identifying himself as Neo Roanoke was Mu. Learning that the man was one-hundred percent Mu La Flaga had taken her by complete surprise as she had seen the Strike destroyed to save the Archangel and thought that was the end of Mu. However, the man that was Mu, didn't seem to remember anything from before, yet had many of the personality quirks he possessed before. The whole situation was making her heart ache and strain from pain of seeing the man she loved and yet, it not be the man she knew.

For those that had known Mu, most were wondering how this Neo Roanoke could be Mu La Flaga. Kira was the first one who put forth the theory that somehow Mu's memories had been overwritten. Cormag mentioned that it was possible and even likely that such had been done, because the Alliance wasn't above doing that. Even knowing that, it was painful to see a man that many respected, had become a black-opts captain for Logos. Neo was not allowed to roam the ship, he was not at this time seen as trustworthy and he was still healing, confined to the bed he was in.

The Archangel had made it halfway across the Eurasian Federation territory, when the quiet time came to the end. Sensors detected ZAFT vessels coming up from behind and closing in on the Archangel. Battle stations were called and the ship was made ready for combat as the ZAFT vessels drew closer. Kira and Cormag boarded their mobile suits and prepared to launch out to defend the Archangel from this force. What the reason was for ZAFT to be pursuing the Archangel, none knew. The ZAFT vessels might just be wanting to talk, since ZAFT forces had been helping the Federation lately, but better safe than sorry with what had been happening recently.

Nonetheless, the answer to why three ZAFT land ships were following the Archangel came when they sent a demand that the Archangel surrender or be destroyed. The command was completely out of the blue and didn't make sense in any logical way to be sent. When the question of what was going on was sent from the Archangel, the message demanding the Archangel's surrender was repeated. The Archangel wasn't given much more time to wonder or question the demand of surrender than that, for the ZAFT vessels open fired on them shortly after the second demand was sent. As ZAFT began deploying mobile suits, Kira and Cormag headed out to defend the Archangel. Even with the odds being two against a growing number of mobile suits, Cormag and Kira were far from ordinary or new mobile suit pilots. They proved their skills by quickly throwing their opponents into disarray, which helped the Archangel in not having to intercept as many incoming shots.

Ten minutes into the skirmish, and the Archangel was keeping as low as it could to be less of a target. ZAFT BuCUEs were working their way closer to the Archangel in order to surround it to end the fight but were having trouble with the Freedom and Cormag's Excel fighter. While back on the lead Compton-class land battleship, the ZAFT commander that was in charge of this operation was looking at the displays with mild surprise. He had heard and read reports about the "Archangel" and the "X10A Freedom" but seeing why they had gotten the reputation they had was different.

It was when the command for most of the BABI suits to be called back for repair was given, that the commander spoke, "It's no wonder that the Archangel and the Freedom have the reputation that they do." He turned to his second in command, "Tell all mobile suit pilots to be on-guard and to not be reckless on their approach or attacks or we may be wiped out before help arrives. Hasty action in this will get good men and women killed, relay that to the other ships so that they can get the message to their pilots. Reinforcements are on route and when they get here, we can finish this with the least amount dying for it."

"Sir, as we're getting close to boxing them in, would it not be more efficient to just hit them with everything that we have and end things now. The reinforcements can help with the cleanup when they reach us," was the reply from the officer.

The captain sighed, "You have no idea what this ship is capable of, surviving what happened at the Alliance's JOSH-A base and the Second Battle of Jachin Due were no small feats. If we act too quickly and the Archangel gets away, then there will be serious consequences and lives will be lost. Do not be impatient, try looking at the big picture," he returned.

The skirmish lasted for around twenty minutes more before the ZAFT vessels and what remained of the mobile suit ceased pursuing the Archangel pulled back. The whole pursuit by ZAFT felt odd to the crew of the Archangel, ZAFT demanding surrender made no sense with the known facts as they were. There was no reason for ZAFT to want to do anything to the Archangel, it had been helping in the fight between the Federation and the Alliance. All onboard the ship were left to wonder why ZAFT had an interest in taking the Archangel either out of commission or down all together.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, the Republic

My mood hadn't improved over the time that went by since Durandal's speech as the responses came. There were two major ways of reacting, support for ZAFT or not wanting anything to do with Durandal's campaign. There was also a bit of an argument about the validity of the footage shown by Durandal, mostly from Federation nations. Those from the PLANTs had yet to admit that there was anything wrong with what was in the broadcast, and I doubt they will any time soon.

Then, Durandal's campaign or vendetta against Logos was a mess in potentia just waiting to blow up if you ask me. Sure, he could possibly take down members of Logos if that's what he really is after, which I doubt. Yet, the bloodshed that will come because of that will be harsh and it will unlikely stop there, which in turn means the war will keep going for the foreseeable future. Thankfully, the Federation had made it perfectly clear that we would have nothing to do with the campaign against Logos. The Federation won't participate nor interfere in it or help either side period was the statement I believe. I don't know how long that will stand, but hopefully it will help for a time, especially as the United States of South America joined the Human Federation. Assistance was being sent their way since the war wasn't on its way to ending, and it was assumed that the Federation member nations would at some point become targets of Durandal or Logos.

It was a few days after Durandal's broadcast, that I was contacted by Kira, which I didn't expect. I mean, I had communicated with Kira after the Battle of Berlin briefly before I had gone looking for Stella Loussier in order to help her. So, I figured that Kira was calling to discuss Durandal's speech for there was a lot said and more unsaid I believe in the broadcast. I had been at my place at the time and sitting down as it happens thankfully, as what Kira told me instantly had me putting aside Durandal's speech and would have had me floored. " _Hey Tye, I know that I'm calling out of the blue, but I have something I thought you should know,_ " he opened.

"Oh, and what would that be my friend, does it have something to do with Durandal's broadcast? I'll give the man that he is long winded and can make things sound nice, but he's not as good a man as I thought he was before now," I said.

Then came the line that came out of nowhere and if I hadn't been sitting I could have gone to the floor. " _Well no, you see, during the take down of that giant mobile suit, an Alliance mobile suit was brought on the Archangel by the other pilot assigned to the ship. The Alliance pilot was knocked out, but… when we saw his face, it was like seeing Mu La Flaga again,_ " Kira said.

What Kira was saying and implying shouldn't be possible, Mu La Flaga had died during the Second Battle of Jachin Due when he had been defending and saving the Archangel. The man was one of those that had earned my respect for he had proven that he would go freaking above and beyond the line of duty to defend those he cared about without any hesitation. That was one of the reasons I had pled his case to get him the Federation's Medal of Honor. I mean sure, it's possible that Mu could have survived somehow, but it would have been slim and come with a heavy price I wouldn't doubt. Surgery on someone is more likely explanation, Durandal had done it for his 'Lacus Clyne' puppet after all. Kira kept going, " _Then after some tests were performed, it was discovered that the man is Mu, his DNA and other vitals were a one-hundred percent match to the Archangel's records._ "

That flabbergasted me good, for that meant that the one they found had to be Mu La Flaga and he had survived the destruction of the Strike. If it was a fake, then he wouldn't have been a complete match to the medical records the Archangel has. Kira further went on to tell me that 'Mu' had apparently said that his name was Neo Roanoke and he was part of the 81st autonomous mobile group. The name didn't ring any bells for me, but the mention of the '81st autonomous mobile group' certainly did, for it was nicknamed 'Phantom Pain'. It was assumed to be a black opts part of the Earth Forces, since they tended to do dirty work more often than not.

Of course, the crew of the Archangel that had known Mu were confused, for the guy had a personality that wasn't like Mu's much at all yet, there were 'quirks' that Mu had that were coming up. When I asked how others were taking the news, Kira said that confusion was the most prevalent, but Murrue was not handling it well at all. I can't say I blame her, to hear Mu is alive but not Mu La Flaga had to be hard to hear with the relationship those two had been developing. It was likely that some in the Alliance or Logos went through the effort to put a different personality in Mu, it is possible even if it isn't nice.

Kira summed up the conversation by saying that it had been decided for the Archangel to head back to Orb for the time being. The chances that Federation member nations could come under attack were on the rise and I would bet that Cagalli was worrying about that. They would cross the Eurasian Federation, which should go unnoticed with the chaos that's going on right now. I wished him and the Archangel good luck and safe travel before the contact was ended, but I was still left with a feeling of unease. Perhaps it was from the tension that was hanging around everywhere or something else, I don't know.

A day went by and tension was building, to what I couldn't say, but it didn't feel good at all to me. In the evening, my mother did come by to visit me as she tries to do when I come around home and it was nice to see her. We did catch up a bit and my mother did say something that didn't just catch my attention, but pretty much floored me. It came when I asked what she had done today no less, "Well, I did attend a meeting with other leaders today," my mother told me.

Now it wasn't unusual for leaders and diplomats within the Federation to talk to each other, after all, communication is key in keeping things going well. "Oh, is that so mom, who did you talk to," I asked.

"With recent events, it was seen as a good idea for the member nation leaders to discuss the best path forward," she replied.

I had a double take, for the way my mother had said the member nation leaders, it sounded like she implied all of them. The political leaders of the Federation didn't all get together often, and when they did, it is usually for very good reason. "Um mom, when you say member nation leaders, do you mean just some or all five, I mean six of them now," I questioned.

My mother put a hand to her chin, "There were six of us, admittedly, Dianna was rather unhappy and appeared to be very tired. But with what has happened to the Euros Coalition recently, it's not surprising that is the case, she has a great deal on her plate," she iterated.

The Dianna that my mother was referring to was Dianna Soreil, the leader of the Euros Coalition right now. I've met her once, she seemed really nice and the citizens of the Coalition loved her, much like the inhabitance of the Republic do my mother. And with the ruin that the giant mobile suit caused, I don't doubt that she is being kept busy with cleaning and picking up the aftermath. Then, for all of the Federation leaders to meet, it kind of said the strained state of the world as well. "I would bet Miss Soreil has been busy, I feel for her in that, especially seeing the results of the Berlin attack in person," I said soberly.

"Yes, the poor woman has been worrying about her people greatly in the last few weeks, she showed signs of missing sleep," mother replied. "However, the meeting did end out with very good results I think."

I gazed at my mom, "Really, such as," I posed.

"It is the first time in my memory, that the leaders of the two major states of the Earth Alliance talked on genuinely friendly terms in any way with any leaders of the Federation," she answered.

I openly gaped, "Wait, leaders from the Atlantic and Eurasia Federation were involved in the meeting?!"

My mother nodded, "Indeed, they have been having serious misgivings about Logos who has been influencing them overall. Plus, the major point that came out of the meeting was that borders between Alliance and Federation territory are of less consequence to the Federation Military and what Earth Forces haven't deserted."

That was huge news to me, for it pretty much implied that there could be an unofficial truce and possible alliance between the two factions in the works. That would be helpful if ZAFT forces attacked any of the member nations or Alliance states and that was a serious possibility in my mind. It was really a matter of time I think, Durandal has started whatever he is working for and I doubt he'll stop soon.

The chat with my mother came to a close and my mom left, and I went to bed for the night but was still restless and didn't sleep well. Very early the next morning, my com-unit began going off, I rolled over and grabbed it and took the call whoever it was from. "Whoever this is, it's too freaking early, call," I started saying, but I didn't finish.

" _Tye, I know it's early and I'm sorry, but things had shifted to being bad for us on the Archangel,_ " said the voice of Kira.

My brain did a hard restart and began becoming more aware of the world around me at hearing my friend's voice. "Kira? What are you referring to when you say things are getting bad for the Archangel," I questioned.

" _Hours ago, a couple of ZAFT land ships caught up with us. When we asked them what was going on, they just demanded our surrender and then attacked us,_ " Kira answered.

ZAFT chasing the Archangel and demanding them to surrender? That makes as much sense as Blue Cosmos loving Coordinators. The Archangel has done nothing that would get close to justifying such an action from ZAFT. "What do you mean demanded surrender? What kind of crap did they use to justify even stating such malarkey," I asked irritated.

" _They didn't give a reason, the lead vessel just demanded that we surrender or be destroyed. Then they just started attacking after the second time,_ " Kira replied.

I sighed, as none of what Kira was telling me anything that could possibly explain what ZAFT thinking. With the Archangel being a Federation vessel technically, ZAFT assaulting it was an extremely risky action and violated standing agreements. Then to do so without a reason or even stating it if they had one which I doubt, it was more than just weird and just says ZAFT is more in the wrong. Let's just say that ZAFT was playing with what's akin to a roaring blaze of a fire that would easily become an unstoppable forest fire, and they weren't showing much worry about the serious chance of being burned to a crisp to charred. "I take it that you shooed them away," I posed.

" _Yes, but with how far they pursued us already, it's unlikely that they'll give up with one attempt,_ " Kira answered.

Kira wasn't wrong, for ZAFT to chase the Archangel into the Siberian area where communication and sensors tend to be spotty, says they are determined. I didn't like this development at all, it worried me and made me wonder what Durandal was after, for he would know by now that this kind of thing is a very dangerous gamble. He clearly wanted the Archangel out of the way and probably the Freedom destroyed. What I couldn't figure out was why he wanted that or how it could benefit the man or his potential scheme.

The other question was what could I do to help in this situation? I was around Shira right now, that's a fair distance away from where the Archangel was traveling. I did some quick thinking and knew that a ship would have difficulty in getting to where it could help the Archangel. A mobile suit could get there faster, but power supply would be a serious shortcoming. Granted, the Aurora had a nuclear reactor, but that's the only mobile suit I know of that does right now. It would be better if I don't go alone, though I would if I had to. "I'll figure out a way to get to the Archangel as soon as possible to help you out in getting the Archangel to the water. If the ship can dive underwater, then it should be able to get to Orb and ZAFT should then leave it alone, provided they don't do something completely idiotic," I said.

" _Okay, if ZAFT attacks again, we'll hold them off the best we can. Hope to see you soon Tye,_ " Kira said and ended the call.

The very next thing I did, was contact Lisa, who had been staying around the Normandy to keep an eye on things. "Lisa, a real emergency has come up and I have a favor to ask of you as a friend," I opened.

Lisa was quiet for a moment, " _Should I ask what the emergency is, or should I just tell you to state to me what the favor is?_ "

"The Archangel was attacked by ZAFT for whatever reason, and are likely to do it again, don't ask me why," I said. Then I took a deep breath as I'm not one to ask for help from others normally, but I was getting kind of desperate. "My favor is I'm asking you to come with me to aid the Archangel and keep me from doing something stupid, it might happen with how things stand."

Lisa was quiet for another moment, " _Okay fine, I'm in, where do you want to meet up at,_ " she asked.

"Meet me at the Northern Transit station, we'll go to Teswa from there," I said, before I hung up and raced to my car.

I will neither deny nor confirm that my foot was pressing firmly down on the accelerator and may or may not have had my car going faster than is posted for vehicles to go. However, I have friends that are either in or will probably be in danger soon, so I don't care! Besides, I wasn't caught, so there is nothing more that needs to be said. Not only that, I'm stressed from recent events and so I want something to do instead of sitting around waiting! I waited at the station for Lisa and kept my mouth shut when she finally arrived, it felt like she had taken her sweet time, doubt that she did, it's just me. Lisa just said we should get going, likely seeing that my stress levels were much higher than they normally are on average.

We got to Teswa and as it was very early morning right now, there were few here. Lisa and I headed for where mobile suits go for work to be done and we found a few people there. I went to the nearest scientist and laid out the situation that I was hoping to help stop ending badly. Thankfully, the Aurora was ready to go and upon talking further with those here, the Athena was one of the mobile suits in storage here at Teswa and it was good to go.

I was about to get to the Aurora, but was stopped when I was addressed, "Captain McGregor, I didn't imagine we would meet again here of all places."

I turned and of all people, saw Quatre Winters, the one that had been with Athrun and Cagalli around Lagrange 4. What he was doing here, I haven't the faintest clue, but… I recall him saying that he was a mobile suit pilot himself. Honestly, at this point, I need what help I could get, though I don't like admitting it out loud. And the one that had mentioned that the Athena was in storage at Teswa did also say that the Thanatos was here as well. So, the more the merrier in this jaunt I say, "Mr. Winters, I could say the same of you," I greeted. Then I got down to business, "You said that you were a pilot, did you not?"

Mr. Winters nodded, "Yes, why do you ask," he questioned.

I took a breath, "Would you be up to piloting a mobile suit to save lives that are either in danger or will be soon Mr. Winters?"

Mr. Winters put a hand on his chin, "Well first, call me Quatre, not Mr. Winters. As for piloting, since I have no current assignment, I don't see an issue with helping you out," he replied.

With Quatre agreeing, the Thanatos was also brought out of storage with the Athena and both were given a quick once over. The three of us suited up, and it was as I did, that the point of power supply for the mobile suits came back to my mind. The Aurora would be fine, the nuclear reactor would produce enough energy to get to where the Archangel would be and fight the battle. The other two of the same series, had batteries and those would unlikely have the power needed to do both tasks. However, upon getting back to the mobile suit floor, those here explained that both the Thanatos and Athena had been equipped with nuclear reactors like the Aurora, which solved the problem.

We boarded our respective mobile suits; Lisa to the Athena, Quatre to the Thanatos and I to the Aurora. I double checked the Aurora's systems out of habit, and saw they were all good to go. I launched first out of the upper shutter that was opened, followed by Lisa and then Quatre. We shifted our machines into their flight modes and moved into a V formation with me in the lead and we headed towards where the Archangel was traveling, going supersonic after gaining enough height.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

Athrun was frustrated, not just at the current orders that the ship had, but about how so many things seemed to make no sense recently. The Minerva was now assigned to join up with allied forces that were in the Eurasia Federation territory. Said force had tracked down the Archangel to deal with her along with its mobile suits. It made absolutely no logical sense to Athrun, Chairman Durandal had talked about fighting Logos during his broadcast. How that translated to the current operation, Athrun had no clue and couldn't even imagine even a ridiculous reason that could justify this.

So irked was Athrun that he had gone to Captain Gladys to ask her for an explanation as to why Operation: Angel Down as it was being referred to as was necessary, and why the Minerva was put on it. Talia had Athrun come into her quarters and it was shortly after he entered that Athrun started, "Captain, forgive me if it sounds out of line, but the orders that the ship is under make no sense whatsoever. The Chairman talked about fighting Logos, how does that translate to headquarters ordering us and others to attack the Archangel ma'am," Athrun demanded. Talia said nothing as she actually agreed with Athrun to an extent, still he continued, "Contact headquarters and ask them their reasoning for this operation."

"I did so twice already Athrun," Talia snapped, forcing Athrun to stop in his tirade. Talia brought up what she had been given to explain the operation, "All I got was the orders being repeated and this video clip showing an Alliance mobile suit being taken onboard the Archangel!" Talia brought of the said clip, and it didn't help Athrun understand, for to him it was a recording taken out of context. "It has been stated by our superiors that the Archangel and its mobile suits have been playing all of us for fools. I know this operation makes no sense, I agree with you on that, but those are our orders and I can't change them. Things and people change over time, you need to understand that, even if you might not see it or like it," Talia said.

" _Captain, we've received a feed from the AWACS and we're about to enter the operation area,_ " reported Arthur over a com-channel interrupting the two.

"Understood," answered Talia, before leaving her quarters, Athrun a short distance behind her. "Athrun, if you don't wish to participate in this operation, then you should stay in your quarters. I wouldn't blame you should you choose to do so, but what headquarters has made it clear that the Archangel is to be sunk whatever the cost."

Talia arrived on the bridge and it lowered down into its position for combat. Meyrin declared condition red and all the crew went to their stations. Even Athrun suited up and went to the hanger, still with doubts in his mind. He didn't want the Minerva to be taken down, but nor did he wish to see the Archangel sunk either. When Athrun arrived in the hanger, he saw that the Minerva's five other pilots were already there. Athrun was walking up to the others when he overheard Aila speaking, "Shinn, apparently, you are to take on the Freedom according to the orders that were given to the Minerva."

That brought Athrun to a halt, "Aila, are you sure that orders have state that Shinn is to fight the Freedom," Athrun asked.

Everyone turned to Athrun, Aila shrugged, "That's what they said, it's rather surprising if you ask me." She twisted to look at Shinn, "Not that I'm saying that you can't handle the job Shinn." Aila turned back to Athrun, "I merely expected the one who had the most experience and knowledge of the Freedom would be given the task."

Athrun shrugged weakly, "Honestly, these orders have been different than those previous, so I can't say much about them," he replied.

The Minerva came into visual range of the battle against the Archangel and it was looking harsh for ZAFT forces. After contacting the Compton-class, it was learned that there had already been an attempt to slow the Archangel down and that hadn't worked very well. With addition force now on hand, the operation was to be resumed and completed. Should the Archangel get to the sea and dive, then it would escape and the operation would be considered a failure.

The land ships stayed back a bit as the Minerva moved forward towards the Archangel. The closer the Minerva got, the worse the fight became. The Freedom and the custom Excel Fighter were giving ZAFT forces a fight that was far harder than predicted and that was saying something with the Freedom involved. Talia focused on the operation at hand, "Fire jamming shells, then have the Impulse launch out, after that, have the first group of mobile suits head out," she ordered.

Jamming shells were shot and the Archangel's sensors were made useless temporarily, which would hide the deployment of the Impulse. Shinn shot out of the Minerva, his mind on the fight with the X10A Freedom as he believed it would be the hardest fight thus far that he had been in. As that was the case, Shinn was going with the Force Silhouette as it was the most rounded set of equipment the Impulse had. Shinn headed for the Freedom ahead of him right when the combination sequence was done.

The Minerva began attacking the Archangel after the Impulse had launched, also sending out three of the remaining five machines that it had. Shinn fired his beam rifle at the Freedom, stopping Kira from following the Archangel as it traveled forward. The Excel fighter was quickly occupied by the Osiris and drawn away from the Archangel, while the Saviour and Heero's Phantom defended the Minerva. The barrage from the land ships ceased as the Minerva began its assault on the Archangel.

Kira tried to get back to defend the Archangel as the Minerva began attacking, but the Impulse kept stopping him in his path. Shinn used the hours of study he had spent watching the Freedom in how it fought. That time used to study was paying off as the Freedom's pilot was having trouble hitting the Impulse. Kira knew that Tyler would get here at some point, he had faith in his friend, when that would be he didn't know, but he knew Tyler wouldn't let him down or their other friends.

As the Archangel kept going, it fired missiles back at the Minerva, yet it didn't take long for Talia to realize that the Archangel wasn't aiming for the ship directly. Her doubts about this operation came back, but she ignored them. The orders in this operation didn't specify what condition the Archangel had to be in by the end, just that the Archangel was 'dealt with'. Talia had Meyrin use an internationally used communication channel so that the Archangel would hear her. She picked up the ship phone, "This is the captain of the Minerva speaking, Talia Gladys. Archangel, do you read me?"

On the Archangel, it was the first time in this series of events that any from ZAFT had contacted them for anything other than to demand their surrender. " _Our orders are to help in dealing with the Archangel and its mobile suits as there is evidence that has you working for Logos. Yet, due to your past actions, I'm giving you the chance to get out of this without your crew or pilots being killed for this,_ " continued Talia.

The explanation that the Minerva's captain was giving was ludicrous, for the Archangel to be accused of working for Logos when it had been working alongside the Federation didn't make sense. And this evidence that was mentioned, made all the Archangel's crew wonder what possible thing could be used to come to the stated conclusion. The message continued, " _This will be your final chance and warning, refuse now and we will destroy the Archangel. I trust that you will make the best decision for your crew, Gladys out._ "

There was a moment of silence on the bridge of the Archangel, "Well, that was the first hint to why ZAFT has been chasing us," Murrue said.

From down within the CIC, the newer executive officer Todd Amagi made his voice heard, "With all due respect, for ZAFT to believe the Archangel is working for Logos is completely ridiculous. It sounds more like someone lying to make a reason to get this ship out of the way. Then, if we were to surrender to ZAFT, then they could use Lady Cagalli to try and force either Orb into an agreement with ZAFT or change its current standing."

Murrue nodded slowly, "Then our path forward is clear," she said. Then Murrue turned to Miriallia, "Have us broadcast on the same channel that the Minerva's captain did."

"Yes ma'am," replied Miriallia.

Murrue picked up her ship phone, "This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel. While I truly do appreciate the offer you extend, we cannot accept it as things stand. We are simply traveling towards the Orb Union, and still have tasks to perform. Your claim that we are working for Logos is emphatically false and what evidence is being used to portray any hint of the idea is being use for another's benefit out of context. I hope you allow us to leave the battle."

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Lisa, Quatre and I headed for the Eurasian Federation border as fast as was reasonable to push the machines we were in. Thanks to what my mother informed me of, we need not worry about Alliance responding to us crossing the border. As we went, I kept going over what possible reasons there could be for ZAFT attacking the Archangel. The only thought that I had come to mind that made any sense whatsoever, was someone wanted to be rid of the Archangel. I was inclined to believe it was Durandal, but I couldn't figure out what he gains from trying to destroy the Archangel.

Along our way close to the border, a number of Federation fighters joined the three of us, making our trio, into a group of twelve. Apparently, there had been increased activity from ZAFT forces to the north and some were being scrambled to see what was going on. The longer we traveled, the higher my stress was climbing as the thoughts of what could be happening to the Archangel were going through my head. I was keeping myself calm as I could, but that was becoming harder as time was moving forward.

However, after what seemed like hours, but wasn't passed by, we came into view of the action. The Archangel was cruising towards the water that led to the ocean and ZAFT forces were trying to slow them down. For ZAFT, there were a couple of small land battleships and one larger land ship, along with of all ships, the Minerva. The Minerva being here added to the oddity in my opinion, they had been at Gibraltar last I heard. Kira was fighting the blue and white mobile suit, the Impulse I think Athrun and Shinn had called it. There was a custom Excel fighter fighting other mobile suits, both were being drawn away from the Archangel.

The attacks on the Archangel ceased and over an open channel came the voice of Talia Gladys, " _This is the captain of the Minerva speaking, Talia Gladys. Archangel, do you read me?_ "

Our group was descending down closer to the battle as the Minerva's captain kept going, " _Our orders are to help in dealing with the Archangel and its mobile suits as there is evidence that has you working for Logos. Yet, due to your past actions, I'm giving you the chance to get out of this without your crew or pilots being killed for this,_ " continued Talia.

That explanation was a freaking load of crap if ever I've heard any, and I've heard some really pathetic and downright lousy justifications! For the Archangel to be accused of working for Logos when it was a part of the Federation and her actions made that clear enough one would think, but apparently, someone thinks they can pass off something like this. And this evidence that was mentioned, what the hell could anyone has gotten and taken out of context enough to come out with this crap?! Talia Gladys continued, " _This will be your final chance and warning, refuse now and we will destroy the Archangel. I trust that you will make the best decision for your crew, Gladys out._ "

If this doesn't say that either Durandal has started losing his mind or is up to something, I don't know what would say the point better! A minute later, Murrue's voice came over the same open channel, " _This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel. While I truly do appreciate the offer you extend, we cannot accept it as things stand. We are simply traveling towards the Orb Union, and still have tasks to perform. Your claim that we are working for Logos is emphatically false and what evidence is being used to portray any hint of the idea is being use for another's benefit out of context. I hope you allow us to leave the battle,_ " she stated.

The reply that came at Murrue's statement was all ZAFT forces resumed attacking the Archangel and her defenders. Well, not like any of us who came were going to just sit back and do nothing when ZAFT forces are attacking our allies. We went for the ZAFT forces of course and forced them to pay attention to us as if they didn't, we destroy them. I went for the largest land battleship and began peppering the ship's guns with my 90mm vulcans and a set of missiles. The whole dynamic of the battle had changed within a minute of those of us who traveled here entered the fight. Even when ZAFT could see us, their attempt to counter the additional Federation forces didn't do much since we kept them hard pressed.

Next thing I knew, I found myself facing the red ZAFT suit that Athrun had been flying as far as I know lately. Seeing the mobile suit that Athrun pilots didn't bring me any comfort, it hurt to face off against a friend, for I'd done so in the previous war and so am doing again. I opened a com-channel to Athrun's machine, "So tell me friend, can you explain to me what the hell this whole situation is about. Because, I'm having a very hard time figuring out why this is happening when it shouldn't be at all," I said flatly.

" _Tye, this isn't,_ " Athrun started, but didn't say more.

So as Athrun wasn't explaining anything, I continued, "The explanation that the Minerva's captain gave makes no sense in any way and you know it. The Archangel has not, does not and will not work for an organization like Logos, we both can say that without reservations. The only thing I can come up with as to why ZAFT is attacking the Archangel, is that someone wants her gone, but I can't come up with is how that benefit someone else."

" _Tye, what you're saying is crazy,_ " Athrun shot back.

"If you have a better way of explaining how this situation came to be, then I'm listening Athrun," I replied. Athrun said nothing, "Or perhaps you can tell me why Chairman Durandal has resorted to telling part truths and lies in order to make him look better, rather that tell the whole truth," I posed.

Athrun sputtered a bit, " _The Chairman is making the world a safer place,_ " he said unconvincingly.

"Safe place huh, for whom I would ask," I remarked. "Durandal says he wants to get rid of Logos, but what then? I doubt he would stop after getting rid of Logos members, so where does the campaign end friend?"

" _Tye, what are you saying,_ " Athrun uttered.

"Okay then, let me spell it out for you," I said. "If what has been going on doesn't feel somewhat familiar Athrun, then you've forgotten a great deal. Sorry, but this is very much the same direction that Chairman Zala began with and used to the end of trying to destroy all Natural-type human beings." I stopped saying what I was, for what I stated and thoughts that came with it, helped things start clicking into place and things were beginning to make sense, twisted but understandable sense. Like Chairman Zala had or rather Le Creuset, Durandal was going through the process of getting as many on his side as possible and making those that wouldn't side with him disappear. The realization about Durandal made me very angry as it explained so much that had occurred already, "Oh that sneaky punk, he's on the same level as the dirty rat!" I growled.

However, before either Athrun or I could say anything else, we were separated by the fighting. I was still mad at realizing what this was about and though, it is unlike me to take out frustrations and anger on others, I brought out my plasma cannons and fired at the largest ZAFT land ship, destroying the bridge in the process to vent a bit. I focused on the battle with renewed fervor, determined to deny Durandal what he wants from this even if I don't know what it was. The onset of my SEED mode came, increasing my effectiveness in piloting and the speed of me taking down opposing mobile suits.

Yet, I was brought to a halt in my path towards the Archangel by the gold mobile suit that the was assigned to the Minerva as I recall. A minute into dancing with the machine, I could tell the pilot of this machine wasn't half bad at what they do. But then, I'm no ordinary pilot and I'm going pretty much all out and that makes a serious different! My opponent held on for a few minutes, and I applaud them for that as doing that when I'm using SEED mode, that's not something most can do, but I wouldn't let them keep me from defending my friends. Not to say that this mobile suit was not equipped well or anything like that, if had a fair arsenal. However, my opponent's machine seemed to be geared towards fighting enemies that didn't have phase shift armor, for most weapons were projectile based. It did have a beam rifle system with machine guns, but I was able to either avoid the shots or block them with my shield.

However, as time dragged on, frustration grew within me, which I then made the effort and closed the distance between my opponent and myself. Drawing a beam saber, I got a slice in on the rifle system, destroying it by it exploding after being cut. I did not make that hit without paying a price in the form of my opponent taking out a beam javelin and get some gashes at the Aurora's leg and chest vents. Still, I got past the gold mobile suit, but noted that the ZAFT land ships were still bombarding the Archangel, which I didn't like. I aimed my plasma cannons at the lead vessel, and fired, this time dealing a crippling blow, stopping the advance of the ship, then I resumed my path towards the Archangel.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The reply that came at Murrue's statement was all ZAFT forces resumed their assault on the Archangel and her defenders. Kira was being occupied by one of the Gundam-types from the Minerva and kept from helping the Archangel and Cormag was much in the same position with other mobile suits from the Minerva. Things were looking grim for the Archangel and her crew as time passed and it would take something close to a miracle to change the situation. Kira had said that he had contacted Tyler and mentioned that he would come to their aid as soon as possible. Many had faith in Tyler and his abilities as he'd proven himself, but the question of him making it in time was running through just as many minds.

The Archangel was still heading for the water to dive and escape, but the Minerva had gotten behind them. As the first shot from the Minerva's triple cannon flew towards the Archangel, Arnold turned the navigation wheel hard to the right, changing the ship's orientation and through doing so, evaded the close to point-blank ranged shot. Yet, before the Minerva could continue its attacks on the Archangel, the flow of the battle changed as Federation mobile suits appeared on the battlefield. It was a surprise for the ZAFT forces, more so when the Federation forces quickly began attacking them.

On the Archangel, the crew was gaping at the ally reinforcement that had appeared at the darkest point in this battle. The feeling of shock was broken by Sai speaking, "Well, as Kira said, Tyler delivers on his claim on getting here to help as soon as he could."

Tolle chuckled at hearing that, "Right you are as usual Sai, Tye is a friend that goes above and beyond for others," he said.

The ally forces quickly pressed ZAFT onto the defensive, which took a good portion of the pressure off the Archangel. However, the Minerva still assaulted them, but it was more manageable to keep the Archangel moving forward. A flash of red caught attention from both the Archangel and the Minerva, and it didn't take long to see the flash had been the largest

ZAFT land ship being struck around the bridge area, which stopped the progress of the ship was halted. This was quickly followed by a red mobile suit speeding around the field, shooting down ZAFT mobile suits with great efficiency.

As the Archangel got closer and closer to the water, the efforts of the Minerva and a small number of ZAFT mobile suits became more desperate. At the same time, Kira was still fighting the Impulse, trying to get past the mobile suit that was in his way in getting to the Archangel. Kira tried to shoot his beam rifle close by to cause his opponent to retreat, but that didn't work with this pilot. So, he moved on to hitting body part of the machine, yet that still didn't have the desired result of having this mobile suit stop keeping him from the Archangel.

When the Impulse began losing body parts, Shinn decided to try a potentially crazy stunt, but then conventional tactics didn't work on the Freedom well if at all. So, the moment that the Impulse lost its main cameras, Shinn had the Impulse disassemble into its modules. The Force Silhouette shot forward towards the Freedom, and Shinn added the guns on the Core Splendor to distract and then cause the silhouette flier to detonate to throw the Freedom off balance and tumbling away. Shinn next ordered the Minerva to send out a chest flier and a Force Silhouette.

Kira hadn't expected to be blindsided in the manner that his opponent had used. The Gundam-type he was facing was the one that was assembled from parts as he had seen before now. But the pilot had sacrificed parts of their equipment and caused it to explode in Kira's face. The phase shift armor the Freedom had saved him from the damaging effects of the explosion, but not the concussive force that came with it. Kira tried to recover for the blast sent him flying yet had ended out touching down on the closest snowy slope. For a couple of seconds, Kira thought he might have recovered, but the Freedom then lost its footing and tumbled then rolled down the slope.

Shinn recombined the Impulse with the Force equipment set, and shot forward at the Freedom, drawing a beam saber as he went. The Freedom got back into the air as the Impulse rushed at it, slashing at Kira. Shinn didn't let his opponent gain any distance from him as he continued his assault, if the Freedom was able to use its distance weapons, Shinn would lose his advantage. A few minutes into the assault, Shinn had destroyed one of the Freedom's wing sets and forced it to drop its beam rifle. He called for the Sword Silhouette to be launched out as the Freedom made a dash towards the Archangel. The Sword Silhouette flew up to where Shinn was, and he took both anti-ship swords off the flier. Shinn threw one of the swords at the Freedom, forcing Kira to turn and use his shield to deflect the sword.

The Impulse was approaching the Freedom as the Minerva fired its positron cannon at the Archangel. Kira glanced at where the beam had struck, panicking about what had happened to the Archangel just now. However, he was forced to focus back on the Impulse as it was zooming at him with another anti-ship sword in hand. Kira realized that it was too late for him to make this mobile suit veer off at this point, "NOOO!" Kira set the Freedom's shield over the torso, specifically the Freedom's cockpit itself. He could only watch as the anti-ship sword came and ran through the lower half of the torso. Kira had just enough time to shut off the nuclear reactor the Freedom had to attempt to minimize the damage that would be incurred by others. Nevertheless, the explosion that came from the destruction of the Freedom was still larger than an average mobile suit gave off when destroyed.

As soon as the water below the Archangel was deep enough, the Archangel began diving into the water. At seeing the Archangel begin to go into the water, Talia was frantically thinking of what to do to stop the ship. More than haft of the ZAFT force that had been put to this operation had been eliminated but the Archangel and the Federation forces. After racking her brain, she decided to attempt to destroy the Archangel one more time, utilizing the Minerva's Tannhäuser positron cannon. So, the Minerva brought its Tannhäuser and aimed it at the Archangel as it was sinking deeper into the ocean. The positron cannon fired, and though it missed a direct strike on the Archangel, the hit on the ocean's surface generated a massive explosion that did extensive damage to the Archangel itself.

The defeat and destruction of the Freedom as painful as was to witness for the crew of the Archangel, they could do nothing at the moment. The positron cannon shot from the Minerva had not hit the Archangel directly, but the explosive shockwave that resulted did damage to the ship. Then, the explosion that came from the Freedom's destruction only added to the damage, but not as much as the shockwave from the positron cannon. The fact was that the Archangel took neither blast well and the damage had the ship taking on water to the point that Amagi was ordering the sections that were now flooding sealed. While that was being done, Murrue ordered that the one large damaged engines to be jettisoned and then seconds later detonated to make what was left of ZAFT forces would think the Archangel had been sunk. The sacrifice would hopefully buy enough time for the Archangel to escaped to open water and head to Orb.

At seeing the destruction of the Freedom, Cagalli had raced to the hanger to get into the Strike Rouge to go out and look for the remains of the Freedom. The explosion's size that the Freedom gave off implied that the mobile suits had not had its reactor detonate, which meant that Kira could have survived. The explosion that resulted from running the Freedom through, shoved Shinn back hard, and the Minerva experienced the same shockwave a moment later. Any visual of what happened to the Freedom or the Archangel was obscured by the shockwave throwing up spray and snow as it went outward.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The battle that had been ZAFT attacking the Archangel, had morphed into ZAFT defending themselves and not getting to do much about the Archangel. I intend to keep the momentum going until the Archangel gets beyond their reach and this battle is said and done. I was helping by taking out ZAFT machines as I worked to close the distance between the Archangel and myself. The Minerva was getting too close for my liking, and I would convince them to back off whether that required me disabling her or she retreated by her own choice, that's up to her captain. I would include the ship's mobile suits in that task, I would rather not destroy and kill the pilots if I don't have to.

The outlook I had changed drastically with one sight that I thought I would never see as long as I would live. That sight was the Freedom getting impaled in the torso by an anti-ship sword and it made my blood run ice cold. The closest I'd seen to Kira getting defeated was when I came upon the rat Le Creuset during the latter half of the Second Battle of Jachin Due, this was worse to see. Words failed me as the Freedom fell to the water below it and exploded, but feelings of rage and injustice swelled up and filled me rapidly.

Kira was not a person who deserved to die for any reason as he had done his best to be nice to others around him, even to those that didn't deserve it. He wasn't a soldier like Athrun and I are, Kira was an individual that wanted peace for everyone, that was one of the major reasons that he got back into the cockpit of the Freedom again. Yet, all that Kira's efforts had brought him in his pursuit for a peaceful world that included the Moon and the Colonies was hardship. He wasn't inclined to fight and kill others, the opposite actually, yet he did what he saw as needed to bring peace. And yet, that had now brought this upon one of my best friend's injuries at the very least and possibly had killed him.

You would think things would have difficulty to become worse in this situation, but you would be wrong. The Archangel had sunk into the water for a successful escape, but before it could get deep, the Minerva shot its positron cannon at the Archangel. The shot didn't hit the Archangel directly, but the explosion that was caused I would bet did something to the Archangel, I just don't know what. There was a large explosion a short period after the Archangel disappeared under the water, sending water flying outward.

I could only gaze at what had just occurred in front of me, my emotions boiling within me hotter than they had for a long time. And why was all of this happening one would ask? From what I've seen and comprehend, it's due to a man that is portraying himself as some sort of savior of the human race being a snake! Durandal was presenting his actions and intentions as the best and only way to bring a future for humanity that has the war ending. What was irking me so, was what had clicked in my mind during this battle, Durandal was going through the process of getting rid of those that could and would stand against him and his views. This 'operation' was but the first I feel of many that will attempt to deal with those that would stand up against Durandal's goals.

The fury raging within me, was making it hard for me to keep control over myself. Seeing what happened to Kira hurt me at the same level the understanding my dad and sister were killed in the Bloody Valentine. My hands held the controls of my mobile suit in death grips along with my body began shaking with sheer anger. My mouth was open, but words didn't come at first, yet they did come, "Why… why did this… Kira had done nothing… this shouldn't have happened!" I couldn't form complete sentences at all, the pain and fury I felt made me unable to do such a task at the moment.

Nevertheless, a thought set itself clearly in my mind as my anger coursed through me, that was I couldn't let Durandal get away with this. The man that was the current Chairman of the PLANT's Supreme Council, had shown that he liked and depended on the Minerva. What the reason was for that, I didn't know, nor did I care right now. All that I could figure, was if the Minerva was damaged or destroyed, it would make Durandal's day a bad one and I wanted that more than close to anything else currently. I would try not to destroy the ship, Athrun's on it after all and I don't want to kill my other best friend. His presence on the Minerva is the ship's and its crew's saving grace, if he wasn't there, I would aim to destroy that ship.

An idea of how to accomplish my intention, came to me and it made more a statement to Durandal and that's what I wanted. I brought out the keyboard the Aurora had and got down to setting up the stunt I was about to set into motion. The stunt would end out with the Aurora's destruction, but to get payback for Kira, I was willing to sacrifice my mobile suit. I programmed the Aurora's reactor to rupture and detonate, turning it into a nuclear bomb in essence. However, I programmed it in such a way that there would be a period that those that had come with me could get out of range, including myself. Plus, I would have an electro-magnetic pulse emitted to disable ships and add to the damage induced.

Once I had things set the way I wanted, I contacted Lisa, "Lisa, I need a bailout now," I said.

" _On my way,_ " she replied.

I took one last look around the cockpit of my mobile suit which I had piloted off and on for close three years. Then I flipped the switch that had my seat rise up out of the main cockpit area and saw the Athena approaching me. The restraint system holding my suit to the pilot seat released and I got to my feet. Lisa came out of her cockpit and had one of the Athena's hands come up and provide a bridge for me to cross the gap between us. I sent the remote command to the Aurora for the pilot seat to go back down into the cockpit before I headed over to Lisa.

Lisa glanced at me, "What's going on," she asked.

"The battle is pretty much done," I answered flatly, "However, I will not let the man responsible have a victory to boast about."

Lisa brought both of us into the Athena's cockpit, and I saw that it was similar to the Aurora's own. I then, sent the final remote command to the Aurora, to have the program or command set execute and have the nuclear reactor begin its journey to destruction. I let out a sigh, "Now the Aurora is a nuclear bomb ticking down to detonate," I admitted weakly.

Lisa told everyone else to fallback immediately after I had said the line and then threw the Athena's throttle forward all the way after shifting the machine into its flight mode. While I silently vowed that I would apologize to Athrun for adding to the pain he was already no doubt in right now the next time I would see him.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Shinn managed to stabilize the Impulse's flight, the blast from the Freedom had done a number on the Impulse. The phase shift was deactivating as Shinn came to the conclusion that the fight against the Freedom was over. The explosion would more than likely destroyed a mobile suit and its pilot, meaning Shinn had won. While he was pleased he had been able to defeat such a powerful opponent, there was also a sick feeling developing in the pit of his stomach.

The Freedom and its pilot, Shinn had admired them both even if others didn't. The records on the Freedom had always fascinated Shinn, as the way it fought was incredible. The Freedom could take on multiple or single opponents efficiently and cleanly most of the time. Yet, the pilot had a tendency to disarm their opponents more than killing them and Shinn respected the idea of not killing others needlessly. Shinn's feelings were conflicted at the conclusion of this battle, but then the orders for this operation had seemed kind of odd to begin with.

With the three explosions occurring, Aila let out a sigh of slight relief as it appeared the battle was coming to an end. The operation had started okay, but it had changed into something entirely different and much more problematic. The appearance of Federation forces had complicated things quite fast and had forced all of ZAFT forces onto the defensive. The Archangel had been shot before it had escaped completely and the Freedom had been taken down and that's what counted.

And yet, Aila spotted the red Federation Gundam-type suit was hovering a distance away, doing seemingly nothing. When she had fought the machine it had been unreal, mostly since Aila had been outdone pretty cleanly she had to admit. The pilot had somehow known where other mobile suits would be without looking, where shots would come from and dodge or blocked the attacks with seemingly great ease. By the end of the fight with the red suit, Aila had lost the rifle system and had taken more damage than she had given in exchange. The other oddity was that the other Federation forces had left already, so why hadn't the red Gundam-type followed?

As Aila watched, a few of ZAFT mobile suits were cautiously approaching the red Gundam-type as it had done a lot of destruction during the battle. Aila gained a bad feeling about the Federation machine and its inaction and that feeling grew every passing second. She had no evidence upon which this feeling was based on, but something in Aila told her that something was wrong in this.

The next thing Aila saw and knew, there came a wave of energy that passed through the Osiris and the mobile suits in close proximity to the red Gundam-type. Aila scanned over her suit's displays and found nothing had changed much, but the wave had been noted. However, as Aila looked back up, she noticed that the Petrie-class vessels had stopped and seemed to be having issues. It was that, which helped Aila realize what that 'wave' had been, it was an electro-magnetic pulse. The strength of the pulse was not something that just any device produces, in fact, there was one idea that could put out the magnitude of pulse and knowing that caused Aila's eyes to widen with horror.

She turned towards the Minerva and saw that the Minerva was plowing through the snow, showing that the pulse had hit her too. Aila opened a channel to the Minerva, "MINERVA, FLY AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM HERE! THERE'S ABOUT TO BE A NUCLEAR BLAST!"

Meanwhile, on the Minerva, there were an array of problems being dealt with. The odd pulse had hit ZAFT ships and mobile suits, but while the mobile suits were overall unaffected due to shielding, the ships were not. The Minerva's systems were shorting or just shutting off without being told to, the crew was scrambling to try and stabilize the ship's operation. Meyrin was trying to get the catapults to respond to commands, when a really broken up message came in from the Osiris, " _MINERVA… FAST AS… CAN… HERE! THERE'S ABOUT… BLAST!_ "

What Meyrin had caught from Aila made no sense to her, "Osiris, your message was really broken up, please repeat," she said.

Talia turned to Meyrin, "What's going on Meyrin," she asked.

"Well ma'am," Meyrin responded, "We were getting a communication from the Osiris, but is was breaking up badly, so I can't say what the message is."

"Play what you got Meyrin," ordered Talia.

Meyrin routed the message to the bridge's speakers, " _MINERVA… FAST AS… CAN… HERE! THERE'S ABOUT… BLAST,_ " static crackling a great deal throughout the message.

Talia didn't like what she heard, the word 'blast' stuck out to her, and the tone Aila was using made the message even more worrisome. She turned forward, "Malik, use what engines that are working and get us moving forward now!"

"Yes ma'am," Malik replied.

The Minerva had begun slowly moving forward, when a blinding light appeared behind them, getting brighter by the second. Then came the roar that was followed by the earthshattering rumble which lasted longer than the light or the roar. Talia was trying to figure out what was going on, little did she know what was unfolding behind her. The nuclear blast expanded from where the Aurora had been but a moment ago, the influence of the explosion larger than what had come from the Freedom. The four remaining Petrie-classes and the Compton-class vanishing when the blast rocketed past them. All the mobile suits other than the Osiris who had barely gotten out of range, disappeared as their land ships had.

Although the Minerva had just past the edge of the explosion, the objects that the nuclear blast didn't disintegrate were hurled in almost every direction including at the Minerva. Many of the objects turned to shrapnel missed the Minerva by varying margins, but some did find the ship. When the shrapnel struck, or rather crashed into the ship, the Minerva was shaken harder than the rumbling was doing. Of the areas that were barraged by shrapnel, the engines and what wasn't shielded by something from the rear took the worst. Most on the Minerva were simply holding on to whatever they could find that was anchored and hoped the shaking would stop soon.

Down in pilot lounge above the hanger, Athrun was still staring in disbelief at the screen that had been showing the battle outside. What he had witnessed was sinking in, and the pain was growing rapidly, for he had just watched one of his best friends get killed. Granted, he may not agree with Kira or Tyler on everything, but that didn't mean by any stretch of the imagination that he wanted to see either of them dead! It took all the control Athrun had to not scream to give voice to the pain that was bursting within him. Then, there had been the flash of light followed by the roar and rumbling, and now the sound and shaking of objects striking the ship, but Athrun ignored all of that. The pain was clawing at him, demanding his undivided attention, which Athrun wasn't giving it, but it was difficult.

The whole operation that the Minerva had been put to in sinking the Archangel had made no sense to Athrun, and it made even less now. What Tyler had said when they had met on the battlefield was coming back to mind now. It had been clear that Tyler didn't see any reason for the Archangel to be under assault by ZAFT forces and Athrun agreed with the view. Athrun couldn't explain the orders, nor had the explanation that he had gotten from the captain help at all, just made things more confusing. Tyler's claim about the Archangel was hard to argue with logically, but that was Tyler, straight and to the point. But, his own view as to why this situation had been happening, though hard to believe, did make some sense after taking the time to see this operation from a neutral view.

The accusations with Durandal were harsh and yet again, Tyler wasn't exactly wrong, the part truths and lies being utilized a point that couldn't be denied. The question with where the campaign would end was one that Athrun had been asking himself as of late, for Durandal hadn't said anything specific. Then, connecting what was happening to what events had occurred in the previous war hurt. And then, Tyler had stopped in the middle, then had said something that didn't make complete sense. The reference of 'dirty rat' was clearly Tyler's inference to Rau Le Creuset, but who else he had been talking about, Athrun couldn't say for sure, it could be Durandal himself for all Athrun knew.

Lastly, the flash and what followed… Athrun couldn't mistake the signs of the event that was to blame. He'd seen enough recordings and real occurrences of the event to know it was a nuclear detonation. That fact along only increased the pain rip Athrun up inside, as that pointed to the Aurora being destroyed, it had been the only other suit with a nuclear reactor other than the Freedom. Both of his best friends had just been killed for trying to fight for what they believed in and that wasn't wrong.

Athrun shook himself and dashed out of the pilot longue even as Lunamaria and Heero called for him then followed Athrun as he went towards the hanger. The shaking was dying down by the time that Athrun reached the hanger, and it was close to near complete chaos. There was equipment scattered all over, some landing where it had been thrown to, others fallen to where they lay. Mechanics were scrambling around from one place to another, trying to strap down things, putting out fires that had started from objects falling from impacts.

When Athrun heard a mechanic calling that there were fires in the engine room, he used everything in him to focus on the needs of the moment and not give the pain inside him a lot of attention. Athrun turned to Heero and Lunamaria, "Heero, Lunamaria, the mechanics need help right now. Heero, go to the left liner catapult and do what you can to open it," he ordered, to which Heero nodded and went to do as instructed. Athrun gazed at Lunamaria, "Go and do the same for the right catapult Lunamaria. It would be best to have Rey, Aila and Shinn come back onto the Minerva as soon as possible."

"Understood Commander," Luna replied, not wanting to argue with Athrun, and went off to do what she was told to. The expression he had right now was one she'd never seen before and she couldn't tell what it was saying other than 'don't talk back to me'. Athrun had been acting a tad different ever since the Minerva had been assigned to Operation: Angel Down.

The air in the hanger got more tense as more personnel were pulled to work on putting out the fires in the engine room. The shaking and rumbling did cease after a period of time, which only seemed to make more problems come to light. Athrun had quickly taken charge of damage control and keeping order for the crew down in the hanger and the immediate surrounding area. He showed his skills in commander and leading groups of people quickly enough that most didn't questioning his orders, but just did what he said.

Heero managed to get the left mobile suit catapult to open manually as the energy pulse that had hit the Minerva had made some systems not responsive to commands. The mobile suit catapults and the Impulse's own hadn't been doing as the bridge had been telling them to, so manual control was required to get them to work. Heero jogged over to help Luna get the other catapult to open as she was getting frustrated at not have success. The ZAKU Phantom came in first, and Rey instantly saw that getting his suit into a dock wasn't going to happen right now with the rushing around that was going on. So, he moved his mobile suit to a corner of the hanger so that it was out of the way, before he descended to the floor and began to do what he could to help.

The Osiris and the Impulse came in at around the same time, both clearly damaged from the battles they fought. Both Aila and Shinn opened their cockpits and were assaulted by the sounds of people running and shouting things as they went. The both descended to the hanger floor and saw that Athrun was barking orders to crew members and others, who were doing things to get problems under control. Aila had Shinn join up and help Rey and Lunamaria, while she headed for where Athrun was.

As Aila approached Athrun she heard him speaking or rather shouting, "Has there been any word from Chief Aves yet about the status of the engine room?"

"None yet sir, but one of the mechanics was brought out and taken to the infirmary a minute ago," called a crew member as they ran by.

Aila did not like hearing any of that and was worried what could be happening, after all, the Minerva was terrifyingly close to a nuclear detonation. The ship had been peppered by debris by what Aila had seen, but other than that, she couldn't say how bad things were. "Athrun," called Aila as she closed the rest of the distance between them.

Athrun twisted to look towards Aila with a stone-faced expression, "Aila, good to see you alive," he said flatly.

Aila hesitated, "How bad are things," she asked.

Athrun gained a frown, "There bad right now. Chief Aves and pretty much ever mechanic and those that can be spared are in the engine room fighting a blaze that is burning. As you've likely just heard, one of those fighting the fire has been taken to the infirmary. If the fire doesn't get contained, the engines will probably be shut down until the blaze is brought under control. That's the worst part at the moment, but the Minerva has lots of problems right now to say the least," Athrun iterated.

Aila sighed, "I can believe that, what can I do to help the best," she posed.

Athrun paused for a moment, "I have things manageable down here, go to the forward half of the ship and do your best to get things in order there. Chaos will not be helpful right now, more detrimental and there are enough issues to deal with. Take either Rey or Shinn with you to help out, I'll stay here and keep things moving to get what problems there are in hand," he said.

Aila nodded, then went off and snagged Rey along her way and the two headed to the forward half of the ship to get things in order. When Aila went off, Athrun headed for the engine room to see what the situation was himself. The second the door slid open, the heat slammed into Athrun, saying the blaze Aves and others had been fighting was not being contained much at all. Athrun could see that the fire suppression system was working, at least more than half of it was, but it wasn't doing much to the blaze. The flames appeared to be most dense around the engines themselves, suggesting that the engine fuel was feeding them.

Athrun spotted two mechanics close to the door, both with bad burns, everyone else was trying their hardest to keep the flames from gaining more ground than they had. Athrun turned and shouted for some people to get over to where he was quickly. Four crew members one being Shinn came and Athrun had them take the two injured mechanics to the infirmary. Then Athrun went over to one of the com-panels and called the bridge. He didn't get a chance to speak as Talia Gladys spoke, " _What is going on down there?! We've been trying to contact anyone down there, but no one had picked up until now, and now we're getting lots of noise from your end._ "

"Captain, all of us are trying to stop or prevent problems from becoming worse than they are right now," Athrun snapped. "Please, we need you to shut all the engines down immediately!"

On the bridge, Talia was first surprised to hear Athrun's voice, but more shocked he was asking they shut down all the engines. The Minerva was battered, so she needed to get to a port as soon as possible and that required the engines to be running. Then as internal communication systems were having issues, Talia was having the bridge speakers project the reply from the other end and what was heard wasn't nice. "I need a reason to consider shutting down the engines Athrun, you saying so isn't enough," she replied. "Now what is going on down there?"

" _Captain, there is a huge blaze in the engine room, there have been three mechanics that have been taken to the infirmary due to serious burns. The fire appears to be using engine fuel to keep building, Aves and those with him are doing all they can to keep it from spreading further. I repeat, we need you to shut down all the engines quickly,_ " Athrun shot back.

A blaze in the engine room?! But even were that the case, the fire suppression system there should be helping get it under control. There should be no need for the engines to be shut off, "The fire suppression system should be helping Chief Aves and his people with quelling the fire," Talia reasoned.

Yet, Athrun interrupted her, " _The system isn't enough, a little more than half of it is working right now and the blaze is not dying down at all. The best option is to cut off its fuel, if the engines are shut down, then their fuel will stop feeding the flames. So please captain, shut off the engines before more are injured and the extinguishing equipment runs out! The fire will spread if that occurs and there will be little way to stop it._ " There was a scream in the background which all on the bridge hear and most cringed at. " _Sorry Captain, things are getting worse, we can't afford losing more if we want the blaze to not spread to other parts of the ship, I got to go._ "

The line to the hanger cut out a second after that, but in that second the sounds heard weren't encouraging. Talia exhaled frustratedly, "Shut the engines down," she ordered.

"But captain, we need them to get to port," Arthur said incredulously.

"You heard Athrun Arthur, if the blaze down there is as bad as it sounds, and it's being fed by the engines' fuel, then shutting off the engines should help them down there. If the blaze isn't brought under control, then we might lose more than the engines in the end and we can't afford that," Talia stated.

Arthur hesitated for a moment, "Understood ma'am, shutting down engines now," he said.

Back in the hanger, Athrun had been telling the captain to shut down the engines, when one of the mechanics had screamed in pain. When Athrun had seen that the man was trying to put out flames that had gotten on his clothes and were burning his skin, he had repeated the need to shut down the engines, before rushing forward and helped the man put out the fire on him. By the time the fire on the man was out, it was easy to see that his burns were bad. Athrun helped the mechanic to the door to the hanger, then ran back and picked up the extinguisher equipment the mechanic had dropped and took over the job they had been doing.

It was a minute later, the hum of the engines died, and they shut down, and those fighting the fire finally started to slowly force it back. While fighting the fire, Athrun was forced to rip off the top of his uniform when embers floated down to the left sleeve. He stamped out the fire had started to build from the embers but ended out losing the sleeve as the fire burned a line that separated the sleeve from the shoulder of the uniform. The fighting of the fire continued, and it took another fifteen minutes to get the blaze under control and put out.

Once the blaze was out, moral went up a margin for those trying to keep the Minerva from going down. Yet, they all knew that the job of dealing with the problems that the Minerva now had on its plate. Athrun returned to managing the people in the hanger and the immediate surrounding area. Chief Aves and half of the remaining mechanics were looking over the engines to see their condition.

Athrun quickly saw that there was still large debris on the hanger floor that was making things difficult for work to be done. To help in changing that, he ordered Shinn to board the Osiris and Luna to get in Rey's Phantom and use the suits to get the large objects out of the way. Those were two usable mobile suit, as the Impulse had taken a sizable amount of punishment from fighting the Freedom.

Over the next few hours, the situation for the Minerva was improved to an extent, though she was still not in good condition. Talia had sent Arthur down to the hanger to see how things were with Athrun and those trying to clean things up. When Arthur got to the hanger, he cringed as there were still clear signs of standing problems. However, Arthur also saw that Athrun was keeping things under control as they could be with recent events. Arthur approached Athrun as he was giving assignments to a couple of crew members, "Do the best you are able, the job doesn't need to be perfect right now," Athrun said sending the crew members off.

"Athrun, words can't say how grateful the captain and I are for keeping order down here," Arthur remarked in a form of a greeting.

Athrun turned to Arthur, "Sir," he saluted, "Honestly, it's been helping take my mind off of thing and I need that right now. We could have done without the fire in the engine room, but there's nothing that can be done about that."

"How bad is the damage so far," Arthur asked hesitantly.

Athrun thought about how to lay out how things were, "Things could be worse, but not by all that much after being so close to a nuclear blast," he stated.

Arthur's eyes went wide, "A nuclear blast?!"

Athrun nodded, "The flash, roar and shaking and rumbling are clear signs of a nuclear detonation, seen enough reports and explosions to know them," he returned.

Arthur was reeling from the information, "I see, how are the engines then," he asked.

"I can't say for sure yet, Chief Aves is looking them over right now, but I think we may have lost a couple, but we'll see," replied Athrun.

It was then that Arthur noticed that Athrun was missing the left sleeve of his uniform, "Uh Athrun, what happened to the left sleeve of your uniform," Arthur inquired.

"I was fighting the engine room fire and some embers got to my sleeve, I got the jacket off before the flames got to my skin, but lost the sleeve as a result," Athrun answered.

Arthur nodded slowly, "I see, well, when you know the state of the engines, please inform the captain," he said.

Athrun nodded, "I will, hopefully won't be all that long," he returned.

Arthur left the hanger to see how things were in the forward half of the ship, Athrun continued to manage the cleanup efforts. It was about fifteen minutes later that Chief Aves found Athrun, "The inspection of the engines is done and it's not as bad as I originally thought they would be, but it still not nice," Aves stated.

Deciding to get the worst out of the way first, Athrun began, "How many engines are unusable," he posed.

Aves frowned, "Out of the fourteen, five are to the point that they are essential out of commission. Three are damaged but, could still work, though I wouldn't recommend using them as I can't say how reliable they will be. The others have varying amounts of damage, but overall are okay, but I wouldn't put them up to full output right away," Aves iterated.

As Chief Aves had said, the status of the engines wasn't as bad as they could be, especially with the blaze that had been going. However, the report wasn't nice with five engines being down, and it depended which engines weren't working to say how things would go. "Which engines are not working Chief, or would it be better not to ask," questioned Athrun.

Aves's head fell, "Engines 2, 3, 6, 7, and 13," he replied hollowly.

The engines mentioned were one that would have been better not to lose, for they were all large ones. Heck, the first four mentioned were the inside engines on both the left and right quadruple engine cluster, the last one was one of two large engines in the center. That would cut the potential thrusting power the Minerva could use to get to a port to repair. Athrun sighed, "Aves, what about the overall fuel supply," he asked.

"It's lower than I would like between the engines," Aves answered.

"Then siphon the fuel from the non-working engines and divide that between the working ones, that should help them last," Athrun said.

"Already having that done," Aves replied, "Like you, I figure we're going to have to make things last until we can get to a port Commander."

Athrun nodded and had Aves go back to overseeing the engines, before he went over to the com-panel and reported the situation with the engines to the captain.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The dive into the water for the Archangel had been rough, and between the two explosions, both from the Freedom and the positron beam fired, the damage to the ship was extensive. The sealing off of flooded areas had helped and the sacrifice of one of the six large engines the ship had to make it appear that the Archangel had been destroyed seemed to work so far. Now the Archangel was cruising under water toward Orb, even if it wasn't in the best condition.

Cagalli had gone out in the Strike Rouge and had brought back remains of the Freedom, the upper torso to be exact. It was discovered that the Freedom's cockpit was still intact overall, which was quite amazing with the blast it had survived. However, when the cockpit was opened, it was clear that Kira had paid a price to get through the Freedom's destruction. He had injuries all over his body and was quickly taken to the Archangel's infirmary to be helped. Cagalli had followed in tears at seeing how hurt Kira was.

Kira was pronounced stable, but he remained unconscious while the Archangel traveled. The Freedom's defeat was hard to accept for much of the crew, since Kira hadn't been defeated like this before. Most of the crew was somber and feeling down with how close the Archangel had come to being sunk. Among the volunteers, Sai thought to contact Tyler and inform him of Kira's condition along with the Archangel's own. Tyler thanked Sai and told him to make sure Kira didn't do anything stupid or reckless for a while, and to have others help if necessary.

Days later, Kira did wake up in the infirmary, pain registering from much of his body as he did, more than he had felt before now. Then, memories of the fights against ZAFT forces while the Archangel had been traveling towards the ocean crossing Siberia. During the second one, Kira himself had been beaten and outdone, and that hadn't happened for a while to Kira. It wasn't the loss that was paining Kira as much as it was the Freedom being gone forever now. It left Kira with few options to work with to be busy and help change the current situation for the better. Yet now, Kira could say that he knew what Tyler had felt like when the Shadow was destroyed, and Kira had to admit, it sucked! It could have been worse, and if not for Cormag fighting alongside him it probably would have been.

The sound of the infirmary door opening caught his attention and Kira tried sitting up, which proved to be far more difficult than he imagined it would be. Kira felt a hand on his back helping him up, and when he turned in that direction, he found Cagalli there. Miriallia was in front of him, looking worried as she gazed at Kira. "Should you really be moving like this yet Kira," questioned Cagalli, then she sighed. "Or rather, should I even be asking that of you, instead of just making sure that you stay in bed and heal?"

Kira gave a weak smile, "Sorry," he replied.

"I'm more glad you're okay, especially after what happened," Cagalli said, tears coming to her eyes with seeing Kira awake. "The doctor said that your injuries aren't as bad as they could've been, but they will still need time to heal."

Kira frowned with being reminded what the current situation was for him now, "But, the Freedom is gone, what am I to do now? I can't fight properly with the mobile suits on board the Archangel," Kira said in a slight frustrated tone.

Cagalli got in front of Kira's face, wearing a stern expression, "What are you talking about right now, you should be focusing on resting and healing Kira."

"So," spoke up Neo, drawing attention to him in the bed across from Kira's, "The white and blue Gundam-type did you in did it?" No one said anything to the question, which cause Neo to scoff, "It serves you right really, the pilot of that machine has the focus and determination to do whatever they set their mind to." Murrue entered the room at that moment, as Neo continued, "The kid just keeps on getting better and better, never ceasing to improve."

Kira stared at Neo, "Have you ever met him in person?"

Neo shook his head, "Nope, but my encounters with him tell the story. He is a rare kind of pilot and individual," Neo said.

Murrue approached Neo's bed, "Moving on though, perhaps someone can tell me what's the deal with this ship, and the Federation for that matter. I mean, at first you seemed all chummy with ZAFT, yet now," Murrue came to stand above Neo and look at him which got him to hesitate, "you seem to be enemies."

"That's one way of putting it," Murrue answered and then turned to Kira. "How are you feeling Kira?"

"Well, I'm okay. I definitely know to a degree what Tyler felt after the Shadow was destroyed, but I'll pull through," Kira assured.

Murrue smiled, "That's good to hear, I wish the same could be said of the Archangel, for she's in pretty bad shape. We should make it back to the Marshal Island dock, but there will be work to do before she's ready for combat again."

As Neo listened, there were images and scenes going through his head, most of which he'd never seen before. Murrue Ramius, the sound of her voice brought some, but not the majority of them, Neo didn't know what to make of any of it. "So then," Neo spoke up drawing attention to himself again, "This is a Federation vessel is it?"

Murrue paused, "Technically, I suppose you could say that, but I've asked myself what that actually means since setting out."

The door opened to the infirmary again, "Officially it tis ma'am," said Cormag.

The conflicting answers were not helping, but if this ship was part of the Federation's military, that still left the question of what would happen to Neo himself unanswered and there were a growing number of those lately. "Yes, but honestly, I don't know what will happen to any of us for the time being," Murrue said.

"Aye," spoke up Cormag, "but, we're all lucky to be alive with how ZAFT was tryin to do us in." Cormag turned to face Neo, "Specially you La Flaga, you might have avoided death once before now and a feat it tis, but it's best to not make such a habit, more like to get you killed permanently."

Neo glared weakly at Cormag, yet was silent for a bit, then spoke again, "Whoever you are mister, my name is Neo Roanoke, I'm a captain in the Earth Forces."

Cormag stared at Neo for a moment, "You can say that all you want, even believe it to be the truth if you like, but you are who you are, even if you deny it," he replied. Neo was about to retort, but Cormag spoke before Neo could, "Ask yourself this, have you seen things that cause you feelings of unexplainable familiarity? Cause if so, then I would start questioning the motives of those who told you that your name is Neo Roanoke were I you, for they are not lookin out for your best interests La Flaga, of that I assure you."

Neo was frustrated, but also couldn't deny what this guy with the odd accent was saying exactly as he had indeed seen images that he couldn't explain why they were familiar. He ended out exhaling instead, "This Mu La Flaga I keep being mistaken for, who was he?"

Murrue looked away from Neo, "A fallen comrade and friend… truly one of a kind," she muttered.

"Aye, he was quite the man, stuck to his beliefs and morals even if it had him going against orders that he was given. If there were more like him in the Earth Alliance, then it wouldn't have gotten to where it is now," Cormag added.

Neo was left to wonder what he had just heard meant, for it tickled something in the back of his mind that he couldn't identify. Once again, Neo was left to question things he wouldn't normally, mostly about his identity. The other oddity that he was experiencing was with the kid in the bed opposite him. Yes, he had teased him about his loss a bit, but he also felt sorry for the kid in a way he didn't regularly with anyone.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **I'll leave off here for the next Phase. I know that this Phase was longer than I tend to make them on average, but for the stuff I covered, that's how it goes. I'm sorry for those that don't like multiple characters to be introduced in a single chapter, but the 'conference' was a fun and interesting scene to make and that required me to have multiple new characters. If any wish for a challenge, guess which leader belongs to which series, they are all Gundam series characters.**

 **I know that Durandal's reasoning for wanting the Archangel and the Freedom out of the way is a tad spotty. I'm working on a back story for Durandal disliking Kira, it's not done yet. As for Shinn feeling bad to an extent about destroying the Freedom, there is a reason for that which will become somewhat more obvious in the next two phases. Finally, I will state for the record as there have been those that have said something about the idea. There will be no "Strike Freedom" nor "Infinite Justice", I've been working on creating custom machines that will replace them. For those that like that, you will be pleased I believe, those you don't like replacement of canon mobile suits, you aren't writing this story so not your call.**

 **As always, I appreciate those that read then follow and favorite this story, reviews are nicer, but I like both forms of appreciation of my writings. The story continues in the next Phase!**

 **ZAFT Prime**

This idea has been fun to go with as the third faction can give a lot of 'what ifs' a chance to see where they go. And as much as I like reading others' fanfiction, I've started a new full-time job and that gives me little time free to do all the things I would like to.

 **HolyDragoon**

It may seem that Durandal is an idiot, but he isn't as much as it may look, he is more the cunning type. In this Phase he is portrayed as a kind of hero to the public image where behind that he is different, at least that's what I was trying to get across. As for the people in the PLANTs, kind of like in canon, Meer is used to calm the masses and to influence them in the direction that Durandal wants them to. And more realized the difference in the footage, but the focus was shifted to Logos being to blame for the war.

 **REVANOFSITHLORD**

Your welcome, hope you like this and the other two Phases


	40. Phase 40: Twisted World with No Horizon

**A/n**

 **Like I have implied, more than one chapter or Phase in a short period of time is rare, at the same time is unheard of for me. But, this and the next Phase came to me as I was writing 35 and 36, so it just happened. Hope you like how this story is going!**

* * *

Phase 40: Twisted World with No Horizon

April 3rd, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Minerva

The Minerva had reached the ocean and used the engines that still worked alright to move forward towards a port and seriously needed repairs. Due to the efforts of many in the crew, especially the mechanics, the ship was operating at a good enough level that it should make it to a dry dock. There were still shifts to keep ship systems working well enough divided between the crew of the Minerva to attempt to take some stress off of the mechanics. Particular members of the crew became rarely seen by others, like Chief Aves and Athrun to name a few. Aila was also close to a ghost like Athrun, taking the job of management when Athrun went to his quarters to sleep. The mood on the Minerva wasn't all that high, even after completing a tall order operation.

For Athrun, when he wasn't managing the needed task, he went to his quarters and in there the pain of losing his two best friends came out. Memories of times both good and bad with both Kira and Tyler had been going through Athrun's mind over and over. When the pain had dulled, Athrun would look through file and records in order to try and see where things had started changing to come to where they were.

Athrun had come to the conclusion that Tyler had been referring to Chairman Durandal along with Le Creuset. There were enough evidences pointing towards Gilbert Durandal using the general public for something. Only the Federation member nations were really ignoring the campaign against Logos. Still, Athrun couldn't identify what it was that Durandal was after, but it wasn't 'peace' that many wanted. He did see that Durandal and others he no doubt had helping him, had been covering their tracks very well, for they were very hard to find.

It was as Athrun was looking through records that someone knocked at the door, which he ignored so that whoever it was would leave him alone. However, the sound of the door sliding open said that whoever it was wouldn't just leave Athrun alone. So, Athrun switched off the screen so that what he had been viewing wouldn't be on display. "Forgive the intrusion Commander," said the voice of Heero in the stoic tone he seemed to always have.

"What is it you needed Heero," Athrun asked evenly, not facing his fellow pilot as he replied.

Instead of Heero answering right away, the door slid shut and then seconds later, there came an odd hum with Athrun couldn't identify. So Athrun turned and saw the hum was coming from a small oval shaped device that Heero had set down on the bedside table. The device had two thin antennas on one side, Athrun knew the device for he had seen it before. Tyler had one himself and had used it before while Athrun had been around him, it was a Federation signal jammer. But the question of how Heero Collins had one of these devices as Federation equipment wasn't shared often was coming to mind. Athrun looked at Heero "So Heero, answer me this, how do you have that device? That's not ZAFT equipment at all," Athrun posed.

"No, this signal jammer is not ZAFT equipment, it is Federation Military issue," Heero replied. "The reason I have it is I am an undercover Federation operative, I work for the Intelligence Agency."

The fact that Heero Collins was a Federation Military operative was completely unexpected, but that showed that he was a good undercover operative, none would suspect him. Then, the signal jammer meant that anything said while it was running, would be private and none would hear the conversation. Athrun gave Heero his attention, "What is this about," he asked.

Heero bowed to Athrun, "I am here to give some news, advice and a warning," he stated.

Athrun wondered what Heero was referring to with advice and warning, for Athrun himself was being careful not to be suspected by anyone for looking into Gilbert Durandal and others. "Go on," Athrun said.

"Well first," Heero began, "The pilot of the Freedom did survive the destruction of their mobile suit." Athrun felt a portion of the weight that had been pressing down on himself lifted at hearing that Kira was still alive. "However, it is my understanding that he was injured an amount and is going through recovery. Second, Mr. McGregor also was able to get out in time before his mobile suit's reactor detonated."

The majority of the painful weight Athrun had been carrying around for the last couple of days had been lifted at knowing both his best friends were alive. It was a relief, and when Athrun saw them next he would be begging for their forgiveness and understanding for how foolish he had been, on hands and knees if necessary. Athrun would have thanked Heero, but he spoke again, "Now the warning, your loyalty is being questioned if you were not already aware, more so now than before with the destruction of the Freedom. Either Gilbert Durandal will expect you to prove you fully agree with him or will have you disappear before too long."

Athrun had been aware that he was being scrutinized before now and believed that Rey was the one right now reporting to Durandal about Athrun himself. He couldn't prove it, not with solid evidence that pointed to Rey, it was just the way Rey was around Athrun that gave him the suspicion. "I've been seeing some of the signs of that going on, thanks for confirming that for me," Athrun remarked.

"The advice I would give you, is use the time that it will take for the Minerva to reach Carpentaria to come up with an escape plan for yourself. It will be at Carpentaria that you will be dealt with whether it is in a good way or not," Heero stated.

"Carpentaria? That will be a bit," Athrun began, but never finished.

"Carpentaria will be the port that the Minerva will go to next," Heero said firmly. "Due to the attack on the Archangel, a policy has been brought into effect which denies docking for all ZAFT vessels in any Federation port until further notice. It will force the Minerva to go to Carpentaria."

Athrun understood what was being said, he was kind of surprise that the response to the attack on the Archangel and that it had come this quickly. And really, Carpentaria was the closest ZAFT port from where the Minerva was that could be reached by water. Heero kept going, "Upon reaching Carpentaria, I would surmise that you will have less than a day to escape before others try and arrest you for a false accusation of some sort, likely treason or something similar. I will be of no help to you as I will be transferred back into space, so you will be on your own Mr. Zala. I do wish you the best of luck," Heero finished.

The task of coming up with an escape plan wouldn't be easy, nor would keeping it all from being discovered by others. Athrun needed any help or advantage he could get in this, and a military quality signal jammer would be an asset. "One more thing Heero, could I use this signal jammer you have, it would be very helpful," Athrun asked.

Heero nodded, "Use it as you will Commander," he replied.

It was close to a week when the Minerva came to dock at Carpentaria after its journey in northeastern Eurasia and taking down the Archangel. The ship was doing okay from the damage received during the close of Operation Angel Down, but it had taken a beating from the fight and the debris that had been thrown by the nuclear detonation. Normally, the Minerva would have docked in a Federation port along the way to repair, but when they had begun their approach to the Republic, they had been denied entry outright. Apparently, things had soured quickly between ZAFT and the Federation for no visible reason and a policy denying ZAFT force docking. So, when the Minerva arrived at Carpentaria, she was set up for an overhaul, both the ship and the mobile suits she carried.

The unusual thing was that Chairman Durandal was at Carpentaria when the Minerva arrived, even though he had gone back to the PLANTs not too long ago, he was now back on earth. To Athrun, it only lent credence to the growing doubts he had about the Chairman and his intentions. Still, Athrun was keeping up the acting that he was still onboard with Durandal, which was being bought by all but Rey Za Burrel by what Athrun could tell, Rey was still somewhat suspicious of him though by the signs.

In the back of Athrun's mind, the warning that Heero Collins gave, was repeating over and over. Athrun had been seriously working on a plan he could have to leave and not get caught before he was arrested for something false to get him to disappear. With the Minerva's mobile suits off the ship and in a hanger, which he knew, all that Athrun had to do was slip away without notice. After that, he would go to Orb and find out where the Archangel was, go to it and go forward from there. Athrun would beg Kira and Tyler to forgive him for being an idiot again and not listening to their concerns and warnings.

However, before Athrun could figure out a way to vanish, he and Shinn were called to meet with Chairman Durandal. Athrun knew that refusing would be too suspicious, so he went with Shinn to meet Durandal. The two of them were taken to a factory here in Carpentaria, where a soldier guided them to the Chairman and oddly Meer. The room itself was dark save the light in the middle where Durandal and Meer were. Athrun was glancing around trying to figure out what this was about, for he didn't trust Gilbert Durandal any longer, not what he said, nor what he had in mind.

Shinn and Athrun saluted, "It's been a while Chairman, you're looking well sir," Athrun said curtly.

Shinn had a half smile on his face, "Your speech about Logos and the state of the world sir, it was moving. I hope it will be as simple to bring peace about as you made it sound Chairman," he said.

Durandal shook both their hands in turn, "Well thank you, I've been told by a number that it was equal to Minister Blass's speech back during the latter half of the previous war. I personally don't think I could match as moving a speech as she can give, but I would like to think that she and I are equals in say what comes from the heart," Durandal replied.

Athrun didn't show the irritation he felt at Durandal's reply, for to him the speech Durandal gave was nothing like what Tyler's mother gave back during the first war! Ellen had said what she had to rouse all humans to work towards the purpose of peace, that wasn't what Durandal was working towards. What his end goal was, Athrun still couldn't say with what he knew, yet pieces had been starting to come together to show some of the picture. The picture that was forming wasn't peace as the common definition states it to be, it was something else completely, of that Athrun was sure.

"Still, I've been hearing excellent things about the two of you and your efforts and I would like to thank you for them myself. ZAFT is truly lucky and fortunate to have you two in their ranks," Durandal continued.

Before he could say more, Meer moved forward and hugged Athrun, which caught him a bit off-guard. "Athrun, how have you been doing, it's been too long since last we saw each other and I've missed you," Meer greeted.

Athrun composed himself, "Lacus, this isn't the time or the place to do this right now," he said.

"Yes, I wouldn't doubt you two would like to catch up, but I must ask for your patience for just a bit longer," Durandal stated, then he gained a smile. "I'll even arrange special dinner for just the two of you tonight as an apology for the wait."

Meer moved to the side holding onto Athrun's arm and became quiet. Durandal turned to the side, "I doubt there is a need to review current events, after all, there are mad men on the loose. One in particular has been causing serious issues, Lord Djibril as his name is, has been involved in activities that are too large to even wave off, nor should they be ignored with the lives lost as the results. However, there are many things to be discussed between us, but first," he said looking to the dark silhouettes behind him. "Perhaps you would like a look at the machines here, since I can tell that they have caught your attention."

More lights lit up the room revealing the two mobile suits that were here. The one on the right bore similarities to the X56S Impulse with framework. While the one on the left looked much like the mobile suit that Kira and Tyler had described Rau Le Creuset had used during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Durandal gestured at the machine on the right first, "Both of these suits are state of the art, the strongest machines built so far. This one is designated the ZGMF-X42S Destiny and the other the ZGMF-X666S Legend." Durandal turned back to Athrun and Shinn, "I hope that we can continue to count on the two of you to help bring about the end to the conflict.

Seeing the two mobile suits, Athrun was having clear recollections of learning about the Freedom and the Justice from Chairman Zala. This situation felt close to identical to him, Athrun was even betting that some form of a nuclear power source was inside the two. The words that Tyler had spoken back at the meeting back outside of Diocuia and during the fight around the Archangel were returning to Athrun. He had said that there were frightening similarities developing that mirrored the First Alliance-PLANT War and so here were two more and dangerous ones at that.

"Is there something the matter Athrun," asked the Chairman.

"My apologies sir," Athrun got out, putting forth the effort to appear that he didn't suspect anything. "Seeing these two mobile suits has just brought back memories of being shown the Freedom and the Justice in the last war, that's all."

Durandal appeared pensive, "Yes, I suppose this would be similar in a fashion."

The meeting came to a close, with Durandal saying the two would receive more information on the mobile suits they would be assigned. For the rest of the day, not much of note happened, other than defecting Alliance forces gathering at Carpentaria along with more assembling at Gibraltar. The planned assault on Logos' stronghold Heaven's Base in Greenland was going to take place in close to two weeks.

Athrun had gone to the room that had been provide for him, but he wasn't idol. The first thing that Athrun did, was put out the signal jammer that he had asked Heero for and activate it. Athrun was assuming that tonight was the best time for him to disappear before any had the chance to nab him. He would need to do dinner with Meer, there would be notice if he didn't and the longer he had being undiscovered the better Athrun's chances of escaping without problems. Athrun was about to get ready for dinner with Meer as it was dark, and he wanted to get to his plan as soon as possible, when a knock came at the door, "Athrun."

Hearing Meer's voice, he assumed she was here to go to dinner, so he approached the door, but she came in before he got to the door. She closed the door behind her and the expression on her face told Athrun that there was something wrong. "Meer, what's wrong," Athrun asked.

Meer looked scared, "Athrun, you're in danger here. I-I overhead the Chairman and some guy named Rey talking," she said.

Then she started telling Athrun about how Durandal and Rey had discussed that Athrun wouldn't do for what was seen as needed. In other words, Athrun wasn't being an obedient "soldier" or really, a puppet as Durandal wanted him to be. Athrun knew that it would be found out that he wouldn't simply do as he was told, but this was earlier than he had figured he would have. The issue was the 'crime' that Athrun was going to be charged with was coming sooner than he had expected. This only confirmed the warning that Heero had given him, that he would be arrested and taken care of after reaching Carpentaria.

Meer was saying how Athrun should prove that such views were wrong, and that the Chairman could trust him. It was nice that Meer had come to warn him, but it put her in danger as well. After all, she was a puppet of Durandal more than he was, her face influenced the masses. But, Athrun already knew far too much and wouldn't be a blind follower of Durandal, which made him a liability instead. Athrun looked at Meer, "Do you honestly think that after what you heard that there is anything I could do that would change their mind? No, to Durandal I'm a liability now and he doesn't want those around at all," he said.

Athrun looked to the window and knew that it was now or never for him to escape. So, he headed for the window, but turned and held his hand out to Meer, "Come with me," he entreated.

"Why," asked Meer.

Athrun sighed, "The Chairman only wants those who will play the roles that he has for them. I no longer have a role he wants played that I would do and look what he's setting into motion because of that. He wants a Lacus that he can control and manipulate and that's you, he wanted me to be a pet mobile suit point. Trust me Meer when I say that Durandal when you finish what he has in mind will have no use you and he will then have you disappear like he wants to do to me now," he iterated.

Meer didn't want to believe that what Athrun was saying was true, but in the back of her mind and in her heart, there was a ring of truth to his words. However, she couldn't accept it, she had become Lacus Clyne, she was loved by her fans. "You're wrong Athrun, I am Lacus Clyne," Meer challenged.

Athrun knew that he didn't have the time to deal with this any longer, "We can only be ourselves and choose how we are, we can't be someone else. But, for your sake Meer, I hope you're right about the Chairman," he said before going out the window and then ran down the stairs on the outside of the building.

Nonetheless, Athrun ended out having to go back inside the hotel, managing to pick up a gun as he crept through the building looking for a way out. Yet, the sounds of men moving around, forced Athrun to go into a random room and close the door behind himself. Meyrin was very surprised to see Athrun Zala enter her room, she had a crush on him after all. But, upon looking at him longer, she saw that he was wet, likely from the rain that was coming down outside. "Athrun what's," she began but Athrun put a hand over her mouth.

"Please Meyrin, all I want to do is get outside again, so don't scream, there are others searching for me. If they find me, then I will disappear without a trace, I can't explain much better than that right now," Athrun said quietly.

Meyrin nodded and Athrun pulled his hand away, "What's going on, why is anyone chasing you," she asked.

Athrun shook his head, "Honestly I don't know yet, but my guess is some kind of false charge since I'm unwilling to be a puppet," he replied.

Meyrin would have asked what Athrun meant by a puppet, but the sound of footsteps and then a knocking at the door silenced the two. "Beg pardon ma'am, but we need to search the room, we're under orders," said a male voice on the other side.

Athrun was trying to think of something he could do, but Meyrin pulled him into the bathroom, turned on the shower, then striped down to her underwear, grabbed a towel and left Athrun standing in the shower. He was wondering what she was thinking but kept silent and listened. The sound of the door opening came to Athrun, "Oh hey sis, what's going on," asked Meyrin.

"Meyrin! What the hell are you doing coming to the door in just a towel?!" exclaimed the voice of Lunamaria.

There was a pause, "Well Luna, most people with common sense don't wear clothes when they take a shower, maybe you do, but I don't. However, it sounded like these guys intended to break down the door if I didn't answer, so I wrapped myself in a towel and here I am. Maybe you can tell me why they sounded so insistent on searching my room sis," posed Meyrin.

There was another pause, "Yeah, I want to know that myself, and you three, stop staring at my little sister! Move it along before I get you all written up for coming up with excuses to peep on others, you perverts! There's nothing here to see," screeched Luna, which was followed by hurried footsteps, before another pause. "And Meyrin, get back in your room and put some clothes on!"

The door closed, Athrun waited for a few seconds and then opened the door to the bathroom and came out with Meyrin's clothes that she had shed. The girl was shaking, so Athrun put her uniform jacket around her shoulders, "Thanks for helping me, that can't have been easy to do for you," Athrun remarked.

"I don't know why I did that, I didn't think about it," Meyrin said shakily.

Athrun gained a soft smile, "You saved me Meyrin, but forget about me, I need to vanish from here," he said.

Meyrin grabbed Athrun, "You'll never make it as things stand," she said.

A few minutes later Meyrin had clothes on and went over to the terminal in her room, "If I hack into the base's mainframe and set off an alarm somewhere away from where to need to go, that should give you a better chance."

Athrun was impressed at the daring this girl had, she would get into serious trouble for this were she caught. He looked over at the layout of the base, then he pointed to the hanger that the Minerva's mobile suits were taken to. "That's where I need to reach," he said to point to it.

Meyrin nodded, and began typing away, less than a minute later, alarms around the base began sounding. Athrun and Meyrin exited the hotel and made their way to the hanger with the Minerva's mobile suits were. The two got to the hanger without being discovered, after getting in front of the Saviour, Athrun turned to Meyrin. "Thank you for the help, but you should leave here before you're found," he said.

Meyrin hesitated, and during that hesitation, Athrun spotted Rey coming into the doorway, and so, Athrun pushed Meyrin down as bullets came in their direction. "So, running away Athrun Zala," said Rey.

Athrun gritted his teeth, "Then tell me Rey Za Burrel, you believe I should be a mindless soldier like you are, just following the orders you are given? Even if you were ordered to do something that you know is wrong, and will get good people killed," Athrun shot back firing his gun back at Rey and disarmed him.

Athrun then controlled the lift to go up to the level of the Saviour's cockpit, he directed Meyrin to get in and she did. Athrun got into the cockpit as bullets came his way again, but he shut the hatch, stopping bullets from reaching them for the time being. He activated the Saviour's OS and grasped the controls, "Sorry Meyrin, but if I leave you behind, then they will harm you right now," he stated.

Meyrin grunted her understanding of what Athrun was saying. Athrun moved the Saviour out from the dock, forcing Rey to back up as the mobile suit moved out of the hanger. However, before the Saviour took-off, Rey contacted Shinn and told him to get the Destiny and Legend ready. The 'spy' they were looking for had taken the Saviour and were trying to make their escape and that they had to be stopped.

Athrun got the Saviour into the air and transformed it into its mobile armor mode and set his course towards Orb. In the Saviour, both he and Meyrin should be able to reach Orb's mainland in two hours or so and they could go forward from there. Athrun felt terrible for involving Meyrin, but there was nothing he could do about that now. He was confident that Meyrin would be treated just fine around Orb, so that wasn't a problem.

Meanwhile, Shinn and Rey got into the Destiny and the Legend and activated the mobile suits. "Hey Rey, do you even know who this spy we're pursuing is, or how they even got access to the Saviour," Shinn inquired.

" _The first alarm was false, the spy got to the Saviour during that time, as for who the spy is, does it matter,_ " replied Rey.

The Destiny and the Legend launched and began chasing after the Saviour. Shinn was still curious about how a spy would even have made it into Carpentaria. There was the preparation for the assault on Heaven's Base, but that was it. It felt like there was something missing or not being said in this and it nagged at the back of Shinn's mind. Shinn shot ahead of the Legend and flew after the Saviour ahead of them. When he reached a range to establish a com-channel, Shinn coded in for the Saviour, "Whoever you are, this is your only chance to get out of this alive, turn back and land the mobile suit you stole at Carpentaria," he stated clearly.

There was a pause, " _Even if I did what you said Shinn, I wouldn't be alive for all that much longer with how things are._ " Shinn was shocked to hear the voice of Athrun, he had been told that he and Rey were chasing a spy, that couldn't be Athrun! " _Listen Shinn, this isn't what you have been led to believe,_ " Athrun continued. " _Whatever it is that you've been told, whether it is that I'm some sort of spy or traitor, it isn't true. I simply learned truths that others don't want anyone else to know and now they use others to get rid of me._ "

Shinn didn't understand what Athrun was saying, for it didn't make sense, how could learning of facts lead to something like the current situation?! "Athrun, just come back to Carpentaria, this is all a clear misunderstanding, it just needs to be cleared up," Shinn said.

There was a sigh over the com-channel, " _I wish this was a misunderstanding Shinn, really I do, but it isn't. I told you once, for those that have the power to help change things like you and me, there are those that want to use and manipulate that for their own purposes,_ " Athrun was saying.

" _Don't let Athrun words sway you Shinn,_ " came the voice of Rey.

"Rey," uttered Shinn.

" _It's clear that Athrun is unstable right now, to help him we need to get him back to Carpentaria,_ " Rey reasoned.

Shinn didn't know what to think in this, the information was contradictory. Rey said that Athrun was unstable, but he also seemed to already know that it was Athrun in the Saviour's cockpit, when had said that it didn't matter before. Then, Athrun didn't sound unstable at all, he was calm like he normally was. " _If you want to help Athrun Shinn, we can't let him get away,_ " Rey said.

Shinn shot the Destiny's beam rifle towards the Saviour, not aiming for the torso directly. " _Listen Shinn, I know that the words that Rey and the Chairman sound right and I understand that you want to believe them. What they say feels right in principle and the ideas they talk about normally are, but they leave out the method used and the cost it comes with,_ " Athrun reasoned. Rey shot at the Saviour, but Athrun dodged, before he continued, " _You can't take what they're saying at face value without looking further than the words being said. Their words will end out destroying not just the world but the human race as a whole if they come to pass._ "

Shinn's mind was racing, could what Athrun was saying be true in any way? The world wasn't perfect, but the destruction of the world would be far worse that what the world was now. " _Is that what you want to fight for Shinn, the destruction of everything,_ " Athrun posed.

" _He's lying Shinn, he knows nothing about what he speaks of, it is proof that he is mentally unstable, he's insane_ " countered Rey. " _He's trampling on the dream of a world without war Shinn, that is not permissible! You said it yourself, you would defeat any enemy that would stand in the way of that!_ "

" _Shinn, make the judgement for yourself, don't let others cloud your vision. Did Rey even tell you that I was the one you were chasing, or did he leave that out? That is what I'm talking about, you know what a person's like by their actions rather than their words,_ " interjected Athrun.

Shinn was having the worst internal conflict that he'd ever had, both sides sounded right but they were against one another. Athrun had always been calm and control with what Shinn saw, a voice of logic and reason. He had shown he was dedicated to fighting to end the war, so why would he suddenly turn traitor or spy? Then Shinn's friend Rey, what he was saying about Athrun, was possible, but extremely unlikely. And he seemed to be aware of the fact that Athrun was involved in the first place somehow and had said nothing about it, merely waved off the need to know. The mess that was going around his head had both sides battling for dominance, before things came to the point that something just snapped in Shinn and his SEED mode activated, "NO!"

Shinn drew the Destiny's beam sword and rushed forward at the Saviour. Athrun dodged the first swing, but the second swing destroyed the beam rifle. Shinn backed up and activated the Destiny's mirage colloid, then zoomed forward aiming for the Saviour's upper torso. Athrun set the Saviour's shield over the cockpit, " _SHINN, MEYRIN'S ONBOARD!_ " he shouted.

Shinn faintly hear those words, but he was committed to the strike, he couldn't stop it any longer. The beam sword went through the upper third of the shield and plunged into the Saviour's upper torso. Things felt like they were moving in slow motion as events moved forward. Shinn let go of the beam sword and stared as the Saviour fell towards the water with the beam sword still stuck in it. The Saviour exploded shortly after hitting the ocean's surface, and what he had just done began to sink into Shinn's brain. The more that the realization solidified to his mind, the more sickened and horrified Shinn became with himself.

" _Shinn you did well, we comp-_ " Shinn punched off the com-channel that Rey had connected to the Destiny. He didn't want to hear any 'well done' or 'mission complete' from anyone. Shinn had literally just killed someone he'd looked up to and the younger sister of his friend! He had done nothing to try and get them back without killing them, just plunged a sword into the mobile suit they were on. He couldn't face Luna after killing Meyrin, of course, he hadn't known she was onboard the Saviour, but still! Tears quickly began streaming from Shinn's eyes, how could the situation that had just occurred happened at all?! Self-loathing took firm grip within Shinn as he quietly beat himself up for what had just happened.

Both Shinn and Rey returned to Carpentaria, Shinn was still in a state of self-loathing, and nothing that Rey said dampened that. The whole event shook up a number at the base, mostly the crew of the Minerva. Lunamaria had been taken aside and asked about what she knew about her sister Meyrin's involvement. Luna was in shock, both that Athrun and Meyrin were being accused of treason and desertion, but also that both had been killed. In the end, Aila had defended Luna and stated that her reaction showed that she had no idea of what had been going on.

When the two had gotten back to the Minerva, they had passed by Shinn, who didn't look at either of them. He simply whispered, "I'm sorry about Meyrin Luna," in a shaky voice.

Luna had come to a halt at hearing Shinn say that, then she stalked over to him and spun him around, "What do you mean that you're sorry about Meyrin," she demanded.

Aila moved over to where the two teens were, "Luna, calm down, I know that you're going through a very difficult time, but that doesn't mean that you can take it out on another. Shinn was just trying to be a friend and be here for you," Aila said steadily.

Aila's intervention snapped Luna out of the anger she was in, "Sorry Shinn, it's not your fault… I just… with Meyrin," Luna was saying trying not to breakdown, yet trailed off.

Shinn preferred that Luna be mad at him right now, after all, it was because of him that Meyrin wasn't here. Shinn shook his head, still unable to look Luna in the eyes, "No, you're wrong, it is my fault," uttered Shinn. "I was the one that destroyed the Saviour, I was the one that killed Athrun and Meyrin." Luna's mouth fell open while Aila gaped at Shinn as he kept going, "Everything happened so fast, but it's my fault Luna. So snap at me, be angry with me, I'm so sorry that I killed Meyrin," he said in a broken voice.

"It was you," muttered Luna. Then she lunged forward, socking and punching Shinn hard a few times before Aila got ahold of her by her arms and kept her back. "Let go of me Aila! I'm going to let him have it, he killed Meyrin," Luna screeched.

Aila didn't let go of Luna, for she saw that Shinn was beating himself up far more than Luna was for what had happened. Physically hitting Shinn would do nothing but bring regret later, Luna was too distraught right now to realize that. Even as Aila looked at Shinn, she could see tears running down his cheeks, "Lunamaria," shouted Aila to get her attention, "that's enough! If you take a moment to look, you would see Shinn is beating himself up for what happened far more right now than you are getting close to!"

Luna glanced up, and as she saw Shinn's face, her pained and angry expression faded, and it was obvious that Aila was right. Whatever had happened between Athrun, Rey and him, was tearing Shinn up on the inside. Luna went over to Shinn when Aila let her go, "I'm sorry for hitting you… I just," she said, then broke down crying.

This left Shinn asking the question why things had happened the way they had, for past events shouldn't have ended out bringing things to what they did. Athrun's words kept echoing around his head and he couldn't ignore them even when he tried, much like the guilt he felt for the death of Athrun and Meyrin.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

The Archangel was in the secret hidden dock under an island a short way from the Orb mainland. The ship had definitely seen better days, but she had taken a beating from the narrow escape from the Minerva. Granted, the Minerva's positron cannon hadn't gotten a direct hit on the Archangel, but the blast it generated had done a good amount of damage to the ship itself. Murrue had made a decoy out of one of the engines, but detaching it and having it explode, which had likely fooled their pursuers. So, when the Archangel had reached the dock here, the work needing to be done was more than any would've liked. But, the complaining was put aside, and repairs had begun to get the Archangel back to fighting fit.

Then, close to three weeks later, Kisaka brought Athrun Zala to the Archangel after a situation went bad. Athrun had been in a fight, he had been trying to leave Carpentaria, but had been intercepted and hurt bad. Defectors within the Alliance along with Kisaka had fished him out of the water after the mobile suit he'd been in was destroyed. When Athrun arrived he wasn't alone, there was another with him a girl to be exact. Athrun himself was injured seriously, the girl wasn't all that much better, and not much was said as to what happened, other than those that had helped the two, saying that they had seen an explosion.

Both were taken to the Archangel's sickbay and treated as best as was possible, even so, the injuries they both had were extensive. The other 'guest, or rather confined patient Neo Roanoke merely observed the two brought in to the sickbay. Ever since he had been brought on board the Archangel, what he had seen hadn't made much if any sense to him. The people on this ship kept calling him 'commander' when he had corrected them by saying he was a captain. Then, there were some that called him Mu La Flaga, a name Neo hadn't heard as much as he would like, but it sounded kind of familiar somehow, but weird things abound now-a-days. That was made clear by the news he viewed to pass the time, since he was tethered to the bed he was in.

Those Neo had taken orders from, were now being hunted down by the masses after the PLANT's chairman Gilbert Durandal had revealed Logos and pin the blame of the war on them. And one by one, each member of Logos was being either captured or killed by mobs of people. Somehow, the Federation leaders were keeping control of their territory and were keeping out the mobs, but they were dealing with unrest. Neo had to hand it to the Federation, they made what they did look easy, but he doubted it was in any way. If anything, then the Human Federation seemed to be strengthening their resolve, even adding the United States of South America to their member nations. The kid, Kira Yamato would come every day and visit Athrun Zala, even though he wasn't awake often, he was a few times.

When Athrun first became aware of the world, Kira had been sitting and watching over his friend. And the first words out of Athrun's mouth, "Where am I and why am I here?"

Kira touched one of Athrun's hands, "You're on the Archangel in the sickbay Athrun," he said. Athrun slowly turned his head towards Kira, "You were brought here after others found you in the water following an explosion," Kira answered.

Before Kira could continue, the door to the sickbay opened and Cagalli came into the room. Neo glanced at the young woman, still wondering about the difference between the image built for the "Princess of Orb" and this young woman in the room, for the difference was stark. Cagalli smiled at seeing that Athrun was awake, "Thank goodness you're awake," she said.

Athrun was left to wonder how things had come pretty much full circle to have him end out on the Archangel. Events had happened so fast, it made his head spin and confused him and yet, here he was on the Archangel once again. He had blacked out before he got to talk to Kira and Cagalli. The next time he opened his eyes, Athrun found Kira sitting in the chair next to his bed, Athrun couldn't stop himself speaking his thoughts, "How did things get to this point," he muttered.

Kira frowned slightly, "Others warping the truth slowly by degrees," he answered.

Athrun said nothing to that, though he knew that Kira was right, and looking back it was clear. Things had seemed so simple at first, yet the facts then morphed into being far more complicated and contradictory. It had started with the Junius Seven colony drop and gone down from there. Athrun had wanted to help, do something to try and preserve the peace that so many had fought and died for in the First Alliance-PLANT War. So, he had returned to ZAFT as that appeared to be the best way to go about the idea at the time. Athrun had fought and worked to do his utmost to change things for the better, and yet, all that effort had not been enough in the end.

"How did I get here," Athrun asked.

"Mr. Kisaka brought you here, we were surprised to say the least. And then, Cagalli has been crying quite a bit since you were brought here," Kira replied.

Athrun drifted off not too long after that, and when he woke up again, Kira and Cagalli were not by his bed and that left him to think about past events. How had he gotten so deep into the war going on and not seen the signs of manipulation on both sides? Perhaps what he had really been looking for was a reason to be involved, since he had been on the sidelines so long. Those he knew had kept say that with the skills that Athrun had could be of use and of help in the ongoing efforts. Maybe it was that, which had Athrun cling to Chairman Durandal's words to fight for one's own beliefs and do what he was told and not look beyond the words. However, there was truth in the idea that Chairman Durandal said and could bring the war to an earlier end still, confusion kept coming and got steadily worse as time went on.

The standing of sides of the Alliance, ZAFT and the Federation kept drifting farther and farther apart even if they stated they had the same aims and goals. Perhaps realizing that was the first instance that his heart had been telling him that something was off and wrong that wasn't obvious. Athrun had seen times that more was not being said than was being stated, the last war was full of that. Yet, in regard to the current war, truth was less in the words said, but more in the direction in which their intentions pushed. Such had come to Athrun's mind with the group that attacked the Euros Coalition that ended at Berlin and then ZAFT's operation to destroy the Archangel following it. Yes, that's when things became clear, when he believed his two best friends had been gone that Athrun had made the decision not to be the star soldier for Durandal, his puppet to rally others fighting. Athrun had made the mistake of just following orders blindly once already, and it had nearly cost him everything that made life worth living, he wouldn't do that again.

However, even as Athrun had been coming to the truth, circumstances had soured quickly for him. If not for the warning from Heero Collins, Athrun would very likely be worse off than he was now or dead. Yet, leaving had been much more complicated, not because Rey and likely Chairman Durandal framed Athrun to deal with his non-compliance, but because those who trusted and looked up to him were fed lies to get them to not question him leaving or his reasons. Shinn's pleas to return to Carpentaria and that things would work out somehow had struck Athrun to his heart. It was mostly due to the time he had spent getting to know Shinn and know that he was a good person simply being used, much like Athrun had been. Athrun believed that if he had just a bit more time back then, he could have convinced Shinn of the web of silver-tongued lies that had been spun. However, Rey had intervened and made that impossible and Shinn had ended out doing the finishing blow to the mobile suit Athrun had been flying.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Shira, the Republic

I had returned to Shira after trying to help the Archangel, that had ended in a way I didn't like, for the Freedom had been destroyed and I had sacrificed the Aurora. Upon getting back from that, my mood hadn't been good, for I knew nothing about the Archangel or if Kira had survived and not knowing was nagging at me. Thankfully, Sai had contacted me and had told me about the Archangel's condition along with Kira's shortly afterwards. The news was nice to receive, but the Normandy was still awaiting orders and so I had little to do right now.

Since then, relations between the PLANTs and ZAFT with the Federation had quickly soured and are getting worse, especially with the announcement of the ongoing campaign against Logos. Tensions had been rising before the attack by the Alliance on Berlin, but they were doing so more quickly now. Yet, if what my mother said was true, behind the scenes leaders of the Federation member nations and the Alliance states were talking and even starting to cooperate.

In the near month that has passed since the attack on the Euros Coalition, the current Alliance-PLANT War was going downhill at a breakneck pace and it started when the giant Alliance mobile suit had made a rampage path across the Euros Coalition starting from the eastern border. It had ended out being stopped in Berlin, but the death toll by the finish had been very high. Since that event, ZAFT had taken firm hold of the reins outside of Federation territory on public opinion. ZAFT had been working on their campaign or really their "crusade" against the industrial pro-military platform Logos. Durandal's broadcast also had another affect shortly after the campaign against Logos, inferences were being made that those who didn't help in the fight against Logos were supporting the people and events that had brought the war on, though nothing was said directly yet. Unrest had gone through most of the member nations in response to recent events and most were on the way to being settled so far.

Looking back, I had seen more how Durandal was do things going forward, for he had taken control of a great deal of public opinion. Chairman Durandal has more power than almost any other political leader and that's a dangerous position to have someone in. He was using part truths to sell his view being the 'only' truth that matter and all others be dismissed. Honestly, the events of this war are reminiscent of how the previous war and more so of the latter years of it. Then, there had been the attack on the Archangel and that could have gone better in many ways, really it shouldn't have happened at all.

When the event with the Archangel had been made public, Durandal hadn't responded at first, just had others attempt to get the questions being asked dismissed. That hadn't flown and I had been cheering and begging to help with that, as I kept myself informed on the exchange. Durandal after a few days gave his official story that the Archangel had still been working for the Earth Forces and in extension Logos. Truthfully, Talia Gladys gave a more understandable explanation and hers had been ridiculous.

The story was still as dumb as it was ridiculous I tell you when you put it against the clear record that the Archangel earned during the First Alliance-PLANT War and the current one. Then Durandal showed 'evidence' he stated was obtained by ZAFT, which was a video clip that had a custom Excel fighter bringing a custom colored Alliance Windam onto the Archangel. That was the sole piece of evidence being provided as justification for the attack on the Archangel. Any other countering information was being dismissed as irrelevant when it was put forth. It did change the policy that had come into effect the day after the Archangel fought ZAFT, that denied all ZAFT vessels from docking at Federation ports until further notice.

And then days ago, Kira had contacted me and as much as I like chatting to a friend, especially one of my best friends it wasn't a social call. Kira was first of all still recovering from the destruction of the Freedom, for it hadn't been kind for him. Between the shrapnel and other projectiles, Kira had gotten beaten up pretty good. If not for Cagalli being on the Archangel, then Kira would have been in worse straits as it was his twin sister that had gotten him back to the ship and he had received medical attention.

Anyways, Kira had called me, only to inform me of an event that involved our other friend Athrun who I was already worried about. He didn't know that Kira and I were still alive as neither of us could contact him. And now according to Kira, Athrun was now on the Archangel in the infirmary along with another individual, both of them in worryingly serious condition. From what Kira had managed to get out of Athrun so far, he hadn't taken the results of the battle Kira lost in and I detonated the Aurora's reactor well, which I can't blame him. His had kept himself together while the Minerva had suffered from 'my contribution' of a nuclear detonation. But, he had been under observation by others from Durandal more than likely as there may doubt where Athrun's loyalty lies.

After arriving at Carpentaria, within half a day, Athrun had been framed and accused of desertion and treason by Chairman Durandal who had been there for some reason, which that itself was another red flag in my eyes. Athrun had tried to escape and was helped by a crew member of the Minerva, the other individual I would assume on the Archangel as well. After Athrun had gotten into the red mobile suit he had been assigned and had been heading for Orb, looking for the Archangel. However, he had been chased by others and then been disabled which had done a serious number on Athrun. The man Kisaka that had been the captain of the Kusanagi in the last war and others fished Athrun and the other out of the water and gotten them to the Archangel.

Honestly, I thought I was the heaviest risk taker out of the three of us, yet my two best friends were showing me up lately. Maybe I'm growing out of such a phase? Nah, I'm confident that I still got it in me to go the distance, do whatever it takes to get the job done regardless of what happens to me. It's more I think that Sakura pops up and hovers over me and making sure that I don't do something crazy stupid lately and lack of opportunity.

Looking ahead, it feels like time was growing short for the reveal of whatever the goal of Gilbert Durandal has. Most of the members of Logos had been hunted down and either killed or captured. ZAFT forces had just finished a successful assault on the Earth Alliance's headquarters in Greenland Heaven's Base yesterday. They had been joined by the Alliance forces that were defecting. The goal had been something along the lines of apprehending the remaining members of Logos. Whether Durandal stops there, I highly doubt it, regardless if any of those from Logos escaped. What he is after I don't know, but I'm fairly confident that he will see the Human Federation and its military as a hinderance.

The information that there was on the battle at Heaven's Base was gruesome to read and go over. The fighting had been bloody and, in the end, seemingly pointless with the countless deaths that had come from it. There had been a few things of note from the battle though from both sides of it. First on the side of Logos, they had used more of the giant mobile suits a couple of them in fact and had attacked first before the ultimatum Durandal had given them to reply. They also had something that was a cross to Asgard's anti-orbital cannons and a cyclops system. They had used it to eliminate the forces that had been dropping from orbit.

Then from the ZAFT/Alliance side, there had been sheer numbers and started with a tactical advantage. There were also two new mobile suits that might be responsible for what happened to Athrun and by what I saw, they could and likely were powered by nuclear energy. One of them looked a lot like the rat's mobile suit and that brought back bad memories for a moment. And in the battle, numbers and tactics had won in the end. Honestly, both sides didn't seem to care how many died on the other side, they were too focused on 'their victory'. But there was one piece of information that stood out, and that was one member of Logos had been confirmed to have escaped. Where this Lord Djibril was now, no one could say just yet, and the Intelligence Agency was working hard to find out. It hurt to know that so many were dying right now, more frustrating that there was nothing changing about it.

When orders finally came, the Normandy was ordered to launch back to space. I had been busting my rear to do what I could to help arrange a mobile suit for Kira, Athrun and myself as all three of us were out of the mobile suits we had been using now. The response I had got for my efforts was that the Normandy was given specific instructions, to head to Echowas to retrieve some new model mobile suits and that was encouraging to me! Not only that, the Normandy would also get new pilots, Luke and the others were being reassigned for the time being. I'm sorry to see them go, but I don't get a say in this, it sucks but is part of the job.

As an exchange for the reassigning of the Normandy's pilots, the ship would pick up three pilots to replace those we were losing, two guys and a gal. I had the time to look over the personnel files on the three and was kind of surprise with the trio for a couple of reasons. The quality they had in common were they were around my age as far as I could tell. Other than that, their backgrounds were different, but were all rather unusual in some way and that was putting it mildly.

The female was named Tanya Loussier, and a glance at her picture reminded me of the girl Stella who had been on the Normandy twice. There was a clear resemblance between Stella and this Tanya Loussier, it was possible that they were sisters. Tanya had the same shade of blonde hair as Stella, though Tanya's was longer in length. Her eyes were red, and they had a look of pain and told of a not nice past. Then her facial features denoted that she was from somewhere in the Atlantic Federation, but that was as specific as I could get as there was no details on her origins. Her psychological file confirmed my observation, for apparently, this girl had been part of the Enhanced Human Project, the 'Extended' side specifically. Tanya had already gone through the treatment and recovery program to help those who had been involved in that project. There was a note in the file that the word "celebration" was bad to mention around her, though the reaction had been curtailed from what it had been but would still cause a potential problem.

The first of the two male pilots had a profile that was rather similar to Tanya Loussier, his name being Allelujah Haptism. Allelujah was also an Extended like Tanya was and there was a point mentioned that they had worked together before, meaning they had been likely in the same trio that candidates of the project were put in. His hair was a shade of hunter green and went down to the bottom of his neck. Oddly, his eyes were different colors from one another, the left was gray while the right was gold a rare idea. The facial feature inferred that he was from somewhere in the Eurasian Federation, but I couldn't be much more specific. His psychological file just enforced the point that Allelujah had been an 'Extended' in the Enhanced Human Project.

There was a note that he had a condition where he had two personalities and one was much more violent than the other. But like Tanya, Allelujah had already gone through the treatment and recovery program to help those who had been involved in that project. The note in the file said that instead of a word, there was a phrase, which was "Give thanks to God" or a combination of the words was bad to mention around him and would induce issues. His name for some reason was an exception to the point, no more information other than the reaction that was exhibited at hearing those words wasn't as extreme as it had been, but there was still a response that wasn't nice.

The last of the pilots that the Normandy was getting was if anything, the most mysterious of the three individuals. His name was Tieria Erde, his personnel file said nothing about any past he could or might not have. Really, all the information that was listed was what a doctor would get from a basic physical. His picture was odd for a lack of a better words, I mean he looked as normal as any other person. But, there was just something about him that was different, maybe it was the complete lack of expression, for his face showed no expression, it was beyond blank, the absolute definition of expressionless that was beyond stoic. He had purple shoulder length hair, which contrasted with his red eyes.

The only fact of note was that his genetic type was one that I hadn't actually heard of before, which was an 'Innovade'. There were no details as to what an Innovade was, and even when I looked up the term on the Information Network, there just wasn't much at all on the term. Anyways, back to Tieria, his psychological portion of his file was somehow even less descriptive than his physical one was. The general point made was that Tieria was calm and came off as emotionless and didn't mean insult with anything he might say yet would follow instructions given.

The first two would board the Normandy before it launches back into space later today, while we would pick the other up at Echowas. That being said, the Normandy catapulted off Shen Lóng up back into orbit in the afternoon and from there we made our way to Echowas. The trip to the space headquarters of the Federation was uneventful, but the tension was mounting as time kept moving. After the Normandy docked at Echowas, the loading of the mobile suits was set to begin, but beforehand I did get to meet Tieria Erde. What had been iterated in his file was accurate, he came off as lacking even the hint of emotion from what I could tell.

I observed the loading process of the newer mobile suits onto the Normandy, for there were five in total which would fill the Normandy's hanger to the max capacity. Four was what had been carried and that was a good fit, five was definitely the maximum number of mobile weapons that my ship could carry, and they were stuffed. The interesting thing was that all five mobile suits were Gundam-type suit and that is very rare to find for one ship. I had a datapad with the specs of each of the mobile suits to view at any time I wished given to me earlier, but I wanted to get a first-person view of the suits themselves first.

The first suit being loaded, was white over all, with the exception of the torso section the bottom of the feet were orange, while the backpack unit and leg thrusters were slate grey. The machine had two gold fins on either side of the head attached to the main torso. There was also a gold fin coming out of the back of the head. On the legs, there were what looked like thrusters attached to the sides as well as wings at the knees of the legs. The backpack looked to be made up of an aircraft nose section that flip over the head.

After seeing the machine, I brought up its specs, to see what the mobile suit had to work with. The suit was known as the GSR-003 Kyrios Gundam, and I noted that my assumption of what the backpack had as a function was correct, as it flipped over for the machine's flight mode. The mobile suit was powered by a GN Solar Reactor, which my one use of one had proven to me the idea is awesome. I look forward to seeing the performance of a solar reactor from a bystander's perspective. The machine's armor and in parts in general, were made of the synthetic alloy E-Carbon as the Exia was. It also had phase shift armor, which I would guess would make the colors of the machine more distinct when activated.

The Kyrios didn't have a lot in the idea of armaments, but that doesn't mean a mobile suit isn't dangerous. The primary weapon was a solar particle or GN particle beam submachine gun, made with two barrels for rapid fire. For close range, Kyrios had a pair of beam sabers that were stored under the front hip skirts. The other offensive equipment this suit was a shield, which could become pincer claws and there was a blade that could extend down the center to pierce whatever the claws were holding. The other offensive feature came in the form of the Kyrios having the ability to carry a container with various payloads while flying.

The flight mode that the Kyrios had made it into an aircraft shape. The backpack had the forward flight array which flipped forward over the head and the shoulders shift upward to make a streamline form with the nose section. The legs, instead of folding in on themselves, have the upper leg going perpendicular to the hips and the knees make a ninety-degree angle with the feet holding the thrusters. Those were combined with the thruster housing on the legs which end out on top of the legs in flight mode. The wings on the legs move out and on the left side the shield's lower half firmly holds the wing's position. The submachine gun attaches to a clamp on the left forearm and can be used in the Kyrios' flight mode. Lastly, the OS that the machine had was titled **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender** which was programed to work with particle reactors. Kyrios had been assigned to Allelujah Haptism to use on a normal basis, which I hope means that I don't have to decide who pilots any of the suits that would be a pain.

I glanced up again and saw through second mobile suit being put onboard the Normandy and it was quite different from the Kyrios Gundam. The first and easiest viewable difference was that this one was bulkier than the previous. The suit was white overall, with the torso black while the bottom of the feet were red. There also was two turret-like rectangular housing over each shoulder and a similar idea on the outside of each leg. The machine was obviously heavily armored, both with E-Carbon and phase shift. Why it was so armored, I couldn't say with just looking at it.

When I brought up the specs, I saw that the suit was designated as the GSR-004 Virtue Gundam. It had a solar reactor for a power source and unit that was noted to be specialized for compressing particles efficiently. For an arsenal, the Virtue had a Bazooka and as I suspected the pieces over the shoulders were cannons. The Virtue also had a pair of beam sabers, but really, the suit was clearly meant for ar-freaking-tillery, at least if the output of the bazooka was true, I wouldn't want to be in front of it. For defense, other than its armor and phase shift, the Virtue could form a field of particles around itself that could block projectiles with ease and could deflect beams well enough. This machine was to be piloted by Tieria Erde, and I have nothing against that, since I don't know him well having just met him.

The next Gundam suit to go onto the Normandy at first glance appeared to have a similar frame as ZAFT's underwater Gundam suit. It was white overall with the torso being dark blue, the shoulder binders, hips skirts and forearms were a neutral blue, along with the bottom of the feet. Like the Abyss if I remember the ZAFT Gundam's name right, it had shoulder binders that had a half shell shape that were positioned on the outside of the shoulders. I assumed that the shoulder binders could shift and form a mobile armor mode of some sort, probably for underwater. The whole machine was made with E-Carbon and like the previous mobile suits had phase shift armor.

Looking down at the datapad and bring up the machine's specs, named the GSR-005 Rapture Gundam and I had to say that this mobile suit was well designed. Unlike the previous two suits, the Rapture had a decent arsenal to use both against mobile suits and ships, which was a mix of beam weapons, railguns and particle weaponry. The shoulder binders were armed with a railgun, particle rifle each and had two torpedo launchers per. Then, there was a miniature version of the MAC gun, one built into each shoulder binder, which was kind of scary to think about. Other than what was in the shoulder binders, there was a pair of high-energy beam cannons mounted on the backpack section. A pair of CIWS guns mounted in the head of the mobile suit for interception and defense loaded with pretty much standard anti-phase shift rounds. The only handheld weapon that the Rapture had was its "Nivalhime" scythe. It was made of E-Carbon like it's armor, giving tremendous cutting power. If that wasn't interesting enough, then the 'energy beam' emitter that was below the blade was, for it put out a thermal beam for cutting.

The secondary mode that the Rapture had was apparently rather similar to ZAFT's Abyss' mobile armor mode or the Y series of Federation Gundams from the previous war. So, the submersible mode, had the two shoulder binders connect together to give it a streamline shell that could quickly traverse distances underwater. It had the beam cannons pointing forward and the torpedo tubes in the position to use. The Nivalhime scythe would be stored along the underside of the Rapture's submersible mode. Lastly, the OS that the machines had was the same as the previous two the **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender**. The suit was assigned to Tanya Loussier to pilot, which like the other two of the Normandy's pilots, I just don't know her enough yet to make any judgment on.

Now, the three mobile suits that either had been loaded or were almost inside were impressive, I won't deny that, much like the Exia had been. BUT, the mobile suit that came next definitely attracted my full attention the second I got sight of it and for good reason. That being the machine was based heavily on the Freedom's frame and so was likely its successor. It had the same coloration as the original Freedom did though duller, phase shift armor will probably make them more pronounced. Yet, it was clear with one look, that the Federation R&D had done a good amount of development from the original Freedom design to come up with the mobile suit I was seeing.

I quickly brought up the specs on the mobile suit and found it was called the ZFMS-30F Burst Freedom, and oh boy, was this an amazing mobile suit! First, the power source or rather 'power sources' as the machine had two separate means that generate power for the systems and weapons with this machine were interesting. The first power generation system was a "Hyper-Deuterion Engine", a cross between a nuclear reactor and the new technology known as a Deuterion Beam Energy Transfer System, acquired from ZAFT R&D, which I doubt they gave knowingly. The other power system that the Burst Freedom had was a solar reactor like the other mobile suits I'd seen going onto the Normandy had.

To say that I was impressed and awed by the Solar Reactors was an understatement, as the Exia Gundam had outdone my opponents back then and my expectations! However, apparently the OS in this machine was designed to handle both power generation systems without either interfering with the other. Titled **G** eneration **U** nified **N** ucleus **D** rive **A** ssault **M** odule Unity, it was one of the most advanced OSs created thus far. Just looking at this machine makes me kind of jealous of what Kira's going to be working with, but that's okay, I can wait for something else.

Anyways, the Burst Freedom was the first of the mobile suits that had a phase shift armor system included as well as E-Carbon plating. The phase shift armor was a new version than what I've seen, a more efficient version of the Type-Sigma. The suit also had like the Freedom, full flight capabilities in the atmosphere with its back-mounted wings, which was made up of four large wings and four small wing-like fins. The combination of the wings and fins can be deployed in the suit's "High Mobility Aerial Tactics V2" or (HiMATv2) Mode which was a mix of the HiMAT system from the Freedom had and the HiMAM system that the Aurora had put together.

Then, the Burst Freedom also has an advanced targeting system that is based on the Freedom's Multi Lock-On System combined with the Rapid Target Acquisition system called the "Omni-Target Acquisition System", which allows the suit to target and fire at multiple enemy units simultaneously as well as acquire targets for following attacks at the same time. That combination would be a force to be reckoned with and also mean to go against. The Burst Freedom could dock with a METEOR unit that the Eternal carries. I would assume that the METEORs had been rebuilt as they had been destroyed during the last battle of the previous war, I would be shocked if they hadn't.

For its armaments, the suit included CIWS guns, beam weapons, railguns, and even remote weapons, in other words, what you might need for a hell of a party. Like the Freedom, this mobile suit had two beam sabers, two 50mm CIWS guns in the head and two railguns, which were attached to the shoulders instead of the hips. The beam sabers were an improved version from what had been used towards the end of the First Alliance-PLANT War and could still be combined together. The 50mm CIWS guns in the head, were loaded with anti-phase shift round standard. The railguns were upgraded versions of what the Freedom used in a few ways, the biggest point was they could swivel backward and forward in a hundred-eighty-degree range. On the forearms, there were beam shield emitters as well for defense and took the place of the original Freedom's shield.

The Burst Freedom's two beam rifles replacing the one the original had, were developed from said "Lupus" high-energy beam rifle. The two possess the ability to combine together into a single long-range rifle much like the GAT-X103 Buster had with its rifles. When the rifles were not in use, they stored on the side hip skirts. However, they could still swing forward or back and be remotely fired at an opponent giving a nasty surprise. Then, there were the two "Fastus" multi-phase beam cannons, mounted on the backpack. The cannons can flip forward over the shoulders when used against other mobile suits and ships.

When it came to the Burst Freedom's remote weapon collection there were autonomous mobile unit that docked on the four wings and the fins. There were eight of them in total, one docked to each wing and fin, those on the fins were a bit shorter than those docked to the wings, but functionally the same. With the second-generation DRAGOON system, the pilot doesn't need to do as much work to control the units. Each remote unit possessed a particle rifle named "Phaser" and a set of beam blade emitters that could form a beam blade tip that can be used for penetration of a target. The units also used particles for the weapons but thrusters mostly for propulsion to move, but particles could be used for an atmospheric environment for movement.

The flight mode that the Burst Freedom had makes the four wings form an 'X' formation at the rear of the craft, with the shorter fins acting as tail stabilizers. The legs fold and become the rear thrusters that combine with the backpack's thrusters giving the flight mode supersonic speed capabilities. The forward flight array which is connected to the backpack section moves forward and appeared like a classic aircraft nose and cockpit. Both railguns lock to point forward with the shoulders, which shoulders shift to come beside the main vents that sit on either side of the flight array. The multi-phase cannons come to sit along the top structure of the craft above and behind the flight array. Finally, the beam rifles are held in the hands along the bottom side of the craft and are completely usable in flight mode. All in all, an awesome mobile suit and I look forward to seeing Kira's face when he sees it.

The last of the five mobile suits that the Normandy would be either carrying or transporting depending on how you look at it, was also intriguing. Like the previous machine, the last mobile suit had a design basis I'd seen, which was the X09A Justice. It wasn't to the same extent as the Burst Freedom looked like the Freedom, but there was definitely similar with its framework. But had a few particular differences, the main one being that there was no Fatum-00 or something like it. Instead it had two large wings like the Aurora did connected to a backpack section, but that was the most stark difference from the Justice's framework.

Bringing up the specs on the mobile suit and found it was called the ZFMS-28C Eternal Justice, and as with the Burst Freedom, this was as awesome a mobile suit too! The Justice also had two power sources which were the same as the Freedom, with a Hyper-Deuterion Engine and a solar reactor. It also had the same OS as the Burst Freedom to handle both power generation systems without either interfering with the other, the **G** eneration **U** nified **N** ucleus **D** rive **A** ssault **M** odule Unity system.

When it came to the Justice's arsenal, it didn't have the quantity the Freedom did, but it made up that in a different way. The Justice had two of the same type of beam sabers and CIWS guns as the Freedom does. The main offensive options of the Eternal Justice were the weapon system that is a combination of weapons and its remote assault bits. The "Valor" weapon system was shaped much like a thin version of the Excel fighter's shield and nose section. It had four separate pieces of equipment, three weapons and a shield. The defensive part of the shield was a deflection field generator, a more efficient variation than what he Aurora had. The weapons consisted of a high-energy beam rifle under the main shield's structure that was higher powered than the Freedom's rifles did separately. Then, there's a particle beam vuclan mounted under the shield between the rifle and shield. Lastly, a beam sword emitter that was projected along both sides of the forward nose section and would be longer than beam sabers.

The Eternal Justice's remote weapons, its assault bits were different from what the Burst Freedom had. First, there were six instead of eight, but four were bigger than the remaining two which were more the size of the eight units the Freedom possessed. The reason that four were larger, was that they had more than just a rifle and beam blade, they also had two more barrels to make a rapid firing weapon as well. The four larger assault bits and are stored in docks alongside each of the two large back wings and can swing forward while in their docks to be used in combat, while the other two bits were docked on either side hip skirts. Then, as with the Freedom, the second-generation DRAGOON system, the pilot doesn't need to do as much work to control the unit.

The four large assault bits possess three modes; rifle, barrage and blade mode. There three barrels in each bit, two smaller than the third and the large barrel uses conventional beams while the other two barrels utilize particle beams. In rifle mode, the bits utilize the large barrel and fires beams that are a small margin less powerful than the High-energy beam rifle that the Justice has. In barrage mode, a combination of all three barrels are used to create a rapid-fire effect, much like a vulcan does. Then in blade mode, beam sabers are emitted, and the bits are used like javelins or spears and penetrates enemy machines. The bits utilize particles for their movements in space. The two smaller bits were much the same as the Freedom's own remote weapons.

The machine's flight mode had the Valor weapon system as the nose section. The large wings connected to the backpack, would shift to come alongside the torso and the assault bits move to be in the center of the wings, having one above and the other below on bother sides. The smaller bits functioned as part of the tail shifting back close to the rear thrusters which are set in the feet. The forward flight array moves forward from where it connects to the backpack and attaches with the Valor weapon system. Also, the Eternal Justice could dock with a METEOR unit that the Eternal carries.

If the Justice could help Athrun in his recovery and have something to do, then I'll get it to him. I'm betting my friend is feeling beyond crappy both physically and mentally, but more mentally, much like I had after the Shadow had been destroyed. To hopefully prevent Athrun from doing something really risky dumb, I'll provide equipment for him to work with as I did the Aurora once.

Anyways, once the five mobile suits were loaded onto the Normandy, we departed from Echowas and began the journey to where we would meet up with the Eternal. We would meet them just outside of high orbit over Earth, on the nearer side of the debris belt. A message along the way from Kira came, he was going to head up into space to get to the Eternal.

That would work out well for delivering the new Freedom to him, but that left a small problem. I want to get the Eternal Justice to where Athrun can have the option to use the machine if he wishes to. But as things stand, that would require a second pilot to take down the Justice and the Normandy doesn't have any to spare. I myself could pilot the Eternal Justice down to Earth, yet that would leave the Normandy captain-less for a time, the longest I would be away thus far. I trust Lisa could keep things going and take care of business, but I really shouldn't be away from the ship for the period of time I would be. It was an option, but one of the last ones I was considering, as much as I wish to see my friends and make sure they're okay.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Hidden Base among the Marshal Islands

Kira met up with Murrue to discuss as things stood with recent events, since things were quickly becoming more volatile. "Miss Murrue, what's the status of the Archangel," Kira asked.

"The repairs are coming along, but there still is a ways to go before she's ready to go out into battle again," Murrue replied.

"That's good," Kira said trialing off.

Murrue smiled, "I take it that you're restless," she said.

Kira became flabbergasted, "What no," he replied quickly. Then he took a moment to calm down, "Maybe a little I guess. What happened to Athrun, it leaves me to wonder what ZAFT will do going forward. I highly doubt they will leave the Federation alone much longer," he reasoned.

Murrue sighed, "You're not alone in feeling so Kira, all of us here feel the same, especially after the news about Heaven's Base came in," she said.

Kira exhaled and grumbled, "I… I just feel powerless right now, I can't protect anything or anyone like I am now. I know Tyler is trying to help change that for me, but," Kira began, yet stopped.

Murrue smiled a bit, "The waiting isn't easy," she posed.

Kira nodded, "Yes, I want to be doing something to help in the work towards peace and so, just pacing while doing nothing is frustrating."

Meanwhile, in the Archangel's infirmary, Cagalli was visiting Athrun who was recovering slowly, but still had a ways to go. Cagalli was very happy that Athrun was going to be okay, for when he had been brought to the Archangel, he hadn't looked good at all. She had been scared for a time that she might lose Athrun, and she hadn't told him how much she loved him. "Athrun, how do you feel," Cagalli asked.

Athrun didn't answer right away, "Honestly, I feel horrible, though physically I'm improving." He paused and looked away from Cagalli, "I was such a foolish idiot, I was so blind and refused to listen to anyone else, even my best friends who were looking out for and trying to help me," Athrun said with a waver in his voice.

Cagalli hated to hear Athrun talk like he was, for he was demining himself, so she grabbed his face and forced Athrun to look at her again, "Don't say that about yourself," she chided.

"Sorry," replied Athrun putting a hands over hers right hand, "How's Meyrin?"

"Miriallia says she's doing better," Cagalli said.

That was good to hear for Athrun, he hadn't wanted to involve her in his escape, but that hadn't worked out as he'd hoped. Athrun hadn't spoken to Meyrin much and yet she had helped him twice, and he had gotten her hurt as a result. All that had befallen him after arriving at Carpentaria seemed ridiculous yet ironic overall.

While Athrun was thinking, Cagalli was coming to a decision that now was as good a time as any to tell him how she felt. She had not the last chance she had, and that had nearly cost the chance with Athrun coming close to dying, "There's something I want to say to you Athrun," Cagalli said.

Athrun focused on Cagalli, wondering what she was about to say with the soft caring tones she had in her voice. "For all the trouble and stress which I've caused you Athrun, can you find it in yourself to forgive me," she asked.

"No," Athrun said without missing a beat, "That's what I should be asking or rather begging for you to do for me Cagalli. I've been such a blind fool."

"But I… I was going to get married and not tell you about it," Cagalli said guiltily.

Athrun looked to her left hand and spotted the ring he had given her, a smile crept onto his face, "You were doing what you thought was best for the future of Orb and in the end, you didn't do it Cagalli," he remarked.

It was nice of Athrun to try and justify her actions, but that wasn't what she wanted in this, "But I love you Athrun, not Yuna," she admitted.

Athrun was kind of dumbstruck at hearing Cagalli saying that she loved him out loud, for this was the first time she'd said so out loud. Both he and Cagalli had not really made things clear about how they felt for one another, just kind of accepted they were fond of each other. However, he cleared his mind and then said what he had not, "I love you too Cagalli, sorry for not saying so before now."

There would have been more said and done, but an announcement prevented that, " _All personnel, prepare for the launch of the Strike Rogue with the booster,_ " came the voice of Murrue Ramius.

Kira changed into a pilot suit faster than he could remember doing before, but then he wanted to go and be doing something, and he wanted to see Lacus. The last few months had been much harder than he had thought they would be partially due to the separation from Lacus. The relationship between he and Lacus had moved forward some from where it got to towards the end of the First Alliance-PLANT War. Lacus seemed to want it to go farther yet, they were still teenagers, so Kira kept the close friendship and girlfriend-boyfriend relationship from going too far just yet. However, Kira had to admit that he had missed Lacus for the months that had gone by since she went up to space. Kira… had been taking for granted the opportunities he would have to hug and cuddle with Lacus while living at the orphanage. He missed her smile, for it always brightened his day no matter how harsh things were. So, even if he wasn't one to show strong feelings often, Kira was focus and determined to go to where Lacus was.

Kira rushed to the lift that the Strike Rogue had been loaded to after being connected to the Strike Booster. He entered the cockpit without a word and got down to modifying the system settings for the atmospheric ascent. The radio crackled before Chief Murdoch's voice came, " _Kid, what should we do about the voltage and the other specs, we've been busy with other things so couldn't get the setting changes done yet and we weren't going to use the Rogue originally._ "

"Use the same setting that there were for the Strike, they should be able to work," Kira returned, finishing up his modifications.

" _You got it kid,_ " Murdoch replied.

Once the settings were inputted, Kira told Chief Murdoch that he had to go, to which the man shouted to those with him to take cover. The lift began rising to the tunnel for the booster to launch out of as alarms began sounding. The outer wall/door to the tunnel shifted out and slid upward and out of the way as the Strike and its booster reached the top of the lift. Shutters closed and sealed behind the booster to help vent the exhaust from the booster. " _Kira, it looks like you will have a clear path for ascent,_ " informed Sai, " _Tell Lacus hi for us here._ "

"Will do Sai," Kira replied.

" _Course cleared, systems all green, Strike Booster, go ahead launch,_ " called Miriallia.

Kira ignited all four heavy thrusters on the booster unit and they burned hard and the Strike Rogue began accelerating forward. "Launching," Kira announced as he began racing down the tunnel, increasing in speed. He activated the Rogue's phase shift armor to shield him from heat from the atmosphere as the entrance of the tunnel was rushing to meet him.

The moment that the Strike Booster came out of the launching tunnel, Kira pulled the control stick back to head upward and pushed the throttle forward for full speed. Some from Orb did witness the launch of the Strike Booster, though most didn't take notice as the mobile suit headed up. The heat from friction with the atmosphere soon came for Kira and the temperature climbed rapidly. Kira was determined to make it to the Eternal, to see Lacus again, so he tolerated the heat and kept going. Still, he was glad of his choice to put on a Federation suit instead of his orb pilot suit, for it was helping deal with the effects of the atmospheric heat. "Lacus… I got to make it," Kira muttered to himself.

After a few minutes, Kira rose above the atmosphere and the heat died down and the sight of the Eternal bolstered Kira. He headed for the ship, disconnecting from the booster as he got close to the Eternal. "Eternal, do you read me," Kira asked, trying to connect a com-channel to the Eternal.

" _Kira!_ " answered the voice of Lacus.

The view of the Eternal's bridge came up on the Strike's com-screen and seeing Lacus again warmed Kira's heart. Andrew Waltfeld smiled and nodded, " _Hey there youngster, long time no see, I was wondering how long it would be before you got up here,_ " he greeted.

"Yes, it has, do you want me to come on through the catapult of through the back hatch," posed Kira.

" _The back hatch will probably do the best,_ " replied Waltfeld, assuming that the two teens would want some time alone after being denied that.

While Kira began heading for the back hatch of the Eternal, Lacus left the bridge and quickly made her way to the lounge that the bay the back hatch opened to. The months in space had been torturous in a fashion for Lacus, she had been lonely and had missed Kira terribly, even his naiveté. Oh, Lacus wished that she and Kira would advance their relationship more, but she understood the reasons why Kira insisted that they wait. Both Kira and she were young and not ready to be married or parents yet and she agreed with that, though Lacus wanted the idea with Kira someday soon. Nevertheless, Lacus had missed and craved to snuggle with Kira, to kiss him and just show him how much she cared and loved him. She hadn't been able to do any of that after coming up to space and it was close to a type of an addiction withdrawal!

Now, Lacus was close to floating on air with getting to see and have contact with Kira soon. Upon arriving in the bay lounge, Lacus saw the Strike coming and the bay closing, and she nearly plastered herself to the window that separated the bay and where she was. Kira was out of the Strike's cockpit the second he could, sailing towards the airlock. Lacus went towards the ante-room on the other side of the airlock, a feeling of need to get to Kira and impending happiness coursing through her. Kira pressurized the airlock and removed his helmet, before the door to the ante-room opened when the process was completed. As he floated forward into the room as the opposite door slid open and Lacus sailed inside towards Kira. The two came into an embrace at the center of the ante-room, hugging each other tightly. Lacus quickly found Kira's lips and pressed hers to his while she clung to him, which gesture Kira returned.

The kiss lasted for a while, words were not needed between the two to express the feelings of happiness and joy Kira and Lacus felt at reuniting with one another. After the kiss broke, the two pressed their foreheads together, "I'm so happy to see you again Lacus, I've missed you," Kira said softly, staring into Lacus's eyes.

Lacus was beaming, as she kissed him softly, "I've missed you too Kira, it's been so lonely without you with me," she replied her grip on Kira tightening a bit.

The two soaked in the other's presence which they had been denied for months, that had seemed like far longer. Such involved cuddling, snuggling and kissing, but as no one came around and interrupted them that did so without issue. Kira and Lacus thoroughly enjoyed their 'alone time', which they had been deprived of since Lacus went to space.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

It was a few hours by the time we came into range to detect the Eternal which was hiding within the Debris Belt and shortly after that, we made direct contact. Paris proved his piloting skills as he navigated the Debris and when we came in sight of the Eternal, he oriented the Normandy to have the underside face the Eternal's own. The Normandy lined up and connected to an airlock, while that happened, I headed from the bridge to meet up with Kira.

I got to the corridor that the room the airlock in the bottom side of the Normandy would come out into and a moment later, a door on the left slid open. Out of that door floated Kira, who I expected, but then after him came Lacus, which I hadn't predicted. Kira was in Federation pilot suit while Lacus was in the Kimono I'd seen her in before now. Although, Lacus being here did provide a potential solution for getting the Eternal Justice down to Athrun that didn't require me leaving the Normandy for a while.

I moved forward towards Kira, he spotted me floating towards him and we greeted each other as we hadn't seen one another in-person since getting Lacus into space. "Good to see you Kira, you really had me worried when you lost close to a month ago," I said.

"Yeah, it was a close call, and I now understand to a degree what you went through when the Shadow was destroyed and what followed," Kira replied.

Good golly, he's right, Kira had pretty much gone through a mobile suit explosion with being near its center. As a matter of fact, all of us in the trio that is Athrun, Kira and I, have now been in a mobile suit that has been destroyed and survived the experience with a varying amount of injuries. Kira and I separated a little and I turned to face Lacus, "It's good to see you as well Lacus, I assume that you've been keeping busy," I greeted.

Lacus came up and hugged me and as she did, there was a soft vibration as the Normandy was likely disconnecting from the Eternal. "It's been far too long Tye," she returned, then she took a moment to look me over. "Tyler, what are you wearing," she asked.

Lacus' question reminded me that I was still in my formal military uniform. I normally put it on when visiting Echowas, mostly in case I come across my boss, she's not a woman that you want to be on the bad side of. I just hadn't taken the time to changed out of it since leaving Echowas, and the formal wear is out of place for me with those who know me. I rubbed the back of my head with a hand, "Oh well, this is the formal outfit for the Federation Military, I just haven't taken the time to change out of it," I replied. Then I focused on the task I was here to do, "But, that's not the point right now. Kira my friend, I know that you've been having a hard time waiting and doing little to nothing, but the wait is over. I'm here to deliver on what I said I would and I promise that you will appreciate it a lot. And then with Lacus here, she can do me a big favor that I've been trying to figure out how to get done."

I led the way to the Normandy's hanger, and when we came inside the room Kira and Lacus were looking around at the five mobile suits that the ship had been given. I gestured at the Burst Freedom, "Well my friend, here it is, the mobile suit to take the empty space that the Freedom had before, I do believe this mobile suit I believe will be a great replacement." Kira focused on the Burst Freedom and I continued, "The mobile suit is designated the ZFMS-30F Burst Freedom, it's a Gundam-type and obviously based off the original Freedom's framework. But let me tell you, she's packed with the latest and greatest, most of which isn't available to others outside of the Federation Military."

After that introduction to the Burst Freedom, I got into some of the details for the machine. I started with the two power sources that the Freedom had to work with, along with the OS designed to work with them both without interference with one another. Explaining the particulars of the E-Carbon, phase shift and the defense that came from utilizing the GN particles, took a bit of time. I mentioned that the wings had the improved HiMAT V2 system, before moving onto the Omni-Target Acquisition System and saying that the Burst Freedom could still dock with a METEOR unit. I gave a brief listing and summary of the Freedom's armaments, which were more extensive than the original. I finished up by giving detail for the Freedom's flight mode and its abilities.

Kira was impressed with the Burst Freedom from what I could see, his expression was certainly amusing to see. I turned towards Lacus, "As for the favor I want to ask for your help with Lacus, I was hoping you could deliver another mobile suit, which is for Athrun," I said.

Kira focused back on me at the mention of Athrun's name, "Tye, Athrun isn't in the condition to pilot, even if he's doing better physically, he's been mentally shaken," Kira iterated.

I folded my arms and stared at my 'naïve friend', "Once again Kira, you leave me to wonder if your naiveté is genuine or an extremely convincing act. This isn't the normal special kind of stupid you can be, you noticing Athrun being in the dumps is a good step forward," I replied.

My friend blushed, while Lacus was glaring at me, and I was waving my hands, "Lacus, you know I don't mean Kira is lacking in intelligence. Heck, you of all people should know how naïve he can be, you're around him the most after all even with your time apart." I turned back to Kira, "I might not know why or what contributed to get Athrun where he is now, but I would hazard a guess that he's questioning his faith and convictions as he did in the last war. However, when that settles, and I assure you it will, Athrun will be desperately looking for a way to help in the situation and I know the feeling from personal experience. I'm haunted by the expression he had before leaving for ZAFT of being useless and only able to watch as things happen." I gestured at the Eternal Justice, "This mobile suit is my way of giving Athrun a means to help out should he feel inclined to do so and others aren't able to hold him back enough."

Kira appeared to be about to argue, likely about Lacus piloting a mobile suit down to Earth, but the girl beat him to it, "I'll do it," she said.

Lacus didn't let Kira talk her out of piloting the Justice, just headed off to get a pilot suit. I said my farewells to the two of them, since I had to stay up in space for the time being. I did mention that things were pointing towards ZAFT making an assault on Orb soon the most out of the member nations. Two things made me think that ZAFT would attack Orb out of the Federation nations. The first was Orb was part of those that stood in the way of what Durandal wants, whatever it is. The other was according to the Information Network, some idiot thought it a nice idea to offer Lord Djibril, the leader of Blue Cosmos haven in Orb and that could easily translate into the man ending out there. Plus, that troublesome guy was also one of the few members of Logos that were not in custody and was classified as a war criminal. ZAFT could and likely would use that point as an excuse to attack Orb and 'bring it under control'.

Lacus had donned a pilot suit before boarding the Justice as Kira going into the Freedom. After the Freedom and Justice were in the process of being sent to launch, I began heading back to the bridge. However, on my way, I bumped into the Normandy's mobile suit pilots, they were all suited up and ready to go, even though no orders had been given. I stared at the three of them, "You three appear ready to go out somewhere, care to fill me in on what's going on," I posed.

Tanya Loussier inclined her head towards me, "Captain, we were going to sortie out and go to help in Orb. Vice-captain Malto said it shouldn't be an issue," she said.

I agree with Lisa, but this was unexpected, "Sure, that's fine, but fare warning, you'll be on your own getting back up here to space," I said, to which they all nodded. "Also Loussier, you will be in-charge while you are all away from the Normandy, understood."

The three nodded again and continued towards the hanger, while I continued towards the Normandy's bridge. I silently prayed for the safety and success of Kira and Lacus getting to Earth with the two mobile suits. I get the feeling that things are very soon to become worse for everyone, so I hope that the two get to Earth in time to make a good difference.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **That's where I stop and let the tension… no, since I posted the next Phase, there won't be much tension. Anyways, again, this phase like the last one is filled with new characters, and mobile suit, whose specs are below for the custom ones. I hope that you readers enjoyed the moment that Kira and Lacus shared. I think it was MUCH better than canon was as all they do in that is hug one another and say their 'happy'. I know that canon had a fight to introduce the new Freedom, but that will be in the next Phase. Enjoy the next phase, hope you like the specs below as I did an amount of work on them.**

Mobile Suit Specs

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Custom Prototype Anti-Mobile Suit use Transformable Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** ZFMS-28C

 **Official Name:** Eternal Justice Gundam(永遠の正義ガンダム)

 **Overall Height:** 18.9 m

 **Full Weight:** 81.25 t

 **Power Source:** Hyper-Deuterion Engine, GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon

 **Crew:** Pilot only (in cockpit in torso)

 **GENERAL DATA  
Manufacturer:** Federation Military

 **First Deployment:** April 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military  
 **Known Pilots:** Athrun Zala

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Gundam Nucleus (GN) Solar Reactor**

A Gundam Nucleus (GN) Drive Solar Reactor, is a powerful energy system within the next generation mobile suits constructed during the second PLANTs war. They are designed to give a mobile suit a significant advantage in combat. A GN Drive is a semi-perpetual generator, scaled for installation in a mobile suit, which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source. Like every other power source, a GN Drive has a limited moment-by-moment output however, due to its very nature a GN Drive will continue to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the GN drive is not pushed to breaking limits.

 **\- GN Field**

The GN Field is a defensive shielding technology developed by the Federation during the Second PLANTs-war that utilizes GN Particles. The field is created by concentrating enough GN particles within a local area of space. The GN particles are shaped and focused into a spherical form for full defensive coverage over the unit(s) however, the field itself is not restricted to spherical forms. The field itself can wrap around any shape or size, so long as the necessary amounts of particles can form around the surface it was generated/formed over.

 **DRAGOON System**

The system allows a single mobile weapon pilot to control several smaller weapon pods to attack enemies from different angles, using a quantum communication network to send signals to move them around the battlefield. These pods are usually stored on several hardpoints across the suit's body, whether on a backpack of the suit's main body. The docks are not only for storage, but also for recharging the pods and so they must dock to restore power.

 **High Mobility Aerial Tactics (HiMAT) Mode**

A configuration in which Burst Justice's four wings are unfolded for higher maneuverability during aerial combat. When in space, the deployment of the wings can enhance the Burst Freedom's AMBAC capabilities.

 **"Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System**

One of the three variants, the combat type of the "Voiture Lumiere" propulsion system, is mounted in the Eternal Justice's wings. This combat variant uses a combination of an internal laser and the Solar Reactor, rather than an external power beam, and converts its energy into a strong light pressure which is then used as thrust. It can be used even when the DRAGOON Pods are still attached to the wings, by slightly separating the DRAGOONs from the main wings, without fully deploying them.

 **Omni-Target Acquisition System**

Similar to the Multi-Lockon system the original Justice Gundam was equipped with, the Eternal Justice is equipped with an improved idea that does the same to target multiple enemies and attack them at once. To overcome the requirement of the pilot having high spatial awareness capability, which is rare even among Coordinators, there's an onboard AI processor to assist in the task. This system can also be used when the Justice docks with the METEOR unit.

 **Neutron Jammer Canceller**

A device built into the mobile suit to counter the effects of the Federation's and ZAFT's Neutron Jammer. This gives the Burst Freedom the ability to use its Hyper-Deuterion Engine without the risk of being shut down.

 **Phase Shift Type-S V2**

An improved version and more efficient armor system developed by the combined efforts of Federation scientist. It works much like the original Phase Shift Type-Sigma, yet the power usage is better and distributing of the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas is improved. It also uses GN Particles to help reinforce the defensive armor and make it even more capable to block incoming attacks.

 **Operating System**

The Justice uses the Generation Unified Nucleus Drive Module Unity operating system.

 **METEOR Unit**

Like its predecessor, the X09A Justice, the Eternal Justice can dock with the METEOR unit, a large mobile weapons platform with powerful thrusters and an even more powerful armament of battleship-caliber beam cannons, large beam swords, and dozens of heavy missile launchers.

 **Armament:**

 **MA-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Saber**

The suit's main close combat weapon, a pair of them are stored on the hips. They are also used by the Imperious Justice and are enhanced versions of the ones used by the Justice and Freedom. The two beam sabers can be combined into a twin-edged beam saber, and this form is known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd'. Kira however prefers to dual wield the sabers rather than combine them.

 **MMI-GAU27D 50mm CIWS**

Mounted in the head, the pair of CIWS guns are mainly used to shoot down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range. Originally, the weapon is supposed to be omitted due to a lack of space in the head unit. However, they are installed in the end due to their effectiveness and reliability. They are loaded with standard anti-phase shift rounds.

 **MX2200 Beam Shield**

There is an emitter attached to left forearm of the Eternal Justice, it generates a field from beam shield generators, the powerful pair of beam shields can effectively block beam-based and physical attacks.

 **"Valor" Weapon System**

The major offensive set of weapons for the Eternal Justice and its made up of three weapons combined into one singular system that attaches to the Justice's right arm.

 **MA-M1911 High-energy Beam Rifle**

A greatly improved version of the MA-M20 "Lupus" Beam Rifle. The rifle is mounted in the weapon system between the long outer shield and is effective at varying ranges.

 **GN Vulcan**

A small duel barreled gun installed in the Valor weapon system, mounted above the beam rifle. It's purely a secondary weapon, these low powered weapons that is equipped with main purpose of diversion. Although the power of their beams are weak, their high firing rate means that they can be a threat to conventional weapons that lack E-Carbon or Phase Shift armor.

 **MA-X180 Beam Sword**

A large beam sword that are emitted from the Valor system. It has extended range beyond beam sabers by 1.5 times and can easily cut through non-armored foe. The pair of emitters that work in tandem to generate the blade, are mounted in the raise portion of the shield that's towards the back.

 **MX2400 "Mitus" Deflector Shield**

This shield's emitter is inlaid in the shield of the weapon system. The shield works similar to the Aurora's Imperious Deflection shield but takes less power and uses GN particles as well. The powerful shield can effectively block beam-based and physical attacks.

 **EFUN-3Y Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Bits**

The DRAGOON system is the Eternal Justice's newest feature and four DRAGOON Assault Bits and are stored in docks alongside each of the two back wings as well as the two on the side skirts. The Eternal Justice's DRAGOONs are based on the second-generation DRAGOON System, which does not require pilots to have high spatial awareness to effectively control them due to the use of an improved quantum communication system among other modifications. With the onboard AI, the huge amount of data processing required is minimized, so the Super DRAGOON System can function closer to its maximum potential. The DRAGOONs can be used in group formations for multiple barrages or used with other of the suit's weaponry to shoot down enemy ships or mobile suits.

 **GN-P13 Assault Bits**

The four assault bits that the Eternal Justice has, possess three modes; rifle, barrage and blade mode. There three barrels in each bit, two smaller than the third and the large barrel uses conventional beams while the other two barrels utilize particle beams. In rifle mode, the bits utilize the large barrel and fires beams that are a small margin less powerful than the High-energy beam rifle that the Justice has. In barrage mode, a combination of all three barrels are used to create a rapid-fire effect, much like a vulcan does. Then in blade mode, beam sabers are emitted, and the bits are used like javelins or spears and penetrates enemy machines.

 **EQGY-4X Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing**

The other two bits, each with one particle beam cannon, and two are stored in docks on the side skirts.

 **\- GN-P12 "Phaser" Particle Rifle (1 per pod)**

The "Phaser" is the main beam weapon of each pod, and is a particle beam, which aren't affected or blocked by positron reflectors.

 **\- VN-50 "Lance" Beam Blade (1 per pod)**

Each pod, in addition of having a particle rifle, also has emitters to produce a beam blade at the tip and around the front of the pod. This function is usually used for penetration of a ship or mobile suit and can overwhelming when multiple pods are doing this at the same time.

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Custom Prototype Anti-Mobile Suit use Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** ZFMS-30F  
 **Official Name:** Burst Freedom Gundam (バーストフリーダムガンダム)  
 **Head Height:** 18.88 meters  
 **Weight:** 80.09 tons  
 **Power Source:** Hyper-Deuterion Engine, GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon

 **Crew:** Pilot only (in cockpit in torso)

 **GENERAL DATA  
Manufacturer:** Federation Military

 **First Deployment:** April 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military

 **Known Pilots:** Kira Yamato

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Gundam Nucleus (GN) Solar Reactor**

A Gundam Nucleus (GN) Drive Solar Reactor, is a powerful energy system within the next generation mobile suits constructed during the second PLANTs war. They are designed to give a mobile suit a significant advantage in combat. A GN Drive is a semi-perpetual generator, scaled for installation in a mobile suit, which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source. Like every other power source, a GN Drive has a limited moment-by-moment output however, due to its very nature a GN Drive will continue to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the GN drive is not pushed to breaking limits.

 **\- GN Field**

The GN Field is a defensive shielding technology developed by the Federation during the Second PLANTs-war that utilizes GN Particles. The field is created by concentrating enough GN particles within a local area of space. The GN particles are shaped and focused into a spherical form for full defensive coverage over the unit(s) however, the field itself is not restricted to spherical forms. The field itself can wrap around any shape or size, so long as the necessary amounts of particles can form around the surface it was generated/formed over.

 **DRAGOON System**

The system allows a single mobile weapon pilot to control several smaller weapon pods to attack enemies from different angles, using a quantum communication network to send signals to move them around the battlefield. These pods are usually stored on several hardpoints across the suit's body, whether on a backpack of the suit's main body. The docks are not only for storage, but also for recharging the pods and so they must dock to restore power.

 **High Mobility Aerial Tactics (HiMAT) Mode**

A configuration in which Burst Justice's four wings are unfolded for higher maneuverability during aerial combat. When in space, the deployment of the wings can enhance the Burst Freedom's AMBAC capabilities.

 **"Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System**

One of the three variants, the combat type of the "Voiture Lumiere" propulsion system, is mounted in the Eternal Justice's wings. This combat variant uses a combination of an internal laser and the Solar Reactor, rather than an external power beam, and converts its energy into a strong light pressure which is then used as thrust. It can be used even when the DRAGOON Pods are still attached to the wings, by slightly separating the DRAGOONs from the main wings, without fully deploying them.

 **\- Full Burst Mode**

The name of the attack mode in which the Burst Freedom uses its beam rifles, DRAGOONs, railguns and multi-phase beam cannons all at once. This mode is also present in Freedom Gundam and is often used together with the Multi Lock-On System to destroy a large amount of enemy units at once. Thanks to the DRAGOONs, the Burst Freedom's Full Burst Mode has a larger firing range than the Freedom's, granting it a full 360-degree range of attack capability. However, on Earth, the DRAGOONs cannot detach and do are limited to only shooting forward.

 **Omni-Target Acquisition System**

Similar to the Multi-Lockon system the original Justice Gundam was equipped with, the Eternal Justice is equipped with an improved idea that does the same to target multiple enemies and attack them at once. To overcome the requirement of the pilot having high spatial awareness capability, which is rare even among Coordinators, there's an onboard AI processor to assist in the task. This system can also be used when the Justice docks with the METEOR unit.

 **Neutron Jammer Canceller**

A device built into the mobile suit to counter the effects of the Federation's and ZAFT's Neutron Jammer. This gives the Burst Freedom the ability to use its Hyper-Deuterion Engine without the risk of being shut down.

 **Phase Shift Type-S V2**

An improved version and more efficient armor system developed by the combined efforts of Federation scientist. It works much like the original Phase Shift Type-Sigma, yet the power usage is better and distributing of the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas is improved. It also uses GN Particles to help reinforce the defensive armor and make it even more capable to block incoming attacks.

 **Operating System**

The Justice uses the Generation Unified Nucleus Drive Module Unity operating system.

 **METEOR Unit**

Like its predecessor, the X09A Justice, the Eternal Justice can dock with the METEOR unit, a large mobile weapons platform with powerful thrusters and an even more powerful armament of battleship-caliber beam cannons, large beam swords, and dozens of heavy missile launchers.

 **Armament:**

 **MA-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Saber**

The suit's main close combat weapon, a pair of them are stored on the hips. They are also used by the Eternal Justice and are enhanced versions of the ones used by the Justice and Freedom. The two beam sabers can be combined into a twin-edged beam saber, and this form is known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd'. Kira however prefers to dual wield the sabers rather than combine them.

 **MGX-2235 "Fastus" Multi-phase Beam Cannon**

A pair are mounted on the backpack section and they can swing forward for use. In flight mode, they are positioned in the center, behind the forward sensor array on either side. This multi-phase beam cannon is a similar type as the one used by the Abyss Gundam. However, its firepower is higher due to the Burst Freedom's power sources Hyper-Deuterion Engine and Solar Reactor. Another fact of note, the both cannons are protected by the PS armor like the rest of the suit. The beams fired from these weapons are the strongest among the suit's beam weaponry.

 **MMI-GAU27D 50mm CIWS**

Mounted in the head, the pair of CIWS guns are mainly used to shoot down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range. Originally, the weapon is supposed to be omitted due to a lack of space in the head unit. However, they are installed in the end due to their effectiveness and reliability. They are loaded with standard anti-phase shift rounds.

 **MMI-M15E "Xiphias 3" Railgun**

The two "Xiphias 3" railguns are mounted in the shoulders of the suit and are upgraded version of the "Xiphias" railguns of the original Freedom, they are more powerful and have a simplified structure. Like their predecessor, the "Xiphias 3" can also be used to attack enemy units in the water or from underwater. They can turn in a 180 degrees range of motion with the upper section of the shoulders. In flight mode, the shoulders turn and have the railguns face forward for use.

 **MX2200 Beam Shield**

There is an emitter attached to each forearm of the Burst Freedom, they generated a field from beam shield generators, the powerful pair of beam shields can effectively block beam-based and physical attacks.

 **MA-M21KF High-energy Beam Rifle**

Both Rifles were developed based on the Freedom Gundam's MA-M20 "Lupus" high-energy beam rifle, though are more advanced. The two MA-M21KF high-energy beam rifles can combine to form one long-range beam rifle, in a manner similar to that of the X103 Buster's main weapons could. As such, the rifles can be used to hit enemy units in various ranges or pierce defense as well. The rifles, when not in use are stored on the side hip skirts, but while there, they can swing forward or back and be fired remotely at an enemy in close quarters.

 **EQGY-4X Super DRAGOON Mobile Weapon Wing**

The DRAGOON system is the Burst Freedom's newest feature and two DRAGOON pods, each with one particle beam cannon, and two are stored in docks in each of the four wings. The Burst Freedom's DRAGOONs are based on the second-generation DRAGOON System, which does not require pilots to have high spatial awareness to effectively control them due to the use of an improved quantum communication system among other modifications. With the onboard AI, the huge amount of data processing required is minimized, so the Super DRAGOON System can function closer to its maximum potential and when used by the Ultimate Coordinator, Kira Yamato they can go beyond expectations. The DRAGOONs can be used in group formations for multiple barrages or used with other of the suit's weaponry to shoot down enemy ships or mobile suits.

 **\- GN-P12 "Phaser" Particle Rifle (1 per pod)**

The "Phaser" is the main beam weapon of each pod, and is a particle beam, which aren't affected or blocked by positron reflectors.

 **\- VN-50 "Lance" Beam Blade (1 per pod)**

Each pod, in addition of having a particle rifle, also has emitters to produce a beam blade at the tip and around the front of the pod. This function is usually used for penetration of a ship or mobile suit and can overwhelming when multiple pods are doing this at the same time.

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Underwater Assault Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** GSR-005  
 **Official Name:** Rapture Gundam (ラプチャーガンダム)  
 **Head Height:** 17.95 meters  
 **Weight:** 90.23 tons  
 **Power-plant:** GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon  
 **Crew:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **GENERAL DATA**

 **Manufacturer:** Valhalla Research

 **First Deployment:** April 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military  
 **Known Pilots:** Tanya Loussier

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **GN Field**

A powerful defense mechanism used by the Rapture Gundam. It is deployed through a few generators housed on the shoulder binders and the backpack. It is fully impregnable by conventional arms while also providing competent defense against beam weapons in most cases.

 **Phantom Stealth System**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field that the generation used during the majority of the First Alliance-PLANT War of Federation mobile suits. It is harder to see the difference between the projections put out and the surrounding scenery and is more efficient with its energy consumption. Before the Second Alliance-PLANT War, the stealth system is paired with an idea similar to the "Echo Trace Emitter" and provides even better undetectability.

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Rapture has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender** , the Federation's system for working with a GN Solar Reactor.

 **Armament:**

 **GN "Nivalhime" Scythe**

The Nivalhime Scythe, has a blade made of E-Carbon, giving it tremendous cutting power, it also has a beam emitter that puts out a thermal beam blade along the edge of the GN blade. The beam blade unlike previous versions, can work underwater like a normal beam saber. As with most GN Blades, the scythe can be coated with a GN Field on the surface to increase its sharpness, but they can also negate any positron reflector. One disadvantage they possess compared to beam sabers is that the blades can be destroyed or wear out from disrepair.

 **GN Particle "Stinger" Rifle**

The two particle rifles are mounted one in shoulder binder shells along the top edges. They utilize GN particle in the beam fired and work at multiple ranges. They can be used underwater as well as they can be above water as the particle beams can work in both, though they are less effective underwater.

 **GN Micro torpedoes**

Two launching tubes are built into each shoulder binder in the upper part of the outsides shell. Despite their size, the torpedoes effectiveness are close to the same as a normal Missile, but they are only usable underwater.

 **"Bow" 75mm Railgun**

The two railguns are mounted in the shoulder binder opposite of the "Stinger" rifles, they were equipped mostly for use underwater. They can be used underwater as well as they can be above water without a loss of weapon effectiveness of the railgun itself whether above or below water.

 **M107 "Depths" High-Energy Beam Cannons**

There are a pair mounted on the backpack, yet they can't be used while underwater. However, while in Submersible mode, the Rapture can use the cannons as the suit moves along the surface of the water. The beam cannons can adjust their pitch angle for targets and they can swivel 360 degrees while the Rapture's Submersible mode.

 **MA55 "Smackus" Magnetic Acceleration Cannons**

There are two of them and one is mounted in the center of both shoulder binder's structure. It works along the same principles as the MAC guns on the Enterprise-class cruisers, just smaller and more compact. It takes time for the weapon to charge up and be ready to fire at the intended target, but they can charge while the Rapture is using its other weapons in its arsenal.

 **50mm Multi-Barreled CIWS Guns**

The pair are mounted in head and they function like other CIWS guns. They are intended to intercept incoming projectiles and are loaded with anti-phase shift rounds.


	41. Phase 41: Warping Truths

**A/n**

 **Here is the last of the three Phase for a time, don't know how long it might be for more so don't ask please. Anyways, enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 41: Wrapping Truths

May 1st, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The Orb Union

The approach of the ZAFT fleet was registered and upon being question as to why they were coming towards Orb, their reasoning was even more ridiculous. The claim from ZAFT was for Orb to hand over Lord Djibril to them immediately. Uzumi Athha recalled much that was said in the meeting between most of the political leaders of the world. The potential of ZAFT attacking nations of the world had been discussed, but hoped not to be a reality, yet here it was.

However, Uzumi and the others on the council of representatives had agreed when the campaign against Logos began, that none from the organization would be given haven or a place in Orb. So, they replied that such a man wouldn't be permitted to enter Orb for a number of reasons and there must be some sort of mistake. Uzumi also asked what evidence ZAFT was basing their claim off of that Djibril was in Orb and was sent pictures that said a great deal. The pictures were of Yuna Seiran with Djibril and in the background was an aircraft that belonged to the Seiran family.

At seeing this, Uzumi communicated to the ZAFT commanders in charge of their fleet, saying that he nor any in Orb's leadership had seen these pictures before now. However, they would look into this immediately and shutdown all access to the mass driver and ways into space until this was verified and settled. Those from ZAFT accepted Uzumi's assurances, but said that they couldn't wait forever, yet also preferred to not have more bloodshed over this. The second after finishing with the ZAFT commanders, Uzumi instantly went over to Unato, grabbed him by the collar and jerked him upward. "Unato, what has your son done," demanded Uzumi in a mix of anger and coldness.

Unato Seiran was in shock at what Uzumi Athha was doing, for the man may be stubborn, but avoided violence most of the time. "What are you talking about Uzumi," he questioned.

Uzumi dropped Unato and then brought up some of the pictures ZAFT had sent, "Your son Yuna is with a man that is a war criminal now! ZAFT forces have come here, demanding we hand over Djibril, a man that we shouldn't and wouldn't allow into our nation! That either means that Djibril isn't here and there has been a mistake or someone foolishly smuggled him into Orb under everyone else's nose! You Unato, can at least understand the dangers of bringing in such a man to our homeland, especially with the world as it is! Now tell us, did Yuna bring Lord Djibril here to Orb or not," Uzumi said in the form of an ultimatum.

Unato looked away, "Of course not, Yuna would not be so foolish," he said unconvincingly.

Uzumi could see the signs and let out a long sigh, "So, the pictures we've been sent are true then," he uttered. "I know that we didn't always agree on how things should be for Orb to have the best future Unato. Nevertheless, I thought that at least we were united in knowing what could not be permitted to protect Orb's people who we represent. It would seem that I was mistaken," he said sadly. "Unato Ema Seiran, you are guilty of the crimes of treason and betrayal of the Orb Union and so are stripped of all privileges effective immediately."

After Uzumi pressed a button, Orb soldiers entered the room, Unato couldn't believe this was actually happening, even as he was escorted out of the council room. When Unato was gone, Uzumi turned to the others, "Finding Yuna Seiran and Djibril as soon as possible are top priorities," he stated firmly.

Nonetheless, it was ten minutes later, an announcement was broadcasted that none expected, by none other than Yuna Roma Seiran. " _On behalf of the government of the Orb Union, allow me to reply to ZAFT's warning and ultimatum to our nation. The individual by the name Lord Djibril, whom you have demanded that we hand over is simply not in this nation._ " A pause was made before Yuna Seiran continued, " _Furthermore, this kind of intimidation where the threat of force is used-_ "

The broadcast was cut off at that point by others in the Orb government to stop Yuna from making things worse. Yet, the damage had been done by Yuna's reply, ZAFT commanders wouldn't listen to Uzumi and others that tried to make it clear that Yuna's views didn't represent Orb. Chairman Durandal had stated that he would find those that had brought about this war and stop them from going further and Djibril was exactly that. To deliver on his promise, Durandal gave the authorization to commence the invasion of Orb in order to capture Lord Djibril, designated "Operation Fury". Orb had been given a chance to do the right thing and hand over Djibril and they had not. Whether there was a split in the governing body, which it appeared to be, that wasn't the point of the matter any longer.

The fleet of ZAFT and defectors from the Alliance in range of Orb, received their orders to find and capture Djibril and so they began deployment. The mobile suit pilots were told to do their best to keep civilian casualties and damage to the cities to a minimum and avoid if possible. The targets of interest would be the "Seiran Estate", the Orb government facilities and the military headquarters.

As attacking forces began launching into the air and underwater, defending forces were scrambling out to defensive positions. Uzumi contacted Orb's defense headquarters and reached the one in charge, Colonel Soga. " _Lord Uzumi, we're deploying all we can against the incoming force sir, but we're just outnumber and will be overwhelmed if we don't receive help and soon,_ " Soga iterated.

Uzumi knew things were grim, but still, he hoped that it wouldn't come to a mess like this again like it had in the first war. "Do the best you can, remember that protecting the citizen is among the top priorities Colonel, no doubt reinforcements will come, but we need to hold out until they do. We are looking for Yuna Roma Seiran currently, should he show up at defense headquarters, you are to arrest and restrain him for the crimes of treason and sedition, Unato is already in custody. Is all of that clear Soga," Uzumi posed seriously.

" _Perfectly Lord Uzumi, we will do our utmost,_ " Soga replied.

It wasn't long before the ZAFT forces and the those defending Orb clashed and the fight became horrible and ugly fast. Orb's defenders did the best they could keep the ZAFT Forces from getting to the mainland but were soon unsuccessful and were being pressed hard to stop the ZAFT forces from advancing forward.

As Operation Fury began, above the battle, a group of ZAFT Laurasia-class vessels were coming into position to drop descent pods with ZAFT reinforcements down to Orb, with a few Nazca-classes escorting them. The operation against Orb was important for several reasons, one the capture of Djibril was critical, that man had done more damage than almost any other in the Alliance. Then, the Federation had not been doing much to help in the efforts against Logos or in the war thus far other than defending their own. Operation Fury would mark the beginning of the twilight of the Human Federation and their fading into history.

The Laurasia-class ships got to their designated positions and were about to initiate their drops, yet then one of them took a hit from behind. That was followed by a number of Federation mobile suit appearing around the ZAFT group and attacking them. ZAFT mobile suits launched from the Nazca-classes and attempted to defend themselves and protect the Laurasia-classes but found themselves hard pressed. Then Federation ships revealed themselves and fired at the Laurasia vessels before they were able to release the descent pods. The battle lasted for a little over five minutes, the ZAFT forces left in ruins at the end, no pods with their reinforcements deployed.

The Federation force moved into the position that ZAFT had been in, frigates and a few cruisers watching for any that might come around that would attempt to interrupt operations. The dreadnoughts and the other cruisers starting to launch out mobile suits, each encapsulated in heat resistant shells that would get them through the atmosphere. With the attack on Orb in progress, those being deployed down were all Mobile Suit Core special forces members, so had seen combat and had a good amount of experience. Every single one of them had done the type of atmospheric descent they would make, nicknamed the "Hellios Drop" due to its straight drop downward at a zero-degree entry angle. The Hellios Drop is also the most dangerous and risky method to do atmospheric reentry and has the highest potential of death if done wrong. Even so, all the mobile suit pilots volunteered for the mission to assist allied forces in Orb and so, they launched and began the descent down to Earth.

 **-Line Break-**

Hidden Base among the Marshal Islands, The Archangel

Cagalli was beyond furious with the stunt that Yuna had just pulled, for it had make the situation, which was already bad and fragile to crashing and being much worse. His announcement, wrongly saying that he was representing the Orb Government and then replying to ZAFT's demand to hand over Djibril was stupid. Yuna's clear lie about Djibril not being in Orb was idiotic and was not helped by his distain of ZAFT's actions. Now, because of Yuna, ZAFT had begun an assault on Orb and the defenders were having a difficult time keeping ZAFT from advancing. It was very hard for Cagalli to watch the attack on Orb and what it would bring to the nation. Why Yuna was defending Djibril, Cagalli hadn't a clue and didn't really care right now, it was hurting everyone around him.

However, the Archangel wasn't ready to head out to the field just yet, the needed repairs were close to being done, but there was still work to be done. Those doing the work, were doing it as fast as they could, sacrificing sleep to hurry things along. Everyone was giving a hundred and ten percent or more to finish things up, so the Archangel could move out soon. Kira was up in space and he said he would return as soon as he could, but there hadn't been any contact with him yet.

But, Cagalli couldn't calm down, even when Athrun came onto the Archangel's bridge and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Athrun could understand her unrest Cagalli was feeling, being stuck here and not able to do much at all, the feeling was all too familiar to him. The reason Athrun had come to the bridge, was so that he could do something even though he was injured as he was. Vice-Captain Amagi when he heard someone coming onto the bridge, he came out of the CIC, "Mr. Zala, are you sure you should be up yet with your injuries," he posed.

Athrun gave a pained smiled, "I'm well enough that I can at least sit at a station down in the CIC, I don't wish to be one of the only ones doing nothing."

No one disagreed with Athrun, as it was clear that he was restless and wanted to help in some way. So, Meyrin helped Athrun down into the CIC and into the electronic warfare station and Meyrin to the interception and counter measure station next to him.

Still, it wasn't long before Cagalli couldn't handle the imaginations of the dangers that Orb's people could be in right now. She spun around and was going to head towards the hanger here, dead set on taking either the Strike Rogue or even the Shadow and fly to Orb to do something to help Orb's citizens. However, Kisaka stopped her before she left the bridge of the Archangel, "Wait Lady Cagalli," he said.

Cagalli struggled against the hold, "Let go of me," she snarled, before breaking free. "I will not stand around and do nothing while Orb and its people are being attacked! I cannot and will not do that while I'm able to make even the tiniest difference for the better for them," Cagalli shouted.

"We're not going to stop you Lady Cagalli in your wish to help Orb's people, we merely wish to help you," said Erica Simmons calmly.

Cagalli reined in her emotions and allowed herself to be led by Kisaka and Mrs. Simmons to a set of doors in the interior of the island. There she looked at the two adults, wonder what they were doing, but then noticed a plate to one side of the doors with words, and Cagalli moved forward to read them.

" **A wish, that the day never comes when these doors need be opened, that what lies beyond these doors is never required to be used."**

The words made Cagalli curious about what they meant and what they referred to with, "Lies beyond these doors". Erica Simmons input the commands to have the doors open, and a darkened room was revealed. "This place was built so if a time should ever come, or rather if Orb was at risk of being attacked and burned again, that this could be ready to prevent and protect Orb and its people from that," stated Mrs. Simmons.

Lights came on and the sight of a single mobile suit instantly became the focus of all in the room. The frame of the mobile suit was overall very similar to the X105 Strike, though the shoulders were longer and there were also a couple of other differences. The color of the machine was gold, the joints were black along with various other parts of the frame. There was a beam rifle in the right hand and a shield on the left arm. A flight system mounted on the back of the suit, which looked similar to the Justice's Fatum-00.

As Cagalli stared at the mobile suit in slight wonder, a voice began echoing in the room, " _My dearest Cagalli,_ " said the voice of Uzumi Athha.

Cagalli could only stand where she was, her mind reeling from what was happening, "Father," she uttered.

" _You being here means the day has come that you need addition power to protect others. And though, I have worked, hoped and even prayed that such would not come to be, but I had this prepared still, knowing that you would not accept simply standing on the sidelines while our people and nation are in danger,_ " the voice of Uzumi continued. Cagalli felt tears coming to the corner of her eyes as she kept listening, " _As an Athha, you cannot merely watch events as they happen, your heart will not allow that. Others with that same quality will gather to you and assist along the way in your efforts. Have an open heart, and you will learn life's lessons from those around you, who love and support you._ "

Silence hung over the room for a moment, before Uzumi's voice kept going, " _Therefore, this machine is yours to use as you see fit. Power is what one makes of it, foolish are those that hope for it in excess, but equally foolish are those that resent it for no reason. Think of power as a sword, one for protection of others, so Cagalli, take this and use it well to walk the path to the future you wish to see and live in. Although, I hoped the time would never come that this would be needed, I say this to you should we not meet again. My dear daughter Cagalli, know that you brought both I and your mother wherever she is now such indescribable joy to our lives. And as your Father, these words may be in vain, but I wish you a long and happy life with those that will make you smile and bring you the same joy that you brought my wife and I. I couldn't be more proud of you than I am Cagalli._ "

Cagalli broke down into tears at hearing the thoughts of her father concerning herself. They were words she had always worked hard so that her father would say 'I'm proud of you'. And then, though Cagalli only had a few vague memories of Lady Athha, her adopted mother, to be told that Cagalli herself had brought joy to those she called parents warmed her soul. Finally, realizing that her father had been watching out for her still, even as she made the decisions she had, both wise and foolish, words could not say how grateful she was to have him as her father. Kisaka came up next to Cagalli, "Cagalli, will you take the Akatsuki as Lord Uzumi wishes, to defend the people of Orb as you desire to," he posed.

Cagalli managed to nod and stop the tears, before she ran off to put on a pilot suit, then came back and entering the cockpit of the Akatsuki. She activated the OS and the startup message came up:

 **MOBILE SUIT OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **/AKATSUKI - 1000/**  
 **G** eneral  
 **U** nilateral  
 **N** euro - Link  
 **D** ispersive  
 **A** utonomic  
 **M** aneuver

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Synthesis System**

 **ORB-01**

Cables disconnected from the Akatsuki and the outer doors above the hanger opened, revealing the launching tunnel. " _Orb-01, Akatsuki, systems on-line and stable, go ahead and launch,_ " said the voice of Erica Simmons.

Cagalli focused on what lied ahead of her, taking ahold of the controls, "Cagalli Yula Athha, Akatsuki launching," she announced.

The Akatsuki shot up and out of the tunnel and began making its way towards the Orb mainland and was shortly joined by a number of MVF-M11C Murasame mobile suits. Within a short period, the view of Orb's mainland came into view, and the battle wasn't going very well. The defenders were being pushed back slowly but surely as the fight dragged on.

Meanwhile, at the Marshall Islands outside the dock, the single skygrasper the Archangel had was on a short runway, waiting to take-off. Murrue with two Orb soldiers escorting Neo Roanoke to come to be by the aircraft, where Neo's wrist bindings were taken off. Neo looked down at his wrists, then glanced up at Murrue, "What is this about now," he inquired curiously.

Murrue hesitated, as it was still painful to talk to this man and know he wasn't Mu, no matter how much she wanted him to be. "Your injuries are healed now, we really have no reason to keep you on the Archangel since we will be going into battle soon. That said, you are free to go where you wish, use this skygrasper and head away from here before the Archangel goes to battle," she iterated.

The conversation might have continued, but the launch of the Akatsuki was witnessed along with the Murasames that followed it. After seeing that, Neo turned back his attention to Murrue, and she looked away not able to look at the face that was identical to Mu's but wasn't him. "I guess you're not Mu, even if you look like him," she got out, before she left. Murrue was painfully letting go of any hope that Mu could come back to himself in any way so that she could try and move forward.

The soldiers quickly followed, leaving Neo and the skygrasper alone outside. Neo could only stare after Murrue as thoughts went through his mind as occurred around the woman. Something within him, an unknown urge was saying to march himself after Murrue Ramius and comfort her the best he could. He couldn't explain why or where the urge came from, much like the other thoughts and emotions that came with her. As far as Neo could remember, he had been a soldier of the Alliance, but his past was mostly a blur the end of the previous war.

Records had stated what he was supposed to have done during the First Alliance-PLANT War, but he had no recollection of what the records said. So, like sometimes before now, doubts were creeping into his mind about his identity. There had been a number of instances before now, whether it was things, places or people that triggered them which contradicted what he thought he knew. And anyways, what was he supposed to do right now, a good portion of what had been the Alliance was hunting down those he took orders from before now. What was still the Earth Forces, had taken almost the same standing as the Federation itself had. In other words, he was stuck and had nowhere to go that he wouldn't be arrested really, leaving him to wonder what to do going forward.

When the Archangel was declared as good to go, Murrue had gotten back to the bridge and had her emotions under control. All non-essential personnel disembarked from the Archangel and the ship headed out and set its course towards Orb to help in its defense.

As the Akatsuki drew closer with its allies to Orb's mainland, the sight of things coming down from high in the sky above Orb caught Cagalli's eye. On closer inspection, she saw that the objects were large shells that became Federation mobile suits descending down towards the ZAFT forces. The Federation machines were specifically the ZEL Defender models, a number of them with varying equipment. Half of the ZEL suits came down on ZAFT forces, causing disarray among them, the other half landed on the shorelines helping reinforce the defense of Orb.

When those with Cagalli, including Kisaka in the custom colored Murasame, got into close range of the fight, the time came to decide what to do. " _We need to help rebuild and strengthen the defensive lines if we hope to push them back,_ " Kisaka stated.

Cagalli knew Kisaka was right, "We'll take charge of Defense Headquarters, then reorganize defending forces," Cagalli said. "One team will be with me, the rest of you help hold the defense lines," she ordered.

" _Roger ma'am_ ," was the reply from the other pilots.

Cagalli contacted Orb's Defense Headquarters and had them start reorganizing the defense forces and rally them to strengthen the defense of Orb. Evacuations of Orb's people from dangerous areas was in progress and some defense forces were keeping that from being interrupted. She also found out that any and all means to reach space, whether public or private were in the process of being locked down. That would make it harder for Djibril to possibly escape capture and that man couldn't be allowed to get away.

 **-Line Break-**

The Normandy

Kira settled into the seat, to be surprised by the sensation of the backpack of his suit locking in, before having it descend into the cockpit. The way that the Federation used for keeping a pilot safe in a mobile suit cockpit made sense to Kira, but he still wasn't used to it as he hadn't piloted a Federation designed machine before now. He took a moment to look around, for the layout of the space was different, yet had parts that were familiar.

There were the screens forward and to either side that made up the panoramic view as there were normally. Ahead of Kira and just below the forward optical screen, there was the main sensor display, like what the Freedom had, but there were two smaller system displays on either side of the forward screen. Actually, it was much like what the new series Gundam that Tyler had with Lacus's attempted assassination. Tyler had given him a glace at it but not to say anything to anyone else. The suit's controls weren't the 'throttle and control stick' instead, the two ideas seemed to have been combined into two control sticks that were also the throttle, one for each hand. Most of the non-main controls were either on the forward system display or to the sides as it had been with the Freedom. The two com-screens were still in the forward top area on both sides, like was standard in most mobile suits.

Kira started the process of starting up the suit's OS, which came up with a different starting message:

 **MOBILE SUIT S2 OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nified  
 **N** ucleus  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Unity System**  
 **_Series GND200-O7 SR/NR 01-32169_**  
 **Federation Military**

Once the system came up, Kira then started looking through the OS and the suit's system, even though Tyler had explained about most of them. The power this mobile suit had between the Hyper-Deuterion engine and the 'GN Solar reactor' seemed endless. The mobility that this machine had in theory and likely in practice was incredible to say the least and better than most if not all current known mobile suit models. The arsenal the Burst Freedom had was larger than the Freedom had possessed. First, there was a second beam rifle to use, along with the same type of weapons as the Freedom had, though improved versions of them. The railguns weren't on the hips, but on the shoulders and had a range they could pivot giving them versatility. Then there was the addition of the remote mobile weapons, which would make a difference more in space, yet they could be used in Earth's atmosphere, just for s shorter time.

Meanwhile, Lacus was doing much the same inside the Eternal Justice's cockpit. She too was amazed at the changes and improvements that the Federation had made on the two originally X series machines that ZAFT had designed. For power and equipment, the Justice had much the same as the Burst Freedom had. However, the difference came with the arsenal for the two mobile suits had different loadouts which were meant for various forms of combat. Where the Freedom was meant for assaulting multiple opponents the Justice was better against one or multiple in close-quarters. Lacus after she looked over the Justice's systems, sat back in the pilot seat and felt her pilot suit lock into the seat, which she preferred over straps that others used.

The Burst Freedom was sent to the catapult first, to be followed by the Eternal Justice. By the time that Kira was in launching position, Tyler came onto the radio, " _Kira, I doubt you want to hear this, but while you've been up here, ZAFT has started an assault against Orb and aren't letting up by what chatter is going around the Information Network indicates. Reinforcements have been sent down and more are on route from different places, but things are still not sounding good. I would think the sooner you and Lacus get there, the better,_ " he remarked.

"Understood Tye, thanks for the info, see you later," Kira replied, then launched off the Normandy.

The Justice soon followed the Freedom, and a short period after the two of them, the Kyrios, Virtue and Rapture launched and headed in the same direction and the Eternal followed them. The Normandy on the other hand, disappeared after that and headed in the direction of Echowas.

 **-Line Break-**

The Minerva

The Minerva and the small number of Vosgulov-class submarines from Carpentaria, came into sight of the assault on Orb. From where they were approaching, it was clear enough that their allies were having difficulty making headway in finding Lord Djibril. The defenders of Orb were holding their own and were pushing back against ZAFT forces, though they were paying for it with losing their own forces. That was saying something as the force sent for Operation Fury had been close to what had gone against Heaven's Base, much of what Carpentaria had and what was left from the assault on Heaven's Base. Talia made contact with the St. Helens, the flagship in Operation Fury and asked the status of the operation. She was told that ZAFT forces had been making progress, but then enemy reinforcements had caused setbacks.

The additional reinforcement from Carpentaria would help get things back to going in the intend direction. So, to help move the operation along, Talia ordered the Osiris and Destiny to head out and assist their allies make headway so Djibril could be found. Aila and Shinn boarded their mobile suits and launched from the Minerva. Aila went to the left side of the field and Shinn went right and began assisting their allies.

Shinn had come to terms of what had happened with Athrun, at least as much as he could. However, there were still whispers in the back of his mind that there was something consistently off from what it had been before. When word of Djibril escaping the raid on Heaven's Base, it had angered him, for Shinn saw people like him as responsible to a degree for the war as it was. But, when headquarters said that Orb was providing shelter for the last member of Logos, that hadn't sounded right. The leaders of Orb, especially Lord Athha, wouldn't help a man like Lord Djibril, it went against their principles they stood by. It wasn't until Rey had shown him the photographic evidence, that Shinn had to admit that such could be 'possible'. Yet, the more than Shinn considered the idea, the less likely it seemed, and the doubts wouldn't leave him.

However, Shinn cleared his head and focused on the battle and helped ZAFT forces begin to advance once more. Yet, as things were starting to shift back into ZAFT's favor, Shinn spotted a gold colored mobile suit working its way through his allies. Shinn headed for the golden suit but was slowed down by Orb and Federation machines. Shinn either disabled or destroyed them as he kept moving towards his target. Once in range, Shinn began firing at the Akatsuki, but his opponent dodged and shot back. Between blocking with his beam shield and trying to close the distance, Shinn found that his opponent wouldn't let him get all that close. So, he brought out his long-range beam cannon, aimed and fired at his opponent, yet the beam hit then bounced off and back towards the Destiny.

Shinn moved out of the way of his own beam coming back at him, and he decided that the sword just would be the best way to end this. He utilized the Destiny's mirage colloid, which created after-images to confuse his enemies and it allowed him to get in close. However, more enemy mobile suits appeared and attacked Shinn, protecting the Akatsuki. Shinn disabled them and refocused on the gold suit for it seemed to be the 'commander unit'. Cagalli drew the twin beam sabers and shot forward and began clashing with the Destiny, others had just given their lives for her and she wouldn't let that be done in vain. But, it became clear that the pilot of the mobile suit she was now fighting, was skilled and experienced.

While the two mobile suits fought, the Archangel came into range of the battle and took in the scene. It was at about the same time that the Minerva noticed the Archangel's arrival as the Archangel identified the Minerva was among the ZAFT forces. For Athrun who was down in the Archangel's CIC since he was still injured but insisted he helped, the sight of the Akatsuki fighting the Destiny was horrible. It was worse since he knew both pilots going at one another and he didn't want either to die.

The Destiny quickly managed to gain the upper hand over the Akatsuki, first slicing its shield and then using its beam boomerang to clip off the Akatsuki's left arm. Shinn added the second beam boomerang the Destiny had, sending it at the Akatsuki to end the fight. Athrun could only shout out Cagalli's name and watch helpless as Cagalli was about to die.

However, it was not to be, for at that critical moment two object finished their descent through the Earth's atmosphere. The Burst Freedom shifted out of its flight mode which Kira had used for the descent, it had made atmospheric reentry easier to do and the Eternal Justice did the same. Kira immediately realized two things, Cagalli was in imminent and life-threatening danger, and this battle he was getting into would get messier before it ended. Still, Kira had the 'Xiphias 3' railguns on the Freedom's shoulders swing forward and took aim, firing off shots that intercepted and destroyed the beam boomerangs that were sailing towards Cagalli.

The Akatsuki was sent back by the blasts from the destroyed beam boomerangs and that acted as a bit of a distraction for Shinn as well. Shinn however, was brought back on task as alarms warned him of incoming attacks sounded. Looking forward and upward, Shinn saw something charging towards him with what appeared to be beam sabers drawn. He backed up and avoided the sabers swinging at him, before he focused on identifying what had just attacked him. The sight that met his eyes, well if Shinn hadn't been wearing a helmet, he would have rubbed his eyes to clear them of something that shouldn't be there. In front of him, was a mobile suit that looked more than uncannily like the X10A Freedom, which couldn't be since Shinn had destroyed it more than a month ago. Yet, as Shinn studied the suit, it was clear it wasn't the same machine, but the design for it was based on the Freedom obviously.

Memories of the fight against the Freedom even flashed through Shinn's mind, and what followed as he stared at the mobile suit facing him. "The Freedom… but how can that be, how could the pilot have survived the sword I sent through the torso and the blast that followed," Shinn questioned to himself.

Shinn certainly wasn't the only one that was shocked to see a machine that looked so similar to the Freedom. Those on and from the Minerva ranged from feeling shocked to unhappy to see the machine appear when it had. The effort that had gone into taking down the Archangel and the Freedom had been huge and hadn't come without a high price paid. And by the look of it, those efforts had been for not in the end since the 'Freedom' and the Archangel were still around. Then, there was the other machine with the Freedom, which kind of looked similar to the X09A Justice, but not as much as the other looked like the Freedom.

Cagalli was surprised and happy to see the Freedom again, even if it was a different version of it. Kira had headed up into space close to a week ago and that was the last time she had seen them, and a moment ago, Cagalli thought that farewell might end out being the last time to see them, both when those beam boomerangs had been flying towards her. "Kira… is that you," she asked over the radio.

" _Sorry I didn't get here earlier Cagalli, go on ahead to Orb's Defense Headquarters, I'll take care of things here,_ " Kira replied.

"Gotcha," Cagalli said and resumed her journey towards Defense Headquarters.

" _Miss Murrue, please let Lacus land on the Archangel,_ " Kira communicated to the Archangel.

Kira then moved forward towards the Destiny, forcing Shinn to go onto the defensive momentarily, while Lacus piloted the Eternal Justice to land in the left leg of the Archangel. The Destiny and Freedom became focused on fighting one another as both the Archangel and the Minerva came out of the water and faced-off against each other. Weapons were deployed on both ships and then they began firing at one another.

 **-Line Break-**

As Cagalli kept getting closer to Orb's Defense Headquarters, the destruction the battle was bringing could be seen everywhere she looked. Ships were being sunk or destroyed, mobile suits shot down or exploding in the air, all over two sides refusing to stop their hatred and vendettas. It was harsh to see Orb in this state once again for Cagalli, but her sadness was put aside as she had to focus on shooting down others in her path. Along the way, Kisaka and others that had been with her before joined back up with her, " _Cagalli, are you okay,_ " asked Kisaka.

Some of the other pilots also asked if Cagalli was alright, showing their loyalty to her yet, Cagalli knew that time was of the essence right now. "I'm landing at headquarters, back me up," she ordered.

At the same time, a descent pod had come down from above, ahead of them were the three mobile suits that had come from the Normandy; the Kyrios, the Virtue and the Rapture, falling towards the battle. The three mobile suits from the Normandy didn't slow down as they fell towards the water and the fighting, letting gravity contribute to their acceleration and momentum. When they slammed down into the water close together, it sent up a huge tower of water and creating high waves from the epicenter of the impact. The waves didn't affect those flying in the air, but the ships and those in the water, the waved tossed them around, throwing them off for moments. Those moments were taken advantage of by the defending forces of Orb, as they redoubled their efforts to push back ZAFT.

And just after the splash and the waves came, the descent pod opened, and three mobile suits dropped out of it. The suits were bulky, it's arms and legs were light purple in color and the rest was black, other than the for the housing of the optic camera which was red. Each one had a bazooka/launcher which had a bazooka on top of a beam cannon as well as a longer than normal hilt for an enhanced beam saber. There were beam shield generators on each forearm and an emitter on the lower torso which used mirage colloid technology and could create a stream attack. The three mobile suits spread out a bit from where they landed looking over the battlefield.

The three pilots in the mobile suits, the ZGMF-XX9T DOM Troopers, were some that were sympathetic to Lacus and the cause she fought for with the Federation. The first was Hilda Harken, a former ZAFT red, the second Herbert Von Reinhard and ZAFT green, and Mars Simeon also a ZAFT green. " _Did I ever tell you how much I hate Earth's gravity,_ " posed Herbert.

Mars snickered a bit, but Hilda cut over them both, "Cut the chatter you two, let's do what we're here to do." The other two agreed, "This is for Miss Lacus."

The three DOM Troopers moved or rather sailed forward, shooting ZAFT mobile suits as they went. Others on the field took notice of the DOM Troopers, yet Lacus informed the Archangel that those from the descent pod and the three machines that had been with them were allies who had offered their services and to tell the Cagalli and the defending Orb forces the same.

Meanwhile, Cagalli arrived at Orb's Defense Headquarters which was still held by allied forces, though ZAFT was trying to take the position. She exited the Akatsuki and headed inside the structure and entered the command center. Colonel Soga saluted Cagalli, "Lady Cagalli, it is wonderful to see you safe and the morale boost is certainly needed ma'am," he greeted

"How bad is the current situation," Cagalli asked, part of her not wanting to know how bad things were.

Soga frowned a bit, "It could be worse Lady Cagalli, but not by all that much right now. The reinforcements we've gotten so far have helped in the efforts to defend Orb, but ZAFT is still pressing forward slowly."

"And what do we got on Lord Djibril, have we found him yet? We might be able to get ZAFT to agree to stop their attack if we offer to give him over," Cagalli posed.

Soga shook his head, "We have everyone we can searching for him. All public and private launching facilities have been locked down as of a few minutes ago," he answered.

Soga would have gone on, but the doors to the room opened and none other than Yuna Roma Seiran, the one of those who brought on the current situation. Cagalli was mad at what Yuna had done, for Orb was in the circumstances it was because of his lies. He looked around he then spoke, "What is going on here, why is ZAFT attacking, they were told that the one they are after isn't here," Yuna demanded.

Cagalli was about to rail on how Yuna was the one who caused ZAFT to start attacking Orb before she punched him, but she didn't get the chance. For two officers came up behind Yuna and restrained him by forcing his hands behind his back. Yuna of course, was not happy with the action, "What are you fools doing?!" snapped Yuna, "Don't you know who I am?! Let me go, you can't do this to me!"

Soga took a few steps forward, "Yuna Roma Seiran, you are being restrained as you are accused of the crimes of treason and sedition. It is in your best interests to be quiet and cooperate," he stated.

Cagalli stared at Colonel Soga, for to accuse another, especially one of the 'noble families' of Orb of treason AND sedition was a serious thing to do and you didn't joke about. Yuna was looking incredulously at Soga, "You can't be serious, you can't accuse me, a Seiran, of treason, let alone sedition, it's preposterous," Yuna shot back.

Soga folded his arms, his serious expression not changing, "It wasn't my decision, though I agree with it wholeheartedly. All the members of the Representative Council are the ones that have placed crimes of treason and sedition on your head."

Yuna was shaking his head, wide eyed, "That can't be," he uttered.

"Lord Uzumi specifically ordered your arrest should you appear here at Headquarters," Soga stated.

"That's impossible," shouted Yuna, clearly becoming furious. "This is conspiracy, I'll see you all discharged and imprisoned for the rest of your lives at a bare minimum!"

Cagalli rushed forward at Yuna as he continued to rant and slugged him hard in the face, for she'd had enough of his antics! Then, Cagalli grabbed Yuna by the collar and yanked him up, "ENOUGH!" shouted Cagalli. "You have caused an abundancy of crap already Yuna! Now where is he, where is Lord Djibril, it's because he's here that ZAFT is attacking Orb right now!"

"I don't know," Yuna replied simply.

Cagalli shook Yuna hard in fury, "Stop helping that back-stabbing monster! He left behind his comrades and associates to take the fall for him at Heaven's Base already. Djibril will do the same to you and leave all here to die while he gets away to keep pursuing his vendetta against Coordinators," she snapped. "Now, where is he Yuna?!"

"I told you I don't know! He was at the Seiran residence earlier, but by now, who knows where he could be," he answered.

Cagalli was flabbergasted, not only had Yuna and Unato brought in one of the most dangerous men alive right now into Orb, but they also left him unsupervised to do as he pleased. Djibril was classified as an official war criminal since shortly after the giant mobile suit rampaged across the Euros Coalition. Those who were classified as war criminals by the Federation couldn't be trusted in anything. Yuna might be an ignorant idiot at times, but even this should have been obvious no no to him, and Unato should have known much better than to allow this! Cagalli pointed to the door, "Take him away," she ordered.

Yuna was dragged away, complaining as he was taken from the room, while Cagalli turned back to the rest in the room, "We need to find Djibril, if we can hand him over to ZAFT, they will be more likely to listen, until then, the utmost effort is to be put into hold the defensive lines," she barked.

Soga nodded, "Yes ma'am," he turned to the rest, "You heard Lady Cagalli, find Djibril and all forces are to hold the line until we do!"

 **-Line Break-**

The Freedom and the Destiny danced about each other, the Destiny using its beam rifle while the Freedom was switching between its beam rifles and the railguns. Shinn was finding this skirmish with the Freedom quite different than the last time. It was close to the opposite in fact as he was being pressed rather than him pressing. This Freedom had a better arsenal and its mobility was unreal, whether that was due to the odd light that was coming from the mobile suit or something else, Shinn couldn't say. He was blocking the beams shot at him that he wasn't able to dodge with the Destiny's beam shields and got in occasional shots in with his beam rifle. But, no matter the distance Shinn seemed to get, the Freedom wouldn't let him off the defensive position he was pushed into.

From Kira's end, he was amazed at the capabilities of the Burst Freedom as he witnessed them. Sure, Tyler's spiel had given the impression that the mobile suit would be in a league of its own but seeing why is different. The arsenal was neat, but to Kira it was the rest of what the Freedom had that set the suit apart. The Burst Freedom and an improved version of the HiMAT system which added to the Burst Freedom's incredible mobility, combined with the Voiture Lumiere propulsion alone out did the HiMAT that the original Freedom had easily.

The power the Burst Freedom had to work with really did seemed close to limitless, between the Hyper-Deuterion engine and the solar reactor. The Hyper-Deuterion engine was an amazing improvement on the nuclear reactors that the Freedom and the Justice had. The change in the efficiency gave around three to four times what the Freedom and the Justice had to work with before running out. Yet, the solar reactor was even more incredible than the engine honestly, for it was semi-perpetual where the Hyper-Deuterion engine wasn't. That meant to a certain extent, the solar reactor wouldn't run out of energy as it produced particles internally. Plus, the reactor also contributed to the mobility and propulsion of the Burst Freedom among other things. Dodging his opponent, wasn't something one could do blindfolded, but it was not hard for Kira, for he was also keeping up the pressure on the opposing mobile suit.

Kira could tell this mobile suit that he was going against was not one to take lightly, between the range of movement that the suit and its use of mirage colloid from the wings, creating after images certainly made that clear. From the weapons that Kira could identify, range was not an issue or shortcoming of his opponent, they had something for every range. Yet, whoever the pilot was, the way they were fighting hinted that their mind wasn't focused on the battle entirely. Perhaps they had doubts about something to do with the fight, Kira couldn't be sure.

When Shinn finally managed to put enough distance from his opponent, to bring out his long-range beam cannon and took aim. The Freedom had both its "Fastus" multi-phase beam cannons swing up and over its shoulders to bear on the Destiny. The Destiny fired its cannon slight before the Freedom shot back in response. Two beams collide with one another, yet the third beam kept going and went pass the Destiny, but not with a lot of margin when it came to distance. Shinn backed up, worried a tad at seeing that this Freedom had not one, but two high powered beams, which looked to be similar to what the Abyss used for its multi-phased beam cannon.

Shinn switched over to using the Destiny's "Arondight" beam sword and began slashing at the Freedom. However, Kira evaded the beam sword slashing at him, and felt the onset of SEED mode coming on at around the same time. Kira stored his beam rifles in their holsters on the side skirts and readied himself as his opponent charged forward. Shinn was whipping his beam sword down at the Freedom in a vertical slice that could cut the mobile suit in half, but the sword came to an abrupt halt. The Freedom had caught the sword using its beam shields and held the weapon at bay.

Meanwhile, Aila had been fighting on this messy battlefield and had the time to wonder how Shinn was doing. He had been troubled about going into this fight, Aila had seen the signs even if others hadn't. What was troubling him, maybe it was what had happened between him and Athrun or something to do with Orb, she couldn't say. Aila knew that going onto a battlefield with conniptions was risky and dangerous. She had considered having Shinn stay on the Minerva and have Rey go out instead, but there hadn't been enough of a reason to do so at the time.

So, she had begun working her way over in the direction that Shinn had gone when they had parted ways. Shinn had potential, gifts and talents that were rare plus, he was a decent teen and those weren't as easy to find as they once had been. However, when she actually caught sight of the Destiny, she found it was engaged with a mobile suit that looked a great deal like the X10A Freedom. Aila kept making her way closer to Shinn, though she was being slowed down by Orb's defending forces. She had to give Orb's defenders, they were putting up a heck of a fight, their dedication was admirable.

As the Freedom held the Destiny's beam sword, its beam rifles swung up to point forward as the Freedom's railguns pivoted forward as well. All four weapons fired at the same time, the railguns nailed the Destiny in the shoulder and upper torso area, though the suit's phase shift protected the machine. Yet, the same couldn't be said for the bolts from the Freedom's beam rifles, as one shot pierced the Destiny's beam cannon, effectively disabling it. Nevertheless, the Freedom went further by jerking the beam sword away from the Destiny, leaving its opponent with its beam rifle to work with only.

Shinn a second later realized that he could have just been killed by the Freedom. The railguns may have been the only shot from his opponent that made good contact, and if not for phase shift, then he would be dead. But the Freedom's beam rifles had also taken shots at him, how was he supposed to know that the mobile suit he was facing could have its stored weapons be used remotely?! One of the beams had taken out the high-energy beam cannon, it wasn't usable anymore and would need repair. Then the Freedom had taken his beam sword and chucked it away, just leaving Shinn with his beam rifle. Understanding how close he had gotten to death, scared Shinn but also made him angry, for it felt like he was being toyed with somehow and Shinn hated the feeling. Clear focus came to Shinn as SEED mode came on as he redoubled his efforts to take down the Freedom.

Aila was in shock at what she had just seen this new Freedom suit do to the Destiny. In one attack/technique it had just about fully disarmed the Destiny by damaging the high-energy beam cannon and taken away the beam sword. The new Freedom was proving that it was more dangerous than its predecessor, even in a league of its own. The mobility she saw it had was crazy and shouldn't be possible. And if it had the same pilot as the X10A Freedom did, then battling the suit would be even more of a challenging task. Then, there were odd particles of light coming from the mobile suit, what they were or what their purpose was, Aila couldn't begin to guess.

She would have gotten over to where Shinn was, but sudden increased chatter over the com-lines caught Aila's attention. When she glanced over to where the thick of the fighting was, an object burst out of the water. The object appeared to be some kind of odd aircraft that was white overall with orange for some parts, though the nose and tail seconds were black. The machine had two gold fins on either side of the nose array and another gold fin at the back of the nose. There also was what looked like a 'shield' on the left side of the craft which wasn't mirrored on the other side. Finally, a container was towards the back of the aircraft and the machine was putting off the same odd light that the new Freedom did.

Even as Aila watched, missiles were launched from the container, fourteen in total which flew towards allied mobile suits. After the missiles were fired, the contain the aircraft had detached and dropped to the ocean below. That was all Aila could view as Orb's defenders began occupying her attention once again. Yet, when Aila glanced down at the power readouts for the Osiris, the levels were getting low, meaning that she would need to soon return to the Minerva and resupply.

 **-Line Break-**

The planned descent and entry into the water went as expected and had the hoped-for result. The waves that had been created by the impact to the water had thrown a good portion of ZAFT forces off for a period of time. The exchange for the impact was the pilots in the mobile suits were rocked around heavily. Tanya Loussier kept calm as the shaking from the impact with the water came and went, much like Allelujah Haptism did in the Kyrios and Tieria Erde did in the Virtue. Once the entry was complete, the Kyrios had headed up to the surface and took to the air, while the Virtue made its way along the ocean floor towards land and the Rapture stayed underwater.

The Kyrios burst out of the water, container still attached and rose up into the air, its wings flipping out to their flight position. Allelujah was checking over the readouts Kyrios was giving and saw that everything was running as it should. As he looked forward and saw all the ZAFT mobile suits, a smile formed on his face. In a single moment, Allelujah switched over to the secondary persona that had developed during his conditioning at Lodonia, Hallelujah. Where Allelujah was the one that most saw on a regular basis as he was the 'nice one', Hallelujah was close to the complete polar opposite. Hallelujah was violent yet calculating, he loved and reveled in fighting so much that he had made his interest in what he called the 'art of killing'.

With Hallelujah in control, he wasted no time in acquiring targets to send the missiles in the container the Kyrios was carrying at. When he had his targets, Hallelujah pulled the trigger without hesitation. The fourteen missiles launched, and Hallelujah watched as the missile sailed and hit their targets, causing him to cackle with manically glee. With the missiles launched, Hallelujah armed bombs in the container and set them with timers that would have them detonate in forty seconds, then he disconnected and dropped the container. He then opened a com-channel to the Rapture, "Hey Tanya~ I'm sending a party favor down, so recommend you watch it~" Hallelujah said in a sing-song voice.

" _I hear you Hallelujah, I'll watch out for myself,_ " replied Tanya. " _Tieria, depth charge on its way down, be careful._ "

" _Acknowledged,_ " Tieria said.

Hallelujah shifted the Kyrios into its mobile suit mode and zoomed towards the ZAFT machines, GN beam submachine gun at the ready. The particle beam weaponry proved to be effective against ZAFT forces and Hallelujah quickly became lost in the ecstasy that he felt practicing the art of killing. It was as an addiction to him and he never seemed to get enough of killing and watching others' lives come to their end.

Tanya in the Rapture below, was taking out the ZAFT GOOhNs, utilizing its cruising mode using the particle rifles, micro torpedoes and railguns. With the Raptures superior mobility due to its solar reactor and design, the GOOhNs were unable to keep up though they tried. Yet, they did back off somewhat when the Rapture switched over to its mobile suit mode and began swinging its scythe and more so when the beam blade activated. The Rapture's GN "Nivalhime" scythe had a prototype thermal beam blade that worked underwater, where previous beam blades did not function submerged in water.

As Tanya kept up her assault, the container from the Kyrios dropped sunk into the water. After about thirty seconds, the container exploded sending a concussive pressure wave out from the epicenter. The shockwave destroyed a number of the ZAFT mobile suits that are within range and scattered those that survived. The Rapture transformed to its submersible mode and climbed upward after the shockwave and broke the surface of the water, shifting over to its mobile suit mode, landing on one of the ZAFT Vosgulov-class submarines. Tanya had the two compact MAC guns begin charging as she took in targets, she brought up both shoulder binders and began firing off both railguns and particle rifles. She added the two high-energy beam cannons, which flipped over the suit's shoulders.

 **-Line Break-**

The Minerva and Archangel were still firing at each other, neither scoring effective hits on their opponent. Talia was ordering the bridge crew with the intention to hit the Archangel's engines, for if the engines were damaged, mobility is lost and hitting the ship would be easier. Yet, Aila then connected a channel to the Minerva, " _Captain, if you could tell Aves to be ready for repair and resupply, Shinn and I-_ " she was saying.

However, Rey came on the com-line to the bridge, cutting over Aila " _Captain, we need to recall Shinn,_ " he said.

"Rey you're interrupting," Talia chastise.

With how things were, recalling a mobile suit or multiple units was up to the field commander and the captain. So, Rey coming in and giving what sounded like orders was unacceptable as he was on standby and not the team lead. But before Talia could tell Rey to explain himself, Aila spoke again, " _Captain, I was about to say that Shinn and I need to come in for repair and resupply before Rey came in. However, I would like to know why Rey is using the tone he is, for it certainly sounds like he's giving orders, not suggestions. As for you Rey,_ " remarked Aila.

Rey once more cut over Aila, " _The situation has change, it's unfavorable now,_ " Rey stated, as if he hadn't listened to anything that Aila had said.

Talia was starting to really wonder what Gilbert had been thinking when he made Shinn and Rey members of FAITH. Shinn was fine, he hadn't changed all that much other than seeming to be dealing with personal issues, which he kept off the battlefield. Rey on the other hand, it was like manners were put aside and not used unless absolutely necessary and it wasn't helping in this. "Then as Aila was saying before you cut over her Rey, you and Lunamaria should be readying yourselves to go out and replace both Shinn and Aila," she replied.

" _Of course, we will sortie, but Shinn has to come in first, his machine needs maintenance and resupply. If we want to win and succeed in this operation, that machine that Shinn is fighting has to be destroyed,_ " Rey reasoned.

Talia's patience was growing thin with Rey being rude and out of line and was about to say so, but another beat her to the punch. " _Rey Za Burrel, this isn't a solo mission for either you, Shinn Asuka or anyone else, this is a collaborative effort with allied forces. Should you be losing sight of that fact, then you can be and will be confined to your quarters or even a brig cell until this battle is over if that is required, regardless of you being a member of FAITH._ _So, if you wish to be seen as fit for duty, then remember your manners and stop on stepping on and over others!"_ Aila then focused back on Talia, " _I agree on the need of maintenance and resupply for Shinn and myself, even if I think that there is an unnecessary actions and focus being emphasized right now._ "

Aila's com-channel closed, so Talia turned her attention to Rey, "See to informing Shinn then, but be quick. And as Aila said, you, nor Shinn are not to treat this a solo mission. You show signs of doing that, and you will be spending time in a brig cell, I'll personally see to that. Is that clear Rey," she returned.

" _Yes ma'am,_ " Rey replied.

Aila broke free from those attacking her and zoomed over towards the Destiny and the Freedom. Shinn on the other hand, was getting frustrated that every shot he made was missing the Freedom. His opponent kept dancing out of the way or got in a near hit every once and a while, but no real damage. " _Shinn, back to the ship,_ " came the voice of Rey.

Shinn glanced up to the vid-screen and saw Rey there, "Rey, why are you calling me now," Shinn snapped as he evaded the Freedom's attacks, "I'm busy at the moment!"

Rey didn't disappear, " _Shinn the Destiny needs maintenance and resupply, if you want to take that guy down your fighting, you need to come back now,_ " he insisted.

Shinn glanced down at the power readouts and noted that his power supply was at just above twenty percent currently. Although he was frustrated with the Freedom and its pilot as he had no success against them, yet after a couple of deep breaths he could see that Rey was right. However, it was unlikely that the Freedom would let him go to resupply like some sort of old-fashion gentleman. Yet suddenly, the Freedom began to be peppered with rapid shots from behind Shinn and to the left. Looking that direction, Shinn saw the Osiris approaching, firing of its homing missiles at he Freedom. " _Shinn, get back to the Minerva, I'll follow you shortly,_ " ordered Aila.

The Osiris leveled its twin vulcan guns and unloaded at the Freedom, drawing its attention from the Destiny. Shinn broke off from his assault on the Freedom and flew back towards the Minerva, the Osiris soon following it. Kira let the Gundam machines go, knowing that he hadn't seen the last of either of the them for this battle. Instead of going after them Kira flew the Freedom off into the thick of the fighting and began eliminating the ZAFT mobile suits.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

Athrun had gotten to his feet when he had heard Kira say that Lacus was in the other mobile suit with him that was landing on the Archangel. Meyrin had quickly stood up and helped him, as Athrun was still dealing with the effects of his injuries. Still, he managed to make it to the Archangel's hanger with Meyrin's help. When they got there, Lacus was getting out of the mobile suit that she had traveled in wearing a Federation pilot suit. Seeing Lacus alive and okay was heartening to Athrun, for he didn't doubt that she was being hunted for but a number of people even in space where he suspected she had gone at some point. "Lacus, you're alright, thank goodness," Athrun greeted.

Lacus turned to see Athrun being helped over to where she was, "Athrun, it's good to see you up and about at the very least," she replied.

Meyrin was rather surprised to see that the woman in front of her was Lacus Clyne, for the person she was viewing wasn't how or what she imagined. The youngest of the Clyne family was a famous singer, but also had fought in the previous war and was seen as a bit of a legend. She was an example that anyone could make a difference, for she had no training at first and she had helped determine the outcome of the First Alliance-PLANT War. She wasn't the singer that was named Lacus Clyne that was seen with the PLANT Chairman clearly. The individual before her didn't fit either image, she looked so… normal and ordinary. She looked back at Athrun, who was staring at the mobile suit that Lacus had come in.

The mobile suit's frame was similar to the X09A Justice, though it lacked the Fatum-00 unit, instead having two wings like the Aurora and four cannon structures, two on each wing on either side attached. There were still the two beam sabers at the hips and the CIWS guns as there had been before. But the beam rifle was a system kind along the lines of what the Osiris had and the shield on the left arm was smaller than before. Getting a view of a mobile suit that looked similar to the Justice did not help Athrun, it more implied that he would be expected to go out and fight again. Finally, Athrun found use of his voice, "The Justice," he posed.

"Yes," said Lacus simply.

Athrun faced Lacus, "For me," he asked.

"Maybe, I think that's up to you to decide," Lacus said.

Athrun felt irritation, "Up to me to decide? So what, am I supposed to be a soldier again and fight whomever I'm told?!"

Lacus said nothing to that but frowned slightly. But before anyone else said anything, there was a hum and from a small projection lens built into the Justice's head, an image began building right next to Lacus, Athrun and Meyrin. The image sharped into a person which Athrun and Lacus knew well, none other than Tyler McGregor. Once the image of Tyler was finished, it bowed, " _If this message is playing, then it means that the Eternal Justice made it to the Archangel as intended and very likely not with me in it or I would be saying this in person._ "

There was a pause, before Tyler continued, _"Athrun, I do hope you are listening, I recorded this message for you my friend most of all,_ " Tyler brought up a hand and shook his pointer finger, _"and I took the time to really think about what to say. You know that I don't have the same gift with words like my dear sweet mother does, so give me your attention._ " Tyler stopped and took a 'breath'," _Kira has regaled me about how you got yourself into some rather harsh situations as of late and even gave me some details. Said details haven't been pretty to hear and make me seriously question if I'm really the reckless one of the trio. Because, I usually am seen to be so by a clear margin, neither you or Kira can really deny that._ "

Athrun could only stare at the image of his friend, knowing the last line he stated was very true. Tyler continued after pausing for a moment, " _But, that is a discussion for later, let me just get to the point. You are to stop beating yourself up about being tricked by Durandal, and you better not be contradicting me right now about this! I wouldn't doubt you have been beating yourself up about it and Lacus or Kira will tell me if you are._ "

Athrun felt like such an idiot, but like normal, Tyler was being blunt and straight forward and dealing with what he saw as the 'elephant in the room'. If there was one person Athrun could count on to give him the truth as it was regardless of how harsh it may be, Tyler was that individual. Tyler put a hand to his temple, " _My friend,_ _I've said it before and I'll say it again, we all make mistakes, it's a fact of life and is part of being human. What matters and is the measure of an individual is what they do following the mistake. So, you've learned that Durandal is sneaky, untrustworthy and manipulating punk, congratulations. You aren't the only one that he convinced his views had merit without saying what he wanted. The man had me going for a time, so join the freaking club!_ "

Athrun had to work hard not to laugh at how Tyler was saying what he was, true as it was, Athrun wasn't being blamed for anything, though he believed he should didn't stop, " _If you really want to embarrass yourself as I already have, Kira seemed to suspect him first out of the three of us, and you know how he can be slow on the uptake more than you or I tend to be. And if Lacus is listening to this, remember, I don't say what I do about Kira to be mean, for I care about him. It is my own way of expressing such and Kira knows that and has become accustom to it thank you very much._ "

Athrun did laugh at hearing that, for it was kind of humorous that Kira had seen Durandal for being untrustworthy first and even more funny to know Tyler predicted Lacus would be listening. Tyler had curtailed his 'unique' way of telling Kira things that were to help him at least in front of Lacus as she had shown she didn't like them at all. Tyler paused and waved a hand, " _Anyways,_ _it is my understanding that your health isn't the best and I of all people know how it is to be battling poor health and yet wanting to do something to help._ " Tyler gestured at the Justice behind him, " _And so, this mobile suit was sent down by my decision, since I believe you either are or will be feeling useless at some point. It is my version of a helpful solution, should you feel inclined to be gung-ho and not listen to others advice, like me sometimes._ "

Athrun was in shock at understanding that Tyler had planned this out to help him and likely had to do quite a lot of work for it. Tyler smiled as he paused once more, then gained a serious expression, " _Athrun listen, I know the world may seem a confusing and dark place these days but, don't let that blind or discourage you my friend. The low you're feeling happens to the best of us, I know I had such a number of times, the time after Jachin Due is an example. They pass Athrun, I promise you, time keeps moving forward, and you're left to relying on those who care about you, like your friends that worry about you and yes, Kira and I do worry about you even if we show the idea differently. And when you try to justify either to go out or not with you being a soldier, remember I'm one too buddy. Whether a soldier or a civilian, you are first and foremost yourself Athrun, and you choose who you are, no one else does."_

The simple truths that Tyler was stating were ones Athrun knew but hadn't been practicing as he really should have. Perhaps that was one of the points that made him feel like such an idiot lately. Tyler resumed after taking a breath, _"The future isn't set, we constantly determine it through our actions, but nor should the past hold you back from going forward."_

That line caught Athrun's attention, _"Ask yourself what kind of future it is you want to see Athrun and once you know that, then do what you see needed to reach it man! The Eternal Justice here is to be used as you see fit Athrun, may it serve you well in whatever endeavor you get yourself into. However, please, no suicidal jaunts, that's more something I get do on rare occasions though I try avoiding such, Sakura has been helping me on that against my freewill. Still, good luck Athrun, don't forget that Kira and I are rooting for you probably the loudest, go forth and kick a** while you go!_ "

The image of Tyler faded and disappeared. Lacus smiled slightly, "I don't think I could have gotten across what I wanted to say better than Tyler has, other than the last line," she remarked.

Athrun was left to his thoughts, for what Tyler had said had given a lot to consider. As usual, Tyler somehow knew that Athrun had been blaming himself for being tricked by Durandal's words and had chastised him for it. The other things that Tyler had said had cleared most of the chaos and confusion that had been plaguing Athrun. It made seeing the way forward was much easier to understand and decided how to act. Honestly, Tyler may have said he doesn't have the same gift for words that his mother does, but he still somehow knew what to say like her.

With his decision made, Athrun left the room and put on a pilot suit, and the minute after closing the Federation suit, the internal medical system began running, helping Athrun deal with his injuries as they were. He came back into the hanger, walking shakily on his own feet towards the Eternal Justice. Athrun received shocked looks and even gaping from the mechanics that watched him ascend up to the Justice's cockpit and sit in the pilot seat before it descended down into the mobile suit. Most of them not believing he was up to getting into a cockpit without help but also going out to the battlefield in his condition.

Athrun took a moment to take in the layout of the cockpit as it was different yet had elements that were familiar. There were the screens forward and to either side that made up the panoramic view as there were normally. Ahead and just below the forward optical screen, there was the main sensor display however, there were two smaller system displays on either side of the forward screen. For the suit's controls, the throttle and control stick had been apparently combined into two control sticks, one for each hand. Most of the non-main controls were either on the forward system display or to the sides as it had been with the Justice. The two com-screens were still in the forward top area on both sides, like was still standard in most mobile suits. Athrun finished looking around the cockpit and activated the Justice's OS.

 **MOBILE SUIT S2 OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nified  
 **N** ucleus  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ssault  
 **M** odule

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Unity System**  
 **_Series GND200-O7 SR/NR 01-32169_**  
 **Federation Military**

The OS booted up faster than Athrun expected, and he was kind of impressed at the OS efficiency. Athrun looked over what this mobile suit had to work with, and he was stunned. The first fact that was obvious, this machine had two separate power sources, one nuclear based and the other was unlike anything Athrun had seen. The nuclear source was a different version of the Hyper-Deuterion engine than what the Destiny and the Legend, but it ran on the same general principles. The other power source was something called a Gundam Nucleus Solar reactor or simply GN reactor. From what Athrun could tell, the GN reactor was better than the Hyper-Deuterion engine in the long run as it was semi-perpetual.

Looking over the arsenal of the Eternal Justice, Athrun found that the Justice had two of the same type of beam sabers and CIWS guns. The main offensive options of the Eternal Justice were the weapon system that is a combination of weapons and its remote assault bits. The "Valor" weapon system was shaped much like a thin version of the other federation fighters' nose section. The defensive part of the shield had a deflection field generator that could deploy a field to deflect incoming beams. The weapons of the Valor consisted of a high-energy beam rifle under the main shield's structure, then there's a particle beam vulcan mounted under the shield between the rifle and shield. Lastly, a beam sword emitter that was projected along both sides of the forward section and would be longer than beam sabers.

The remote weapon bits, of which there were six, four of them had more than one setting or mode to utilize for attacks, while the other two only had a rifle and blade configuration. The large bits had a rifle and beam blade, they also had two more barrels to make a rapid firing weapon as well which were the three modes; rifle, barrage and blade mode. The four large assault bits and are stored in docks alongside each of the two large back wings and could be swung forward while in their docks to be used in combat. The two smaller ones were docked on the side skirts and could also be swung up and forward for use in combat.

This mobile suit also had a flight mode to work with, the Valor weapon system being the nose section. The large back wings shift to come alongside the torso and the assault bits move to be in the center of the wings, having one above and the other below on bother sides. The smaller remote bits that are attached to the side hip skirts shift and form the tail of the flight mode by the rear thrusters which are set in the feet. The forward flight array moves forward from where it connects to the backpack and attaches with the Valor weapon system.

Once Athrun had a decent understanding of the mobile suit, he had the Justice moved to the catapult. Chief Murdoch was apprehensive about letting Athrun go out to the field in his condition, but the kid wouldn't listen to reason. The man even contacted the bridge and informed Murrue what Athrun was doing, but Lacus vouched for Athrun to go out. When Athrun got into the linear catapult, the catapult opened, and the shutters closed to his left. He gripped the controls and looked forward, "Athrun Zala, Justice launching!"

 **-Line Break-**

Orb Territory

The fleet of Federation vessels that were on their way to Orb to assist their allies against the ZAFT force that was assaulting them drew closer to Orb's mainland. As they did, they began to see some of the signs of the battle as they rounded the Marshal Islands. There was another fleet on its way toward ZAFT's Carpentaria to participate in an operation that was going to happen soon enough against the base. Among the fleet heading for Orb, was the second Archangel-class ship the Dominion, under the command of Natarle Badgiruel. The Dominion was traveling under the water, keeping eyes out watching for ZAFT submarines and mobile suits as the other ships traveled above.

Natarle had been surprised when the Dominion had been ordered down to Earth, even with what was going on lately between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT along with Logos. But, those had been the orders, from Admiral Maharaja Karn who was over the Federation's Space Forces and the Dominion was a part of the Federation's Space Forces soon after the First Alliance-PLANT War. After descent, the Dominion was assigned to the seaborn fleets that was going to reinforce the Orb Union, which brought things to where they were currently.

Natarle would admit, after working for the Federation military for a little while, a lot of things with the Federation had made much more sense than they did before when it came to them. The reason many policies and tactics had been baffling before, was there had been half or more of the facts that went into decision were not made public. The Federation didn't say what measures and procedures they had in place, only what events could trigger them was a good example. Although, Natarle was impressed with the training Federation personnel had, not just their pilots, but all of them as some were added to the Dominion's crew.

She came out of her thoughts as her second-in-command, one Mark Dole, who had stayed with the Dominion even after taking the shot that Muruta Azrael had sent her way spoke, "Captain, we're detecting the first few Vosgulov-class submarines ahead of us, and it appears that ZAFT hasn't stopped their assault yet," he said.

Natarle nodded, "Go to level one battle stations, prepare to surface the ship, have torpedoes loaded and deploy Valiants, then have our pilots standby in their mobile suits," she ordered.

Back in the battle, the Archangel was still engaged in a fight with the Minerva, neither having done significant damage to the other. The two ships were still trying to disable the other using their full range of weapons they had to work with. During the continued exchange between the ships, the skygrasper that had been given to Neo Roanoke before the defense of Orb to go where he wished when he left the Archangel reappeared. Neo shot down some of the missiles that the Archangel's CIWS guns missed.

For the crew of the Archangel, to see the face of Neo again, was unexpected, " _Sorry about popping up unannounced, but you see, I have a score to settle with the Minerva. Don't worry, you guys will win, and that's because I have the real knack of making the impossible possible,_ " Neo said, before closing the com-channel.

That line from the man that was Mu La Flaga, yet was as someone else, hit Murrue hard as it rekindled the hope that Mu was still in there somewhere. It was the catch phrase Mu used most often, especially when he would have a crazy idea, that somehow worked normally. She'd come to love Mu and she missed him more than words could ever say, it had felt like a part of herself had died the day Mu had been shot down. Leaving Neo Roanoke had been her way of biding her final farewell to Mu, yet to hear the phrase again, in the same voice of Mu and from the one that looked like him, it affected her greatly.

Meanwhile, at Orb's Defense Headquarters the situation that the battle had become was hard for Cagalli to listen to, and reports of not finding Djibril weren't helping in any way. The man had to be somewhere, his goal was to escape from Orb and yet the longer he was missing, the more likely he may escape. Little if any place on Earth would shelter him any longer, that left going up to space as the most viable option. However, all public and private means to launch a shuttle or craft to space were locked down. Kaguya was secure, so that was not an option for Djibril, the other public space port was also shutdown, that only left private launching facilities and there weren't all that many of those.

There were allied reinforcements coming, but they were still minutes away and every minute counted right now. What was left of the defending forces were doing everything they could to hold ZAFT forces at bay and the additional forces that had dropped from orbit were helping. Yet, ZAFT was still advancing slowly, they hadn't been halted so far and the lives lost were mounting.

As this was going on, the resupply and repairs for the Destiny and the Osiris were finished. Shinn and Aila headed back to the hanger, Lunamaria would have followed, but Rey stopped her, "You'll stay here Lunamaria," he said.

"But why, there is a lot to do out there on the field, the more the better right," Luna challenged.

Rey gave her a small smile, "I understand you wanting to go out Luna. But, we need you to say here, if Djibril bolts, then the Impulse will have the best chance to catch him. We're counting on you to finish the job if we can't do it in time," Rey returned.

Lunamaria didn't answer immediately, but eventually nodded, before Rey left to board the Legend and go out with Shinn and Aila. Before Shinn boarded the Destiny, Aila called out to him, "Shinn."

Shinn turned to look at Aila, "Yes ma'am?"

"Don't forget, that losing a fight is okay when you come back, it means you're alive and can have another chance. Do not be reckless and think about potentially sacrificing yourself to obtain a win, keep that in mind," Aila stated.

Shinn nodded, "Will do ma'am," he said then boarded the Destiny.

The Osiris and the Destiny launched first, followed by the Legend shortly after them. The Minerva concentrated on sinking the Archangel, but the Archangel was making the task difficult. Then, Neo's skygrasper got above the Minerva and let loose a missile that as luck would have it made it through the gun fire of the Minerva's CIWS. The missile struck the Isolde cannon, taking it out of commission, but one of the Tristan beam cannons scored a hit on the skygrasper's engines.

Neo glanced down at the skygrasper's displays and knew that he wouldn't be flying for much longer. He swung around to point toward the Archangel then connected a com-channel to the ship, "I might have gotten a bit enthusiastic, you think you can take me in then captain," he posed.

Neo maneuvered the skygrasper to line up with the Archangel's right leg as his aircraft was having growing trouble flying. Yet, as the catapult opened and Neo aimed to land, there was a flash of a scene that had the Archangel in the same position in his mind, but the leg wasn't open there was just part of it missing to have it open. Neo shook his head to clear it of the odd sensation and accompanying image and focused in landing the plane he was flying. The shaking as the wheels of the skygrasper contacting the catapult deck, told him that he was down and alive, that's what counted.

 **-Line Break-**

Athrun, after launching from the Archangel, shifted the Justice into its flight mode, which gave him a bit more speed. He then began looking for the Freedom, for when Athrun found the Freedom, he would find the Destiny as well. Athrun still believed that he could reason with Shinn and help him see the truth that he saw now. Shinn had a good heart and such seemed to becoming rarer these days. Athrun thought he could have told Shinn the truth if Rey hadn't interrupted when he was escaping Carpentaria, he was confident of that.

Shinn was being blinded and used by Gilbert Durandal to pursue and obtain his goals just like so many were. What those goals were going towards Athrun couldn't say, but they weren't what the Chairman stated they were. It had become clear to Athrun that Durandal was working for a future that required giving up things that never should be abandoned. Shinn was fighting for a world that he would very unlikely see or enjoy, for whatever kind of world Durandal was trying to create, people like himself, Kira, Tyler and even Shinn would not be welcomed at all.

So, in this fight for Orb, Athrun would fight for what he believed, or like Tyler had said in his message, 'the future you wish to see'. And the future that Athrun wanted to see, was one that everyone had the opportunity to live and experience happiness. Personally, the future that Athrun wanted was one with Cagalli and a family with her, simple perhaps, but that's what Athrun wanted in his heart. And so, Athrun searched for the Freedom, shooting down other ZAFT mobile suits as he went.

Kira meanwhile, saw the mobile suit from before coming back towards him and it was accompanied by a second suit. And as Kira looked at the second mobile suit, there was something about it that was hauntingly familiar, but he couldn't place what. He continued dodging the Destiny's attacks, but the second mobile suit didn't stay out of the fight for long. It got behind the Freedom pointed its rifle along with six other parts connected to the suit's backpack forward. The rifle and other parts fired beams at the Freedom at the same time, Kira flipped out of the way of the beams. The Legend kept following the Freedom and using its beam assault cannons and beam rifle to put on the pressure.

It was when Kira evade the third attack, that it clicked in this his mind why this suit seemed so familiar. Kira couldn't help but mutter the thought, "It's like his, it like Creuset's!"

Yes, this mobile suit was close to the same idea as the mobile suit Rau Le Creuset used during the Second Battle of Jachin Due, the X12 Providence. It had pods like the Providence and Kira even got a similar feeling around the machine as he did with Providence and Creuset. Flashes of fighting Creuset went through Kira's mind and those weren't good memories for him at all. An alarm going off, alerted Kira and brought his mind back to the fight he was in and saw that the Destiny was charging at him from behind.

The Freedom's railguns swung back to point at the Destiny as it came at the Freedom, activating its palm beam cannon. The railguns fired, and Shinn had no time to dodge, and so, the railgun shots nailed the Destiny, forcing him backwards. Kira aimed one of his beam rifles at the Destiny, intending to disable it. However, before he could fire, the Legend attacked the Freedom, drawing attention away from the Destiny. Kira combined his beam rifles and had his multi-phase beam cannons come to firing position to point at the Legend. Rey had the Legend swung its gun pods forward and aimed his weapons at the Freedom that help the mistake as Rau had always referred to him as.

They both fired their weapons at the same time, Kira was forced to hold the combined rifle with one hand and activate the beam shield to block the beams. Rey had to do the same as the Freedom, the Legend was pushed back away for the Freedom from the beam of the combined rifles. Yet, the Freedom's heavy beam cannon hit the two large DRAGOON pods at the top of the Legend's backpack, destroying them both. Both the Burst Freedom and the Legend were sent flipping and tumbling away from each other. Kira was attempting to stabilize the Freedom's flight quickly as this was a combat situation. The GN particles coming from the Freedom increased in density around the mobile suit, forming a field for defense as the Freedom's systems were programed to do in an emergency.

" _Now's your chance Shinn get him,_ " Rey shouted as the Legend tumbled downward, fighting to regain control of his mobile suit.

Shinn brought out his beam cannon and took aim, ignoring the light that was around the Freedom which seemed to be getting 'thicker'. When Shinn had a lock on the Freedom, he fired the beam cannon, yet the beam disbursed when it came into contact with the 'light' surrounding the Freedom. That wasn't supposed to happen, and Shinn didn't know how that was possible. Whatever that light was, it shouldn't be able to disburse a beam, it wasn't a reflector… was it?

Shinn started setting up for another shot, since the Freedom's tumbling was lessening, opportunity was fading. However, an alarm came for Shinn and he moved out of the way just in time as a beam zipped past him far too close for comfort. Next thing he knew, something crashed into the Destiny and Shinn was forced to regain his bearings. Shinn looked forward when he had stabilized the Destiny's flight and found himself looking at a mobile suit he hadn't seen before. The suit was crimson overall, though its torso was black. On its right forearm, was a long shield while there was a smaller one on the left arm. The suit had two long wings behind it and what looked like four cannons, two on each wing. The other point of note, this mobile suit was putting off the same odd light that the new Freedom was.

Speaking of the Freedom, it had disappeared from the notice of Destiny and the Legend as their attention was on the Eternal Justice. Kira had shifted the Burst Freedom into its flight mode, in hopes that it might help stop the tumbling. As hoped, the Burst Freedom's flight mode did helped Kira stop the tumbling and orient his mobile suit. The increase in G-force was somewhat unexpected for Kira, but it wasn't unbearable. So, he flew a circular arc to come back to lock in an approach at the suit that was like Creuset's.

It was around that time that the tables began to turn, the slight advantage that ZAFT held was wrench from them. The reason that was the case, was the reinforcement for the Federation had come into effective firing range. Mobile suits were sent out, bolstering the defending force of Orb and press against the ZAFT forces who were being worn down by this point. Still, ZAFT kept up their assault to capture Lord Djibril, for their objective was all the more important. Yet, among the fresh Federation forces, were the X130 Raptor, the X251 Sinister and the X333 Bandit all of the former GAT series, also with them was ZAFT's own X88S Gaia. The extra force quickly put ZAFT more on the defensive which didn't help their mission objective.

Then the three DOM Troopers that had been dropped from above were wearing down the ZAFT forces. And, there was the two unknown Federation mobile suits, the 'aircraft' had after dropping the container that it had carried, had transformed into a mobile suit and had gotten down to shooting down ZAFT machines. The superior mobility that the suit showed was scary to its opponents, it was more like it was floating in the air. The other unknown mobile suit was working under the water and was similar to the X31S Abyss. However, it had a scythe instead of a lance and that scythe had a cutting beam that could be maintained under water. When it came to the surface, it used something that would punch sizable holes in ships.

Shinn was staring at the new comer as well as defending himself from possible attack, but he wasn't ready for what he heard next. " _Shinn, you need to stop this,_ " said the voice of Athrun.

The image of Athrun appeared on one of the com-screens in the Destiny's cockpit and Shinn stared at it wide eyed. Shinn had used the Destiny's beam sword to destroy the Saviour as it had been running from Carpentaria. The explosion of the mobile suit should have been enough to kill him. Granted, Shinn hadn't wanted to kill Athrun, heck, he looked up to him. Athrun Zala had chosen what was right over what he was told during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Shinn respected that and aspired to be the same, doing what's right and best regardless of orders. Perhaps that was why being told that Athrun had turned traitor sounded off and wrong. Finally, Shinn found use of his voice, "Athrun, but I… killed you… when you were running from Carpentaria," he uttered.

Athrun knew that what Shinn said would appear true back at the time for honestly, Athrun himself wondered how he survived the destruction of the Saviour too. " _You tried but didn't manage that Shinn and I don't blame you for what happened. You didn't know all the facts at the time, but what matters is what is happening here and now,_ " Athrun said. Shinn could think of nothing to say, so Athrun continued, " _Shinn do you understand what is being done here, what this fight is really about?_ "

"We're here to apprehend Djibril," Shinn replied without thinking.

Athrun shook his head, " _No, that's not the whole reason to this, it's the justification. If that was the reason, this fighting wouldn't be happening, since Orb wouldn't provide shelter to a war criminal like Djibril and you know that in your heart._ "

Shinn was put into an internal conflict, on one side was the duty to follow orders and on the other was his sense of truth. Duty was stating that evidence provided showed Orb had protected Djibril and that the man needed to be captured to prevent further horrors whatever the cost. Plus, Athrun had run away after doing things that made him a traitor. Truth however, said there was validity to what Athrun said that Orb wouldn't help such a man and historically, it was true. Then, Shinn had not actually been shown or provided evidence that Athrun had done what others claimed he did just told about it. The conflict served to bring chaos Shinn's mind on what was true and what was not.

Athrun could see the signs of the conflict that Shinn was having, it was one that Athrun himself had in this and the previous war. It was intriguing as well as sort of ironic to Athrun, Shinn was where he had been, before Tyler, Kira and others had helped him see the truth. " _Shinn, I bet you're really confused right now,_ " Athrun remarked, which drew Shinn's attention. " _Things were once so clear, what is right and wrong was solidly defined. Yet now, what seems right and wrong isn't clear at all, simply seems all grey instead of black and white as they were before._ "

What Athrun said was pretty much what was going around Shinn's head and he couldn't clear it. Things had become so muddled and Shinn couldn't even figure out when it started to be this way. Athrun was about to keep going, but beams being fired at him, forced Athrun to back up. The shots came from the Legend which was flying towards the Justice, " _You're a traitor that escaped their just punishment,_ " stated Rey over an open com-channel. " _Don't let him deceive you Shinn, he's trying to trick you and catch you off guard._ "

Athrun was ticked that once again, Rey had interrupted his attempt to help Shinn see the truth that he was being used the last time and was again. Rey either wanted Athrun dead or was completely converted to Chairman Durandal's way of thinking. But, Athrun would not let this end with Shinn being completely blinded to what he was doing and do things he would only regret! Athrun pointed the Justice's rifle and peppered the Legend with the GN vulcan, which forced Rey to break off his approach.

Before Rey could attack the Justice again, beams came his way from a different direction. He turned and saw an odd aircraft that had the same coloration as the Freedom did, which likely meant it was the Freedom and it could transform like the Justice. The Freedom quickly occupied the full attention of the Legend, leaving the Destiny and the Justice. Shinn moved to help Rey, but Athrun got in front of him, " _No Shinn,_ " snapped Athrun.

Shinn became angry, as much because he was trying to help a friend, as another preventing him from doing so. "You're just making things worse Athrun Zala," Shinn shot back, firing his beam rifle at the Justice.

Athrun activated the left shield's beam shield to block the beam, but didn't back down, " _Am I Shinn,_ " he posed. " _Look around you, the scene should look familiar to you Shinn._ "

Shinn was getting annoyed at Athrun for simply talking to him, yet he glanced around to say that he did. Nonetheless, he froze as he looked at the battle against Orb that he was a part of, for there were things he saw now, but hadn't noticed before. As Shinn gazed at Orb's mainland, the view of civilians running away in panic and fear from the fighting held his attention. Memories of the Alliance's attack on Orb during the First Alliance-PLANT War flashed through Shinn's mind. Images of he and his family running during the evacuations, how Orb and Federation mobile suits had been defending the evac routes. In fact, Shinn saw defending forces putting themselves between ZAFT forces and Orb's citizens like they had back then, some being destroyed doing so.

" _You were in a situation almost exactly the same as this nearly three years ago, you were just experiencing it from a different perspective._ _The difference from before and now Shinn, is you're now see this from the attacker's point of view, not the victim's as you did before, little else has change,_ " Athrun stated.

Shinn felt like he was begin attacked, "That's not-"

Yet, Athrun cut over him, " _Not what you wanted or intended Shinn? That's what happens when you just follow orders and don't think about the reasons as to why things are being done!_ "

"And what would you know, you're a traitor," Shinn snapped back.

" _If being branded a traitor is what happens when I start seeing the truth behind the façade that some are putting up, then I am proud to betray those who are tricking everyone else,_ " claimed Athrun. " _As for what I would know about just following orders and being sickened by the results, I know more than you would think Shinn. I was in the position you're in now, in both this war and the previous one. Trust me when I say that just following orders when it doesn't feel right brings regret and loss, it tears you up from the inside without mercy._ "

The Justice used its left arm to gesture to the world around both Shinn and Athrun, " _Is this what you want the future to be like Shinn? If not, then tell me what kind of future you wish to see and are willing to fight for. If you can't tell me that Shinn, then it's better that you leave this battlefield and return to the Minerva,_ " Athrun challenged.

Shinn hesitated, "We're fighting for peace," he replied.

" _You don't sound very confident with that answer and that's not what I'm asking Shinn, it's not going to be acceptable,_ " Athrun shouted. " _I said what kind of future do YOU wish and fight for Shinn, not what others tell you that you should be fighting for! You need to know and understand what you're fighting for Shinn, fighting for its own sake is as pointless as it's meaningless and you're a better person than that! Understand why you're so angry right now, what it is that is irking you so much about this, don't just ignore the reasons your heart is telling you to just fight because you can._ "

The chaos in Shinn's mind was not being helped by Athrun's questions, and in this situation, it was only making him angry, so he rushed forward at the Justice. He took the beam sword in one hand and a beam boomerang in the other, slashing at Athrun. Athrun took out and combined his two beam sabers and used them to parry Shinn's attacks, before he fired both the GN Vulcans and the 50mm CIWS guns. Shinn drew back, putting the beam sword away and taking out the other beam boomerang, then throwing both at the Justice. Athrun used the Valor's beam shield to deflect the first boomerang and the combined beam sabers to fend off the other.

At the same time, the Freedom had drawn the Legend a short distance, facing the Legend and waiting for the Legend to make the next move. The two clashed, first with beam shields and beam sabers, then switching over to ranged weapons like beam rifles and other ranged beam weaponry. Kira managed to keep the Legend and its pilot occupied enough for Athrun to do what he wanted with the other ZAFT pilot.

As the mobile suits fought each other, the Minerva still put forth efforts to disable and then sink the Archangel. Things changed when the Dominion came up behind the Minerva and began firing at them. The crew of the Archangel was surprised to see the other Archangel-class ship, none of them had seen it all that long after the previous war. But as Natarle was providing a distraction to the Minerva, Murrue didn't want to waste what a good friend was giving. So as the Dominion was firing at the Minerva from the rear, the Archangel oriented itself so that it could submerge. "Prepare to submerge, descend twenty," ordered Murrue.

"Preparing to submerge," piped up Tolle from the co-pilot station.

"Descending twenty," finished Arnold.

The Archangel hit the water and began to sink into it, and Captain Gladys knew that should the Archangel get underwater. "Captain," said Arthur turning towards her with the view of the Archangel going into the water on the forward viewscreen.

"We won't have any real offensive option if they get underwater, whereas they will still have their Linear cannons and torpedoes. However, we're being pinned by the second Archangel-class and aren't able to effectively attack the Archangel at the moment," stated Talia in frustration. "We need to ascend immediately Malik!"

By the time the Minerva began ascending, the Archangel was under the water and aimed the Valiants up at the Minerva. "Valiants, fire," ordered Murrue.

The shots from the Valiants zoomed upward, out of the water and hit the rear of the Minerva but didn't do major damage. The Dominion soon submerged like the Archangel and from underwater, both used their linear cannons and torpedoes to take out ZAFT ships.

All over the field, ZAFT forces were being forced back from their advances they had made during the battle. Federation forces had regrouped and had solidified their defensive line and did not let them collapse. The reinforcement received by Orb had tipped the scales and ZAFT was now starting to be beaten. The fighting kept getting worse for ZAFT as it went on for all concerned.

The Freedom was still fighting the Legend and the Justice was still going against the Destiny. Rey was frustrated that seemingly no matter was he did, the Freedom would either block or dodge him. The mobile suit was proving to be well-designed and not an opponent to underestimate. But it was more than just the mobile suit, there was its pilot as well and that individual was one that Rey loathed. Kira Yamato, he was the reason the world was the kind of unpeaceful place it was. Rau had been right about the Ultimate Coordinator, they were dangerous and could inspire humanity to keep on the path it was on. It was Kira Yamato, the Ultimate Coordinator, the Perfect Human that soured humanity to what it had become. It was for that reason that he needed to be snuffed out and wiped from history utterly!

Shinn meanwhile, was losing his nerve as he clashed with the Eternal Justice. His thoughts were becoming more muddle with the things Athrun said and what others had told him. It was making Shinn desperate and acted restlessly and though he knew that was not to be heeded in combat, he couldn't help it anymore. Images were still flashing through Shinn's head, adding to the growing emotional issue and stress he was having. " _Shinn,_ " called Athrun.

"Damn it!" Shinn shouted, and SEED mode came on for him.

The Destiny shoved the Justice back before backing up a distance, then Shinn rushed forward, beam sword ready to strike down its opponent. Athrun saw the Destiny coming at him, the resolve he had was unbreakable which caused the onset of his own SEED mode came, and things became clear. Athrun opened a com-channel at the same time he readied his beam sabers and the Valor's beam sword to be deployed. " _Shinn, please forgive me for this,_ " Athrun said, moving forward at the Destiny.

Athrun swung his beam sabers through both of the Destiny's forearms, then spun around, activating the Valor's beam sword, which was longer than a normal beam saber by one and a half times. He brought the sword down to cut through the holsters that would hold the beam sword and the beam cannon cutting them off and warping part of the wings. Then Athrun twisted the Justice around to send a shin into the Destiny's midsection, sending the suit flying back and downwards. The places the Destiny had been sliced exploded, before the Destiny was caught by the Osiris before it could hit the water and sink. Shinn left stunned at how he had been defeated in a way he hadn't seen coming at all and while he had as clear a focus as he could get. Yet, Athrun had defeated him completely along with leaving further questions echoing within his mind.

Athrun then turned towards the Legend, brought the Justice's four large assault bits to bear on the machine and fired all four of them. Rey was forced to dodge and realized that he was now going against two powerful mobile suits that his chances against them together were bad. The Destiny had been defeated and Rey was on his own now. So, Rey decided to cut his losses and leave to get back to the Minerva, there was next time to correct this.

The field commander for mobiles suits on ZAFT's side, was seeing that the operation was all but lost by this point. Continuing on in this would only bring losses for ZAFT, it was clear to see for anyone. They connected to the St. Helens as the Minerva did the same, and the discussion of what should be done began.

Yet, by this time, the Virtue reached the shore, coming up out of the water and generating a GN field around itself. Any shots that were sent at the Virtue disburse against the GN field as the Virtue turned around and faced towards the ZAFT ships. "Virtue, preparing to destroy target," stated Tieria, bringing his GN Bazooka to connect to the GN reactor's flow in the torso and began compress GN particles. When the compression was complete, Tieria took aim at the lead ZAFT submarine, "Compressed particles, releasing," he said.

The large particle beam shot from the Virtue's bazooka, instantly gained attention as it surged forward. The beam shot towards the ZAFT ships that were surfaced, specifically the St. Helens. It slammed into the St. Helen and time appeared to stop for a moment as the submarine was silhouetted by the magenta beam. But then the beam engulfed the St. Helens and the ship disappeared with an explosion.

 **-Line Break-**

Orb Defense Headquarters

ZAFT forces were being repelled slowly, but the cost that had been paid thus far was high. Many lives had been lost and sacrificed in the efforts of protecting Orb and its people from ZAFT's assault. And yet, Lord Djibril hadn't been found and he was the reason that ZAFT was attacking in the first place. So, it was understandable that Cagalli was becoming more than frustrated quickly as the situation didn't change much. If Kisaka hadn't been there to prevent Cagalli from going back out to the battlefield and join back in the fighting, then she would have done just that.

It was when an alarm was announced from a section of Orb's mainland that had been reported searched, and it was followed by live feeds showing a shuttle launching from a private linear catapult, both owned by the Seiran's. Cagalli ordered the interception of the shuttle, by whatever means were necessary. The shuttle instantly became the focus of both sides when it came into view. The Impulse launched from the Minerva pursuing the shuttle, for it was assumed that Djibril was on board the craft. There were even a couple of ZEL Defenders that chased after the shuttle as it ascended.

However, the shuttle Djibril was on, managed to escape its pursuers despite the efforts to stop it. ZAFT forces soon retreated after that, heading back towards Carpentaria under the orders of the Minerva, who took command after the St. Helens was destroyed. Federation forces let them go, and kept their defensive lines for a little while, just in case ZAFT should try and attack again. The sounds of battle died down and the fight for Orb came to its conclusion as the sun began touching the horizon as it started setting.

Kira moved the Freedom over next to the Justice, after all, Athrun was still recovering from serious injuries. But a moment later, the Justice dropped a distance before it caught itself, that worried Kira and so he maneuvered the Freedom down and took hold of the Justice. "Athrun, what's your condition," Kira asked.

Athrun was breathing hard and raggedly as his condition was making sure he couldn't ignore them anymore. The Federation pilot suit's medical support had helped take the edge off the pain and make it manageable, but that wasn't enough. Athrun knew that he had reopened some of his wounds during the battle but couldn't say it to Kira as he fainted. Kira carried the Justice back to the Archangel as it was obvious that Athrun needed medical help.

 **-Line Break-**

Earth's Orbit

Lord Djibril had been worried for a period that he would escape the assault by ZAFT on the Orb Union, for it had been close. He had thought slipping away from Heaven's Base was a real piece of work, but it had been closer with leaving Orb. But now that Djibril was up in space, he would have allies, where he had been losing them on Earth. Djibril would finish the job of ridding the human race of the monsters that Coordinators really were.

Once Djibril reached the Daedalus Lunar base on the dark side of the moon, which neither the PLANTs nor ZAFT had been watching. The Federation had been glancing at Daedalus, but they hadn't done anything other than that. Both were too focused on the Arzachel base to give Daedalus much if any attention so, the Coordinators knew nothing of the of the massive beam cannon 'Requiem' that was built there. There was no sign that ZAFT had discovered the relay stations or their purpose in relation to Requiem. Djibril couldn't stop the smile that came at the thought, of what he had in mind to introduce Requiem to Gilbert Durandal and his kind.

Djibril relaxed in his seat, since this shuttle would meet up with an Alliance patrol and they would escort him the rest of the way to Daedalus, he was home free as the old phrase went. Yes, there had been complication to get this far, more than were expected, but it was okay. As long as Requiem fired and destroyed the some if not all the PLANTs by the end of its use, everything that had happened would be worth it. He, Lord Djibril would succeed where others before him had failed in exterminating Coordinators!

However, the sound of worried chattering came to his ears and it was annoying Djibril. After a moment, Djibril got out of his seat to see what was going on, "What is the matter," he asked when he reached the shuttle's cockpit.

The Alliance officer turned to Djibril, "Well sir, the fleet," he uttered pointing out the forward viewing port. Djibril looked out the window and his eyes widened, for there was wreckage of ships ahead. Once again, others had caused setbacks and it was frustrating! He then looked back at the shuttle pilot, "Continue on to the Moon," Djibril ordered.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **And I'll leave off there, these last three phases were a real spurt of writing and work! However, I would like to think it was worth it in the end, but I'll leave that up to you the readers to decide. As for what is to come, the only thing I'll say is it won't be the same as canon, sorry that's all I'll reveal. Anyway, fav, follow and review!**


	42. Phase 42: Hope Burning

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 42. I know that readers have waited for more and I'm working on it. Standard disclaimer applies and enjoy the story.**

* * *

Phase 42: Hope Burning

May 1st, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Orb Union

The sun was beginning to set when the battle was officially announced to be over and remaining defense forces were recalled. The results of the battle were a mixed bag of good and bad to put it nicely. Orb was still standing after the heavy long assault that ZAFT and its allies had made against it. However, the defending forces had taken sizable losses even with allied reinforcements and would've taken more without the reinforcement. There had also been civilian casualties from the battle but again, defending forces had curtailed things from being worse. Djibril had managed to escape among the chaos of the battle, though he was being tracked currently, yet once again the man had helped bring about the deaths of others.

Any person that had helped Unato and Yuna Seiran had been put on leave from duties for questioning. Both Unato and Yuna were being held in custody for their actions that had brought the events down on Orb. Normally, members of the five noble families of Orb tended to loosely agree with major decisions made by the government. Yet, at times when that was not the case, it caused some of these families to violate decisions of the chief representative council as had happened in this instance.

To fill the spot on the representative council that Unato had left, Cagalli stepped in for the time being. It was more a formality since Cagalli was working with the military side more than the politics of Orb. And with the mess that had been left from the attack from ZAFT and Djibril's escape there was a lot to do. Adding to the worries she had when Kira told her that Athrun had reopened some wounds when he went out to the battlefield, it was easy to understand that she was stressed. But Orb's people had wanted her to fill the spot showing their love of and for her and so, she had taken the position.

All over the Orb mainland work was being done to pick up what could be salvaged from ZAFT's attack. Even with the reinforcement that had come to help in Orb's defense assisting in the efforts, the pickup was going slowly due to the sheer amount to be done. Tanya was flying the Rapture over the western shorelines of Orb, felt feelings of sorrow and anger for those below, which were still fairly new for her. The sight of destruction below wasn't so new, as a former Extended the view of destruction was somewhat common from the assignments given out from those that Lodonia Lab worked for. At thoughts like these, Tanya's mind wandered to Stella her younger sister for she missed and worried about her.

Ever since Tanya had been taken to Shangri-La and had gone through the recovery program for Extendeds, she had then wished for Stella to do the same. Coming to the understanding of what the scientists had done at Lodonia to Tanya herself and others… what they had taken from them, thoughts of revenge had swum around her mind several times. But, those had gone away when the memories of what had been before Lodonia had begun coming back to her clearly. When Tanya's earliest memories with Stella returned, she had wanted to find her and save her from those that were using her. It had been Allelujah that had stopped her from going back to Lodonia had finding Stella, even if that meant she razed the whole lab in the process. Allelujah had convinced her by reminding her that the other member of their trio Vali Lucipher had given his life to save both Tanya and Allelujah from being killed before they had been captured.

Tanya ceased focusing on the destruction and what thoughts and feelings came with it and started looking for a place to land her mobile suit. There was still the task of finding a means of getting both herself, Allelujah and Tieria back into space and the Normandy. Captain McGregor had made it clear that she and they were responsible for getting back up into space. The Orb Union might have a mass driver, but that was only part of getting to space there was still the need of a ship. That would be the biggest challenge in Tanya's mind, find a ship with a captain that would be willing to take three mobile suits into space with how things were after the assault by ZAFT.

Once Tanya spotted an area open enough to allow not just the Rapture, but also the Kyrios and the Virtue to land, Tanya contacted both Allelujah and Tieria and told them to meet up with her. She then moved the Rapture to hover slowly down to the ground, close to floating if anything. The Rapture was definitely a different class of mobile suit compared to any Tanya had used or worked with in simulations. It was well-designed overall, not really specialized in one specific area other than working underwater and owning the environment. There wasn't a set operational time for the suit as long as the power supply wasn't used overtaxed which was new in the world of mobile suits. Plus, Tanya had found it somewhat easier to pilot this suit than any she had used before, even if it was different than Alliance or ZAFT machines.

Just after the Rapture had landed and Tanya had opened the cockpit, she had one of the suit's hands come up to the level of the hatch. Upon getting out to the Rapture's hand, Tanya saw that the Kyrios and the Virtue had come to be above her and began their landings on either side of the Rapture. Tanya input a command into the right forearm control set of her pilot suit and the Rapture lowered its hand and shifted to a kneeling position, bringing Tanya to the ground. Allelujah didn't take all that long to get to the ground after Tanya, nor did Tieria where they all met.

Tanya then got down to giving out instructions, much like she tended to with the Extended trio she, Allelujah and Vali had been. Nonetheless, as she had been the stabilizer between the other two and had shown talent in management it was almost a given for her to be the leader of the three. Tieria would stay and watch over the mobile suits meanwhile, Tanya and Allelujah would go and attempt to secure a means of transportation up into space for them all. Allelujah went one way while Tanya went another in order to search for a ship that fit the bill. Tanya hadn't been looking long when someone calling her name brought her attention out of the task of finding means back up to space, "TANYA!"

Tanya had just enough time to turn to her right before something collided into her and she was forced to work to not lose her balance and fall. It was close, but Tanya kept herself upright, then looked to see what had hit her, finding it had been a girl a few years older than herself. The longer that Tanya looked at the girl the more familiar she became, and she realized that it was Lafter Galiena. What the youngest of the Galiena sisters was doing in Orb, Tanya couldn't guess. Dr. Moss rarely let them out of her sights for all that long, even if she gave them more freedoms than she used to, and far more than other candidates had been allotted.

Tanya had met them during her time at Shangri-La and found them to be what many would say was 'an acquired taste'. Deborah was the easiest to be around for she was the calmest and most logical of the three. Rossweisse was okay though she had times that she could be moody but could keep that in check most of the time. However, Lafter unlike her older sisters could be frustrating mostly since she didn't make sense a good portion of the time. She only said part of a subject, assuming that whomever she was talking to have any idea what she was speaking of. "Tanya Tanya, how neat that you're around here," chattered Lafter, still hugging Tanya as she did.

Tanya sighed tiredly, "And why do you say that Lafter? I'm more surprised that Dr. Moss let you come around here without her," she replied.

"Silly Tanya, mama keeps busy back at Shangri-La. She said no to Deborah, Rossweisse and me coming to help at first, but then Dr. Kall convinced mama to let us go," Lafter said in a rush and in excitement. "But guess what Tanya, guess guess!"

So, it was Dr. Kall that managed to convince Dr. Moss, that made sense as she seemed to be only one that could change the former head of Lodonia's mind. Then Tanya wasn't in the mood for guessing games, and certainly not with Lafter, "What," she asked, not exactly wanting to know what Lafter was so excited about.

Lafter's smile grew wider, "There's someone with us that you know! Guess who, come on guess who it is?!"

Someone that Tanya knew… that doesn't narrow down the answer and Tanya wasn't in even less of a mood to play a guessing game with Lafter than before, and there was tasks to complete. "Lafter, I don't have the time to play this game with you and I'm not in the mood," Tanya started.

"Awww, come on, guess Tanya," Lafter whined.

Tanya once again exhaled heavily, "Your sisters," she replied flatly.

Lafter shook her head, "Nope, they are here, but they aren't who I'm talking about!" Lafter then began dragging Tanya, "You have to see them to believe it!"

Tanya had little choice in the matter, Lafter just kept pulling her off to wherever she had in mind. With Lafter being a Boosted Man, she had more strength than Tanya did overall, so struggling against her would do much. She just hoped that Allelujah was actually have more success at finding a way up into space than she was. Lafter kept pulling Tanya, they went past people that stared at the pair strangely, but that was normal with how Lafter acts.

Meanwhile, Stella was still in the Gaia in its mobile armor mode helping in the efforts of surveying the damage with Rossweisse Galiena. The Gaia had an advantage on the ground-level view of the results of ZAFT's assault in its mobile armor mode. The sight of destruction and ruin wasn't new to Stella, but the images of the people that lived around here caught Stella's eye. There many people, both young and old all of them looking sad while they stared at the ruins ZAFT caused. Seeing the people being sad from the attack brought pain to her where it would have done nothing before now. The minimum conditioning that Extendeds received would block such emotions, so these feelings were new to Stella and she didn't like them much.

Stella continued looking around as she was being asked to, but the pain didn't fully leave her as she kept going. However, the instruction to stop and switch off came and so Stella followed Rossweisse to where they could put their mobile suits for the time being. The hanger that the two came to, was at a place that others were calling Morgenroete. Once the Gaia was in a suit dock, Stella came out and made her way to the ground and was shortly joined by Rossweisse. The two then went off to look for the other two Galiena sisters, then decide what to do going forward.

Back with Lafter and Tanya, ten minutes of being dragged had gone by and Tanya could not stay quiet any longer, "Lafter, where is it you're taking me, I have a task to do that needs to be done," she said.

"But you have got to see this as soon as you can Tanya," exclaimed Lafter continuing to drag Tanya onward.

Tanya tried asking what Lafter was trying to show her in different ways, but no matter how Tanya phrased her question to Lafter the young woman wouldn't give her a different answer. When finally, Tanya caught sight of Deborah Galiena, she was hoping that this unplanned jaunt would be ending very soon. "Deborah Deborah! Lookie who I found," Lafter called.

Deborah turned to face Lafter and saw that she was dragging Tanya with her, and simply put a hand to her forehead. "Tanya, I am sorry about however far my sister has been dragging you," Deborah remarked when Tanya got within hearing distance.

Tanya sighed, "It's been a while since she's done such to me, but I would like to know who she has been referring to. All she's said is there's someone with you that I would know and then guess who and nothing else, even when I guessed," she replied.

Deborah sighed once more, "Again, my apologies, Rossweisse and I have been trying to help our mother improve Lafter's explanations on subjects she's talking about better, but we've not had a great deal of success," she answered.

Tanya was about to ask once again who Lafter had been talking about before she resumed the search for a means to return to space as that was a priority right now. But then, there came a voice that Tanya hadn't heard in close to a year yet had wanted to hear not too long after the treatments at Shangri-La had started, "Tanya?"

Tanya turned her head in the direction that the voice had come seeing that Rossweisse Galiena was walking up towards where she, Lafter and Deborah were. Nevertheless, with the middle Galiena sister was Tanya's younger sister Stella. Tanya blinked a couple times making sure that she wasn't seeing things, for she wanted Stella to be in front of her. "Stella," uttered Tanya in slight disbelief yet with also hopeful tones.

Stella was overjoyed at seeing her older sister Tanya after all the time she hadn't, it had been close to a year now. She rushed forward and closed the distance embracing Tanya tightly with tears flowing from her eyes as she did. Stella sobbed as she said how much she had missed her, while Tanya wrapped her arms around her younger sister. A rare genuine smile came to Tanya's face, "I've missed you too Stella, I've been very worried about you and thought about you a great deal," she said softly.

A few minutes went by as Tanya and Stella had their reunion, then Tanya looked to the Galiena sisters. "Deborah, you and your sisters have my gratitude for watching after my sister," she said, before looking at Stella. "I may not show it outwardly often, but I do care a great deal about her and so, I have been very concerned about what was happening to her since losing track of things."

The happy reunion of the two sisters put off a glow, which got the three Galiena girls to smile as they watched. It was ended however, when Allelujah contacted Tanya and told her that he had information on a potential way up to space as the sun began sinking into the horizon. Tanya had Stella stay with the Galiena sisters while she headed off to where the Rapture was and then she traveled to the areas where ships were docked. Allelujah had mentioned that the ship that might give them a ride up to space was the Archangel-class assault ship Archangel. The ship class that had been created by the Earth Alliance was unique enough that most knew what it looked like and it also stuck out. Then with what the Archangel itself had done during the previous war, it was hard not to know what the ship looked like with its history.

 **-Line Break-**

The Archangel

Neo hadn't been restrained when he got back on the Archangel for apparently, he was now seen as trustworthy. But he was now left with the jumble of thoughts that had been coming to his mind recently. The Archangel seemed to be somehow familiar, and yet he couldn't place why that was the case. It wasn't just the ship that was causing images to come to his mind, it was also some of the members of the Archangel's crew as well, the captain especially.

The only place that he could escaped the images to a degree was the outside rear observation deck of the ship. There he was left to think about what he was to do going forward, so much had changed from what he knew, or thought he knew. Neo had been a captain in the Earth Forces, part of the 81st autonomous mobile group that did jobs that were seen as necessary but couldn't be handled by normal forces. That had been simple, yet now he was left to question if all he knew was true or just lies.

"So this is where you are," posed the voice of Murrue Ramius.

Neo twisted around to look at the hatch to the observation deck and saw the woman herself coming out. There was something about Murrue Ramius that affected Neo, he couldn't dismiss it as a fluke anymore. He faced forward, "I really don't have anywhere else to go," he replied. Murrue came up to be on his right but said nothing to him yet seemed to be listening. As that was the case, Neo just started speaking without really thinking about what he was saying, "Neo Roanoke, born November 29th CE 42, from North Faluba in the Atlantic Federation, blood type O," he stated dryly. Murrue was caught by hearing this, for it was like hearing Mu's bio, "Enlisted in CE 60, later assigned to the 81st autonomous mobile group also known as Phantom Pain, a captain, or so I thought." Neo hesitated, "But now, I'm not so sure if that's really who I am anymore," he admitted.

Murrue didn't want to get her hopes up, that somehow this man might be recalling who he once was Mu La Flaga. She wished with all her heart for it to be true, but fate had been cruel to her before in this, first taking Mu and then having him reappear but be completely different. She could only stare at the man and wonder if it could be possible still that Mu was somehow still there.

Neo looked at Murrue Ramius, the woman that had been haunting him in a way that he couldn't understand. The urges to do things for her when she was around him had come off almost as if they were second nature somehow, which hadn't made sense. That would only be possible if he had known her before now, which could've happened admittedly, "I think that maybe… somehow… I know you," Neo admitted, and something in him told him that there was no maybe about what he had said. "Yes, I know you, or rather my body does, my eyes, my ears, my arms, my," Neo stopped, not sure how to phrase what he was saying.

Murrue was having trouble keeping herself from embracing this man as she would Mu, for he was seeming more like the man she had loved all the time. "And that's why I couldn't just fly off and leave this ship or you to the hands of fate," Neo continued. "I think I know how hard it's been for you, it's been hard for me too. I would like… to stay right here, with you and be by your side."

Neo moved forward and hugged Murrue, the action felt right somehow, righter than most things would. Murrue couldn't bring herself to break the embrace, the familiarity was too strong for her to do that. Even if somehow this was fate cruelly slapping her again and taunting her over the loss of Mu, she didn't care at the moment.

The moment the two were having was interrupted as a Gundam-type mobile suit approached the Archangel, then came to land next to the dock that the ship was in. Murrue had not seen a machine exactly like it before, but then Gundam-types were usually unique from one another in appearance. Neo on the other hand, instantly noticed that there were a number of similarities between the mobile suit that he was seeing and the Abyss. Overall coloration was quite close to the same and the framework looked to be strikingly alike. The big difference was the armaments and the odd light that was coming from the rear of the suit as it seemingly floated downward in the air.

Once the machine landed, a hatch opened in the lower torso, yet instead of the pilot using a zip-line, one of the mobile suit's hands raised up to the level of the hatch. The pilot then got out to the hand and the mobile suit shifted to a kneeling position while keeping the hand level and bringing the pilot to the ground. Said pilot then headed to the gangway that led to the Archangel itself. Murrue didn't know who the pilot was or why they were coming to the Archangel, but if they came however far they had there had to be a reason. Neo who was curious, followed Murrue to see what kind of situation was developing.

When Tanya got onboard the Archangel it didn't take long for her to be approached by members of the crew asking who she was and why she was on the Archangel. She replied by saying she had a 'request' to discuss with the captain of the vessel. It took time for the crew to finally decide to take Tanya to the Archangel's captain when she didn't give further details on her request.

Murrue had gone to the bridge to find out what was going on with the unknown mobile suit and was told that its pilot had some sort of request to speak to her about. She acknowledged the information and asked that the pilot be escorted to her quarters. Then Murrue headed to her quarters with Neo with her saying that he was curious as to what the pilot wanted. So when the pilot entered the captain's quarters, not much could be seen as with most Federation pilot suits kept most identifying features hidden. Yet, before Murrue gave a greeting and asked that this pilot state their request, the pilot removed their helmet.

The second that Neo saw the face of the pilot he was stunned, for it looked close to identical to Stella's. The notable variance was the eye color, because this young woman's eyes were red where Stella's were violet. Yet, much of the other features were the same as Stella's own were, but there was a lack of an innocent expression replaced with a serious look that appeared to be a carved into her face. Murrue glanced over the girl wondering what one like her had done to be a pilot and be here right now. Such individuals weren't common even these days, even with soldiers being as young on average as they were now. The expression on her face spoke of harsh experience learned by this young woman and at her age that shouldn't be the case at all.

Tanya inclined her head, "Greetings captain, my name is Tanya Loussier and I'm hoping that you might be able to help out my two colleagues and myself with a standing issue that we have," she stated.

Neo had heard the name Tanya from Stella as well as from Auel and Sting with varying tones when mentioned. Stella had always spoken the name with happy tones, while Sting had be more neutral and Auel had clearly not liked the owner of the name for one reason or another. If this was the owner of that name, then Stella's way of referring to 'Tanya' made more sense, but the other twos' tones didn't with what he could see. Neo thought perhaps there was history that the three shared with this young woman, he couldn't say. He kept silent, simply observing the young woman as Murrue replied, "I am Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel, what issue are you and your colleagues facing Miss Loussier?"

"The ship we are assigned to is up in space when we volunteered to come down to Orb to help in the fight against ZAFT forces. We are in need of a means to return up into space with our mobile suits and apparently the rumor is that your ship plans to head up sometime soon. I'm here to ask if the three of us could ride with you when you go into space," Tanya answered.

Murrue was left to wonder what captain would let their ship's mobile suit pilots descend to Earth and then expect them to find their own way back into space. The individual either had a great deal of confidence in this girl and her colleagues or they didn't think like others would logically speaking. "What ship are you and your colleagues assigned to out of curiosity," Murrue asked.

"The Normandy ma'am," Tanya replied curtly.

That reply explained an amount for that meant Tyler was the one who gave permission and then expected this young woman and her colleagues to find a way back up to space. It sounded like something that fit his mentality and style of doing things from what Murrue knew from experience. Tyler wasn't one to do things by the 'book', more tossed that manual out an airlock cackling as he did so, then he'd do things how he saw fit, somehow in the end the whole situation working out. Murrue ended out shaking her head slightly, "I see, that explains a bit. I don't see an issue with you and your colleagues traveling on the Archangel to return to space with your mobile suits. We have extra room right now for mobile suits as we aren't at full capacity at this time," Murrue stated.

Tanya bowed, "Thank you Captain Ramius, the assistance is appreciated," she returned.

Then Tanya exited the room leaving Murrue and Neo in Murrue's quarters, "Well, that was different," Neo commented, looking towards Murrue. "I take it this Normandy is a ship you know?"

Murrue nodded, "A newer Federation frigate, the captain is an individual that I know and have had experience with. He is what many would call 'an unordinary individual' no matter his rank or station as his style of doing things is certainly unique and isn't taught at any academy," she replied.

"You don't say, care to elaborate what you mean," Neo posed.

Murrue gained a tired look at remember the many clashes between Natarle and Tyler along with the chaos it brought to the ship during the First Alliance-PLANT War. Honestly, she was more surprised that one of them hadn't done something more serious to the other. There had even been unofficial bets at how much Tyler could get away with before Natarle somehow dragged him and then chucked him in a brig cell among the crew though neither of the two showed signs that they knew of the idea. The two just seemed to bring out the worst in one another for whatever reason, there was no real explanation for it other than military discipline versing teenage rebellion. And Murrue knew that Natarle would often try an find out who Tyler's parents were when he frustrated her especially so. There was the question of what Murrue's former first officer and friend would think if she knew who Tyler's mother was for none of the Archangel's crew had come close to guessing and some had attempted to guess. "The captain's name is Tyler McGregor," she stated.

Neo blinked at hearing the name for it was the names of the well-known heroes from the previous war. He had heard stories about this McGregor character and even read a couple of reports that involved the young man. But, the guy was supposed to be in his early twenties, and that was rather young to be considered for the position of a ship captain. "McGregor, as in one of the known heroes from the previous war? That Tyler McGregor," Neo asked.

Murrue nodded, "Yes, the same individual, hard as it is to believe. However, I guarantee that the things you've heard about him don't give a complete image of his character rest assured," she returned.

Meanwhile, Tanya headed back outside to the Rapture and reentered the cockpit and contacted Allelujah and Tieria and informed them to the arrangement made. She then maneuvered the Rapture over to one of the Archangel's catapults and when it opened, she hovered inside. When the Rapture came into the Archangel's hanger, Murdoch barked orders to direct the Rapture to a free suit dock. Tanya switched the solar reactor to its 'GN repose' as she moved the suit to the dock mechanics were directing her towards. It wasn't long before the Kyrios and the Virtue also came onto the Archangel and both were fitted into mobile suit docks even with the two machines being shaped differently so were hard to fit into standard suit docks.

Over the next day after the three odd Gundam-type suits and their pilots came onboard the Archangel, the crew didn't know exactly what to think about the trio. Tanya Loussier and Allelujah Haptism were given some odd looks from some of the crew but were left alone mostly. Tieria Erde was a different matter than his two colleagues for his clear lack of emotion put off a number in the Archangel's crew. The three stuck out with the differences they had, but no one really approached them much.

Still, as the cleanup effort around Orb continued on, Kira and Lacus went to visit Athrun who had been taken back to the Archangel's infirmary at the end of the battle with ZAFT. Athrun was stable, but he had paid a price for going out piloting the Eternal Justice though the Federation pilot suit had helped things not be worse for him than they were already. The two were worried about their friend with his health the way it was, but they both knew that while the physical injuries would heal, the mental and emotional would need not just time to heal.

In the Infirmary, Meyrin was watching after Athrun as there was little else for her to do for the time being. She herself was still healing though she was farther along than Athrun was, Meyrin had an amount to go. Meyrin still had gained a new-found respect after the battle had ended and Athrun had come back as he was. Despite his injuries, which had been worse than her own from the destruction of the Saviour, he had chosen to get into a mobile suit and go out to make a difference. Athrun may say that he's no hero, but his actions in this last battle had shown to Meyrin that he was one, just not the exact kind that others said he was. However, it was as Athrun was trying to get up that Meyrin came out of her own thoughts and went over to stop him. "Athrun, are you okay, should you really be getting up yet," she asked worriedly.

At that point Kira and Lacus entered the infirmary, "That's not the question to ask Athrun, mostly because he will say pretty much every time that he's fine and that he'll manage," Kira spoke up having overheard the question.

Lacus giggled, "Be nice Kira, at least Athrun admits when he's injured to some degree, Tye will suck it up as he puts it and not say a thing to others," she added.

Athrun managed to sit up with the help of Meyrin, "I may not be at my best, but I am good enough to do things Kira," he said. Then he grumbled, "And at least Tye thinks ahead for those he cares about."

Kira smiled, "Yes, Lacus told me about the contents of Tye's message with the Eternal Justice that he took the time to make for you," he returned.

Meyrin felt lost as to what they were talking about, she hadn't heard of anyone by the name of Tye before, so she hadn't any idea who they were referring to. "Um excuse me," Meyrin said drawing attention to herself, "It may not be my business, but who is this Tye you're all talking about?"

"Well Meyrin, Tye is short for Tyler and he is a friend that we share," Athrun replied.

Kira nodded, "One of our best friends between Athrun and I," he added. "He is also the one from the message to Athrun that the Justice had and by the sound of it, you took what he said to heart Athrun."

Athrun gained a soft smile and remembering what Tyler said, "I don't know how he does it, but somehow he has a way of putting things in a form that's hard not to understand. And it isn't a fluke, he does the idea too consistently for that to be the case." He paused recalling the salient points of what Tyler had gotten across. "He says that he doesn't have the same gift that his mother does with speaking, but he can speak from his heart like she can." Athrun laughed, "He apparently has been questioning his position of being the reckless one out of the three of us with what has happened to you and me recently."

Kira nodded sadly, "Yes, I can imagine that he has been wondering about that," he said somberly.

"Wait," Lacus interjected, "What kinds of things are you two referring to exactly? You said that Athrun had gotten hurt, but that was all you really said."

Kira and Athrun looked at Lacus and then at each other, "Um Lacus, what have you been doing since going up to space," asked Athrun.

"Looking through information about what Gilbert Durandal has been doing as well as Logos on the Federation's Information Network. I was trying to figure out what they are up to, then traveling on the Eternal and coming down here, why," replied Lacus curiously.

"Um Lacus, please don't take this the wrong way," Kira said evenly, showing he was nervous about telling Lacus how close he had gotten to being killed for he hadn't said anything major yet. "Didn't you wonder why Tye was bringing a new mobile suit for me to use?"

Lacus nodded slowly, "A little, what does that have to do with anything? I expect that the Freedom will be stored with Morgenroete or Teswa like the Justice is right Kira," she posed.

Kira looked away from Lacus, "Well, not exactly," he started trailing off.

However, Lacus got right up in Kira's face glaring at him sternly, "Kira what is it you have not told me?"

Kira was getting worried about how Lacus would react as she waited for his answer. Athrun was kind of shocked that Kira hadn't said anything to Lacus about the destruction of the Freedom, though it was clearly so she wouldn't worry. "He didn't tell you that he was defeated, and the Freedom was destroyed," posed Athrun.

Lacus's head swung around to stare at Athrun, then she rounded back to Kira glaring at him hard. Kira was rubbing the back of his head, trying not to look at Lacus, "When were you going to mention that Kira, that's a rather notable event to inform me about," she said in a near growl.

Kira chuckled worriedly, "Oh uh, it must have slipped my mind," he got out.

But before he could try to explain himself Lacus grabbed Kira's arm, "Athrun, could you excuse the two of us for a bit." Lacus then focused on Kira, "You and I need to have a talk mister right now, so come along."

Kira's expression fell an amount as he was dragged out of the infirmary by Lacus. Athrun stared for a bit and then shook his head, "It's rare to see them fight, but I'm shocked that Kira didn't tell Lacus about that incident. It was rather stupid for him not to, but it seems his naiveté is not helping him once again."

"Those two seem close, I thought that Miss Clyne was your fiancée," Meyrin remarked awkwardly.

Athrun snorted, "At one time she was, but the engagement was nullified during the latter half of the previous war by the chairman of the Supreme Council at the time. So no, Lacus and I are not engaged nor am I in a relationship with the one Chairman Durandal has working for him as the idol Lacus Clyne. Truthfully, my naïve friend you just saw being dragged out hasn't a clue how lucky a guy he is to have Lacus as a girlfriend for several different reasons, some better left unmentioned" he answered.

Meyrin processed what Athrun said, curious as to what he referred to with 'naïve friend' and 'some better left unmentioned'. But then the fact that she hadn't been aware that the Supreme Council Chairman could cancel an arranged marriage came to the forefront of her mind. But then, hadn't the Chairman back at that time been… "But wouldn't that have been Chairman Zala, your father Athrun," she asked.

Athrun closed his eyes at the memories of learning that Chairman Zala was not his father and frowned. "It may not make sense when I say this, but the man that was Chairman Zala looked like the one I called father, but it wasn't the same person," Athrun admitted.

Meyrin didn't understand, "What does that mean?"

Athrun didn't look at Meyrin, for this subject was not a pleasant one, "The man looked like Patrick Zala, but he was no longer the man that I knew as my father, he had become a complete stranger to me. That is why he became simply Chairman Zala, he holds the name but nothing else," Athrun stated.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, "That guy in the message," Meyrin started, "the things he said… it sounds like he doesn't think highly of Chairman Durandal."

Athrun shook his head, "No, and I can understand and now agree with his view in that. Whatever it is that Gilbert Durandal is working to bring about, it isn't peace as the idea is generally accepted. He's just selling his vision as that to gain support for it and he is very good at making what he does sound like the right thing. Yet he's manipulating people with his words, the attack on Orb is clear proof of that."

"But didn't ZAFT forces say that Djibril was being protected by Orb," Meyrin asked.

"That's a justification and nothing more," Athrun replied. "If Djibril was in Orb, then he was smuggled in for that man is no doubt a war criminal by now according to the Federation. Those that are classified as such are not tolerated nor helped period, they are captured and then tried and sentenced or killed outright. That standing has been made crystal clear already and Durandal knows that, which is why he's done things the way he has. Chairman Durandal is trying to turn people against the Human Federation with this situation further manipulating them."

Meyrin was shocked with what Athrun was saying about Chairman Durandal, but he had been right about being chased at Carpentaria. "Why would any go so far to manipulate others," she questioned.

Athrun shook his head again, "That's what I've not been able to figure out, but whatever his end goal is he needs certain circumstances to happen and the more that support him the easier it will be for him to have what he needs. He requires particular types of people to play roles for him, like a Lacus that can sway the masses, or some that will eliminate those that could stand against him."

Meyrin was going to ask what Athrun meant, but then Lacus and Kira reentered the room, Kira looking a tad more haggard than when he had been dragged out. Athrun smiled a bit, "I take it that you two have come to an agreement?"

"Yes, something like that," Kira replied tiredly.

"Indeed, I now understand better what Tyler was referring to when we saw him last and I'm miffed that Kira didn't tell me earlier. However, I more glad that he is okay for which I will have to thank Cagalli for helping him the next time I see her," Lacus said.

Kira focused on Athrun, "So then," he began, "are you over the low that you have been feeling Athrun?"

Athrun thought for a moment, then nodded, "Pretty much, Tye's message I think helped me start moving forward again. I have decided as he put it 'what kind of future it is I want to see' and can now see what needs to be done to move towards that," Athrun admitted.

"That's good," Kira said. "It seems that when times become somewhat peaceful we tend to take for granted the value of things. Unfortunately, we have to be reminded by the contrast of how valuable some things really are." Athrun knew that Kira was right, the valuable parts of life only seemed to be understood when you learned the bad alternative. "Hey, do you mind if I turn on the TV? Cagalli is going to make a statement as Lord Uzumi has been swamped with work and I think he encouraged her to do so," Kira iterated. Athrun nodded, and Kira went over and turned on the display in the infirmary and when the image came up, there was a journalist saying that Cagalli was about to make a statement.

Cagalli was in her father's office with reporters pointing cameras at her to catch every moment of this statement. Normally Lord Uzumi would do this himself, but he was still handling the efforts to get Orb and its people back on stable ground after ZAFT's attack. Plus, he had encouraged Cagalli to do this saying to speak from her heart for all to hear and help the world see what this conflict was doing. And after mingling with Orb's people, Cagalli had first-hand accounting of what the fighting had done to people that had tugged at her heart.

When those manning the cameras gave her the go ahead, Cagalli took a deep breath and began, "My name is Cagalli Yula Athha, I'm one of the senior representatives on the Orb Union's leading council. Today, I'm using the media of the entire world to both give a message to Chairman Durandal of the PLANT Supreme Council and to help others see the truth of what this war is doing. First, in regard to Chairman Durandal's demands to hand over one Lord Djibril and the subsequential action to invade Orb that followed without further attempts to prevent unneeded bloodshed, I would hope that you have taken the time to consider what has come from your decision."

Cagalli kept going speaking from what was in her heart right now, wanting other people to see what was being done and not what was being portrayed. "Chairman Durandal's recent speech made to the world denouncing the group known as Logos along with evidence that supported his accusations had a varying impact on all human beings. The Chairman called on a campaign to destroy Logos and all its members wherever they are and to put an end to war in this world," stated Cagalli. "I believe these are fine sentiments and I can't deny that I myself found them appealing, for I wish to see a world where war does not rage. Working on the political stage dealing with the chaos that is rampant as well as a private individual who wishes for a good future, I can understand the interest of such views. However, there is much… more…"

The video feed of Cagalli suddenly became fuzzy and the image of Cagalli was replaced with 'Lacus Clyne'. " _My friends, it is I Lacus Clyne,_ " she said.

Athrun was forced to wonder and rack his brain to come up with a reason why Meer would be doing this. A moment later, it dawned on Athrun that Durandal was using her to try and discredit Cagalli and likely try to turn as many as he could against the Federation itself. It angered him to come to the realization, not at Meer for she was being used unknowingly, but at Durandal for him to stoop so low as to use what he ordered against Orb as a further rally cry to his cause and eliminate those that would likely stand against him.

" _There was a fierce battle the other day that took place at Orb. I'm certain that everyone knows about it by this point,_ " Meer continued. " _Why would one of the Federation's member nations who were once on such good friends with the PLANTs decide to shelter this Djibril person within its borders. I'm still unable to understand this,_ " she said frustratedly.

As Meer was speaking, Gilbert Durandal who was at ZAFT's Gibraltar Base awaiting a shuttle to return to the PLANTs was sitting confidently smiling. Everything was falling into its proper place, with Meer discrediting Orb the rest of the world would start doubting the Federation and its standing. After all, one of their own member nations had helped Djibril, a man that was unquestionably evil. There was little to nothing that could ruin this moment of victory in Durandal's mind, short of the real Lacus Clyne somehow interrupting this. The girl had been forced into hiding, so the likelihood that she was somehow in Orb was slim.

" _Why would Orb or any of the Federation's member nations be willing to go to war in order to protect one of humankind's true enemy? This man that is leader of Blue Cosmos and has already killed many and brought destruction upon the world and the colonies, even using nuclear weapons and has children changed against their wills and then thrusted into combat. Because Orb protected this man, he escaped forces that were pursuing him, and he could bring havoc again now,_ " Meer reasoned.

Lacus was not happy at watching Orb being blamed, but also used to turn hatred on the Federation as a whole by Durandal. The whole series of events that had befallen Orb was being used to handle the Federation that could stand against Durandal with whatever he was doing, and it frustrated her. She turned to Kira, "I've heard more than enough Kira, these lies will not be allowed to stand as truth," Lacus said flatly. Kira nodded and the two headed for the Archangel's hanger to go help Cagalli.

" _This world, our world is filled with all sorts of temptations, but there is no crime in wanting things to be better nor in wishing for more than you had before,_ " Meer stated as Athrun watched the broadcast. " _However, Logos is different than that and it should not be allowed to exist, there is not and should not be a place for such evil in this world of ours._ "

The Burst Freedom launched from the Archangel and headed over to Orb's Cabinet building However, it was as the two entered the building intending on aiding Cagalli that something completely unexpected occurred. Meer was still going on in her speech, " _What we're attempting to do is-_ " But the transmission once again cut out for a moment and when it came back, no longer was it of the place where Lacus Clyne was but of a different office. All viewing the transmission quickly focused at the two individuals now shown on the broadcast. One was a woman which most had seen before, Ellen Blass the Republic's Prime minister. The other was a man that was about as well-known as Minister Blass was even if he hadn't been seen for years.

Gilbert Durandal gazed in sheer shock and anger at the display he had been viewing the broadcast, for on it was one of the few that could ruin a great deal of the work that was helping lay the foundation for the Destiny Plan, Siegel Clyne himself. The true Lacus Clyne appearing had been in Durandal's mind the worst-case scenario, and that had been he had thought to be close to impossible with the preparation that had been made. But, this development could be worse than such a case and not only that, the man was obviously in the Republic, making efforts at discrediting the Federation potentially harder.

" _My fellow human beings, people of the world and the colonies do not let yourself be swayed by mere words so easily without asking for the whole story,_ " Siegel opened. Cagalli, Kira and especially Lacus stared like most dumbfounded at the display where Siegel Clyne now was. Siegel had been in hiding for close to two years for him to come out into the open was something else and he no doubt had his reasons. And it wasn't opportunity that was lacking for Siegel, he could have come onto the world stage anytime he had wanted, but he had clearly waited until now.

" _The world of today can appear as a chaotic mess, most if not all of people regardless of nationality, type or age have seen signs of such. The world and colonies around us have been made out to be in an ongoing war of good versus evil, but I tell you it is not as portrayed._ " Siegel paused, " _Why believe one like myself many might ask when I've been off the center stage of this current conflict? Consider how powerful words are, also knowing that lies can sound as plausible as truth does, if not more pleasing to the ear. Nevertheless, the truest measure of an individual is their intentions and ideals, which might not be in the words said, but the actions done and where those lead._ "

Those viewing the broadcast were in as a trance as Siegel kept going, " _I am aware that right now there is a young woman out there that has taken on the name of Lacus Clyne._ " Durandal ordered the broadcast that Meer was doing to be cutoff for it was now more detrimental to continue. Once Meer disappeared, Durandal fumed as he watched Siegel Clyne. " _However, that young woman is not known to me nor is she my youngest daughter even if she looks and sounds like her. I would not doubt that she can be a woman of conviction and I can respect those that are so. Nonetheless, at this time both of my daughters are fighting in their own ways to protect the innocent and bring peace, just as I do now, speaking out and not staying silent when recent events are twisted into lies to make good hardworking people appear to be siding with those they would not!_ "

Meer sunk to the floor unable to think of what to do as Siegel continued, but Athrun's final words to her were coming back to her mind. ' _The Chairman only wants those who will play the roles that he has for them.'_ Meer shook her head, trying to get the memory to go away, but it simply kept going, ' _He wants a Lacus that he can control and manipulate and that's you_ '. It couldn't be true what Athrun said… could it? ' _Trust me Meer when I say that Durandal when you finish what he has in mind, you will have no use to him and he will then have you disappear like he wants to do to me now._ '

" _The attack on the Orb Union is an event said by Gilbert Durandal to be for the purpose of capturing the individual Lord Djibril, the current leader of Blue Cosmos and a member of the business platform Logos. The operation was for the effort to eliminate Logos who are the cause of the ongoing war, so then why has the fighting and what comes with it gotten worse? Where it is true that Djibril was in Orb for a short period, he was not welcomed nor brought there by the leaders of the nation. The man was smuggled in by a few that thought themselves above all others and laws, making their own decisions without thinking through their actions fully. Nonetheless, when one claiming to represent Orb's government made a foolish statement, ZAFT forces began an assault and refused to listen to Orb's representatives, nor minimize the bloodshed,_ " Siegel iterated.

Ellen took a step forward, " _Added to that, especially directed towards Gilbert Durandal for you to conclude that Lord Djibril would be welcomed in any of the Federation's member nations, points more to you justifying your campaign to rid the world of those that you alone deem as dangerous. Djibril has been classified as a war criminal after the attacks on the Euros Coalition that he promoted and instigated. Such individuals are not welcomed anywhere within Human Federation territory and would and will be tried for their crimes should they be found. Any claim to the contrary of these long-standing policies are lies to twist events to show what they want to be seen rather than the truth,_ " she stated.

Siegel took over after Ellen said her piece, " _The attack on Orb is now being used much like the tragedy that befell those in the Euros Coalition to advance the goals of others. And the campaign that was started against Logos that was supposed to bring an end to this war and encourage peace, has done only the opposite. The current conflict is no closer to an end, the two sides that have formed continue to refuse to see or accept one another and bystanders are caught up and hurt by the fighting._ "

Djibril who had reached the Daedalus Base on the dark side of the moon was trying to decide whether to lose his cool or applaud the man taking Durandal down a peg or two. He didn't like the man Siegel Clyne, he was a Coordinator and an influential pacifist and history proven that those were not helpful for making progress forward in ways that Djibril had in mind. But right now, any who took Gilbert Durandal's ego and 'more righteous than thou' attitude down a notch was amusing and kind of nice to him. It wasn't nice to learn that he Djibril was classified as a war criminal by the Federation for that had issues that were nigh impossible to get waved off. Others before Djibril had proven that the Federation hunted those they classified as war criminals and haven't let one go thus far.

" _How many more lives must be taken before it is enough for this war,_ " Siegel posed. " _How many more loved ones have to be stolen from those that care about them before this is ended? How much more must families grieve for the members that are killed in this conflict? How much longer will we humans allow humankind's true enemies have their way with us?_ " Durandal was appreciating the subject matter that Siegel Clyne was covering less and less the longer he spoke. " _Peace is not an impossible dream as some scream it is. However, humankind's enemy uses the desires for justice and twist that into vengeance and revenge to tempt any to join their side and cause. Do not give into either, justice isn't vengeance nor revenge and the line between them is often blurred. Vengeance brings nothing but more loss, pain and regret, it doesn't bring back anyone or anything. Revenge is worse for it is akin to a slow yet lethal poison or venom, the most lethal and vicious ever known to the human race. Neither lead to the path of peace or change as others claim they will, they only spiral into destruction. Peace comes through understanding, and that comes from looking not at the differences, but at what commonalities we share. The differences are what make individuals, they need not divide us, there is far more that is the same between us all than different. If you need proof, then take a look at your neighbor or friend and list what you have in common and you will be amazed._ "

 **-Line Break-**

What was left of the ZAFT forces had crawled back to Carpentaria after the battle against Orb. The mood among the ZAFT forces was somber as the objective they had been set with had not been achieved, nor had Orb been overcome to prevent them to shelter others like Djibril. Then had come the broadcast from Orb and that had shaken things up for everyone.

" _My name is Cagalli Yula Athha, I'm one of the senior representatives on the Orb Union's leading council. Today, I'm using the media of the entire world to both give a message to Chairman Durandal of the PLANT Supreme Council and to help others see the truth of what this war is doing. First, in regard to Chairman Durandal's demands to hand over one Lord Djibril and the subsequential action to invade Orb that followed without further attempts to prevent unneeded bloodshed, I would hope that you have taken the time to consider what has come from your decision._ "

It was unusual for the princess of Orb to speak for the Orb Union rather than its chief representative Uzumi Nara Athha. And yet, the young woman had clearly been affected by what had happened to her nation as her tone had changed greatly. " _Chairman Durandal's recent speech made to the world denouncing the group known as Logos along with evidence that supported his accusations had a varying impact on all human beings. The Chairman called on a campaign to destroy Logos and all its members wherever they are and to put an end to war in this world. I believe these are fine sentiments and I can't deny that I myself found them appealing, for I wish to see a world where war does not rage. Working on the political stage dealing with the chaos that is rampant as well as a private individual who wishes for a good future, I can understand the interest of such views. However, there is much… more…_ "

The video feed of the princess suddenly became fuzzy and the image was replaced with 'Lacus Clyne'. " _My friends, it is I Lacus Clyne,_ " she said. So many were left to try and figure out what was going on for the broadcast from Orb to be interrupted by an idol. " _There was a fierce battle the other day that took place at Orb. I'm certain that everyone knows about it by this point,_ " Meer continued. " _Why would one of the Federation's member nations who were once on such good friends with the PLANTs decide to shelter this Djibril person within its borders. I'm still unable to understand this,_ " she said frustratedly.

What Lacus Clyne was saying made some sense, but there still were holes as she had jumped from Orb being at fault for sheltering Djibril, to the Federation sheltering Djibril and those like him. Whether truthful or not Lacus Clyne was not clearing things up, more muddying up the waters. " _Why would Orb or any of the Federation's member nations be willing to go to war in order to protect one of humankind's true enemy? This man that is leader of Blue Cosmos and has already killed many and brought destruction upon the world and the colonies, even using nuclear weapons and has children changed against their wills and then thrusted into combat. Because Orb protected this man, he escaped forces that were pursuing him, and he could bring havoc again now,_ " Lacus reasoned. " _This world, our world is filled with all sorts of temptations, but there is no crime in wanting things to be better nor in wishing for more than you had before,_ " Meer stated as Athrun watched the broadcast. " _However, Logos is different than that and it should not be allowed to exist, there is not and should not be a place for such evil in this world of ours._ "

Talia was starting to just wish that someone would get to the point being made instead of drawing things out. She wasn't the only one that was starting to have thoughts like her as the broadcast. Lacus was still going on in her speech, " _What we're attempting to do is-_ " but the transmission once again cut out for a moment.

When it came back, no longer was the image of the place where Lacus Clyne was but of a different office. All viewing the transmission quickly focused at the two individuals now shown on the broadcast. One was a woman which most had seen before, Ellen Blass the Republic's Prime minister. The other was a man that was just as well-known as Minister Blass was even if he hadn't been seen for years. " _My fellow human beings, people of the world and the colonies do not let yourself be swayed by mere words so easily without asking for the whole story,_ " Siegel opened.

The former Supreme Council Chairman Siegel Clyne had disappeared close to two years ago after the Treaty of Junius Seven had been signed. Many within the PLANTs had wanted Siegel Clyne to be the Chairman of the Council again, but he had declined. He had vanished quickly and without seemingly a trace. There had been searches made to find Mr. Clyne, but none had been successful. The name Clyne still carried influence and weight around the PLANTs, which was likely one of the reasons that Lacus Clyne was able to influence the people.

" _The world of today can appear as a chaotic mess, most if not all of people regardless of nationality, type or age have seen signs of such. The world and colonies around us have been made out to be in an ongoing war of good versus evil, but I tell you it is not as portrayed._ " Siegel paused, " _Why believe one like myself many might ask when I've been off the center stage of this current conflict? Consider how powerful words are, also knowing that lies can sound as plausible as truth does, if not more pleasing to the ear. Nevertheless, the truest measure of an individual is their intentions and ideals, which might not be in the words said, but the actions done and where those lead._ "

Those viewing the broadcast were in as a trance as Siegel kept going, " _I am aware that right now there is a young woman out there that has taken on the name of Lacus Clyne. However, that young woman is not known to me nor is she my youngest daughter even if she looks and sounds like her. I would no doubt that she can be a woman of conviction and I can respect those that are so. Nonetheless, at this time both of my daughters are fighting in their own ways to protect the innocent and bring peace, just as I do now, speaking out and not staying silent when recent events are twisted into lies to make good hardworking people appear to be siding with those they would not!_ "

Hearing Siegel Clyne himself state that the idol Lacus Clyne that had been siding with Chairman Durandal was not his daughter sent ripples through those that listened. If the 'idol Lacus Clyne' wasn't who she said she was, then what else was being lied about? " _The attack on the Orb Union is an event said by Gilbert Durandal to be for the purpose of capturing the individual Lord Djibril, the current leader of Blue Cosmos and a member of the business platform Logos. The operation was for the effort to eliminate Logos who are the cause of the ongoing war, so then why has the fighting and what comes with it gotten worse? Where it is true that Djibril was in Orb for a short period, he was not welcomed nor brought there by the leaders of the nation. The man was smuggled in by a few that thought themselves above all others and laws, making their own decisions without thinking through their actions fully. Nonetheless, when one claiming to represent Orb's government made a foolish statement, ZAFT forces began an assault and refused to listen to Orb's representatives, nor minimize the bloodshed,_ " Siegel iterated.

Ellen took a step forward, " _Added to that, especially directed towards Gilbert Durandal for you to conclude that Lord Djibril would be welcomed in any of the Federation's member nations, points more to you justifying your campaign to rid the world of those that you alone deem as dangerous. Djibril has been classified as a war criminal after the attacks on the Euros Coalition that he promoted and instigated. Such individuals are not welcomed anywhere within Human Federation territory and would and will be tried for their crimes should they be found. Any claim to the contrary of these long-standing policies are lies to twist events to show what they want to be seen rather than the truth,_ " she stated.

Siegel took over after Ellen said her piece, " _The attack on Orb is now being used much like the tragedy that befell those in the Euros Coalition to advance the goals of others. And the campaign that was started against Logos that was supposed to bring an end to this war and encourage peace, has done only the opposite. The current conflict is no closer to an end, the two sides that have formed continue to refuse to see or accept one another and bystanders are caught up and hurt by the fighting._ "

" _How many more lives must be taken before it is enough for this war,_ " Siegel posed. " _How many more loved ones have to be stolen from those that care about them before this is ended? How much more must families grieve for the members that are killed in this conflict? How much longer will we humans allow humankind's true enemies have their way with us?_ "

Siegel paused and gazed at the camera, but it felt like he was gazing at those viewing the broadcast. " _Peace is not an impossible dream as some scream it is. However, humankind's enemy uses the desires for justice and twist that into vengeance and revenge to tempt any to join their side and cause. Do not give into either, justice isn't vengeance nor revenge and the line between them is often blurred. Vengeance brings nothing but more loss, pain and regret, it doesn't bring back anyone or anything. Revenge is worse for it is akin to a slow yet lethal poison or venom, the most lethal and vicious ever known to the human race. Neither lead to the path of peace or change as others claim they will, they only spiral into destruction. Peace comes through understanding, and that comes from looking not at the differences, but at what commonalities we share. The differences are what make individuals, they need not divide us, there is far more that is the same between us all than different. If you need proof, then take a look at your neighbor or friend and list what you have in common and you will be amazed._ "

The broadcast came to an end leaving people to think and ask questions about if the world was as it appeared or whether it was as another portrayed. Members of all factions were questioning the validity of what Gilbert Durandal said versus what others did. After all, if he was using a girl that was a fake and imposter to influence people, then he was either lying or not saying other facts. The argument of who should be believed had been ignited and quickly grew into debates of what facts were true and which were not.

In Gibraltar, Durandal had gathered himself together after watching the broadcast which was supposed to be a victory for him and the Destiny Plan. Yet, thanks to the interference of Siegel Clyne, this was more a setback and would take an amount of work to fix. A shuttle was now ready to take Durandal back into space which would be the best place for him to get things done right now.

Meer entered Chairman Durandal's office and approached him, Athrun's words still whispering themselves over and over. "I'm sorry sir, I," Meer started, "I did my best."

Durandal turned to face Meer and smiled softly, "Yes, I know you did, and I'm grateful for all the efforts you have been giving. Who could have predicted that Siegel Clyne would appear at this time when he's been missing since after the signing of the Treaty of Junius Seven. Truly an unexpected turn of events, it must have been a great shock to you as it was to me. How could such have happened at an unstable time like this? But now that things have come to what they have, there will need to be an adjustment to plans," Durandal stated.

Meer's attendant Sarah came up behind her as Gilbert continued, "There is nothing to worry about, things will work out. In the meantime however, as you have been working so hard lately I believe some time off is in order for you. As I said, I appreciate your efforts greatly and have saved the world from worse straits and I'll never forget that. So I'll make sure you're taken care of while you have a break for a short while, that's all. We wouldn't want you to become overly stressed, so some time out of the spotlight to relax and recuperate would be good for you."

Sarah guided Meer to another shuttle that was prepared to take Meer up into space and to the Moon, specifically Serenity City to vanish for a little while. Meanwhile, Durandal planned to head into space and changed his destination from the PLANTs to the mobile space fortress Messiah which had been built since the last war. Messiah had started out as a mining asteroid, which after having been stripped of all valuable resources, had been hollowed out and turned into a fortress. Thanks to having large engines installed, the fortress was capable of independent movement, and neither faction appeared to be aware of the fortress yet.

There was no movement at or from Arzachel thus far from what information had been acquired by ZAFT intelligence. Nor had there been any activity out of the ordinary from the Federation's Luna Base, it made Durandal curious if something was going on behind the scenes. Then there still hadn't been a response from the Federation's military yet for the attack on Orb, and there would be a response soon. Durandal believed that the response whatever the form would be, would target a ZAFT base, he just couldn't decide which base was the most likely. So, he had told the National Defense Committee to have all forces around Earth-based bases to be on high alert for anything suspicious.

 **-Line Break-**

The Minerva

The Minerva was still docked at Carpentaria waiting for orders to be given to them. However, while in dock the crew gossiped about the broadcast both with other members of the crew and those around Carpentaria. Some of the things that Talia heard being said were ridiculous while others were seriously lacking in proof and common logical sense. Even Arthur showed effects from the broadcast, "Uh Captain," Arthur started.

Talia sighed, "Don't bother asking me what that broadcast was about, I haven't the faintest idea what the story is about any of it. However, one thing that is to be made clear, headquarters nor we are at the command of Lacus Clyne. We do not act according to her orders, is that understood," she posed.

Before Arthur could reply, Abbey Windsor who had replaced Meyrin at the communication and mobile suit operator station turned in her seat. "Captain, we've received orders from Fleet Command to participate in the active patrols going on right now for the next twelve hours periods with sixteen-hour break periods for the next few days, that is all," she iterated.

"Reply that we acknowledge the orders received and that we'll head out within the next hour," Talia ordered.

"Patrol," questioned Arthur incredulously.

Talia glanced at Arthur, "I would bet that headquarters is on edge right now trying to guess where the response from the Federation's military will come and in what form it will be," she replied.

"Response? But we were trying to capture Djibril around Orb, all pilots were told to do their best to avoid harming the citizens of Orb. Surely they can understand that," Arthur reasoned.

Talia shook her head, "We see it that way, to the Federation we were attacking one of their member nations like the Earth Forces did in the previous war and they don't stay silent about such things. The response the Alliance got after doing that was their orbital fleets were being eliminated and the Federation fortified their borders. I would be shocked if they do nothing for the attack on Orb, regardless of what we say is the reason was."

At the same time, Rey, Shinn and Lunamaria were walking towards their quarters discussing the broadcast. "I mean, who would of thought that former Chairman Clyne would appear now and say what he did," Luna said.

Shinn was silent, his thoughts going between the subject of the broadcast and what had happened during the battle at Orb. "You too Lunamaria? Honestly, the whole thing is just a ploy by the enemy to confuse and distract us, it should be obvious," Rey replied tiredly. "Everyone will start question who is right and who is wrong, what is true and what are lies, just like you're doing right now." Luna couldn't think of an answer to that, "It's quite an example of psychological warfare, that has to be said for them," Rey said.

Rey kept walking as he continued, "Why does it matter? Why do people think it's important to identify who is right? Everyone seems to be so concerned about the question of truth. But why? Why are people always concerned with it? Is the truth always right and the false always wrong? Such details don't really matter to me," Rey stated

"But Rey," Shinn uttered.

"The Chairman is right and that's good enough for me," Rey said firmly, entering the quarters that he and Shinn shared. Luna and Shinn followed Rey both curious as to what he meant about truth for it had sounded odd in a way that was eerie. "What we should be focusing on is what we can learn and take away from the battle at Orb, because a loss like that cannot be repeated," Rey reasoned, grabbing a portable terminal.

"What are you talking about Rey," asked Luna. "I mean yes, we didn't apprehend Djibril and it really sucks that we didn't. But, the Federation's military has always been stronger and more efficient fighters than the Earth Forces, that's fact."

Rey hummed, "While the fact of the Federation's military strength might be true Lunamaria, there was more to why we were forced back than that. There were a couple of factors that helped such along which can be pointed out. Particularly the appearance of a few mobile suits and us not being able to work in such a way to capture Djibril before Federation reinforcement managed to push our allied and us back," he iterated.

Shinn kept silent, his mind going over the parts of the battle trying to logical lay out what had happened and figure out why. Things had started just fine, Orb's defenders had been having trouble halting the advance of ZAFT and its allies. There had been some watching out for any craft that would attempt to make a break for space, if Djibril tried to escape. The setup had been solid and appeared to be built for a successful operation, more so than the assault against Heaven's Base. Shinn himself had gone out with Aila to the field and had been contributing to the efforts, even if he still had his doubts about Orb helping Djibril.

The first two waves of reinforcements for the Federation did add difficulty to the operation. Part of them had clearly been skilled pilots and scattered ZAFT forces for a time as they were pushed onto the defensive. The other group had the golden Gundam-type at their head and Shinn had gone for that machine. His opponent had been better than average with fighting, but piloting a mobile suit was definitely not their main skill set. Shinn had disarmed them and had used the Destiny's beam boomerangs aiming for the backpack to disable them. It was at that point of time things took a turn from the ZAFT operation gaining steady progress, to everything seeming to be going wrong. The first change had been the appearance of the 'new Freedom' mobile suit. The original Freedom had been a force to be reckoned with, but the new version of it took the idea to an entirely new level! Then there had been Athrun and the mobile suit he was in that had showed up further complicating things.

Rey opened the terminal and was typing away when the door to the room slide open and Aila stepped in. "I had a hunch that you three would be in either these quarters or Luna's," she said.

"Were you looking for us Aila," asked Luna.

Aila nodded, "Yes, the Minerva has received orders to patrol for the next twelve hours around Carpentaria," she said.

Shinn and Luna gestured that they understood, but then Aila looked at Rey, "Rey, did you hear what I said? If you did, then do acknowledge," she stated.

Rey kept his attention on the terminal, "I heard you ma'am, the Minerva will be patrolling around Carpentaria for the next twelve hours," he replied.

Aila exhaled, somewhat frustrated that Rey had become this rude when he used to be the best mannered of the Minerva's pilots. Yet, not too long after he had been made a member of FAITH, Rey had morphed into how he was now. "Rey, being a part of FAITH does not require you to forgo manners. If anything, then you're expected to hold yourself to a higher standing." Aila folded her arms, "Not making eye contact when someone else is talking to you is still considered rude."

Rey stopped typing and looked at Aila, "I am sorry ma'am, I was just reviewing things to prevent what happened at Orb from occurring again," he answered.

"What do you mean Rey," asked Luna.

"I'm talking about the appearance of the Freedom and Athrun during the operation against Orb," Rey replied.

Luna was shocked to hear that, "Wait, how could Athrun have been there, the Saviour was destroyed, wasn't it?"

Rey shook his head, "Athrun survived and is alive," he stated, turning the terminal for the other three to see. "He was piloting this machine, which bears similarities to the X09A Justice, but is clearly stronger than the original Justice."

Luna's thoughts were racing at understanding that Athrun was alive, for it also implied another fact was possible. "Then, does that mean that Meyrin could also be alive," Luna asked.

"It is possible I supposed, even likely," Aila admitted. "However, there is not enough to say for certain right now Luna."

"Indeed, though if she is alive Lunamaria, then she is likely on the Archangel, so there is nothing we can do about that," Rey added.

Aila focused back on Rey, "Upon the subject of things to do Rey, correct me if I'm wrong, but you've been rather busy either piloting or studying when you aren't piloting or sleeping," she posed.

"That sounds about right," Rey replied, returning his attention to the terminal, "is there something wrong with my dedication ma'am?"

"That depends Rey, before the operation against Orb I would have agreed that such dedication is fine," Alia stated. "Yet, your insistence upon this and your recent stepping over and on others makes me more see what you are doing as an obsession. Dedication is all well and good, but an obsession is not and the line that differentiate the two is a fine one Rey. Obsessions tend to blind those they have hold over and so the individual doesn't notice the people they're getting killed around them." Aila paused, "Do make sure you take the time to do other things Rey, sleep included."

 **-Line Break-**

Upper Orbit

The planned operation that was to be the response to ZAFT's assault on Orb was set to begin shortly. The group of Federation vessels were in a mid-ranged orbit with the southern western hemisphere spanning below. The operation about to take place had the objective to disable ZAFT's Carpentaria base. The logic of the idea was that if Carpentaria was unable to deploy forces effectively then attacks against member nations would be much less likely to occur. However, the difficulty as well as an important point was the insistence of minimizing casualties, preferably none if possible.

For that the operation was different in a couple of ways, first the planning and tactics was done by Admiral Treize who had intimate knowledge of the base. The other major change was the machines that would be used for they were all next generation mobile suits which would have advantages over previous mobile suit models. All but two were new mass production models called the GTD-125A Brave. It was of the first series of Federation mobile suits that worked with the recently invented GN Tau drive. Also, the operation would take place during the latter half of the night hours for the base. The Tau drive was seen as a particle power system similar to the solar reactor but unlike reactor, the Tau drive could be mass produced and a steadier rate. Yet, the amount of GN particles emitted from the Tau Drive was slightly less than the solar reactor and was not semi-perpetual.

The framework from the Brave model was based to an extent on the ZEL defender suits though its mode transformation came from data on GSR-003 Kyrios. Like the Gundam-types with solar reactors, the Brave would have superior mobility over other mobile suit models. Its standard equipment was made up of two side binders, an energy cable to provide a high particle feed into the weapons, and for certain situations a particle condenser. And in this operation each Brave suit was being equipped with a condenser to extend the particle supply so that the pilots wouldn't have to worry as much about them as much.

As for the Brave model's arsenal, there was an assortment of beam weapons, beam sabers, rapid-fire guns, missile and grenades. In the close-range combat area, a pair of beam sabers that were stored in the side binders that could be drawn. The Chakram Grenades the suit had were stored in the legs, meant to be effective at electronic warfare rather than direct damage. Also in the legs specifically around the knee area, there were micro missiles two per leg and they packed a punch to non-phase shift armored foes. The rapid-fire weapons were more for interception but included GN beam machine guns mounted in each wrist like the GSR-001 Exia, and 30mm gatling guns mounted in the chest loaded with armor piercing rounds.

The beam weapons were a combination of a beam rifle and two particle cannons, which can be use both separately and together as one. The beam rifle functions as a normal beam rifle when the Brave is in its mobile suit mode but also is the Brave's nose section in its flight mode. The particle cannons are mounted in either side binder and with the binders' range of motions can fire more than just ahead of the machine. The combination of the beam rifle and cannons comes when the front section of the beam rifle splits in order to fire a powerful GN particle beam. Its alternative name of the "Tri-Punisher" attacks by combining the beam outputs of the rifle and cannons.

The other two mobile suits that would be involved in the operation against ZAFT's Carpentaria, was a custom version of the Brave model suit and one of the prototype solar reactor carrying Gundam-type machine. The custom Brave was meant for an ace pilot and the major difference other than control tuning was there were waist binders instead of shoulder binders and the suit had two Tau drives instead of one like the other Braves had.

The Gundam-type that was involved was called the GSR-002 Dynames Gundam and was a part of the series that the Exia, the Kyrios, the Virtue and the Rapture were. The difference between the Dynames and what set it apart was the long-range attack abilities it had. The mobile suit is white overall with green covers over the knees and upper legs, around the shoulders and armor at the chest and over the back. There were also a set of two armor plate shields attached to each should that could shift to cover the front of the machine made from E-Carbon.

Dynames's main offensive option is the particle sniper-style rifle that was specially built which utilizes compressed particles to be able to fire precisely and not lose too much power over range. The rifle itself has a low rate of fire, it makes up with its capability to shoot at long-range and not lose shot strength. Combining that with its Sniper mode employing a extended-range targeting optic sensor has better firing range than any other mobile suit model currently produced. Due to the range the rifle gives the Dynames, its opponents have difficulty finding the mobile suit as it can be out of their search range. The rifle was stored on the right rotatable shoulder dock when it is not being used.

However, for times that long-range wasn't an option the Dynames possessed two beam pistols stored in holsters attached to the outsides of the legs. The two pistols lacked the longer range and high firing power the rifle had, but instead had a higher firing rate. The pistols can be used in sync with the armor shields by the lower shield swinging outward. Along with the pistols, there is a pair of beam sabers on the rear waist armor that were also the Dynames's thrusters. The other weapons that the Dynames had was a collection of micro missiles, sixteen of them in launchers in the front skirts and four in each knee plate.

As the pilots chosen for using the Braves were making their final preparations, the one that had been selected to pilot the Dynames was looking over the Gundam suit. His name was Lyle Swift and his height was around average with shoulder length brown hair, which was a tad unkempt and messy. His eyes were blue and had facial features that were fairly common with those from the Euros Coalition specifically the northwestern part. He looked to be in his late twenties to early thirties. However, what stuck out the most was the air about him as it was serious but had an amount of go-lucky and easy going feel to him.

"You must be the one that was selected to pilot the Gundam-type then," posed a male voice from behind Lyle.

Lyle turned around and found a blonde man coming up to him, "Aye, me name is Lyle Swift, though I have the nickname of Lockon Stratos from teammates and former commanding officers because of my skills. Can't say that I've the pleasure of knowing who you are though," Lyle greeted in his Irish accent.

"The name is Graham Aker," the blonde man said extending his hand out.

Lyle grasped the hand extended, wondering if this man was really who he said he was, for that would make him arguably the best mobile suit pilot currently. "Then you're the one others call the Comet," Lyle questioned.

Graham smiled and laughed, "That's what some call me. By the way, you know someone by the name of Cormag Swift, the Silver Eagle?"

To understand that the guy in front of him was the former ZAFT Champion the Comet was the same man he was seeing was something. Although, to be asked if he knew Cormag was a tad irritating, but it had always been for Lyle. Cormag had always been the better to everyone else, leaving Lyle to pretty much be in the shadow of his older brother. Lyle didn't deny that Cormag was skilled as a pilot and won't hold that over Lyle himself. However, it had grown tiresome to be compared or related to his brother Cormag. "Yeah I know him, Cormag is me brother but I no ace pilot like him," Lyle said.

Graham didn't react the way Lyle expected or like any that had asked if he was related to Cormag, "Why would anyone expect you to be the same, I was merely curious if you were related, that's all," he replied.

The conversation might have gone on, yet the orders to ready for launch came and Graham gave his farewell before he went off to his suit. Lyle shook his head and focused on the operation ahead as he entered the Dynames's cockpit. This mobile suit fit Lyle's style on the battlefield better than many did, mostly since it specialized in long-range. When it came to sniping skill, Lyle could actually outdo Cormag in accuracy and consistency.

The full squadron of Brave models and the Dynames left the ships they were on and began the descent downwards aiming for just south of the Carpentaria Base. Particle fields were used to shield the machines through reentry and to avoid sensor detection. The Federation squadron finished atmospheric reentry to end out just south of the Carpentaria Base in an unofficial blind spot. According to those that knew the base the network of sensors in the southern area could and normally spotty on a regular basis and there was something about the land that made sensors not as effective. The fact was kept a secret from the Earth Forces to prevent an attempted surprise attack.

The other point which was a factor of using the next generation Brave suits, the particles from them caused faulty readings that didn't look that out of place. So, the sensory network that ZAFT had in place detected nothing and no triggers were set off as the Federation mobile suits drew closer to the base. The first set of targets that this force had was the communication equipment followed by the sensory network. Graham flew his Commander-type Brave with a few others down a canyon to come out at a plateau wall where the southern sensor network converged. The hub was taken out so that the southern set of sensors wouldn't send in data, which would be seen as them being spotty.

Attacks from the south were so unlike to ZAFT, that there were no alarms for any part of the southern sensor network. Graham and those with him joined back up with the others that had descended and moved forward. There were very few lights from any structure within the base's territory, most of which were in areas that were being avoided. The reason that was the case, the objective of the operation was to truthfully to strike the equipment then the mobile suit hangers along with ships disabling or destroying them all. Doing so, would hopeful not take lives needlessly and get the message across that simply attacking without solid evidence and reason would not be tolerated.

As Carpentaria was laid out, there were two antennas for long-range communications without which ZAFT forces wouldn't be able to call for help less than a few kilometers away. The hub that controlled the main sensor network for Carpentaria was next to one of the communication antennas so could be disabled around the same time. And once communication and sensors were down, all that would be left to do would be strike the mobile suit hangers and the docks. Intelligence had already confirmed that most ZAFT submarines and other ships were out patrolling the waters of the southern Indian Ocean, meaning there wasn't much of ZAFT's forces guarding the base directly.

The first antenna was taken down without notice or alarms going off immediately before the strike force moved forward. The Dynames took to the highest point that could be found and Lyle activated the extended range targeting optic. With the beam rifle, he kept a close eye on the surrounding area for activity as he shot at more remote equipment hangers. In fact, the operation was running smoothly up to a point, which both antennas were disabled and the sensor network was effectively taken out of commission. The Braves broke off into smaller groups and headed off into areas that were populated by hangers and other structures that held equipment. However, it was as the attacks on the mobile suit hangers began that ZAFT personnel at the base noticed that something was going on.

The ZAFT personnel that were on duty for the night hours had been having a quiet night like was normal, but that changed. The first explosions snapped those on duty to alertness, more so when they realized that the blasts were from mobile suit hangers being destroyed. Alarms were triggered, but all that was really being done was watching helplessly as equipment was either disabled or destroyed. ZAFT personnel tried to scramble and counter those attacking them in any way, but they were stopped each attempt as equipment was destroyed before they could get to any. Panic quickly took hold of the people on the base for an attack like this one had never happened before now.

For those in the control center of Carpentaria, the news kept getting worse by the minute and every new piece of information. Being attack like this was out of the blue and so little preparation had been made, since most defenses were geared towards keeping assaulting forces out or approaching from the north. Currently, those assaulting Carpentaria were seemingly avoiding areas where there were habitation structures, instead going for the mobile suit hangers and other deployable equipment. Then, any attempt to call for help failed as long-range communication wasn't working at all for reasons still to be determined.

Then, if this was the Federation's military doing this, they were using completely new model machines that had never been seen before now. The new mobile suits were all putting off a strange light from multiple places which such a phenomenon had only recently been glimpsed around Orb. That light appeared to give the machines the ability to float rather than hover along with incredible mobility. The weapons being used were beams but they were clearly different than what was conventionally beam weaponry that was standard now. Said weapons looked to be more effective than other weapons as the speed and efficiency of the hangers being struck and wrecked were proving.

The hangers and equipment around them weren't the only targets being hit for very long, the docks and the few submarines there soon came under attack as well. Smoke billowed from the destroyed structures and built quickly above the base. Yet, thus far there had been no casualties with this attack, but that was mostly due to the fact that those assaulting were not going around the living areas. But that was little consolation with this attack as no counter-offensive was effectively being mounted.

Meanwhile, the Minerva was heading back towards Carpentaria having finished its assigned patrol. The assignment had been quiet though the tension had been rising with the feeling of pending events coming on. However, when the call of smoke coming up from Carpentaria came, the quiet time came to its end. Talia declared condition red as the Minerva picked up speed as it sailed towards Carpentaria. She knew it was possible that the Federation might choose to strike Carpentaria, but in all honesty, she and most others expected the base at Gibraltar to be the likely target. The other fact that was clear was that those attacking Carpentaria didn't approach from north of the base, but from a different direction and didn't trip sensors or alarms.

The Minerva's pilots headed down to the hanger when condition red was called, only being told that there was smoke coming up from Carpentaria from a suspected attack. Aila, Shinn and Rey boarded their respective machines while Luna headed for the Core Splendor. Luna chose to go with the blast silhouette which was loaded, and she was sent to the catapult. Once the four mobile suits the Minerva were off the ship, the sight of what was visible from Carpentaria ablaze stood out from the night sky.

Two subs shortly surfaced close by the Minerva and launched their own mobile suits which joined the Osiris, the Legend, the Destiny and the Impulse. As they came closer, unknown mobile suits were spotted shooting the mobile suit hangers and other equipment. The enemy suits were of an unknown model from any seen or recorded previously. Aila however, instantly noticed that each and every attacking machine had the same kind of odd light that some suit in the battle against Orb had. The only real difference that she could see was the coloration of the light coming from the units. the Freedom and the other mobile suits around Orb had a greenish light while the ones ahead of them were putting off an orangish light. Yet, the 'light' or whatever it was still gave the machines unreal mobility that had them floating in the air.

Nonetheless, as ZAFT forces approached, some of them started to be shot down, but there were no immediate signs of the attacker responsible. It was Lunamaria that trained her eyes on the one shooting down her allies. The mobile suit was a Gundam-type machine and was white overall with green covers over the knees and upper legs, around the shoulders and armor at the chest and over the back. There were also a set of two armor plate shields attached to each shoulder from what she could see. The unit was using a long sniper-style rifle to shoot the ZAFT mobile suits though appeared to be utilizing some sort of targeting optic in the upper part of its head.

Luna brought out the high-energy beam cannons aimed and fired at the Gundam suit, which evaded out of the way. Luna flew the Impulse at the sniping suit switching over to the missile launchers and using her beam rifle to attack her opponent. But the green machine just spun out of the way of shots and did manage to get in a few shots at the Impulse, which Luna blocked one with her shield and dodge the others.

However, when Luna thought she had gotten too close for the long-range rifle, her opponent stored its rifle on its right shoulder and the side shields flipped forward over its front. Luna used her beam rifle and missiles again and it appeared she scored hits with all shots. Yet, beam zoomed at Luna and she was forced to evade and when she was able to be still momentarily, she saw that her opponent now had the lower half of the shields had swung open and the suit was holding pistols.

At the same time, a few of Carpentaria's attackers broke off their job of destroying equipment to intercepting the incoming ZAFT forces while the rest kept up the work they were here to do. It was quickly proven that these new mobile suit models had advantages in mobility and their weapons were somehow more efficient over the ZAFT forces. Even the Gundam-type suit pilots were having difficulty keeping up with fighting these unknown machines. Shinn and Aila were caught up in the brawl, while Rey broke free and set his sights on the blue mobile suit that seemed to be the leader of this group. He thought with the Legend's superior fire-power and capabilities he would be able to finish this unit off and then this could be brought to an end.

Nevertheless, Rey quickly became frustrated as his chosen opponent as they danced out of his reach and simply felt like they were playing with him. They somehow knew each move he was making and was countering them pretty much perfectly. But even as Rey's anger was getting the better of him, there came a voice over a ZAFT comm-channel. " _I must say young man, I may not know who you are, but I am familiar with the fighting style you're using,_ " said a male voice. " _And it will be useless against me, Le Creuset was the one to try it the last time and he found out in a single match that it won't work._ "

Rey was snapped out of his slight trance as his opponent came at him with two beam sabers at the ready. He tried to bring up and activate his beam shield, but Rey was too slow at the task. His opponent sliced off the beam shield emitter and then cut one of the dagger pods in half before they kicked him downward. As the Legend flew towards the sea, the blue Brave suit brought up its beam cannons fired, sweeping the beams by the Legend, cutting the DRAGOON pods off. Rey got the Legend back in a stable hover and realized that he had lost all the pods, when alarms began blaring. He snapped his head forward and witnessed the blue mobile suit charging down at him, beam saber set to slash down at him.

The next moment, the Osiris appeared directly in front of the Legend, beam saber in one hand shield raised with the other. The blue Brave brought its sabers down and they were blocked by the Osiris's shield and beam saber. The Osiris creaked as it was slowly forced back as the weapon lock continued, and Aila knew that she would end out losing it. "Rey, move," Aila ordered.

Rey did what he was told as Aila detached the Osiris's shield and dropped the beam saber, weaving backwards as the blue suit pushed their sabers through the shield. It was crystal clear to Aila that the pilot of the blue machine, whoever they were was not a novice in any way shape or form. They knew what they were doing on the battlefield and had nearly whipped Rey cleanly that couldn't be denied. But before Aila could refocus on the battle, she caught sight of the Impulse fighting the Gundam-type suit. Then, the green machine sent a dense stream of the odd light at the Impulse and when the light made contact, the Impulse seemed to quickly freeze up. Just after the Impulse froze, it began falling towards the water and plummeting like a stone.

Aila threw the throttles forward and zoomed after the Impulse, trying to communicate with Luna, but there was no answer. Moments before the Impulse hit the water, Aila caught it and stopped the Impulse from plunging in. She checked on Luna to see if she was okay and Luna said that she was, but she was trying to figure out what had happened. It was around that time that the battle just appeared to dissolve with the unknown mobile suits disengaging and then disappearing. The green Gundam-type also disappeared in the same manner, likely following the rest to wherever they were going.

Aila glanced around at the results of the event that had occurred here and was stunned. The military complex areas of Carpentaria were in ruins, from the mobile suit hangers to the docks. There were no working mobile suits left that she could see just pieces that were left of what there used to be. The living areas were untouched entirely, not a scratch or mark on any of those parts at all. It was a picture of why there was such concern and fear about the Federation, they tactics and capabilities were frightening in their efficiency as they were their effectiveness.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

The Normandy got back to Echowas and docked, and soon afterward the loading of the mobile suits that we're here to get. So, you would think load up and then head out, simple as that right, you would be wrong. There happened to be another piece of news that was dropped on me that I wasn't excited to hear. Honestly, I was wondering what I could have possible done to get screwed over like I was being. What could I possibly be referring to for me to be of such an opinion? Well, don't ask me whose bright idea it was, because like with promoting me to captain and giving me a ship, I haven't the faintest. But someone thought it good to assign none other than my stalker Sakura to the Normandy, or rather if I were to guess I think she managed to get herself assigned to my ship somehow. I don't think it technically matters which it is, the fact of the matter is that I'm now stuck dealing with Sakura on a regular basis.

Of course, Sakura was happy as could be about the arrangement, why wouldn't she be? She got an excuse to be around me and she wouldn't leave me alone for long with how she was. Truthfully, it was unfitting for her with to be close to giddy with what you would expect from the reputation she's built for herself. There is the possibility and is likely that she pulled some strings to have herself put on the Normandy. I mean, she does have a good relation to one of the leading admirals. Plus, she is one of the best-known pilots ZAFT used to have, second to Graham, so she can pretty much choose the ship she wants to work with.

To avoid Sakura for a bit after she dropped the news of her assignment on me, I returned to the dock that the Normandy was in and watched the loading of the mobile suits that we were getting. There were three machines were moved onto the Normandy which filled the ship's hanger. The first of the three, appeared to have a very similar frame as the GSR-001 Exia. It had the orb in the torso, but that was more exposed than the Exia had been to a degree but had the vents on the sides and pieces on the top and from the bottom encasing the orb section. However, I spotted that the cockpit was the same idea as the Freedom and the Justice introduced with the seat lowering down rather than the hatch in the lower torso. The suit also had something like the Fatum-00 from the Justice connected to its back, though it was differently shaped and made me curious as to what it could do. Nonetheless, on the back of the mobile suit I saw clearly there was the solar reactor. And the backpack unit was designed in a way that there was space to not interfere with the reactor and if I was seeing right, had connections to the reactor itself.

I assumed that the machine I was viewing would be the mobile suit that Lacus would be using at some point. The reason I thought that was it seemed for whatever reason to fit her fighting style, don't ask me why. Lacus is a sweet girl, and Kira is really clueless about how lucky a guy like him is in having her as his girlfriend. Oh sure, those two are cuddlier with each other than Athrun and Cagalli are, but that's more due to them having more opportunity I think. Yet, Lacus is willing to go the distance to protect those she cares about and that's a good quality.

Anyways, when I brought up the specs on the mobile suit and found that the machine was part of the same series that the Burst Freedom and Eternal Justice, designated as the ZFMS-25Y Xevonia. As a part of the series, it had both a Hyper-Deuterion engine and a GN Solar reactor for power sources. The suit's defensive measures were made up of a beam shield system, along with the phase shift Type-S V2 and E-Carbon plating. With its arsenal the mobile suit was somewhat better with close combat but could hold its own with longer range combat and facing multiple opponents. The collection of offensive options includes an array of beam blades including two beam sabers, two leg beam blades which looked neat. Then like the Burst Freedom, the Xevonia possessed two beam rifles, but they were particle based and not conventional beam technology. There were four CIWS guns, three pairs of beam gatling guns which fired faster than CIWS guns, a particle beam rifle and two weapons in the shield it carried, a beam boomerang and a grapple stinger.

The real interesting feature of this suit was the support flier called the Prometheus-01, an improved version of Justice's Fatum-00 with higher overall performance. Its connected to docking points on the back of the Xevonia and gives the suit its mobility and advantage in close-quarters combat as it deployed particles better or so it was noted. In terms of weaponry, it mounted a pair of high-energy beam cannons, a long "V" shaped beam blade and two beam blades on the wings, two anti-ship swords and a particle beam cannon. And it can also split and separate into three sections termed vectors, which could attack separate from one another and were controlled by a DRAGOON system. That feature alone was one I wanted to see in action for the explanation provide in the data didn't help me imagine what it was supposed to be like.

The next suit that got moved onto the Normandy looked to be a framework that was kind of cross of the Kyrios and the Aegis. The upper half of the suit was like the Kyrios, while the lower was more like the Aegis. There was two long 'horn' antenna on the head and then what looked like one of ZAFT's GOUF heat whips coming from the upper back. Honestly, the machine overall just had a 'mean look' about it, at least that's got me to suspect that Sakura would be using the one I was seeing. Knowing Sakura like I unfortunately do, she can make a mobile suit dangerous, but give her one that she can utilize well, and it gets terrifying!

As if to prove such an idea correct, when I brought up the specs I became very glad that I wouldn't be going against this mobile suit with Sakura piloting it. This suit was powerful no matter what range it fought at and with Sakura in the cockpit, let's just say that I expect this suit will rip through opponents like nobody's business and making it look easy, I would be shocked if it doesn't appear that way. Like the other suits of the ZFMS series, the 32X Phoenix was a Gundam-type and had both a Hyper Deuterion engine and a GN Solar reactor, so plenty of power to work with.

The defensive capabilities not like Sakura would need them much were made up of phase shift armor, E-Carbon plating, beam shields and the machine could project a GN field as well. The machine had a HiMAT V2 system in its wings, making it nimble and harder to hit without Sakura helping in that department. The other point that scares the pants off of me were it my opponent was the Omni-Target Acquisition system. Kira using the idea with the Burst Freedom would be impressive I wouldn't doubt from what I could imagine. He had used the multi-lock-on system that the original Freedom had and to great effect. But Sakura using the newer improved version of the system with this machine, it terrifies the hell out of me and I'm glad that I won't be on the receiving end.

That brought me to the arsenal of this mobile suit and it just added to the feelings of gratitude that I wouldn't be fighting Sakura when she's in this and has me feeling somewhat sorry for those who would be. First, there was the beam sabers on the feet much like the Aegis had on its feet and those had the same range of movement as far as I could see. Then there were GN Vulcans mounted in the head mostly for interception, but that doesn't mean that's all they can be used for. Those two weapons were what I call the 'conventional weapons', simple and effective in how they were seen and operated.

Let me move on to the three 'unconventional weapons' as it was them that made this machine so downright mean combined with Sakura being the pilot! Weapon number one, the MA-X90 "Dragon Tail" flare rod, it worked along the same line as the ZAFT GOUF's slayer whip did but is more robust by what the data said. However, the reason there is 'tail' in the name would be it was attached to the back of the upper torso and could move like an animal's tail and it carries lots of heat and electricity. I would be surprised if the whip couldn't cut through a mobile suit without phase shift better than a hot knife through butter. Then the jolt of electricity could cause what it touches to overload and go boom I do believe. I've seen what the ZAFT's GOUF whips could do, I fully expect this weapon would make those look stupid in comparison, Sakura will see to that point and display it proudly! Plus, there was a note that the tail could extend its length, though there was little more detail than that on the subject.

Weapon number two, a pair of weapon systems in the form of what looked like gauntlets that were built around the forearms. The gauntlets were heat resistance, so the ZAFT's GOUF heat rods aren't going to do much other than providing a way for Sakura to swing them around or draw them closer, neither of which is good for them rest assured. In those structures, was a rapid-fire particle beam rifles along with beam saber emitters at the front above the rifles. Then, each gauntlet had a beam shield on the top just behind the wrist, should Sakura feel the need to use them. The system was called the "Rotonda" and they were the primary offensive option for the Phoenix.

Then weapon number three and perhaps the harshest overall of the three unconventional weapons, a collection of four DRAGOON bits. The bits, like the Freedom's and Justice's had multiple modes four to be precise in this case. The first configuration allowed each bit to be a powerful particle beam cannon, not something you want to be in the path of if you want to live. Mode two, beam spear that could punch holes through a mobile suit and other objects such as ships, a very unpleasant thought if you ask me. The third, and in my opinion the scariest, the pincer mode which would have the bit attach to the target and then either cut in half or the beam cannon fires at point-blank, instant death in either outcome. The final configuration was a defensive capability in which each bit could project a small GN field or can work together to make a large field, but I don't see Sakura using that idea much.

It took me a moment to shake myself out of the fear of the imaginations of what Sakura could do with the Phoenix as the last suit started being loaded. The last mobile suit being loaded onto the Normandy definitely caught my interest and dare I say, it was a beautiful mobile suit. Overall, I could see that the design was somewhat similar to the Exia's frame, though the torso was a tad different, the torso was more like the Freedom's as I look at it. There was also a backpack section in the center along with two more packs in the form of shoulder binders as they were connected to either shoulder. I was certainly getting much the same feeling I did when I got my first sight of the Aurora right now gazing at the mobile suit.

I brought up the data on the mobile suit and found that this one was to be piloted by yours truly, so I paid special attention to the details on this machine. The designation of this mobile suit was the GSR-T00D Exalt Gundam, so wasn't a part of the ZFMS series, but part of the same series as the Exia and those that had been on the Normandy. And I had to say, it was an amazing package that I'm looking forward to putting through its paces! It was powered by not one, but two GN solar reactors, which according to the information I was seeing were 'synced' together and supposedly had not double the output, but a squared output of particles. If that were true, then this suit has power matching the ZFMS series if not a margin more than them especially with them being semi-perpetual. The Exalt had E-Carbon plating, as well as the latest phase shift, but added to that defense two large shields, which made up the shoulder binders. Plus, I could have the GN particles form a dense field all around the Exalt or all ahead as a wall depending on the situation.

For my offensive options, I had good stuff I'm looking forward to putting to use and finding out how they work and the effectiveness they had. First, I had a pair of beam sabers, great in a pinch and I like having such equipment handy at my disposal. Next, there were two 'sword rifles', which were a combination of a particle beam rifle which looked to have decent power according to the data and a solid E-Carbon blades that ran along two thirds of the rifle length. The blades had good cutting power on their own, but cover them with GN particles, and it increased the slicing ability. The rest of the weapons the Exalt had, were stored or were built into the shields and the flight array. The non-remote weapons consisted of a particle beam cannon one in each shield that could match a multi-phased beam cannon. Add to that a pair of GN Vulcans mounted in the nose of the flight array that performed the same function as CIWS guns.

Then, the remote weapons which I wouldn't doubt is why the Exalt is equipped with a DRAGOON system, were made up of three sets of autonomous bits, each with two bits of three different types, totaling six bits per set. That gave me a grand total of eighteen bits, more than any other mobile suit I've seen have yet. The different types were more differentiated by size or length, for they seemed to have the same functionality regardless of type. They were called 'sword bits' A, B, and C respectively, B and C appeared to connect together as well when stored. There was one set on each shield, divided to three per side one A, one B and one C, with the same set up just below the flight array.

Each bit also had a couple of abilities to work with, though the A-type could be used as a hand-held weapon as well where the other two types could not. All bit types could fire beams at targets along with just flying and punching holes through them too. The other neat feature that I will love to test with these bits, was that a sword bit set could combine with one of my sword rifles and either make them into an awesome beam sword, or a better ranged and powerful rifle. Definitely a rounded style weapon for me to use and that's the kind of idea I prefer given a choice in weaponry.

At least, no one won't hear me complaining about piloting the Exalt, I'm more looking forward to it if anything! The loading of mobile suits was quicker than the last time, yet with there being two less than last time, it's understandable. Once the loading was done, the Normandy headed out from Echowas and we once again, began making our way to meet up with the Eternal to deliver the Xevonia. The meeting point was different than the previous one, farther out from Earth within the Debris Belt itself. It would take a bit more time to reach than the last location did, but that was fine.

…That was the plan and it was fine for everyone else on the ship except me, having to deal with Sakura and everything. However, in this instance where I have to deal with Sakura and how she is around me, there was a small change on my end. It was mostly due to a conversation I'd had with my mother before heading back up here to space. Now, don't mistake my griping for me not respecting and loving my mother, I say she's an amazing woman and I don't know how she does what the job she's got plus the other things she finds time to do. I respect her and care about her as she's family and I wouldn't be here if not for her and my dad. Nonetheless, when she steps into the role of being my mother and out of being the Prime Minister of the Republic, there's a difference.

This last conversation we'd had was nice mostly, but some of the subject matter hadn't been pleasant to talk about if you ask me. No, it wasn't an embarrassing talk like the "birds and the bees", that one had been much more awkward for me when it came just before leaving for Heliopolis. Yet, my mom had come back from a stressful conference before that, so I give her some leniency on that parental lecture. Nevertheless, the conversation I had before coming up was still one that isn't nice to have with a parent, it was about "settling down". My mom had said that I should really consider looking for someone to start a family with in broader terms that that. No, she hadn't said anything directly about giving her grandchildren, but there had been an implication or two that gave that message.

I know my mother was looking out for me and was worried about what could happen with how things are right now, and I don't blame her. But there have been two issues for me in this subject and one's kind of related to the other and vice versa. The first point, I've not had the interest to court or date anyone, nor had the time with my military service as it is. Granted, I could date a comrade, but I'm more of the opinion to separate my working and personal lives from one another a bit. That I had to establish after Luke and Alan had made the "suggestion" that I date Lisa in a way that was embarrassing, and they had a laugh at my expense. I'm not saying that Lisa isn't an awesome woman, for she is but I don't see her more than a friend and don't see our relationship progressing further than that.

My mom and dad had made it work in separating their working and personal lives. With my dad being a well-known scientist and professor while my mom was a political leader and running a nation, it hadn't been easy for them to be in a relationship. So, I thought I could figure out a way to do the same idea and had tried to do just that. That's how much I respected and thought of my parents, they had set an example for me that I wanted to follow in general. The second reason that contributes to my problem with a romantic relationship is Sakura and all that she does around me. What does that mean? More than most would ever imagine, and it's not just her stalking and chasing me like she does.

I admit, it can be accurately said that Sakura is over-freaking-protective of Lacus and its absolutely true, I've seen some of what she does to protect my friend. Well, as it happens, she does that to a larger degree when it comes to me. It's hard to believe, I know, but she has chase away any potential interests to put it mildly. I will spare you the details about what she's done to achieve those results, it's just wrong a good portion of the time! So, settling down for me has pretty come down to me having the single choice of Sakura as a partner, or at least that's what she's been made it over the years. Still like I said before, Sakura is not lacking in the looks department in any way shape or form. Sakura is gorgeous and has beauty that other women would probably kill for, and I'm definitely not inclined towards the homo end of sexual orientation, Sakura made dead sure of that.

So then, why many might ask am I dragging my feet when it is plain and obvious that Sakura and I will likely end out together should I want to have a family? Well, I'm not the kind of person that likes to be uh, bossed around or dominated by another. It's just not in my nature to allow another person to do that to me that hasn't earned a good amount of respect with a few notable exceptions, and I not make the one doing the bossing and dominating lives… oh, how did it used to be put to make another's life utterly miserable… oh yeah, a living hell in response. From my observations, Sakura does that with others naturally and I don't want her to do that to me and sometimes her smother of me feels like that. And yet the talk with my mom, it had brought home that I'm not getting any younger and the line of work I do doesn't tend to let those like me to live to a ripe old age. So, I'm left to consider what to do and what kind of future I want to see from here and how I get on the path to get there.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **This is where I'll leave off for this phase as it is an okay stopping point for the story for the moment. So, lots of stuff covered hence why this phase is longer than usual. I do hope that at least this is thus far going in a direction that readers like, for it's getting hard to decide how to get where I would like to end out. I know this phase isn't as action packed as the last one was, there was some, but this is more story progression than fighting. The battling is coming, I promise you readers it's building, and I believe you'll like the battle that is being built towards.**

 **Anyways first, the three new mobile suits that are all custom for Tyler, Sakura and Lacus. The suit for Tyler some of you might assume that the 00 Gundam and Quanta were influences for it and you would not be wrong, kind of a cross of the two. It may seem over powered, but it like all mobile suits has its weaknesses. The twin reactor system is a technology that I had been wanting to bring in for a while now but I was saving it until now.**

 **Second, the Xevonia Lacus's suit, I know that there are those of you that have been asking, pleading and urging me to design a mobile suit for her. I hope that the Xevonia meets some if not all of those expectations even if Lacus hasn't piloted yet and Sakura has shown some of what it can do. The design came from an image I saw on pintrest and the suit just developed from there to become the Xevonia. The Prometheus came to mind and is name after an idea that came from of all places 'Star Trek Voyager'.**

 **Finally the Phoenix Gundam, I know there is another gundam named that from a different series. I stated for the record, my custom suit is not that one or related to it in any way other than the name and it just is a coincidence. It is designed the way described with the pilot it will have in mind Sakura and how she can be on the battlefield, terrifying as freaking hell! And rest assured Sakura will DELIVER on that in the future!**

 **To sum up my spiel, please some of you write reviews as I do appreciate them and read them even if I don't answer them immediately. Phase 43 is in the works, no idea when it will be done as the time I get to write is more limited with life as it is for me. Peace out everyone until the next Phase!**

 **Xrail**

Hopefully the story is still interesting for you, thanks for writing a review

 **Flaxj**

I will certainly try my best to make the ending and the path to it the best I can.

 **KakeruPB**

I agree the fight was neat, and it was fun to write. The reason that I didn't have the Freedom do more damage to the Legend, was it would have made the double teaming of the Justice and the Freedom not as good. As for your question, the rifles were combined into one at the time and that shot was blocked by the Legend's beam shield. The other shots from the multi-phase cannons and the railguns, the multi-phase took out the DRAGOON pods and the railguns sent Rey tumbling from impact. Also, Kira didn't use full burst mode, as that would need the DRAGOON bits the Burst Freedom has, that will come later.

 **Here is the mobile suit specs for the three new mobile suits:**

Mobile Suit Specs

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Custom Prototype Anti-Mobile Suit use Transformable Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** ZFMS-25Y

 **Official Name:** Xevonia Gundam(ゼヴォニアガンダム)

 **Overall Height:** 18.9 m

 **Full Weight:** 79.67 t

 **Power Source:** Hyper-Deuterion Engine, GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon

 **Crew:** Pilot only (in cockpit in torso)

 **GENERAL DATA  
Manufacturer:** Federation Military

 **First Deployment:** May 5 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military  
 **Known Pilots:** Sakura Clyne, Lacus Clyne

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Gundam Nucleus (GN) Solar Reactor**

A Gundam Nucleus (GN) Drive Solar Reactor, is a powerful energy system within the next generation mobile suits constructed during the second PLANTs war. They are designed to give a mobile suit a significant advantage in combat. A GN Drive is a semi-perpetual generator, scaled for installation in a mobile suit, which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source. Like every other power source, a GN Drive has a limited moment-by-moment output however, due to its very nature a GN Drive will continue to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the GN drive is not pushed to breaking limits.

 **DRAGOON System**

The system allows a single mobile weapon pilot to control several smaller weapon pods to attack enemies from different angles, using a quantum communication network to send signals to move them around the battlefield. These pods are usually stored on several hardpoints across the suit's body, whether on a backpack of the suit's main body. The docks are not only for storage, but also for recharging the pods and so they must dock to restore power.

 **High Mobility Aerial Tactics (HiMAT) V2 Mode**

A configuration in which the Prometheus system are unfolded into its vectors but still connected to the wing system for higher maneuverability during aerial combat. When in space, the deployment of the wings can enhance the Xevonia's AMBAC capabilities.

 **Neutron Jammer Canceller**

A device built into the mobile suit to counter the effects of the Federation's and ZAFT's Neutron Jammer. This gives the Burst Freedom the ability to use its Hyper-Deuterion Engine without the risk of being shut down.

 **Phase Shift Type-S V2**

An improved version and more efficient armor system developed by the combined efforts of Federation scientist. It works much like the original Phase Shift Type-Sigma, yet the power usage is better and distributing of the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas is improved. It also uses GN Particles to help reinforce the defensive armor and make it even more capable to block incoming attacks.

 **Operating System**

The Xevonia uses the Generation Unified Nucleus Drive Module Unity operating system.

 **METEOR Unit**

Like the Freedom and the Justice, the Xevonia can dock with a METEOR unit, a large mobile weapons platform with powerful thrusters and an even more powerful armament of battleship-caliber beam cannons, large beam swords, and dozens of heavy missile launchers.

 **Armament:**

 **MA-M02G "Super Lacerta" Beam Saber**

The suit's main close combat weapon, a pair of them are stored in recharge racks on either side skirts. They are the same type used by the Eternal Justice and the Burst Freedom and are enhanced versions of the ones used by the Justice and Freedom had. The two beam sabers can be combined into a twin-edged beam saber, and this form is known as 'Ambidextrous Halberd'. Lacus will switch between the configuration and duel and single wielding the sabers.

 **MMG-GAV23 30mm Twin CIWS**

One set is mounted on each side of the head, they are mainly used for shooting down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range. Yet, due to improvements in the CIWS ammunition they have higher initial velocity, along with better armor piercing capability and friction is reduced due to a new coating. All these increase the stopping power by 25% while the ammunition capacity is increased by 20% due to their smaller size. They also are still made to be anti-phase shift rounds to be effective at having an opponent's phase shift armor create a heavier drain on its power source.

 **MMK-M18 35mm Twin CIWS**

A pair of them are mounted in the chest, and they are improved version of those used by TFA-4DE GAZuOOT. Like the head-mounted CIWS, they are mainly used for shooting down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range. Yet, due to improvements in the CIWS ammunition they have higher initial velocity, along with better armor piercing capability and friction is reduced due to a new coating. All these increase the stopping power by 25% while the ammunition capacity is increased by 20% due to their smaller size. They also are still made to be anti-phase shift rounds to be effective at having an opponent's phase shift armor create a heavier drain on its power source.

 **MR-Q15 "Griffon" Beam Blade**

A more unique weapon is the two MR-Q15A "Griffon" beam blades, one mounted in each lower leg in the form of two emitters for a blade. When activated, a beam is generated between the knees and foot, it is used by the Xevonia to cut through opponents and can be used to deflect incoming beam boomerangs as well.

 **MA-M1911 GN Beam Rifle**

Unlike the others in the ZFMS series, the Xevonia has a pair of particle beam rifle as its main offensive weapon and it works at multiple ranges. Like other particle-based weapons, it has better penetrating power than standard beam rifle used by both ZAFT and the Earth Alliance, though phase shift can block shots, it takes more power to do so. When not in use, the can either be stored on the side skirts or on the underside of the Prometheus.

 **"Prometheus-01" System**

The Prometheus-01 is a wing system based off of the Fatum-00 from the X09A Justice. It includes six different weapons systems, of which three are built into each of the wing vectors and each of the other three are built into one of the vectors and not the others.

\- **MX2351 "Solidus Fulgor" Beam Shield Generator**

One is mounted in the Prometheus's nose for the main center vector and forward sensor arrays of the upper and lower vectors and they all generate a beam shield that can block beam or physical attacks coming at the vectors. Yet for the central vector when it combined with the "Screaming Nimbus", they can also be used to ram a target and allow their piercing beam sabers do better damage.

\- **G14X31Z "Screaming Nimbus**

The same weapon, which the DOM Trooper also have, it is located below the beam shield generator of the main vector. It utilizes Mirage Colloid technology and releases special particles that shrouds the units during a pressing assault. These particles have both defensive and offensive properties, allowing the center vector to lead the other two vectors of the Prometheus-01 to do damage or even can destroy enemy units by simply ploughing through while protected from their attacks.

\- **MA-A8X "Bastian" High-energy Beam Cannon**

A pair of rapid-fire "Bastian" High-energy beam cannons, which mounted on the Prometheus-01's main central vector and serve as its main ranged weapon in combat for the Xevonia on the Prometheus.

\- **M22-I9 "Desperado" Beam Gatling Guns**

A pair of the gatling guns are mounted in all three vectors in the front ahead of the engines. They serve as the weapons for each vector to use to pelt any enemies in front of them and have a higher firing rate than CIWS guns tend to.

\- **MC-X15 "Dragone" GN Cannon**

A highly customized particle beam cannon designed with a built-in GN Particle Tank/Condenser to store particles for use when the vector is not docked. The power output in a single shot is the equivalent of to a multi-phase beam cannon's output and can destroy mobile suits and ships.

\- **ASS-P13 "Hazan" Anti-Ship Sword**

The pair are mounted in slots of the Prometheus, stored on the outside of the upper engines and are connected to the upper vector and stay with it when the vectors separate. These swords will swing out and extend to act as wings for the upper vector upon separation from the main unit. The swords are based on the MMI-714 "Arondight" Beam Sword and so both anti-ship swords are folded to collapse down to nearly eight meters and extend to close to sixteen meters. When extended as wings a beam edge in the vector combined with the cutting blade of the swords created a very long cutting edge.

 **MX2002 Beam Carry Shield**

Handheld or mounted on the left forearm similar to the Eternal Justice, it is a solid shield equipped with a beam shield emitter and two other weapons.

\- **EEQ8 Grapple Stinger**

One of the two weapons mounted in the shield, it is a grappling claw that is shot out on a line. It can be used in multiple ways. E.g. Ramming a target some distance away, capture a target using the claw or restrain a target using the attached cable.

\- **RQM55 "Shining Edge" Beam Boomerang**

The second weapon mounted in the shield, it has two functions. It can firstly function as a beam boomerang that can move in space like in the atmosphere, as its movement is due to the interaction between the beam blade's force field and the surrounding matter. Secondly, it can function as a handheld or shield mounted beam saber and can puncture enemy units.

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Custom Prototype Anti-Mobile Suit use Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** ZFMS-32X  
 **Official Name:** Phoenix Gundam (フェニックスガンダム)  
 **Head Height:** 18.62 meters  
 **Weight:** 78.08 tons  
 **Power Source:** Hyper-Deuterion Engine, GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon

 **Crew:** Pilot only (in cockpit in torso)

 **GENERAL DATA  
Manufacturer:** Federation Military

 **First Deployment:** 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military

 **Known Pilots:** Sakura Clyne

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Gundam Nucleus (GN) Solar Reactor**

A Gundam Nucleus (GN) Drive Solar Reactor, is a powerful energy system within the next generation mobile suits constructed during the second PLANTs war. They are designed to give a mobile suit a significant advantage in combat. A GN Drive is a semi-perpetual generator, scaled for installation in a mobile suit, which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source. Like every other power source, a GN Drive has a limited moment-by-moment output however, due to its very nature a GN Drive will continue to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the GN drive is not pushed to breaking limits.

 **DRAGOON System**

The system allows a single mobile weapon pilot to control several smaller weapon pods to attack enemies from different angles, using a quantum communication network to send signals to move them around the battlefield. These pods are usually stored on several hardpoints across the suit's body, whether on a backpack of the suit's main body. The docks are not only for storage, but also for recharging the pods and so they must dock to restore power.

 **High Mobility Aerial Tactics V2 (HiMATV2) Mode**

A configuration in which Burst Justice's four wings are unfolded for higher maneuverability during aerial combat. When in space, the deployment of the wings can enhance the Burst Freedom's AMBAC capabilities.

 **"Voiture Lumiere" Propulsion System**

One of the three variants, the combat type of the "Voiture Lumiere" propulsion system, is mounted in the Eternal Justice's wings. This combat variant uses a combination of an internal laser and the Solar Reactor, rather than an external power beam, and converts its energy into a strong light pressure which is then used as thrust. It can be used even when the DRAGOON Pods are still attached to the wings, by slightly separating the DRAGOONs from the main wings, without fully deploying them.

 **\- Full Burst Mode**

The name of the attack mode in which the Burst Freedom uses its beam rifles, DRAGOONs, railguns and multi-phase beam cannons all at once. This mode is also present in Freedom Gundam and is often used together with the Multi Lock-On System to destroy a large amount of enemy units at once. Thanks to the DRAGOONs, the Burst Freedom's Full Burst Mode has a larger firing range than the Freedom's, granting it a full 360-degree range of attack capability. However, on Earth, the DRAGOONs cannot detach and do are limited to only shooting forward.

 **Omni-Target Acquisition System**

Similar to the Multi-Lockon system the original Justice Gundam was equipped with, the Eternal Justice is equipped with an improved idea that does the same to target multiple enemies and attack them at once. To overcome the requirement of the pilot having high spatial awareness capability, which is rare even among Coordinators, there's an onboard AI processor to assist in the task. This system can also be used when the Justice docks with the METEOR unit.

 **Neutron Jammer Canceller**

A device built into the mobile suit to counter the effects of the Federation's and ZAFT's Neutron Jammer. This gives the Burst Freedom the ability to use its Hyper-Deuterion Engine without the risk of being shut down.

 **Phase Shift Type-S V2**

An improved version and more efficient armor system developed by the combined efforts of Federation scientist. It works much like the original Phase Shift Type-Sigma, yet the power usage is better and distributing of the voltage to the needed areas more than the non-needed areas is improved. It also uses GN Particles to help reinforce the defensive armor and make it even more capable to block incoming attacks.

 **Operating System**

The Justice uses the Generation Unified Nucleus Drive Module Unity operating system.

 **Armament:**

 **MA-M03M "Impa Lancer" Beam Saber**

Similar to the Super Lacerta, the Impa Lancers work like beam sabers. The two that the Phoenix has are mounted at the end of either foot. When activated, then they are usable much like the Aegis Gundam can use its beam sabers.

 **GN Vulcan**

Mounted in the head, the pair of vulcans are mainly used to shoot down incoming missiles and enemy units at close range.

 **MA-X90 "Dragon Tail" Heat Rod**

One of the more versatile weapon of the Phoenix, the flexible MA-X90 "Dragon Tail" Heat Rod is attached to the torso just behind the head but in front of where the backpack connects to the mobile suit. This rod can be used to whip a target and at the same time deliver a large electric charge, causing great pain to the pilot. When the charge is delivered while the heat rod is wrapped around an object, the shock can cause the object to explode. The rod can also heat up via high frequency vibration to such a degree that it can slice lightly armored suits in half. Lastly, at the end of the rod is an emitter that can put out a beam dagger that can puncture a mobile suit well.

 **"Rotonda" Weapon System**

The major offensive weapons for the Phoenix, appears as a gauntlet on each forearm. Each of the two weapon systems is made up of 3 parts combined. The gauntlet is also very heat resistant and won't be affected by a heat rod.

\- **GN Machine Beam Rifle**

The main rifle built into the space above the hand, but below the shield structure, the GN particle machine rifle can be utilized for multiple ranges, though medium or short range is the most effective. The rifle can fire rapidly at moderate power or it can fire slower with more powerful shots.

\- **MR-S13 "Katara" Beam Saber**

The Katara emitter is in the front of the beam shield emitter and produces a beam blade longer than an average beam saber, but shorter than a beam sword.

\- **MX2200 Beam Shield**

This shield's emitter is inlaid in the center of the gauntlet structure. The powerful beam shield can effectively block beam-based and physical attacks.

 **MP25 "Talon" DRAGOON Mobile Autonomous Bits**

The DRAGOON system was installed into the Phoenix Gundam as a standard feature, which includes the four DRAGOON Bits that are the wings of the mobile suit. Each Bit has a particle beam rifle, an emitter for a beam spear at the front end and the particle disbursal system to create a GN field. The beam rifles can also function as a close combat weapon as it can emit a beam spear head from its tip. The Phoenix's DRAGOONs are based on the second-generation DRAGOON System, which does not require pilots to have high spatial awareness to effectively control them due to the use of an improved quantum communication system among other modifications. The DRAGOONs can be used in group formations for multiple barrages or used with other of the suit's weaponry to shoot down enemy ships or mobile suits.

\- **GN-P14 "Roar" Particle Cannon**

\- **GN Beam Spear**

\- **GN Field Emitter**

 **TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS**

 **Classification:** Prototype Twin Reactor Assault Mobile Suit

 **Model Number:** GSR-T00D  
 **Official Name:** Exalt Gundam (機動戦士ガンダム)  
 **Head Height:** 18.7 meters  
 **Weight:** 80.23 tons  
 **Power-plant:** 2 x GN Solar Reactor

 **Armor Material:** E-Carbon  
 **Crew:** Pilot only, in standard cockpit in torso

 **GENERAL DATA**

 **Manufacturer:** Valhalla Research

 **First Deployment:** May 5 74 C.E.

 **Operators:** Federation Military  
 **Known Pilots:** Tyler McGregor

 **Equipment and Design Features:**

 **Gundam Nucleus (GN) Solar Reactor**

A Gundam Nucleus (GN) Drive Solar Reactor, is a powerful energy system within the next generation mobile suits constructed during the second PLANTs war. They are designed to give a mobile suit a significant advantage in combat. A GN Drive is a semi-perpetual generator, scaled for installation in a mobile suit, which harnesses the byproducts of baryonic decay as an energy source. Like every other power source, a GN Drive has a limited moment-by-moment output however, due to its very nature a GN Drive will continue to supply power for a theoretically infinite period of time, so long as the GN drive is not pushed to breaking limits.

 **-Twin Reactor System**

The Twin Reactor System is a next-generation drive system that synchronizes two GN Solar Reactor to exponentially increase their GN Particle generation rate. That rate is in theory squared from a single reactor output and their particle generation rate is faster than a single reactor.

 **GN Field**

The GN Field is a defensive shielding technology developed by the Federation during the Second PLANTs-war that utilizes GN particles. The field is created by concentrating enough GN particles within a local area of space. The GN particles are shaped and focused into a spherical form for full defensive coverage over the unit(s) however, the field itself is not restricted to spherical forms. The field itself can wrap around any shape or size, so long as the necessary amounts of particles can form around the surface it was generated/formed over.

 **Phantom Stealth System**

An improved system and based on the Specter Optical Camouflage Field that the generation used during the majority of the First Alliance-PLANT War of Federation mobile suits. It is harder to see the difference between the projections put out and the surrounding scenery and is more efficient with its energy consumption. Before the Second Alliance-PLANT War, the stealth system is paired with an idea similar to the "Echo Trace Emitter" and provides even better undetectability.

 **Operating System**

The OS that the Rapture has is the **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender** , the Federation's system for working with a GN Solar Reactor.

 **Armament:**

 **GN Sword Bit A**

One type of the remote bits stored on both of the GN Shield and below the flight array, each dock possessing six GN Sword Bits. Bit A is the longest type. All the Bits are usable as remote-controlled weaponry, or as hand-held swords as they contain hidden handles. They also possess many attacking roles in Exalt's arsenal such as attacking individually or forming up around the sword rifles to become either a more powerful and better ranged beam rifle or a long beam sword. In addition to offense, the bits can also create a GN Field when positioned together in a circle and their defensive capabilities are high Overall, the Sword Bits are very versatile, and their stats are higher than any other remote weapons.

 **GN Sword Bit B**

One type of the remote bits stored on both of the GN Shield and below the flight array, each dock possessing six GN Sword Bits. Bit B is the medium length type among the three types. All the Bits are usable as remote-controlled weaponry, or as hand-held swords as they contain hidden handles. They also possess many attacking roles in Exalt's arsenal such as attacking individually or forming up around the sword rifles to become either a more powerful and better ranged beam rifle or a long beam sword. In addition to offense, the bits can also create a GN Field when positioned together in a circle and their defensive capabilities are high Overall, the Sword Bits are very versatile, and their stats are higher than any other remote weapons.

 **GN Sword Bit C**

One type of the remote bits stored on both of the GN Shield, each shield possessing six GN Sword Bits. Bit C is the shortest type. All the Bits are usable as remote-controlled weaponry, or as hand-held swords as they contain hidden handles. They also possess many attacking roles in Exalt's arsenal such as attacking individually or forming up around the sword rifles to become either a more powerful and better ranged beam rifle or a long beam sword. In addition to offense, the bits can also create a GN Field when positioned together in a circle and their defensive capabilities are high Overall, the Sword Bits are very versatile, and their stats are higher than any other remote weapons.

 **GN Beam Saber**

The Exalt carries two GN Beam Sabers, stored on recharge racks in the rear waist. Unlike the beam sabers used by previous Gundams-types, their blade length can be altered as needed to function as either a beam saber or beam dagger.

 **GN Shield**

The shield binders positioned on either side over the shoulders, is connected to the central backpack unit by arms braces. The shields themselves, are made up of three basic sections; the center shield, the upper flap and the docking for the sword bits on either side of the center shield. The upper flap has a particle emitter in the center to put out a GN field ahead and can even dump a flood of particles ahead.

 **\- GN Beam Rifle**

There is also a beam gun with variable output mounted on top of the shields that can be used for missile interception and also can be used like beam rifles.

 **GN Sword Rifle**

The primary weapons of the Exalt, possessing two of them, the rifle stored on the central backpack unit when not in use and held in the hands in flight mode. The weapon is specialized as a gun rather than a sword, yet the underside of the rifle has a blade that runs two thirds of the rifle length and uses a Condenser edge concept that can cut through like any of the other GN blades. It has the same level of output as a long-range beam rifle and so can punch holes in mobile suits. The rifles can also combine with the sword bits to either become a more powerful rifle or long beam swords, which are comparable with those that the METEOR Units


	43. Phase 43: Building Tensions

**A/n**

 **So here is Phase 43 and it picks up where I left off.**

* * *

Phase 43: Building Tension

May 3rd, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Mendel Colony

Martin DaCosta found the Mendel Colony's interior beyond eerie, it was freaky. Yes, he had heard Mendel was abandoned like most have but learning the truth that chemical weapons had been used on the colony gave it a different feel to it. The interior was safe, the bio-weapon's effects had ended years ago, but the feeling left was still freaky and ominous. DaCosta was at least thankful he wasn't here by himself, he bumped into a Federation team that was investigating the colony for evidence. They said that with Gilbert Durandal's actions, more information was needed and as Durandal had worked at this colony before its end.

The search for evidence was long and tedious, others had gone through this place, so the question of what else could be found was present. DaCosta kept focused and ignored the sights of the laboratories here and what they had clearly been using for test subjects in their work. Combing over the laboratory that Durandal was thought to had worked in took hours as it was one of the more extensive laboratories. It was when DaCosta was looking around an office looking room, that he spotted something that could be of interest.

The object appeared to be a book or journal as DaCosta got closer and when he opened it, he glanced over what was written. It only took a few pages for DaCosta to know that he had found prime evidence. He showed the journal to the Federation team and they took pictures of each page and discovered that the Federation had found a second set of what appeared to be notes. DaCosta asked if he could get a copy of the notes, which he was given the booklet as there was already a copy made, before DaCosta took the book with him when he took the shuttle back to the Eternal. However, little did he know that ZAFT had been watching the activities around Mendel in secret, even though the Mendel Colony was in the Federation area of L4. The reconnaissance GINN followed the shuttle at a far enough discreet distance to not be seen or noticed by DaCosta.

Back on the Eternal, which was continuing to hide from ZAFT and the Alliance within the Debris Field, they were waiting for the Normandy to meet back up with them. The Normandy had contacted them to say they had a mobile suit to deliver for Lacus when she gets back up into space should she wish to use one. While they waited for the Normandy, they had been watching the series of events the world was going through and their effects.

The state of the world had only seemed to worsen since the campaign that Durandal was doing against Logos began. After the taking of the Alliance's headquarters Heaven's Base, ZAFT had then turned their sights on the Federation's member nations. The attack on Orb had been first and harsh, but ZAFT had been forced back thankfully and according to a message received from the Archangel, Lacus was safe. What had taken many by surprise on the Eternal, was the response the Federation Military gave by their disablement of Carpentaria. However, the logic that led to the operation made sense and results spoke for themselves as ZAFT was now crippled when it came to deployment in the Pacific Ocean area.

Then Andrew was also waiting for DaCosta to return from his trip to the Mendel Colony to hopefully find something that could help in figuring out what Durandal was planning. The Chairman of the PLANT Supreme Council wasn't showing his intentions clearly other than wishing to change how things were currently. DaCosta did return after about a day after he left and when he came onto the bridge, he was smiling. "I must say commander, that was certainly a tedious trip. The colony was seriously eerie, I'm glad I wasn't there alone, there was already a Federation team looking around inside the colony too," DaCosta remarked.

Andrew gazed at DaCosta curiously, "A Federation team was already looking around? I hope you found out something about what they were looking for like you have been urged to do before," he remarked.

DaCosta nodded, "Like you taught me commander I did inquire, and they said that with Durandal's actions as of late, more information on him is needed. Apparently, since Durandal worked at Mendel, the Federation's Intelligence Agency believes that there could be potential evidence there that could shed more light on Durandal." DaCosta brought forward a small briefcase, "Still, the colony's air supply was stale and stagnate at least what was left of it was. The atmosphere inside was very thin said that the colony's control systems had been tampered with, suggesting that someone had been there before us recently. The laboratory we were looking through was too clean, another sign that some had been through already. But the trip was worth it in the end if you ask me, and it's all because of these," DaCosta said bringing out the book and collection of notes found. "I believe this one is a set of notes made by one of the researchers and the other is a journal about the work being done in the laboratory."

Aisha floated over to the table as Andrew glanced through the notes that DaCosta had brought back with him. They both saw that the medical notes entailed genetic engineering, specifically showing a method of manipulating genes at a level that just hadn't been done before. The notes gave hints as to just how much genetic engineering could set and design but writing in red drew the attention. The red ink only was made up of two words, those being "Destiny Plan" but appeared to refer to all the notes in the collection. The journal looked to be made of entries that argued in favor of what the medical notes showed and the benefits that could come from employing the idea. Aisha was the first to speak, "At first glance, if what is being detailed here can actually be done, then it could change the world as we know it," she said.

Andrew hummed in response at first, his thoughts dwelling on what ifs of what was on the pages that DaCosta had brought back. "It very well may however, we can't forget or throw away good common sense," Andrew stated. "The world is not for people to live for a system or rather exist to serve the world around them, the world is a place for people to live as they see fit."

"Agreed commander," commented DaCosta, "This Destiny Plan comes off as having people live their lives by a script that is assigned to them before one is born. I wouldn't doubt there will be a decent number that would never agree to this idea, the Federation being one group that would be against it."

The discussion would have gone on, if not for an alarm going off drawing attention to the ship's systems. Aisha moved forward to the captain's chair and brought up what was setting off the alarm on the forward screen. The image of a reconnaissance GINN being seen by one of the proximity optic sensors was clear before the camera was destroyed. Andrew twisted back to glare at DaCosta, "You were being tailed DaCosta! How many times have I told you to double check if you are being followed on questionable missions, even if you have to take a longer route to do so," he snapped.

"I did commander, I swear, I was checking and didn't take shortcuts coming back," DaCosta replied in slight panic.

Andrew growled, "I'll go catch it in my Gaia," he stated.

He started heading for the elevator from the bridge, "Andy wait," called Aisha, stopping Andrew. "You know that the type of GINN we just saw isn't designed to work extremely long distances from its ship. For it to track DaCosta back here means that its ship won't be far behind, and we know that for a fact. How much would you bet me that said ship is not alone but accompanied by other ships to take care of what they have been tracking?"

Andrew sighed, "Yes, like usual love you're right and I wouldn't make that bet as you would win it. But that puts us in a rather difficult position since we're still waiting to meet up with the Normandy to transfer the mobile suit they have," he said flatly.

"ZAFT might have been watching the colony, yet that would be trespassing on ZAFT's part as Mendel is in the Federation's area of L4," DaCosta said thinking out loud.

"Whether that's true or not DaCosta no longer matters," Aisha remarked, which got DaCosta to lower his head in shame.

"No, it doesn't," Andrew agreed, before he became serious, "All hands to level go to Condition Red! We need to hold them off until the Normandy arrives, they should be able to help drive them away when they get here."

Aisha took over the captain position while Andrew made his way to the Eternal's hanger to board his custom X88S Gaia Gundam. Aisha had the Eternal reposition to have debris between them and the oncoming ships, also using the interference that came with the Debris Belt. Their opponents would be forced to fire their weapons by line-of-sight as target designators wouldn't work well within and near the Debris Belt. However, the Eternal did get a glimpse of the group that had tracked them as the ship moved. The group was made up of five Nazca-class destroyers and depending on the compliments of mobile suits, that meant up to thirty machines between the all.

The Eternal wasn't equipped to handle those odds, nowhere near that really, even if it was just the Nazca-class ships this would be a difficult battle. The multiple mobile suits were going to be the real problem for there would likely be enough to overwhelm the Eternal's interception systems given time. The only mobile suit that the Eternal had currently was the Gaia Gundam and as good a suit as the model was, it had its limits just like any mobile suit did. So, things were looking grim for the Eternal and all onboard knew that the current situation was bad. A message was sent to the Normandy before N-jammers made long-range radio transmission impossible, but there was little way to know if that would help until later.

Aisha had DaCosta take a station before one of the hardest battles began, and it was less than a minute later that mobile suit signals began popping up on sensors. Andrew launched out in his custom colored Gaia Gundam and saw that he would be badly outnumbered in this fight. His piloting skills would have to make up the difference and that was a tall order. The best chance the Eternal and those onboard had, was to be able to hold off the ZAFT forces until allied reinforcement arrived.

The Nazca-class vessels and their mobile suits started their assault on the Eternal, but the position of the Eternal had debris being used as shields against the ships made things difficult for ZAFT. Andrew quickly began to shoot down the ZAKUs that were making their way toward the Eternal. But there were just too many and Andrew headed back towards the Eternal to make sure none of his opponents got shots at vital parts of the Eternal. As he went, a few ZAKUs chased and shot at him forcing the Gaia to evade. Andrew then shot one of the ZAKUs and used it to launch the Gaia in its mobile armor mode towards the Eternal. He only hoped that he could keep in this fight along with the Eternal for long enough for the Normandy to arrive and help them.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

The Normandy had headed out from Echowas and set course for the Debris Belt to meet up with the Eternal and transfer the ZFMS-25Y Xevonia Gundam over to it. So, when Lacus gets back up here into space she'll have something to work with, which I believe she would appreciate whether she used it or not. Like Kira, Lacus may not like the fighting, but she is willing to be in it to help bring about peace and protect those she cares about. So, I wanted to make sure that there was at least the ability for Lacus to help in the fighting should she want to. It was a quality she had that was to her credit even if she didn't employ it as often as others would.

Anyways, I was on duty currently as Lisa needed a meal and time off, and I'm not a tyrannical captain nor will never be like a few I've been around, I make sure my second-in-command does get breaks. Besides, I figured that it would be a semi-quiet trip to the Debris Belt to meet the Eternal though ZAFT was searching for the ship. Since ZAFT had been focusing their efforts on Earth in space it had been calmer sadly than it was down on Earth. That doesn't mean that things were fine up here, no, the Federation had been mobilizing since just before the fall of Heaven's Base. There is the full expectation that ZAFT forces would soon turn their sights on the member nation of the Federation at some point. Why would ZAFT attack, I don't know the excuse they may state, but I'm confident that the true reason Durandal will have in mind is his wish to be rid of those he couldn't manipulate or convince to side with him.

The expectation was proven to a "T" when the attack on Orb occurred and the justification had been made that Lord Djibril was being sheltered and protected by the nation. That only solidified the resolution to stop whatever it was that Durandal was up to for me and quite a few others. If what that man is after has him believe attacking innocent people under the guise of hunting a dangerous person down is fine and okay, then what he wants isn't right for humanity PERIOD! So, I certainly didn't disagree with the operation that crippled Carpentaria for it severely limited ZAFT's ability to deploy their forces around the Pacific Ocean which. That would relieve some of the stress from three of the member nations and one full coastline of another, a good portion of the major states of the Earth Alliance. If that doesn't get the point of leaving the Federation and parts of the Alliance alone to ZAFT, then their Gibraltar Base is next to get crippling treatment then space will be seen to.

Honestly, I don't know who's worse, Lord Djibril or Gilbert Durandal, they are basically doing the same thing overall in getting their way. They both are working on their vendettas and cry that you're either with them or against them, there is no middle ground according to those men. The only real difference I've seen is that Djibril's goal is simple to see and familiar, he doesn't hide his hatred of or wish to rid the human race of Coordinators. Durandal's end goal is still unknown even if there were bits and pieces that inferred what it could be, but not enough to say for certain. I don't trust anything either of the two hypocritical idiots say or do anymore, for they've proven that what they say and way they intend it to be taken don't mean the same things.

Anyways, things were going just fine as the Normandy cruised towards the Debris Belt and we would arrive in close to two hours at our current traveling speed. However, then Miss Alloy informed me that a message had been received from the Eternal and it basically said that the Eternal was coming under attack by ZAFT forces. After I heard that my mind was clear as to what needed to be done, so I faced forward, "Paris, I don't care what you have to do, be it putting your foot to the floor or what have you, we need to get to our destination A.S.A Damn P," I ordered.

Lars Paris shifted to turn in his chair to look at me, "Cap, you make this the most worthwhile assignment I've had since enlisting. With what the Normandy's engines can do I'll have us there in a little over twenty minutes," he replied.

Paris input some commands before he took firm hold of the helm and shoved the throttles forward as far as they could go. The Normandy sped up a good margin as the engines output increased to their maximum. I picked up the ship's phone and called down to the hanger and asked Chief Volyon to do what he could to have the Xevonia and the Exalt ready to go out to a battlefield in twenty minutes or less. He told me he and his mechanics would get the job done, and I had to respect the man for that reply and the confidence it was given in. I had asked a rather unreasonable thing to have two new mobile suits made ready for full use yet, Guy Volyon hadn't complained about it one bit, just said he and his crew would get the job done. Honestly, this crew is growing on me, I don't want to be assigned elsewhere if it means that I don't have people like the crew of the Normandy working with me.

The Normandy rocketed toward the Debris Belt and when it came into visual range of the place the trouble that we had been informed about was still going strong. Five Nazca-class vessels and more than twenty mobile suits which were made up of ZAKUs and the newer GOUF models were still assaulting the Eternal with the intention of destroying it. This kind of paints a picture that Durandal wants any who are possibly loyal to the genuine Lacus Clyne and any like her unquestionably gone. This action goes over the border of overkill and lowers the opinion I have of the man and it has been plummeting a great deal lately. Yet, that also makes me want to show this group up and make Durandal's day less nice for him if only by a little.

The second that Lisa arrived on the bridge I raced down to the pilot locker room where I found Sakura suiting up already. I quickly changed into my own suit and the two of us headed for the hanger without a word, which for the two of us is rare. To be honest, I was actually kind of itching to go out in the Exalt since I'd studied the data on the suit. That said, when Sakura and I got to the hanger the launching order had been decided, I would head out first giving Sakura time to look over the equipment the Xevonia had and she would follow me. Her piloting the mobile suit would put it through its paces and when the battle is done the Xevonia could be delivered to the Eternal without much issue. A plus for me, I may get time without having Sakura invading my personal space on a regular basis as she has been.

I sailed over to the Exalt, reoriented myself to come to land in the pilot seat and once settled in, I had it lower into the Exalt's cockpit. I instantly noted that the cockpit layout was kind of similar to the Exia Gundam's own, but not the same. There was still the combined control stick and throttle for either hand along with control panels next to them. The panoramic view was made up of a single seamless circular screen that wrapped around three fourths of cockpit interior. There was the main forward display for system information and the two com-screens above. Sealing the cockpit shut before I locked my suit into the pilot seat, I then activated the Exalt's OS, which startup message was different:

 **MOBILE SUIT S2.5 OPERATION SYSTEM**  
 **G** eneration  
 **U** nified  
 **N** ucleus  
 **D** rive  
 **A** ugmented  
 **M** odule  
TwinSync

 **G.U.N.D.A.M Defender**  
 **_Series GND200-O9 SR 00-31530_**  
 **Federation Military**

The hum of the reactors was audible inside the cockpit and it was for some reason a soothing sound to me as they harmonized with each other. The whole operating system was up and ready quick with the main display showing a simple picture of the Exalt. There were two circles one at either shoulder and then a horseshoe shape bar that went from one circle down and around to the other. The picture was a readout of the output of the reactors by themselves and together, and both reactors were at eighty-eight and slowly climbing and the same pace for each. I glanced over the other systems the Exalt had and saw that they were registering as green and good to go.

I informed those in the hanger that I was ready and there came a jerk as the Exalt moved towards the airlock to the catapult. When I lowered onto the catapult, I took a deep breath, "I'm all ready on my end Normandy," I said.

" _Understood,_ " replied Miss Grace, " _Magnetic clamps disengaged,_ " the came a clunk as the Exalt was released from the plate the feet had been attached to. _"Magnetic acceleration field formed, standby for launch Exalt._ "

I gripped the two stick controls and waited for the launching signal to come and it did a moment later. I rocketed away from the Normandy towards the explosions and fighting ahead in my view. I shifted the Exalt into its flight mode and my machine changed into what appeared to be a fighter with the shoulder packs moving to the sides to become the wings and thrusters. Then the central backpack spun around one-hundred-eighty degrees bringing the flight array into place for use. The Exalt's legs collapsed and folded to be the main thrusters for the flight mode of this machine.

Shortly after I catapulted from the Normandy the Xevonia followed, which came to be beside me before we zoomed forward towards the battle. As we got closer the sight of a single mobile suit doing a fair job at fending off the ZAFT suits assaulting the Eternal. Sakura flew off in the direction of the mobile suit defending the Eternal and knowing that she could handle herself in a fight, I wasn't worried about her. Meanwhile, I veered left and shifted the Exalt back into its suit mode and drew the sword rifles and began shooting the ZAKUs and GOUFs closer to the ZAFT vessels. The difference in mobility and ability of the Exalt compared to my opponents… well, it quickly became clear and it was kind of comical to an extent.

Mobility the Exalt had was incredible, much like the Exia's had been when I had used that machine. And then, particle weapons were different from conventional beam weapons when it came to puncturing armor, in that particle weapons were superior. I almost instantly liked piloting this mobile suit just like I had felt with the first time I flew the Aurora. I did start out by shooting off limbs of my opponents at first, but I soon I was forced to aim for more vital areas of the opposing mobile suits.

I did catch glimpses of the Xevonia assisting the mobile suit defending the Eternal by taking out a few mobile suits that had been pressing forward as I fought. Soon after that Sakura detached the Prometheus wing system from the main suit and it was almost instantly ignored. One can't exactly blame the ZAFT pilots for ignoring the Prometheus system for Sakura was making them dance like their lives depended on it… which they pretty much do. Her arsenal might be cut down by about half, but this being Sakura we're talking about, it wasn't much better other than she had less of a variety to choose from, and she still knew how to use her arsenal very efficiently! Plus, she would take her opponent's weapons and use them against ZAFT forces anyways, so Sakura wasn't hurting for options to attack with. It makes me wonder how many of the ZAFT pilots were comprehending that they were fighting one of their former champions and ace pilots.

However, the unique feature of the Prometheus is that it is a DRAGOON pod carrier even if it doesn't look it at first glance. That being said, the Prometheus is actually made up of three "pods", the main wing and its two vectors is in theory more to be worried about. And as I watched, the two vectors raised/lowered before separating from the main wing. The top vector kept the two anti-ship swords which shifted up and out to become wings for the vector itself. The bottom vector had more its own wings and a cannon had been deployed for use in between the pair of beam gatling guns the vector had. The main wing kept a pair of high-energy beam cannons and all three parts had a pair of beam gatling guns to work with.

I was forced to focus back on my fight by ZAFT mobile suits as they were shooting at me and I don't give out free shots often if at all these days. I will say that the sword rifles were sweet weapons for multiple ranged combat, probably the best equipment I've worked with for that idea thus far. To help even the odds for me and to have some fun testing, I deployed two sets of sword bits to add to the brawl. The bits didn't just make a difference they were making this hilarious, except for the dying piece that resulted. I had sword bits zooming around, firing particle beams at my opponents, some were cutting off parts and a few punched holes in others' mobile suits.

There came a point where I had to use some of the sword bits to put up a shield to block a shot from a beam cannon that a ZAKU trained on me. I used my right shoulder shield and had it deploy particles out to form a field that blocked incoming fire. I didn't let this circumstance go on for long as I had the other sword bits shoot beams and punch holes through those attacking me. Also, I deployed the third set of sword bits that were docked on the flight array to add to the effectiveness of my other bits in this combined with me using my sword rifles.

Overall, it can be easily said Sakura and I were turning the tables on ZAFT and were pretty much forcing them back. Sakura, the other gundam pilot and I were slowly gaining ground against ZAFT mobile suits as the battle kept going. The Nazca-class vessels tried to help their mobile suits, yet Sakura and I were blocking the incoming beams. I was doing so with my shoulder shields putting out GN particles ahead and deploying a field that intercepted them. Sakura on the other hand was using the beam shield the Xevonia had on its left arm, or else she grabbed an enemy machine and threw them into the path of the beam to block it long enough for her to get out of the way.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The Archangel

The Archangel moved to the docks near Kaguya at Morgenroete after the battle to have minor repairs done and to equip plasma boosters to the ship for ascent to space. The Dominion was undergoing the same treatment as they would be returning to space at the same time as the Archangel. The Akatsuki and the Gaia were also loaded onto the Archangel while the Dominion was having the three DOM Troopers come onto her for the trip up. Everyone involved was giving what they had to get the needed work done as there was a sense of urgency building. The tension between Logos and those on their side and ZAFT were worsening and though the Federation's military was trying to minimize the effected outside of those two forces, it was made difficult.

The Archangel and the Dominion made their ascent from the Earth Sphere shortly after the preparations were done. With the crippling of ZAFT's Carpentaria base, their activities in the Pacific Ocean had been stemmed lessening the chance of attack on member nations of the Federation, so there were more forces needed in space now. The plan was for the two ships to meet up with the Eternal which was hiding within the Debris Belt currently from ZAFT. The idea seemed simple enough, but like fate so often seems to enjoy doing, such was proven wrong. The initial sign that things had gone awry was the trouble communicating with the Eternal when there shouldn't be an issue as the distance should be close enough to get through the interference.

As the two Archangel-class vessels got closer to the meeting point, the sight of explosions and battle was impossible to miss. With the Eternal clearly under attack, mobile suits were ordered to launch out to assist their allies and battle stations were called. Most mobile suits launched flew forward while some stayed back to defend the Archangels if ZAFT tried to attack them. Those going forward included the Freedom and the Justice along with Lacus taking the custom colored Murasame and the suits from the Normandy. The Freedom and the Justice took the lead of the small group of mobile suits, taking in the battle as they approached. On one side was ZAFT forces attacking the Eternal, on the other was the custom Gaia gundam suit and two other gundam units helping the Eternal and the Gaia. It was clear the two gundams were making a difference, at least they were pushing back ZAFT mobile suits, or really pushing them around.

For those that were coming to help, it quickly became apparent that those assisting the Eternal had done a good portion of the work of scattering and disabling ZAFT forces. At least the wreckage and pieces of mobile suits said that the two had been doing effective work. The magenta machine looked an amount similar the Exia's framework but also had a wing system that looked much like the Justice's Fatum-00. Although the wing system had separated from the suit itself and was attacking in sync with the mobile suit. The other gundam suit appeared more similar to the Exia gundam than the other and was blue and white. Its torso was a tad different for it was more like the Burst Freedom's than the Exia's. The additional parts the suit had included a backpack section in the center along with two more packs in the form of shoulder binders as they were connected to either shoulder.

The magenta suit was working its way towards the ZAFT vessels while the blue and white machine was dancing with the ZAFT mobile suits. Kira, Athrun, Lacus and Neo watched in somewhat morbid fascination as the magenta suit's wing system separated into three parts and those parts then began attacking both the ships and the mobile suits that ZAFT had. The blue and white machine then detached pieces from itself, which quickly turned out to be DRAGOON bits and those added to the troubles that ZAFT were having.

Once most of the ZAFT mobile suits were destroyed or taken out of commission, the two gundams shifted their focus to the Nazca-class vessels. By the time that the Archangel and its allies came into range of the battle, the ZAFT ships were in direr straits and sending out destress calls. The sight of the magenta gundam having its wing system swarming two of the destroyers as well as the suit attacking the ships too was scary. The blue and white gundam was using its DRAGOON bits to punch hole after hole, half of the bits coming down from above and the other half from below, which was also somewhat terrifying to witness.

The battle came to a close when the lead Nazca-class fired signal flares and the formation said they surrendered. All five ZAFT vessels were in varying states of trouble and damage, most of their mobile suits were destroyed and those that weren't could do little. The Xevonia headed for the Eternal, while the Exalt made its way toward the Normandy that had just reappeared. The three mobile suits that the Archangel gave a ride to broke off from the group and also headed for the Normandy. Kira and Lacus flew to the Eternal while Neo and Athrun headed back to the Archangel and the rest of the mobile suits also went back to their assigned ships.

All four ships moved forward with the Normandy in the lead and the Eternal close to being beside the frigate. Both Archangel-classes took up position behind the Eternal and the Normandy slowly passing the ZAFT vessels who were waiting for their allies to come and help them. Not too long after setting out, a conference was called to decided what to do to go forward between the leaders of the ships. Murrue and Natarle were the first to establish communication between each other, " _It's good to see you Murrue, it has been awhile,_ " Natarle greeted.

Murrue smiled, "Yes it has Natarle, you're looking well," she replied.

" _Well, the Dominion isn't as popular as the Archangel was during the previous war, but that doesn't mean we have had things easy these days,_ " Natarle returned.

Murrue chuckled a bit, "So, it's an improved situation from what we used to have to manage then," she questioned.

Natarle sighed, " _In some ways it has, less problems to have to deal with has helped an amount,_ " she remarked.

Murrue knew that when her friend said 'problems', she was referring to what went on between Tyler and her. She would have said more, but another spoke before her, " _Why Natarle, it sounds almost like you miss the times we used to have together,_ " said Tyler, before his image appeared on a different screen than Natarle.

" _What the? Tyler what are you doing here,_ " demanded Natarle.

Tyler folded his arms and smirked, which only seemed to irritate Natarle, " _What do you mean, I'm always where I need to be, but I doubt that's the answer you want. Yet_ _apparently you haven't heard, but I'm a captain now Natarle and I'd say that I've been doing an awesome job so far,_ " he replied.

Natarle slapped her forehead, " _Who in the world would even consider for a moment that you would be a candidate for a ship captain,_ " she inquired to no one in particular.

Tyler shrugged, " _I've never figured out whose bright idea it was, but I'll admit that I won't complain. The Normandy is a ship I'm proud of and the crew has gotten used to my way of doing things, so it's all good,_ " he returned.

Andrew tuned in and the meeting shortly began when others that would participate got to the bridges of the ships they were on. The summary that the meeting started with set a gloomy mood as the war had been getting worse and that the current conflict bore so many parallels with the previous war. The seemingly inescapable reality of the fighting and what resulted from it which kept occurring was just driven home from the summary. Then came the information that DaCosta had acquired when visiting the Mendel colony. The explanation of what was termed the "Destiny Plan" was unlike anything any had heard before.

Lacus had glanced over the notes that had been brought back from the Mendel colony and what she had read had been confusing as well as unsettling. " _Why is it that we can't seem to break free of this chain of fighting that leads to war,_ " asked Lacus to no one in particular. " _One group is attacked, and then because of those they harmed, the response is to return the same type of actions for the initial offense._ "

There was silence to the question, but the air felt made sure the frustration and dislike of the subject wasn't missed. " _Everyone wants to live a happy life, to find happiness and experience it fully,_ " said Lacus.

"Yet, that's partially the reason the fighting happens as contradictory as it seems logically," Athrun stated, "For whatever reason to obtain the happiness sought, the human race keeps resorting to fighting one another to reach that goal."

" _And that logic in itself makes little to no sense,_ " added Kira.

There were mutterings of agreement to what had been said, yet it was Lacus that spoke her thoughts first, " _No, that logic doesn't make sense, and perhaps that's why Chairman Durandal is so focused on changing things. If what we have read in these notes is what he has in mind, then his wish to show a new solution to this problem makes more sense, though seeking to employ such an idea would be much more involved. He speaks of a world without war or even the threat of the very idea of war or other things that cause the issues that we face today. I can't imagine what would such a world be like._ "

" _If these notes are anything to go by,_ " Andrew said, " _such a world would be based solely on manipulating genes to an extent that has never been done before._ "

" _So, it would be a world where everything about a person would be decided before birth all based on their genes for everyone,_ " Lacus questioned.

"At a glance, the Destiny Plan doesn't sound so bad," Athrun admitted. "Everything about one's life is chosen and assigned by their genes beforehand. However, those who wouldn't conform would be weeded out and adjusted I imagine or the idea overall wouldn't be successful for long."

Tyler exhaled heavily drawing attention to himself, " _In other words, a world in which everyone is free from uncertainties about their path in their life and the role they would play in the world as a whole. Every individual's future would be set, and so they supposedly could live their life without any fears or doubts just enjoying the good things of life,_ " he iterated.

Kira hummed, " _Yes, in short, they would live according to the destinies that had been selected for them, manipulating the essence of humanity for the benefit of all. For many Coordinators, it is the ultimate destiny and destination,_ " Kira stated flatly.

" _There would be no war in such a world, everyone would see and understand how pointless it is to fight one another, mostly since each person would know their destiny,_ " Lacus concluded.

" _Indeed, that would be the idea with what those notes say and the world you talk about sounds wonderful on the face of it, I won't deny that,_ " Tyler interjected. " _But there is one point that has not been mentioned and it is important and is the crux of all of this._ "

Those in the meeting looked at one another asking silently what Tyler was trying to say. " _What do you mean Tye,_ " inquired Kira.

" _In the conceptual world that is being portrayed Kira, there would be nothing of value of any kind that isn't a lie or an imitation. The reason that would be the case is value of something is gained by comprehending what the opposite of said idea is and compare it to the other, that applies to everything,_ " Tyler stated firmly.

"You're referring to the idea of contrast," Athrun suggested.

Tyler nodded, " _It is key to everything, take it away and every single thing loses true meaning period, others may argue this point all they want, but they don't understand what they're talking about and are ignorant and arrogant fools. There is no way that you can know what happiness is really like if you haven't experienced sorrow, none could comprehend the difference without both of them and so neither would exist essentially._ "

The revelation that Tyler brought up took all by surprise and yet, made them think as well as it was hard to argue with what Tyler was saying. Tyler continued, " _Durandal claims that he can create a world without war but take out the evil that is in opposition the world has, the good will disappear with it. The world he would have wouldn't change in any way, it would be as if you live the same eventless day over and over indefinitely._ "

"Then why do it, what does Durandal get out of this," asked Neo. "Controlling people's roles is something, I'll admit that, but I can't see a benefit if Durandal would be just as much a part of the system as everyone else."

"He may get to say what goes, and control the system," suggested Athrun.

" _That's possible,_ _I can't say if he would be an exception to the system he wants to bring about. Yet, my personal guess is the claim of doing something that none have come close to before now,_ " Tyler returned.

The conversation came to an end with the decision to make their destination Serenity City on the moon. Things had come to a point that it was necessary to wait for the next move to be made, though the goal to move forward was now clearer than it had been before. Although, waiting was not something that any wanted to do, there was little else that could be done at this time. The choice didn't sit well with most, but none could think of much more that could be done with things as they were.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Moon

Our group made up of the Normandy, the Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal, traveled to the moon and we began our approach to Serenity City. There was no issue with docking at Serenity, not with all four ships being seen as Federation vessels. So all of us were let inside and crews were able to go into the lunar city without problems. With Serenity being one of the two neutral cities on the moon, there was little bias, though the security was tighter than it was during earlier days. It was understandable with the war and everything as it was currently even if the city wasn't of major importance, it was close to Luna Base.

I'd been here a few times before, but it had been a while since the last time I'd gotten around here. The memories I have of Serenity City, came with the times my dad would bring Lana and I here. He had taken us through the museum here, which was apparently built over the site of the first historical landing site of men on the moon. Anyways, after disembarking from the Normandy, I found Kira and Athrun who were healing from previous decisions. Kira looked okay at a cursory glance as did Athrun though Athrun looked a tad paler than he would normally. I was glad that they both were okay taking into account what they had been through, but they had been giving me a good run for my money in the reckless department.

Once I had scanned my two best friends over I put a hand on a shoulder of each of them, "The two of you may well be one of the causes of my hair going grey at some point in the future among other issues, much like I am for my mother. So please, I'm asking you to pace yourselves a bit and try leaving the risky and reckless activities to me going forward more of the time. I think the three of us can agree that I tend to fit the job requirements that reckless tasks need and survive them," I greeted.

Kira and Athrun smiled to my greeting, "It's good to see you Tye," replied Kira.

"Yes, you're looking well Tye," Athrun said.

I looked over at Athrun, "Yes, and you're looking paler than you do normally Athrun and the look doesn't suit you well my friend. I take it that you haven't been getting the bed rest that others would recommend you should have then? Not that I don't understand the feeling of confinement that poor health can provide, trust me I do," I remarked.

"You're right as you usually are Tye," Tolle pipped up, and I twisted around to look at him, "Athrun hasn't been in bed unless someone makes him or he collapses."

"Yes, I can imagine he has been doing just that Tolle," I muttered before folding my arms. "I would hope that you've been giving what I recorded for you some thought Athrun, it would be nice to know I didn't waste the time for simple kicks and giggles."

Athrun told me that he had been thinking about the things I had said, but we didn't get into great detail. The reason that was would be Sakura and Lacus came around where we were, and Sakura had a look I'd seen before. Said expression told me it was in my best interest to make myself scarce immediately before my stalker gets her hands on me. So, in order to avoid being clung to by Sakura I hauled myself away from there and slipped off into the city 'going into hiding'. I ended out around the museum in Serenity and decided to walk through it for old-time sakes. Entering the museum brought back memories of being with Lana and my dad here for it looked like much of the museum hadn't changed. I was looking around and not paying attention on my surroundings as I should have, mostly recalling earlier and happier times, and so I bumped into another. I ended out on the bottom on the floor, whoever I smacked into fell on top of me.

Once I regained my bearings, I could pretty much tell instantly that whoever it was now on top of me was female. It's not like I could miss or mistake the sensations that are felt by being in contact with a girl with the things that Sakura has done to me over the years. The girl was fuller than average in the proportion that I was feeling though I was taller than her by a margin by what I could tell. Upon looking down, I found a head of magenta colored hair, very close to the same shade as Lacus herself has. Yet, it was the sound of something bouncing against the floor and a robotic voice saying 'Haro' that gave me a clue about my situation.

I glanced over towards where the sound was coming from and saw a red ball bouncing up and down. It looked just about identical to the ball robots that Athrun made for Lacus, but there were a few differences with them and this thing, most of which were in how it moved and acted than anything else. This particular ball robot was crimson, not a very fitting color for the idea if you ask me. My gaze returned to the individual lying on me and noted that there was a golden star shape hair-clip in the pink hair. The girl was wearing normal-ish clothing with a brown long-sleeved jacket and a white knee length skirt. In short, the 'fake Lacus' Meer as Athrun had called her was on top of me after falling. What the girl doing here around Serenity City I haven't the faintest freaking idea. Although, now that I think about it this was the closest I've been to this girl before. The girl let out a groan and put a hand to her head as raised it up a little, "Ow, who or what did I hit," she asked.

Our eyes met a moment later, "Hello again _Miss Clyne_ , long time no see," I greeted evenly.

Meer stared at me for a moment, then her eyes widened, "Oh, you're the nice Federation officer that helped me at Rome," she replied before she for whatever reason hugged me.

It's kind of awkward to be embraced by someone that you don't know well, more so if they are of the opposite gender. Then, the thought that were Sakura to come upon this scene, she would be VERY unhappy to put it mildly. Meer here could and would likely be in danger for as I've probably mentioned, and if I haven't yet, Sakura is extremely protective of me or rather she doesn't like sharing me with anyone else she isn't forced to! "Uh yeah, that's me Tyler McGregor Federation officer. I wouldn't have expected our paths to cross again, certainly not here in Serenity," I returned.

Meer kept her arms around me, "Thank goodness, I got separated from those who I was with and then gotten lost in the crowds. So, to finally find a familiar face puts me at ease," she said.

Seeing what this girl is like up close, it's easy to see that she's not malicious or has a mean bone in her body. If anything, it showed that she was being used by Gilbert Durandal for his goals and unlikely even had the slightest inkling that she was being manipulated. I kind of feel sorry for this girl now that I meet her up close, she really is just a nice girl that has been caught up in chaos. I smiled somewhat, "Uh glad I can help you feel at ease. Would you mind getting off of me, nothing personal intended of course," I responded.

The girl at my statement appeared to realize our positions and she got off of me, bowing to me saying she was sorry. I rose to a sitting position and waved a hand, "Don't worry yourself about it, as I said it's nothing personal. You said you had been separated from those you were with did you not," I posed.

"Yes, that's correct," she answered.

I got to my feet, "Well then, I could help you out with finding them if you want," I said offering a hand to help her up.

Meer took my hand and rose to her feet, "Thank you, that would be wonderful if you have the time," she replied.

"I have the time, I'm not doing anything urgent or of importance to do right now," I returned, and we headed off.

The two of us left the museum and went into the central sector of the city looking for those that Meer had been with. When I asked Meer to describe some of those that had been with her as I assume 'bodyguards', she did give me some details. The first individual she told me about was a woman that was her 'attendant' or something like that by the name of Sarah Mont. Apparently, this Sarah was looking after Meer while she was here taking 'some time off' as Chairman Durandal had suggested doing after the whole incident of Cagalli giving her speech ending with Siegel coming onto the stage. My thoughts about Durandal weren't kind lately, so I was suspicious of him having send this girl off to not be on the public stage.

I kept listening to Meer as it seemed that she had things to get off her chest and I was there. For whatever reason, people feel they can talk to me about pretty much anything, maybe since I'm not one to open my mouth for no reason and spout things I'm told. Anyways, Meer had been trying her utmost to help bring peace according to what Durandal had been telling her to do. Where he had found this young woman, I don't know and honestly, I doubt it matters any longer by this point. With what happened Orb, the man had fed her the lie that some within the Federation were siding with Djibril and Logos and the rest were unaware of it. Meer was asked by Durandal to help reveal the 'truth' to the world so that a mutual understanding could be achieved and so more deaths could be prevented. Admittedly, the story Durandal was using could be believed with the current circumstances the world was going through even when it was a plain lie.

It was easy to see that Meer bore no ill will towards Cagalli or any within the Federation. Meer saw the work she was doing in influencing the masses being the best course of action for peace. Doing your best to try and make things better for yourself and others with good intention isn't wrong, in fact the world would be a better place if more did such. No, the issue and what has contributed to the current crapshoot that all humans are in right now in both the war and outside of it is different than that. Such would be called obsession and vendetta and are what is driving the actions of those like Gilbert Durandal and Lord Djibril. Those like them which are humankind's true enemy that are why the war is still going more than before. The two are not the exact same in what they do, but both are working to destroy humanity in some shape or form, of that I am sure.

However, in my view Siegel had come into the picture as a voice of reason and sanity among the chaos the world was floundering in and that had been sorely needed! The way he had put the state of the world and the war as it was, it had been so wonderfully simplistic that is was extremely hard to deny let alone argue with. Not only had he pretty much called Durandal out on some of the deception he had been doing without saying it directly but had 'spiked' the ball back to Durandal's side of the court by making his choice on Orb be seen for what it was and hard! The deception piece was something I've personally wanted called out for an amount of time now. And Siegel had done the same idea my sweet mother did during the last war in making sure the blame goes exactly where it belongs! That's harder to justify or snake out of than simply being bluntly accused of wrongdoing.

Then, I doubt any could have put what Siegel had said about the purpose of Durandal's campaign than he did. The campaign against Logos may have sounded good as it was sold, but in reality, it was anything but. The idea made things worse and Logos is still around for all the efforts made, so not that much of a gain for the sacrifices paid. Those words Siegel said would stand as a standard of judgement for ZAFT and Durandal going forward for a while for the rest of the world to view them by, along with what my mother had added to them. I guarantee that the speech will be talked about for years to come like my mom's speech about humankind's true enemy is still even today.

Back to Meer, the girl was now seriously questioning things she had believed with recent events. Part of that came from being shown that what Durandal said before could be wrong, the other half was from some things Athrun had told her. My friend had realized that Meer was being made into a puppet and manipulated, he had tried to tell her such during his attempted escape from Carpentaria. Apparently, lines that Athrun had said were haunting her along with what had happened to Athrun after she had pretty much told him that he was wrong. "And the last thing I said to Athrun was 'you're wrong Athrun, I am Lacus Clyne'. I didn't want to believe what he said, but now I don't know what to think or who to believe," Meer said with tones of regret.

Clearly, she was sorry about what had gone on between her and Athrun, but there is a chance to correct this. "Well thankfully, there is a chance for you to say you're sorry for what you said to Athrun as he is still very much alive," I stated, speaking for the first time since she started rambling to me.

Meer's head snapped over to stare at me, "Athrun is alive," she questioned.

I nodded, "Yep, he is in fact, he's here at Serenity City as it happens," I replied. The feeling of being watched registered to me and I covertly scanned around subtly and quickly identified a few people that stuck out from the inhabitance of the city. The reason I feel that I haven't been jumped already, for the malicious intent was impossible to miss was Meer was with me and there were other people near by. That wouldn't stop some kinds of people, but it discourages most from doing anything noticeable in public.

Seeing as Meer and I were being spied upon, it would be surprising if it is for good or nice reasons in this instance, I continued as if I hadn't noticed them. "Athrun came with the Archangel after it ascended from Earth," I iterated, then an idea came to my mind. This was an opportunity to set up a trap for this group that would no doubt jump at the chance to try and assassinate Lacus. It's better to know about what you're going into than walking forward blindly into a situation in my opinion. "And as I recall, he and some others were planning to go and see the old amphitheater here. It's a nice sight even if it's not popular to visit as it used to be these days, so it tends to be quiet most of the time."

Now to see if the bait will be taken by those listening in, and my answer came as if it was timed. "Miss Lacus, there you are," said a female voice.

A woman came to the open plaza that Meer and I were in currently, she was around my own height range. She had shoulder length blond hair and brown eyes, though she was wearing a magenta visor across her eyes. The woman was in a black shirt with green jacket over it with a green skirt and tights. "Sarah," Meer said in relief.

I held back the smirk at the prompt response, for as I believe the old phrase goes 'I got them hook line and sinker' for the bait I threw out has been snatched up with vigor! Now, all that's left is for me to reel them in and set them up for a net, "One of those you were with Miss Clyne I take it," I remarked. Meer nodded, and so I turned to this Sarah, "It is easy to get separated from people around the hustle and bustle of Serenity City ma'am, wouldn't you say?"

The woman inclined her head, "Indeed it is, thank you for accompanying Miss Lacus it is appreciated. We take over watching over her from here," she said.

The others that had been spying moved closer giving the impression that I was to move along and mind my own business. I simply shrugged at the attempted intimidation, "Sure, I was just helping Miss Clyne find those whom she had been separated from being the nice guy that I am." I took a few steps away before I stopped and turned, "I do hope that you enjoy the rest of your time here at Serenity City Miss Lacus."

I left the group of whaat was likely Meer's bodyguards and made my way back to the docks, contacting Kira and Athrun along my way telling them I needed to tell them something important. Athrun and the girl named Meyrin met up with me, but Kira and Lacus were missing, "Hey Athrun, I was kind of hoping that Lacus and Kira would be with you," I greeted.

"They were involved with shopping Tye," Athrun replied, "What's going on?"

Oh, was that ever a complicated question, or rather had I made it so with the bait I'd extended out for assassins to snatch up. Now I had caused a situation that put a friend in danger and potentially others as well, something I don't usually do. In the end, I exhaled heavily, "Well, to begin that stand-in Lacus is here Athrun," I stated bluntly.

Athrun's eyes widened at my statement, "Meer is here?"

I nodded, "Yep, I ran into her, quite literally as a matter of fact while I was out and about avoiding Sakura. The girl apparently got separated from those she was with here and so I helped her out by staying with her until we found those she came with," I replied.

"I sense a 'but' with this," Athrun commented, leaving it open for me to answer.

"You're sharp as usual Athrun for right you are my friend. The 'but' comes in when she and I came across her bodyguards, they spied first and then approached. They didn't have a friendly air about them in any way, shape or form." I took a breath and began the part I played, "So, the reason I called for you was I may have thrown out some bait that will likely put Lacus in danger."

Athrun's gaze stayed on me, "What type of danger are you talking about Tye?"

I smiled with a little regret, "Well, I suggested a venue and said that you and 'others' might be around there sometime today that being the amphitheater here. I do believe that they took the bait I gave them and somehow will make some form of contact with Lacus and draw her there to do not nice things. That in mind, you can understand why I would like to give Kira and Lacus a heads up so all of you can be ready and, on the lookout," I returned.

After stating that, Athrun and I got down to planning out how best to go about what I had ignited and have as many alive afterwards. Meyrin and Athrun would head back to meet up with Kira and Lacus and stay with them while this crap was going on. Meanwhile, I would swing by the Normandy, get reinforcements and suit up before heading to the amphitheater armed and ready to take done some assassins. Before splitting up, I made sure that Athrun and Meyrin had pistols with them and one extra for Kira, then I sprinted in the direction of the Normandy.

When I got to the ship, I did ask Lisa to give a warning to the authorities of Serenity City that there would be trouble soon and it would be brought under control. That would cover most issues that I could foresee in this that I wasn't already expecting. Then, I told commander Marks to have his team suit up and ready themselves for an 'outing' that would be a messy one. Along the way to get ready for the job, Sakura found me and ended out joining in the preparations when I mentioned Lacus would soon be in a jam. Yet, once all participating were good to go we headed out from the ship and towards the amphitheater, stealth systems up and running.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Kira and Lacus had continued looking around one of the shopping centers in the eastern sector of Serenity when the message from Tyler had come. Athrun and Meyrin said that they would go and see what he wanted to convey then meet back up with them. It was so rare for Lacus to be able to go out and shop like most people did with her keeping a low profile. Kira seeing Lacus happy as she was couldn't find it in himself to tell her no to this activity. It had been a while since Lacus had been able to be like a normal teenager and there hadn't been much opportunity for her. Plus, Lacus seemed somewhat familiar with the city itself, but according to her she had spent time around Luna Base and so, Lacus could have slipped over here.

Athrun and Meyrin returned around a half an hour later and found them both while Lacus was trying on clothes. Lacus was showing off an outfit to Kira as Athrun was trying to think of how to deliver the information Tyler had told him about the upcoming situation. However, before he could broach the subject with Kira, a sound was heard, "HARO!" The four turned and saw a crimson ball bouncing towards their group, Lacus caught the robot when it leapt at her, "Haro," announced the robot.

Athrun recognized the Haro robot instantly as the one that was usually with Meer, which just confirmed that she was here as Tyler said. Upon closer inspection, the crimson Haro was found to be holding a small letter with it addressed to Lacus. That suggested that the machine was the means that Tyler said would come to lure Lacus to the set trap. Lacus opened the letter and showed it to the others and the it read as follows:

Please help Miss Lacus! There is a group that intends to kill me! I don't know where to turn for help, so please come to the amphitheater at the western sector of Serenity City! I don't want to die!

All four looked at each other then back at the letter, the only sounds that were heard were from the people around them. It would clearly be a trap they would be walking into should they go, but if it was true then Meer might die if Lacus didn't go. Athrun then iterated what Tyler had done which effectively created this situation as it was. Kira didn't like what he heard even if he knew that Tyler wouldn't put Lacus into potential dangers, he didn't like that it might happen. Even when Athrun said that Tyler promised that he would be there to do his utmost to prevent people from dying, Kira was still hesitant. Yet, Lacus was adamant that she go and see this through and confront this Meer face to face. None of the other three could talk her out of the decision, so they went with her instead as guards, Kira taking the gun that Athrun handed him.

When they reached to the amphitheater, Athrun positioned himself in front while Meyrin was on the right and Kira was next to Lacus as they moved forward. The group made their way slowly towards the center of the structure, Athrun, Kira and Meyrin sweeping their pistols as they went. Athrun came out into the main stage area of the amphitheater and saw Meer there first before any of the other three had come into view. "Athrun," uttered Meer.

Athrun swung his pistol to train on Meer which stopped her where she was, "What is this about Meer? This is unlike you to do or plan something like this," he accused.

Meer was confused at this more than she was when Sarah suggested this arrangement would help settle things. Sarah had said with the uncertainty there was, she could confront the 'other Lacus Clyne' and make things clear without issues public or private. Meer had nothing against Lacus Clyne in fact, she was still a huge fan of her songs and before now she would have given almost anything for a chance to meet her in person. However, after working with Chairman Durandal like she had, Meer wasn't as sure as she had been before. She had been more Lacus Clyne than this other person had been over the last year… hadn't she? It was Miss Clyne's work to help in the efforts to bring peace along with singing, that's what she did.

"Calm down Athrun, that's not what this meeting will hopefully do," said another voice, one that was near identical to Meer's own. Out of the shadows of the passageway that Athrun had come out of came a girl that Meer had only seen pictures of, none other than Lacus Clyne herself. She looked so similar yet so different from Meer herself and that only confused her further. "Hello Meer Campbell, it's nice to meet you in person at last, and now that I am here you said in your message that you were in some sort of danger and needed my help," Lacus stated.

Meer gained a feeling of fear, even being close to the one that had been an influence for her to going into singing in the first place. This girl had more reason to hate and despise Meer herself, yet here she was saying she wanted to help her. Still Meer took a breath and spoke, "I might have exaggerated an amount when I said I would die if you didn't come and I apologize for that. I wanted to meet you for a long time honestly, probably since I heard one of your songs for the first time." Meer glanced to Athrun, "And I'm sorry for what I said to you before Athrun and I'm glad you're alive." Meer paused for a moment ordering her thoughts, "Maybe what you said is right Athrun and I'm being used as a puppet by others. But even so, whether a dream or a lie I have felt more alive being Lacus Clyne than who I once was. I have become Lacus Clyne and I will do everything to keep it that way, so I am Lacus," she declared in a shout by the end.

There was silence for a moment, tension was swelling as Meer didn't back down, "If it is my name you want then you may have it, take it and all that goes with it," Lacus said calmly yet firmly. Meer stared at Lacus as that wasn't the answer she had been expecting, "However, even if you use my name and have the reputation, you would still not be me Miss Meer. We can only be ourselves by how we choose to be, we cannot be someone other than ourselves as much as we wish that was not so." Meer fell to her knees as she began to understand what was being said and the truth there was to it. Still Lacus kept going, "But, I do not believe that should mean that you have to give up on your values just because you are not me Miss Meer. If you believe in the values you hold, then no one else can change that unless you allow them to. Should you do that, you will find that the two of us have more in common than many might think," Lacus assured.

Meer wanted to believe what Lacus was saying, words could not accurately describe how much she wished to believe what was being said was the truth. Nevertheless, the situation shifted as Kira saw the dot of a laser site training on Lacus. He rushed forward grabbed Lacus and got her behind cover as a shot struck where she had been. Athrun instantly snagged Meer and pulled her behind stonework as other bullets followed the first shot and the rain of weapon fire began. However, the rain of bullets didn't stay one sided for long as moments later shots were fired back at the assassins trying to kill Lacus.

Athrun peeked around the stone pillar that he was hiding behind, noting smoke was appearing from grenades coming from seemingly nowhere. That implied that Tyler was holding up his end of the promise he made about keeping Lacus and those with her safe. Not that Athrun had expected anything else, when Tyler made a promise, he fully intended to do what it took to keep it. Kira and Meyrin were adding their pistols to the storm of bullets going in the direction of the assassins. Still, Athrun communicated to the Archangel and told them of the situation then requesting backup as soon as could be sent to their current location.

It quickly became clear that those fighting against the assassins outnumbered them by a margin and it was growing. Sarah was frustrated at this unforeseen difficulty that had appeared for it was hampering the mission that she and those with her were to do. The Chairman had made it clear, if the opportunity to deal with and silence Lacus Clyne, then Sarah was to take it and silence Lacus Clyne. The other problem with the current circumstances came with the longer this went on the more likely the Federation's military would be involved and that was to be avoided the best possible. After a bit, Sarah dropped her sniper rifle and made her way closer to the target, taking cover as she approached.

Yet as she went forward, she witnessed one of her comrades getting close to their goal get shot at point blank by seemingly nothing. In fact, many of those that had been with Sarah were either being shot or had fallen already. Seeing that would deter Sarah from doing her best in attempting to kill Lacus Clyne, after all Chairman Durandal had entrusted them with this task. Nonetheless, a few bullets managed to find their mark in Sarah's legs followed by her lower back and she fell to the ground. Sarah gritted through the pain and glared at her goal which was within close to spitting distance as if the girl was taunting her with remaining alive. Even as Sarah watched, a golden mobile suit appeared on the scene landing close by, probably here to take the target to safety.

" _All right, I'm here for pick up, who's going first,_ " the pilot of the mobile suit announced.

Sarah wasn't about to let failure happen on her watch and there not be a fair effort be made to complete the objective. She ignored the pain from her wounds and reached for her pistol and then pointed it at Lacus Clyne. Yet, before she could pull the trigger a knife sailed through the air and struck the same hand holding the pistol, causing her aim to be off as the gun fired and then she let go of the gun and the gun spun away a short distance.

Kira had just put himself in front of Lacus when he noticed one of those on the ground moving and then had a gun in hand. But a knife imbedded itself in the woman's hand forcing her to release the gun as she was firing as shot off and the bullet missed. Kira's attention was then drawn to a figure in a Federation pilot suit appearing a short distance away from the woman walking towards her. The woman tried reaching for the gun with her other hand, but the weapon was shot away from her by the individual approaching. After holstering the submachine gun, the Federation soldier then removed their helmet revealing that the individual was Tyler. "Well well, our paths cross again Miss Attendant, isn't that interesting," he remarked.

Sarah glared murderously at Tyler, before he looked over at Kira and Athrun, "Everyone okay? No holes or anything like that I hope," he asked.

The five teens that had been around the gunfight looked at each other and Athrun shook his head, "I don't believe so, all of us look to be okay," he answered.

Tyler smiled at Athrun's reply, "Well that's a relief, the cleanup should be finished up soon enough and the authorities have been informed so there should be no trouble on our end," he stated. Then Tyler turned back to gaze at Sarah who was laying on the ground, "You on the other hand lady, I highly doubt will be so fortunate to have little to no trouble due to this altercation." Tyler strode over to stand in front of and above Sarah, "So then, how about we start with a name and we'll see how things work out from there," Tyler posed.

Sarah was silent at the inquiry, to which Tyler exhaled, "Yeah, I figured that you wouldn't say anything. The last bunch that tried an assassination stunt I was around weren't inclined to talk either, ended out shooting a number of them instead. So, I guess there's just one thing left to ask, any last words you feel you need to say," asked Tyler.

Sarah gazed murderously at one of those stopping her, "Lacus Clyne must be silenced, she stands against the greatest attempt to end war forever," she stated and said nothing else, and she would say nothing more to this individual so that it could be given to the Federation. He could do his worst and the results would be the same. Tyler stared at her for a moment, then shrugged, "Fine, have it your way," he said. He started walking away from Sarah, "She's all yours, do whatever you want to her," Tyler stated.

The next thing that registered, Sarah felt a rifle barrel touching the back of her upper back, "You will regret that last line and what you attempted to do," said a cold female voice, "I personally guarantee you'll be feeling the worst you ever have before you die."

Sarah stiffened at those words, glancing back and found to her horror that she hadn't been hearing things. Standing above her with Sarah's own sniper rifle in hand was the woman that was the Black Zephyr and she knew that she would suffer a lot before she died. Sarah tried to move, but when she did she was shot in the right side of her abdomen. Sakura kept firing bullet after bullet at the woman below her into non-vital areas merely to cause pain and suffering. She kept going making sure this woman that Gilbert Durandal sent to kill her little sister would serve as an example to any others that might consider trying this idea in future, what kind of fate awaited them. Lacus and the two other girls looked away as Sakura did what she was as did Kira and Athrun. Tyler walked over to where the younger people were, "Well, it's nice that this situation is done, I've never have understood why people would toss away their lives for little to nothing," he said.

Meer had an expression of sick horror from the of each gun shot and following cries of the woman that was supposed to be her attendant were heard. There came a final crack of gunfire before the clattering of a gun being dropped to the ground echoed. Once silence fully fell, Tyler faced Lacus and Meer, "I feel I should apologize to you two ladies as this situation put you both in danger and I played a part of it coming to be," he stated bowing.

Sakura came walking up to the group, spatters of blood over the pilot suit she was wearing, the air she was giving off was menacing. And yet, her face had an expression of indifference overall, but when Sakura looked at Lacus she did crack a small smile. Lacus's gaze fell to the ground, "Sakura… I'm sorry," she began.

Lacus didn't finish as Sakura moved forward and embraced her, "You have nothing to be sorry about Lacus. I told you before didn't I, any that try and do anything uncomfortable or harmful to you deal with me period, by whatever methods I deem fit," she stated.

 **-Line Break-**

Daedalus Lunar Base

The events that had happened around Orb and the assault that had followed had been tedious to Djibril, even if a tad amusing at times. But now that he had made it to Daedalus, things could progress forward in a more efficient manner. His goal was unchanged, Djibril wanted to see the destruction of Coordinators to its conclusion. Those that had be captured or killed along the way of this work were unfortunate but would be remembered as noble sacrifices. Yet as long as Djibril was free and able he would continue the extermination of Coordinators.

Here at Daedalus there was a weapon system that could start the process of Coordinator extermination known as Requiem. The Requiem was a beam cannon which had been built under the nose of both the Federation and ZAFT and none the wiser to its purpose or existence. The cannon itself was constructed into the underground surrounded by a shallow crater right next to the Alliance's Daedalus lunar base. The cannon's barrel was fairly long and was covered by a armored bulkhead. The way the power conduits were laid, made the flow of energy undetectable from above or outside the barrel.

The other half of the system that Requiem was a part of was the 'relay stations' which were positioned at different points. These relay stations were built from abandoned O'Neill type cylindrical space colonies with their end caps removed. They were outfitted with a large network of large Geschmeidig Panzer arrays to work on the limited power the former colony structures had. These stations are controlled from the Daedalus base and could be positioned in strategic locations to work with the cannon itself.

The cannon itself would fire off a pale green energy beam which would use the relay stations to get to the intended target. So, using different combinations of these arrays, the Requiem can be fired at targets anywhere in the Earth Sphere or any of the colonies. There were five relay stations in total named Gounod, Fauré, Czerny, Letunã and Fourier. The beam itself was in theory powerful enough to destroy anything in its path or be used as a giant beam saber to cut through whole space colonies. The process is done by the beam entering one such relay which bends the beam to the next relays and so on, until it hits it designated target.

The Requiem was ordered to begin its charging sequence as the point took some time to be done. Djibril had a clear target in mind already, Aprilius One the capitol of the PLANTs. Hitting that colony would not only kill a massive number of Coordinators, it would act as a message to the rest that their days were numbered. And Coordinators fleeing to the Federation territory wouldn't save them, Djibril would be sure to see to that. It would be a pleasure to make sure of their deaths along with being rid of some other individuals along with them. As Requiem charged the anticipation built within Djibril at finally seeing the destruction of Coordinators about to come to pass.

Meanwhile, the forces that were loyal to Logos were moving abandoned O'Neill colonies to different positions in loose lunar orbit. However, the actions had drawn notice from both ZAFT and the Federation's military who moved in on different colonies as they were being moved. Fighting quickly ensued between the forces of Logos and their opponents and the transporting of the last two relay stations were brought to a halt.

As the fighting around the last two relay stations "Fourier" and "Letunã", Requiem finished its charging cycle. After the cannon barrel was open, the trigger for Requiem rose out of its secure locked position and Djibril grabbed the trigger in his hand. Requiem's final set of safety locks were released, making the cannon ready to fire at the activation of the trigger. Djibril smiled as the beginning of the end of Coordinators was at hand. Granted, the final two relay stations were not in their assigned places completely, but they should be close enough. "And now Gilbert Durandal, allow me to play a requiem for you and all your kind," announced Djibril as he pulled the trigger.

Requiem fired a green beam and it zoomed towards the first relay station Gounod where it bent in an arc. The beam arced in close to a match to the lunar orbit of the moon heading for the Fauré relay and bent once again. The beam kept going, instantly gaining attention by ZAFT and Federation forces as the beam shot towards the Czerny relay. After going through the third relay, the beam changed direction again and zoomed towards the next relay. Most of the ZAFT forces managed to evade the beam in time as it was deflected through the Letunã relay towards the last station.

However, when the beam came to the Fourier station, the beam didn't bend like it had before at the other relays. It kept on a straight path after going through the colony and passed by the intended targets at L5 but was clearly visible from the PLANTs. Seeing how close an attack had come to hitting one or more of the PLANTs, ZAFT forces redoubled their efforts on disabling the relay station they had been trying to deal with. The last relay station Fourier was broken down further after the beam passed by the Federation forces.

At Daedalus, Djibril was processing the fact that the Requiem's beam had not struck any of the PLANT colonies as intended. Anger quickly filled him at understanding that the beam had missed when it shouldn't have. Granted, the last two relay stations weren't exactly where they were assigned to be, but that shouldn't have brought about a miss of the shot. "What happened for Requiem to miss, everything should have been perfect and gotten the beam to the target," demanded Djibril.

There was scrambling and moments later the answer to Djibril came from one of the operators reporting to the base's commander. "Sir, readings indicated that Letunã and Fourier were having issues due to the fighting around them. Letunã's systems were slightly off but were within acceptable margin though it was close. However, Fourier had its power flow disrupted and so the array of Geschmeidig Panzers went offline just before the beam reached the station preventing the shot to continue bending."

"Recharge Requiem so that we can fire again and have the remaining relay stations adjusted to get the beam to L5. Have what forces we have keep ZAFT and the Federation forces occupied for the charging cycle to finish. This next shot is not to miss the PLANTs understand," ordered Djibril frustratedly.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Serenity City

Days passed since the attempt had been made against Lacus and things had been fairly quiet, a little too much so if you ask me. The only thing that had been confirmed about Djibril was that he had gotten to the Alliance's Daedalus base on the dark side of the moon. Leaving a man like Lord Djibril to his own devices is as safe as going into the vacuum of space without a proper air-tight space suit. It's begging for trouble and catastrophe to come around with vigor and there has been enough of that to last awhile. The issue is that Gilbert Durandal isn't much better than Djibril is for anyone and the two men have already cause enough!

The girl Meer had been taken to the Eternal as she was in a bit of a bind now with how things had gone down. The ones watching her had been 'dealt with' and the incident had been cleaned up by the authorities here at Serenity City. ZAFT didn't give any sign that they were aware of what had happened, though they hadn't been told or informed. So, Meer was a liability for Durandal and as Athrun had proven, Durandal doesn't allow those to be around him long without trying to remove them. The girl couldn't be left on her own for the time being, there was too much a chance of her getting killed if she was left alone.

Back to the present, it was early morning and I was in my bed… yes, Sakura was in it too as she sneaks into it, even though I try and get her to stay out of it. Anyways, I had woken up and managed to get out of Sakura's hold and made my way to the desk in my quarters. My expectations of this day being like the one before came to an end when an alert popped up on the terminal I was looking at. The alert iterated an event that had just occurred and as I went through the details, I was proven why my thoughts about those like Djibril and Durandal being left alone was so right.

Apparently, the Alliance or some within it had built a weapon at Daedalus which when combined with arrays with something that could deflect beams was used to try and attack the PLANTs. The beam had miss, which was being accredited to the damage done to the two stations that were last in the line. Even with the miss, ZAFT wasn't taking the beam nicely and I can't exactly blame them as their home was almost hit. However, I get the feeling that changing the one with the trigger from Djibril to Durandal won't stop the weapon from being used, simply shift the targets shot at. And I doubt that I'm the only one who feels that way, there will be actions taken to make the weapon that had been used unable to fire I would bet.

I viewed what recordings there were on the attempt, what I saw motivated me to get dressed and rush to the bridge of the Normandy. Those on duty were going about with an air of intense focus, and with the alert that had come in, not that surprising it was that way. We had been waiting for the next move to be made as so it had been, yet we still didn't have orders of where to go at this time. Now, should that remain that way for all that much longer, then I'll have the Normandy move out without orders and enough of the higher-ups know my inclination to get involved is not always a good thing.

Lisa, I knew could see that I was getting frustrated at waiting especially when mad men were shooting weapons to kill lots of people. It was one of the major takeaways that came from the Bloody Valentine incident, I loathed having to watch as a weapon of mass destruction are employed to kill in mass. Every time that attack like this one occurs, memories of what I felt would come back to me in varying degrees. That was accompanied by the anger that these mad men were focused on their vendettas that they didn't care about those they killed in the process!

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **Okay, so some things to mention and point out I suppose. First, I know that I said in the closing notes of the last Phase that you would see the Xevonia in action, I apologize as it was in this Phase it was in. These phases were originally going to be one, but the length was growing, and I try to keep their length as reasonable as possible. Second, I know that I'm coming a bit close to canon at this point but rest assured that it will not match it. I won't spoil the changes I've been planning to make as it wouldn't make them as neat I believe.**

 **Next collection of points to bring up, I'm aware that I portray Sakura as flat out mean at the tail end of the attempt on Lacus's life. I mentioned before that Sakura has 'done' things to 'protect Lacus' that would be seen horribly, this is an example, a more extreme one, but still. As for not having Meer die to save Lacus, I admit that I didn't have the heart to have her die for that reason. Then the miss of Requiem on hitting the PLANTs, I thought that would due rather than hitting directly. Djibril will still get his just dues, I won't tell you how that will happen, but I will say that your guesses will likely be wrong.**

 **The final point, the relationship developing with Tyler and Sakura specifically talked about during the last section of the previous Phase. I know that Tyler has said that he doesn't want to end out with Sakura Clyne and you can't exactly blame him given the history between the two. There personalities clash pretty good and they didn't get along the best, or rather Tyler didn't appreciate what Sakura did around or to him. However, when all is said and done, the two actually can work well together as seen in the defense of the Eternal. Plus, the interactions between the two tend to be rather funny and humor is always nice to have. Please keep the reviews coming as they are motivation for this story, peace out until the next Phase!**

 **ChuChewy**

Glad you appreciated the stuff I do with Tyler and Sakura, their always fun to write about for me.

 **REVANOFSITHLORD**

Honestly, I gave a hint it I believe Phase 24 when Tyler was praying that he wouldn't end out with Sakura, when she had made it pretty clear that she would be his choice or nothing.


	44. Phase 44: Ambitions of Change

**A/n**

 **Here is Phase 44, it took a tad longer than I wanted it to but haven't had as much time as I would like to write. Anyways, same disclaimer still applies as always and enjoy the Phase and the story continuation!**

* * *

Phase 44: Ambitions of Change

May 15th, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

The close miss the beam from Daedalus caused panic with the citizens of the PLANTs, more than the attempted nuclear strike against the colonies. PLANT officials were having difficulty keeping things from getting worse and chaos breaking down of governmental control. The PLANTs weren't the only place or group that were taken by surprise by the near miss from a weapon previously unknown. Within the Earth Sphere, worry quickly grew at the chance that the same weapon could be used anywhere on Earth. The suspected damaged that a beam like what had been seen wasn't small, just different than nuclear weapons would cause.

The moment that Durandal arrived at the space fortress Messiah, he demanded a status update on what had just happened. When he was told that the green line of light that he had seen was a beam which had missed striking any of the PLANTs directly, Durandal wasn't pleased with what he heard. It took time to get things organized and under control with the panic that came from the near miss. That the PLANTs had been shot at all was something that Durandal didn't want to happen and it irked him. Durandal was sure that Djibril was behind this, but for him to have had a weapon constructed that was capable of striking a target anywhere from the dark side of the moon and no one knowing about was infuriating. And yet, the idea itself had merit for handling possible issues that could likely come up during the coming stages of the Destiny Plan.

If this beam cannon at Daedalus could be captured with the majority intact, then all the better in Durandal's view. With that in mind, Durandal asked that the Minerva head back up into space to help out with the current situation. The ZAFT lunar fleet was already working on disabling the O'Neil colonies as was some Federation forces. The beam cannon unlikely could fire consecutively, so there would be some time before there would be a second shot. However, Durandal didn't think it would be a lot of time with Djibril on the trigger and that man would pull it without hesitation.

So, Durandal contacted the Minerva once she had return to space and gave them the situation as it stood. Durandal then got down to giving the Minerva their mission against the Alliance's Daedalus Base. Once the Minerva headed off towards the moon, Durandal began arranging things to go the way he wanted and would be helpful for the Destiny Plan. The work ended out having Durandal in the office on Messiah, left to his own thoughts that recent events had been bringing on. The flow of events was going well enough for the Destiny Plan to come to change the human race for the better. Granted, there had been and still were setbacks and obstructions making things more difficult, but those weren't halting the plan completely. However, there were still a few worrisome problems that Durandal wanted to be rid of as soon as possible.

The main part of that collection of problems were made of a group of individuals that continuously interfered and meddled in things. Among them was Lacus Clyne herself and her father, both who brought other issues with them. Then there was Athrun Zala who had shown such promise but refused to do as he was told. Durandal also suspected others contributing such as Tyler McGregor, ace pilot and strong believer in 'humanity's potential'. But, out of them all Kira Yamato was the most troublesome from Durandal's point of view. Zala and McGregor were irritating enough with the skills in piloting and abilities in inspiring others to fight for a cause. Nevertheless, Yamato wasn't only the same in that as those two, he also represented an idea that Durandal loathed with much of his being.

Kira Yamato was the foolish dream of the geneticist Ulen Hibiki, a man that had such potential and promise to change so much for the better and yet wasted all of that on his foolish pursuit. Dr. Hibiki had been a genius, a man ahead of his time and had revolutionized the subject of genetics bringing it to what it was today. Nonetheless, for all the good that man could have done instead he had obsessed over the pursuit of a ridiculous dream of 'perfection'. If only he could of been of more the caliber of Durandal's own mentor Professor Blass, then the world would be a better place.

Professor Lance Blass had been one of Durandal's teachers in his younger days when he had been in the field of genetics himself. Particularly, his lecture on true scientific progress had always stuck with Gilbert and helped him to get to where he was today. Especially, the lines 'look towards not only the goal, but also what such would cost and bring about. For if a goal and its results costs be too high, then was the intended goal really worth pursuing?'. Heck, Gilbert had even asked Professor Blass his opinion of the chances of the Destiny Plan. He had said it could work but would likely have problems as a long-term solution for the issues the human race faced. That had been his professional view, the professor's personal view had been that such an idea could have much more harmful consequences.

Anyways, back to Hibiki and his foolishness, he should have failed like those that had come before him and yet, somehow Hibiki had succeeded against all odds. Durandal knew even if others didn't what Hibiki had done to produce his dream, the lives he had ruined and destroyed. The man had been killed for his perfect human and yet his Ultimate Coordinator had survived all the attempts to destroy him and was now bringing nothing but hassle and trouble. Yamato somehow every time and in every situation would survive even if he didn't come out on top as the victor, it was frustrating.

The boy represented the pinnacle of what human beings could become given enough time, and yet he still had the very flaws that caused the whole path towards destruction. To Durandal, Kira Yamato represented the failure of humanity to change and forsake their flaws. He was Hibiki's mistake in giving into an obsession when he could have changed the whole human race for the better forever. He was glaring evidence of why the Destiny Plan was the best hope that the human race had to prevent its own extinction. It was because the boy was made to be so different than any other, his 'superior genes' couldn't be allowed to be. Individuals that stood out from the rest couldn't be permitted in the designed world that the Destiny Plan would create, they were abnormalities. Abnormalities brought chaos and unbalanced the order of the world, so they had to be removed.

Once word came that the Minerva had got back into space, Durandal assigned them to head for Daedalus at the same time that ZAFT's lunar fleet would attack the first relay station before they headed for Daedalus base. If the forces of Logos could be distracted by the lunar fleet, then it would give the Minerva a chance to sneak up from a different direction and strike the base with much less of its defenders around to stop them. The cannon needed to be disabled while Djibril was there and in control, that was clear and there was no debate about that point. Durandal would prefer that the taking of the base happened in such a way that would leave the cannon itself intact for it had potential applications in the near future. However, if that was not how things turned out in the end, that wasn't a deal breaker as there were other options available.

The operation against Daedalus was a priority, but Durandal's mind went back to the point that there was a lack of visible movement from the Alliance and Federation forces other than the disablement of the fifth relay station. That fact bugged him quite a bit, even if such was kind of expected from the Federation's military, it was odd for the Alliance. The growing trend was worrisome as there was the possibility of a cooperative agreement between the two factions. If that were the case, then that could complicate things for the Destiny Plan going forward further. Siegel Clyne's speech had caused more than enough ripples that had required work to deal with beyond just damage control. Durandal was having others do what they could to down play the recent interference as nothing to worry about.

However, should there be some form of cooperation or truce between the Alliance and the Federation, that would spell upcoming difficulties. The Human Federation and its military were potential issue enough by themselves, there was no need to add to them when it concerned the Destiny Plan. Were what remained of the Alliance and the Earth Forces to join up with the Federation, that would only make things harder. And Durandal was of the mentality that it's better to take care of problems by preventing them before they become issues that were unavoidable.

Meanwhile, as ZAFT was preparing a coordinate strike against the Daedalus base both the Earth Forces and the Federation Military were gearing up for their own responses to the threat that Requiem presented. Daedalus had been under watch, but not heavy scrutiny and so Requiem's beam had taken most by surprise. With the disablement of one of the relay stations, and one not working fully the beam cannon couldn't effectively fire at a target far away like the PLANTs or Earth. Nevertheless, that merely bought time until that was fixed, and the weapon fired again and possibly did irreversible damage and take countless lives. Whether the weapon was under the control of Logos or ZAFT it was still too dangerous to leave as it was.

As such, two separate tasks happened due to the firing of Requiem to help change things. The first was for Arzachel to speed up the evacuation it was undergoing and the second was to have a mobile suit squadron go to the Daedalus base and do further work to disable the weapon. The evacuation of Arzachel had been happening slowly before now to avoid drawing notice from ZAFT. However, the memory of what had occurred to Ptolemaeus lunar base during the last war hadn't been forgotten and was coming to mind. With the threat of Requiem striking the base in the future, the emptying the base had been sped up and was being covered up by Federation forces under the direction of Duane Halberton. For the second task, ZEL Defender suits were scrambled covertly from Luna Base and headed towards Daedalus. The squadron used the lunar terrain to mask their movements, taking the Crisium Canyon to the east of Luna Base. The route that the canyon was a part of was a less known route that had cave systems and was much less noticed.

As that was happening, the Minerva was going along an arc around the moon's dark side towards Daedalus while the ZAFT Lunar fleet kept the attention of Logos's forces. The defensive strength that Daedalus had was unknown, but most of it was assumed to be busy with the ZAFT lunar fleet. The plan was to have the Minerva strike Daedalus while most of its defenders were not there and that was expected to have a fair chance of success with the record the ship had. The finer detail to the said plan was that the Impulse piloted by Lunamaria would launch before the ship came into range of Daedalus. The Impulse would approach the beam cannon and gain entry through a service tunnel and get into the firing chamber itself. There the Impulse would disable the cannon by locating the control room and destroying it, thereby preventing the cannon to fire.

As the point for the Impulse to launch came closer, Lunamaria prepared herself for the mission she was being given. Pretty much everything for this mission hinged on her making it to the cannon interior and destroying the control room. The fate of the lunar fleet and the Minerva was being place squarely on her shoulders and her success in a timely manner. The nerves were starting to show for Luna, but she was keeping herself together the best she could. She never in her whole life imagined that a situation like this would come up, nor depend on her performance.

Aila wished Luna luck as she headed for the Core Splendor to head out and Rey gave her a smile. Shinn told her to be careful and that she could do this mission and the vote of confidence helped Luna a margin. She launched out with the Blast Silhouette and began her silent journey to the service tunnel to enter Requiem while the Minerva moved forward. And it wasn't long before the Minerva's approach was spotted by those at Daedalus. The Destiny, the Osiris and the Legend headed out from the Minerva in order to fight against the forces deploying from Daedalus. The Logos forces were made up of mobile armors, Windams and three more of their Destroy Gundams.

By the time the clash between ZAFT and Logos was starting, the squadron sent from Luna Base were coming into the 'home stretch' on the approach to Daedalus. There had been not a word said between any of the Federation pilots, they all knew and had been briefed on the mission and its importance. The air of seriousness was only increased by the racks of high-yield explosives that half of the ZEL Defenders were carrying. The explosives were the insurance of Requiem's disablement after the operation against Daedalus was complete. They would line the firing chamber of the cannon and would be above enough of the power conduits to shut the cannon down for a decent amount of time.

The squad flew in two lines, one slightly below the other, the lower line the explosive carriers and the others their escort. Soon enough, the two lines split in half and went down two different paths heading for the two service tunnels that had been identified. The entry went unnoticed as there was a battle going on at the main base and all the fighters made their way towards the Requiem's firing chamber. With all the ZEL Defenders stealth systems up and running, no one saw them come into Requiem's interior.

Once inside the firing chamber, the Federation squadron broke into pairs, one payload carrier and an escort who all headed to the upper part of the chamber. Those with the explosives shifted the racks to aim forward and the suits beginning the deployment of their payloads. The explosives attached themselves to the walls and anchored to the structure around them then vanished from the sight of any. The arming sequence for these explosives were set to activate should there be a moderate surge of power under them with the firing sequence of Requiem would easily trigger. As the charges were being laid, the second of each pair was keeping an eye out for any activity that could hamper the task.

Meanwhile, Luna was flying towards the entrance of the tunnel she was to use to gain entry to Requiem with the silence as her boon companion. Luna was focused on her task knowing that time was not on her side and that her allies would pay the price the longer she took. When she spotted the tunnel, she was surprised to see that it already to have been opened by someone else. That idea didn't make enough sense with the facts as they stood, who else could have come here and before ZAFT? How had they approached and gotten to this point without arousing any suspicion or alarms?

Luna shook her head and refocused on her mission and entered the tunnel and began making her way towards the Requiem's firing chamber. After traveling through the tunnel, she came out into a large chamber where she quickly began looking around for anything that could be the control room of this cannon. She did shoot at places that looked to be of interest that she could spot as Luna was focused on making the cannon unable to fire. And as fate would have it, one of the shots hit the control room, disabling the cannon from being able to fire. The outer covering for Requiem's barrel had already opened in the preparation to fire, but now that provided a way out of the firing chamber and to the lunar surface.

While that was happening, the clash between the Minerva and its mobile suits going against those siding with Logos was growing heated. Aila had made it clear to both Shinn and Rey, more the latter than the former that cooperation and teamwork would be best in this situation. She wasn't worried that Shinn got and understood the message, it was Rey who was the potential issue to her. Shinn was shaken from recent events and Aila could sympathize, this war had been getting more than just harsh. However, Rey had been developing an unhealthy interest with beating talented and skilled opponents lately and that had come very close to getting him killed in the last battle at Carpentaria. In this mission, the three gundam-types that the Minerva had could win against the stacked odds, but not just by rushing in alone and shooting at enemy units.

Shinn and Aila worked together going against the windams while Rey handle the mobile armors as the Legend was better equipped to deal with positron reflectors. While the mobile suits fought, the Minerva brought out its positron cannon out and aimed for the main area around the cannon. Yet, when the Minerva fired a volley, one of the mobile armors moved itself between the ZAFT vessel and the base deploying its reflector. The Minerva's positron beam was halted and resulted in a shockwave that forced all close by back a distance. The mobile armor began surging forward focusing on the Minerva with windams behind it. So, when the Osiris zoomed up behind the armor, beam javelin at the ready the armor had no idea what was coming. Aila plunged the javelin into the back section of the mobile armor, then backed away before the armor exploded.

The Destiny was making its way towards the Daedalus base itself fighting the windams that were trying to take Shinn down. The windams were only slowing Shinn's progress, the Destroys on the other hand made things harder. Still, Shinn pressed forward trying to disarm the Destroys rather than simply take them down. He remembered from the battle around Berlin that these machines could have nuclear reactors powering them. Striking or damaging a nuclear reactor carelessly could cause the reactors to detonate rather than go through an emergency shutdown and that wouldn't end well. The task was by no means easy, those piloting the Destroys were seeing to that.

Rey was focusing on ridding the field of mobile armors, especially ones with positron reflectors, which the javelin pods were very effective at doing. He was making up for not just the last battle around Carpentaria against the Federation forces, but also the failure around Orb. The defeat Rey had experienced during the defense of Carpentaria had been the worst he had even gone through and facing both the Freedom and the Justice hadn't been much better. That was acting as motivation for Rey in this fight, he even imagined some the mobile armors as the new Justice and Freedom.

As the battle continued, the Impulse came out of Requiem's firing chamber and Federation forces appeared on the field. Luna immediately began helping her allies, while the Federation suits were going against what remained of those loyal to Logos. The appearance of the Federation mobile suits wasn't questioned at this time, but it still left those on the Minerva to wonder why they would have shown up when they did. Yet, none complained about the unexpected extra mobile suits that were assisting in the assault against Daedalus, not when they were cancelling out the former Earth Forces' advantage with numbers.

Shinn made his way past two of the Destroys and brought one down without its reactor if it was a nuclear one to detonate. He then headed for a tunnel that led to the inside of the base and found himself coming into the docking area for ships. Shinn brought out the long-range beam cannon and began shooting at the structure around the ships to trap them where they were docked. He still didn't want to kill if it could be avoided, along with the words that Athrun had said echoing in his mind ' _I said what kind of future do YOU wish and fight for Shinn'_. No matter how many battle Shinn went into, they seemed to end with more suffering as a result and that left bitter feelings in Shinn's heart that he couldn't ignore.

As the destruction of key points that were involved in Requiem's operation were occurring, the Girty Lue was lifting off from an auxiliary dock. Djibril was fuming with the turn of events watching the ruins of Daedalus expanding in size. Victory had been within their grasp, one more shot was all that it would have took to seal the deal! And yet, as the finish line was in sight Durandal's favorite ship had to butt in and wreck everything. Now Djibril would have to keep a low profile for a time before doing anything else towards eliminated Coordinators.

Nonetheless, all that changed when the Legend moving towards the Girty Lue when it noticed the ship. Mobile suits were launched to fend off the Legend while the Girty Lue veered away to try and escape. Rey detached the Legend's DRAGOON pods and had them attack the Alliance mobile suits that were slowing him down and keeping him from taking down those running. However, by the time Rey had dispatched the opposing mobile suits the Girty Lue had vanished, and Rey was left cursing at the turn of events.

The battle kept going for a short period before what remained of Logos forces transmitted their surrender. The Federation suits had disappeared before the battle was settled, to where none knew. By the time some of ZAFT's lunar fleet arrived at Daedalus, things were coming under control. Those who had surrendered were not killed but treated humanely by ZAFT forces. Durandal after hearing of the success of the operation against Daedalus was pleased for a couple of reasons. First, it meant that Djibril was out of the way and good riddance in Durandal's opinion as the man had been an annoyance and troublemaker. It would have been better if Djibril would have been killed, but as he had nowhere to run and be safe, it was more a matter of time before he was dealt with once and for all. Second, according to reports, the beam cannon at Daedalus was still in fair working order, and after some repairs it would be good to use again. The cannon could serve as a deterrent for those that would oppose the Destiny Plan, and either get them to conform or weed them out.

The ZAFT lunar fleet soon arrived above Daedalus and teams were deployed to investigate the cannon and survey it. Durandal also gave orders to the commander over the teams to do what they could to get the cannon back into operational status. The other thing that Durandal mentioned was to look to see if there was anything off. The point that the Federation had been around Daedalus during the operation against it nagged at Durandal. There was the possibility that they had done something unseen before any had noticed them on the field. Such an action could still be potentially an issue later on if not seen to as soon as possible.

 **-Line Break-**

The squadron that was sent to Daedalus base to disable the beam cannon returned after completing their mission. No one sent had been lost, but the information they brought back to Luna Base wasn't comforting. ZAFT had gotten a team to Daedalus and they were apparently fixing the damage done to Requiem, likely to have it operational again to use. True, if the cannon was fixed it would fire for a few seconds before the explosives would disable the cannon, but that was more than enough time to do irreversible damage. Hence, why everyone that could was working hard to find out what could possibly be coming and the base itself went to high alert.

There was good news from this mission, the individual Lord Djibril had been apprehended before he could get to any of his remaining allies. The man had been trying to escape from Daedalus on a ship during the chaos of the battle. However, a Federation patrol had spotted them as they were making a bolt from Daedalus and the ship had been captured. Djibril had been seized immediately and handled like any war criminal would be, put in a cell and brought to be put on trial and sentenced. His hearing would take place once things were settled, but he would have no contact with the outside world in the meantime.

That point determined, that left just Requiem to worry about and deal with. The potential targets that would be in the scope of ZAFT with Requiem under their control weren't small, none were kidding themselves with Durandal doing what he had done recently. The Federation member nations would be within that scope and likely were near the top of the list. An air of focused seriousness hung over all working at Luna Base as they did everything possible to find out what coming. The informants from ZAFT were specifically being peppered with requests for information of any kind that could help. It was deemed critical that what Durandal was planning be identified as soon as possible to prepare properly.

Although it wasn't official, those who hadn't defected from the Earth Forces worked alongside the Federation's military. With a weapon like Requiem around to cause destruction to its target, even if it would be a little time before it was operational, the fear of what could happen was easy to feel. Even with the apprehending of Lord Djibril spelling out the effective end of Logos and threw Blue Cosmos into disarray that didn't mean that it would end the conflict. Both the Federation and the Alliance Forces were made to scramble somewhat to ready themselves for whatever it was Durandal would do next.

At Serenity City, those on the Archangel, Normandy, Dominion and Eternal were viewing the events as the news came in. The battle at Daedalus and the attack that had preceded it were horrible and only seemed to be building towards something. Tyler, Kira and Athrun watched the events then gathered together to discuss the developments. "Recent events only seem to be helping gain momentum for this 'Destiny Plan' in the notes from Mendel. But I don't understand what the point of the Destiny Plan is, what it is supposed to achieve in the end," Athrun started.

There was silence for a moment, "Such a world as those note from Mendel paint sounds quite tempting, I can't deny that without lying personally. I would be among the first to say that a world where war is gone would be a good thing. But I don't think that's all there is to this Destiny Plan," Tyler mused.

"Yes, and if Chairman Durandal hadn't targeted Lacus, we might have agreed with his views as well. He's the one that said we shouldn't fight, Lacus and I agree with that principle as fighting will bring hatred and regret. But for him to dictate what Lacus or anyone else should do is wrong, a world that such is done is the kind is based on arrogance," Kira said.

"That's true," Athrun replied.

Tyler shook his head a bit, "Once again Kira, you leave us to wonder if your naïveté is genuine or one of the most impressive acts that could fool many," Tyler remarked, to which Kira looked to the floor. Tyler continued, "However, a valid point you have nonetheless Kira, a world where every detail is decided for you isn't living, it's mere existence no matter how others might spin the idea."

"Indeed, but it depends on how such an idea is spun that would determine how others will see it, regardless of if the way it is presented is the truth or not," remarked Athrun.

"If Durandal is trying to bring about a world as described by the notes from Mendel, then shame on him. A world of forced existence in akin to being kept in a cage you can never leave, and humans were never met to exist, let alone live in such a way," Tyler said.

 **-Line Break-**

The answer to what Durandal planned and how it would be spun came a few days later in the form of a broadcast he made days after the attempted attack against the PLANTs. " _Greetings to all members of the human race. For those who do not know me, I'm Gilbert Durandal current chairman of the PLANTs Supreme Council,_ " Durandal opened. " _This current ongoing war has done many terrible things to countless people, none should deny that fact. I share fully your disgust of these things and what this war has produced. I also feel the pain that results from these events for it is mine as well. The sorrow and anger being felt is understood not just through mere words but through experience. I won't say as others have to brush these emotions off or ignore them. Such words and mentality are wrong to do to those that have lost loved ones and shouldn't be passed off as nothing, be mitigated or dismissed._ "

Durandal paused before he kept going, " _Many are and have been asking how can these events that have befallen us all due to this war happen? Although, I realize it's too late at this time to dwell on it, my heart wanders as well looking for the answer to that very question. It was but a few years ago that we experienced a major war, and when it ended we made a solemn vow that we would never again repeat those same mistakes that brought it about. Yet, Junius Seven fell despite our efforts to prevent that, and even with our best efforts we found ourselves embroiled in another war, which escalated uncontrollably and once again we were forced to grapple with the pains of sorrow and great suffering._ "

" _So how in the world could this happen,_ " Durandal posed. " _How did these foolish tragedies come to pass once again? One reason as I've previously pointed out is the existence of Logos. They created enemies, promoted fear to force the three faction to fight with one another so that they could produce weapons to collect the resulting profits. Throughout history they have been the people that have thrived from the shadows, the merchants of death. It was but recently that we saw the actions of a mad man that was a part of Logos come close to committing mass genocide and he thinks little about it, instead seeing himself as some sort of hero. Thankfully, Lord Djibril's attack missed the intended target due to the efforts of many good men and women who possess common sense and decency. And that provided the opportunity to succeed in defeating the mad man Lord Djibril and he has faced the consequences for his crimes with his death! The world and colonies will sleep better with Djibril gone and Logos being torn down going forward._ "

For all those listening, hearing that Djibril was dead was a relief as the man was dangerous and wouldn't hesitate to kill those who opposed him. Yet, for those who knew that Lord Djibril wasn't dead but detained and awaiting trial were even more suspicious of what this was about. Durandal continued, " _That is precisely why the time is right to take the next step to make sure that this chain of events that make up this war don't happen even one more time!_ "

Many were wondering what Gilbert Durandal was talking about for what he said didn't make complete sense. However, for those who had been looking at the signs, they waited to see what Durandal had in mind and either confirm that their suspicions were right or wrong. " _Now is the time for all of humanity to confront another enemy, the greatest that we have faced,_ " Durandal stated. " _And we must achieve victory against this enemy and nothing less if we are to know true liberation. I believe that this needs to be clarified and simply defined so that we can all understand to what I'm referring._ " The world held its breath to hear what Durandal would say next, " _Our greatest enemy is the one that creates and causes conflict that leads to war. It produces those that are humankind's true enemy, so can be seen as the greatest one of them all. It is the reason why conflict has been with us since the dawn of the human race and why it will never disappear on its own as things stand. This enemy that we have yet to overcome is none other than our own ignorance and selfish ambitions._ "

The claim shocked many while others waited to hear how Durandal would explain and justify his statement. What Durandal claimed was the cause of all the conflict also slapped a number of the qualities that made up the foundation of human race. " _Even now after leaving Earth and reaching the heavens, little about us has changed. Although we've learned the secrets of the human body, we still fail to understand one another, to understand ourselves. Because of that we face the future with uncertainty and hardship. The anxiety we experience, to be equal no, to be richer than others! Our limitless desires urging us to grasp at more, to never be satisfied, that's who we are as human beings right now. We ourselves plant and sow the seed of conflict whether it is knowingly or unknowingly, we are the problem as we currently are! It is these flaws that chain us down and lead us through the horrors of war and suffering,_ " Durandal exclaimed.

" _However, there is hope for us all now when there has been only acceptance of these clear flaws before. We are now at a point where we can change and end that, where we will end these blatant flaws and what they produce! We have acquired the means to overcome them and shed these shackling flaws once and for all. The answer to everything already lies within each and every one of us already._ " Durandal paused for effect, " _Taking this step forward will result in people understanding each other, ourselves and the future we can have. This is the only way to prevent the tragedies of the past, to change ourselves for the better. And so, I hereby initiate the Destiny Plan, the last defensive measure to preserve humanity from extinction and give us all a guaranteed future!_ "

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I was viewing the broadcast Durandal was making from my quarters as I was off-duty and I wasn't impressed, I more wanted to break something the longer I watched really. When he said that Djibril was dead, I gritted my teeth for he made it sound like ZAFT were the reason all of us were still alive right now. It is one of the points I have against the man, he is taking events out of context and using that for his benefit much like he had with what had befell the Euros Coalition. The punk Djibril was going to stand trial for the crap he has pulled and will be held responsible for since he had been captured recently. Yet, Durandal was still going, " _Our greatest enemy is the one that creates and causes conflict that leads to war. It produces those that are humankind's true enemy, so can be seen as the greatest one of them all. It is the reason why conflict has been with us since the dawn of the human race and why it will never disappear on its own as things stand. This enemy that we have yet to overcome is none other than our own ignorance and selfish ambitions._ "

My fist slammed into a wall of my quarters at Durandal's last statement out of the sheer fury I felt. What Durandal was claiming was the cause of all the conflict was ridiculous for dreams and learning were some of the qualities that made up the foundation of human race or what he called ignorance and selfish ambition. Then if Durandal is going to announce what was iterated in those notes from Mendel, then his "Ambitions" should be questioned the most. Did Durandal's preaching stop there? Of course it didn't, that would be too logical and sensible, " _Even now after leaving Earth and reaching the heavens, little about us has changed. Although we've learned the secrets of the human body, we still fail to understand one another, to understand ourselves. Because of that we face the future with uncertainty and hardship. The anxiety we experience, to be equal no, to be richer than others! Our limitless desires urging us to grasp at more, to never be satisfied, that's who we are as human beings right now. We ourselves plant and sow the seed of conflict whether it is knowingly or unknowingly, we are the problem as we currently are! It is these flaws that chain us down and lead us through the horrors of war and suffering._ "

This man… how could I have ever fallen for his preaching for even a moment?! Still the 'best' or 'worst' depending on the viewpoint was on the way, " _However, there is hope for us all now when there has been only acceptance of these clear flaws before. We are now at a point where we can change and end that, where we will end these blatant flaws and what they produce! We have acquired the means to overcome them and shed these shackling flaws once and for all. The answer to everything already lies within each and every one of us already._ " I didn't know if it would be better to barf or chuck something out an airlock to vent disgust and anger. Durandal continued, " _Taking this step forward will result in people understanding each other, ourselves and the future we can have. This is the only way to prevent the tragedies of the past, to change ourselves for the better. And so, I hereby initiate the Destiny Plan, the last defensive measure to preserve humanity from extinction and give us all a guaranteed future!_ "

Durandal's speech overall was many things in my view and most of the descriptions that come to my mind are not good and a portion are not without profanity! His "Destiny Plan" is sick, wrong and ridiculous, that's just a few of the words that I would say, I can think of much more colorful ways of saying what the idea is, but that's the profanity part. The notes from Mendel had laid out the idea clear enough, but Durandal had gone farther by the way he sold it. The plan in simple terms would strip the human race of the very qualities and capabilities that sets humans apart, yet that wasn't how it had sounded. The way Durandal explained or sold his plan was everything would be decided for an individual at birth. There would be no uncertainties, everything set going forward and it sounded like a revolutionary idea as he worded it. And if not for my dad teaching me to use logic and common sense to make decision, I might consider what Durandal says as part truths, but I know better.

After taking a step back and considering what the Destiny Plan would do in actuality compared to what Durandal was selling, there is a different picture than advertised. Granted, he claimed that his ideal world would remove war entirely and I wouldn't doubt it would, the notes from Mendel had been detailed enough to show what could be done in essence. But as with everything there is a price paid and that's what Durandal left out and he did because it would literally display his plan for the horrible idea that it is! Why would Durandal's world without war be so horrid many might ask? Because war isn't the only idea that would disappear and not exist by any stretch of the imagination. No, along with war would be misery and other negative feelings and emotions would vanish, yet also will be peace, happiness and the good things as well. The reason I stated that is without one, you cannot truly know the other, thus is contrast and the necessity of the principle.

I mean, the general idea of the plan and more specifically how it was executed was bold to say the least. To pretty much design a person's genes down to the level that Durandal said it would be done was an achievement, not a good one but an achievement nonetheless. Although, I completely disagreed with the mentality that the Destiny Plan is based and founded upon, that one's genes determine one's nature period. It is the choices that we make that shape how we are and how we wish to be, and where genes may play a part, they aren't the end all be all of nature. So, in my eyes the Destiny Plan would rob we humans of choice and everything that literally makes life worth living in any way feasible! Just thinking about existing by a script as really Durandal's ideal world would have everyone doing makes me beyond sick to my stomach. Mere existence is and will never be enough, living is far better no matter how bad things get! Hence why this Destiny Plan is outright crap and should be spat out like a horrible tobacco habit!

So, with the announcement of Durandal's Destiny Plan the world and colonies were sent reeling honestly though not surprising with the foreign concept provided. As I stated, the very idea that the Destiny Plan challenged what had never been questioned before this, the very foundations that made up humanity. The very idea of designing an individual's genes and through that all people was not exactly unheard of, but it was only mentioned within certain circles. It is a form of control and one of the more extreme ones at that, and that says a great deal about Gilbert Durandal in my eyes.

In response to Durandal's broadcast, the leaders of the Federation flat out rejected the Destiny Plan, which pretty much anyone that know anything about the Federation's core values would expect. The caveat was that the announcement triggered the Federation member nations to be more on edge than they were before. The military forces in each member nation had gone to high alert and were locking down the borders and tightening security. But then, that was understandable as they were or would be high-stake targets of Durandal's since I bet he will force any that don't agree with him to either conform or just wipe them out. The point that scares me is Durandal doesn't seem the type to have that much of an issue with or will justify killing lots of people as necessary.

Then, what there still was of the Earth Alliance was also scrambling but they are as likely to be targets just about as much as the Federation will be. For both the Federation Military and the Earth Forces, cooperation was seen as the best policy going forward by doing their utmost to keep their movements the least noticed as possible. The less ZAFT knows about what contingencies are being prepared, the better things should be going forward right now. The big things right now are the assembling of the force that would assault Daedalus and the beam cannon Requiem.

Now the flat-out rejection from the Federation leaders had come, but there would be more I wouldn't doubt. I say that for two reasons, the bigger of the two, the Destiny Plan goes against most of the Human Federation's core values and that doesn't stand unchallenged. The second reason is that there were a number of people and groups that were not quite demanding an explanation, but it was heading that way. So, I'm just curious on what the verbal response for the Federation leaders including my mom will be, for I would bet it will be epic in its own way. I couldn't even begin to guess what would come in that way, but I look forward to seeing and hearing it!

In the meantime, the Normandy, Archangel, Eternal and Dominion were on standby until receiving further information and/or orders. It's times like these that aren't the nicest nor am I fond of the waiting part especially with the current situation as it was. The one clearly mad man that had been on the loose was imprisoned and awaiting trial now. The other has much less stopping him in his ambitions which he has finally revealed it to the rest of us. This will very likely get worse before it gets any better and circumstances like these are not just the pits, but also plain suck for most of the rest of us!

The stress was building for me and it wasn't helping my health, sanity or peace of mind in any way, shape or form. These days it was rare for me to talk in the context of a conversation, I gave short direction answer to queries and handed out orders, that was about it which isn't really unusual for me. The only exception was the brief talks with Kira and Athrun, it was the signs of the growing frustrations I was feeling. But, while the allied fleet was assembling, there was much less to do, and I was becoming irritated at doing little to nothing. The building tension was driving me nuts and I don't know how much longer I would be able to handle this without doing something drastic and doubtlessly would be against the rules!

I certainly wasn't the only one that was feeling restless, I was just one of those that it was easier to see it outwardly with. Athrun was not showing the idea as clearly as I was, but it was fairly obvious that he was feeling the tension as I was. Kira it was much harder to see the frustration, but Kira doesn't show emotions like some of us do. In fact, most of those in the crews of the four custom class vessels docked at Serenity City were showing signs of restlessness. The tension was rising, and it was going to hit a breaking point sometime soon, and when it crashes through that roof it won't be pretty!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

In the week and a half that went by since Durandal's declaration and initiation of his Destiny Plan. The quick but firm refusal of the Destiny Plan still stood with the leaders of the Federation much to the grumbling of others. Nonetheless, it was agreed upon to broadcast a bit more of a detailed explanation as to why the Federation refused the Destiny Plan. There was increasing pressure mounting for the leaders of the world to support and endorse the Destiny Plan even after the refusal. Just saying no or refusing wasn't seen as enough without a further explanation, anonymous cries made sure that was the case.

For the leaders of the Federation, it was agreed that meeting together in-person was best so that they could present a united front when giving the explanation that was being demanded. Plus, there would be some time to discuss the subject matter that would be covered in the said explanation. Normally, the Euros Coalition would host such an event, but with the ongoing recovery effort from Logos's attack that was not possible. And so, the designated meeting place was set to be Shira in the Republic instead as it was better to handle the idea right now and keep security at a acceptable level. Thus, was a rare gathering made which was a security nightmare for more reasons than any wanted to admit. Security was tight and those that couldn't verify and prove who they were satisfactory, were taken aside and away from the areas deemed safe zones.

Ellen greeted each of her fellow leaders of the member nations as they arrived, trying to relieve the strained feeling even if only a little. However, it was clear that the toll that this war was taking was being felt by everyone. Each leader was given the opportunity to bring an individual that they themselves had invited should they choose to. Uzumi had brought Cagalli with him, leaving his brother Homura to lead the Representative Council.

Marina had a woman accompanying her that seemed to be her assistant and trusted friend. The woman has similar features as Marina showing that they likely were born around the same basic area. She had brown hair the length of her face, which frame her half-rimmed glasses and grey eyes. The woman was also slightly taller than Ellen herself in height but had much the same overall body shape. She was wearing a turquoise long-sleeve formal top and a mermaid skirt of the same color.

Markus Noventa had brought his granddaughter with him who was in her early teens. The girl wouldn't be involved in the politics that would be going on, but she looked excited nonetheless to have come, she had been show elsewhere while the meeting occurred. The resemblance between the girl and Markus was there though it wasn't a stark similarity. Brian Stegmeyer didn't bring anyone with him, nor did Diana Soreil. Ellen herself had invited Siegel Clyne and he had accepted and so he was there as well. With his years of experience on the PLANT Supreme Council, his input would be helpful.

The discussion opened when the leaders sat down and settled with the outline of Gilbert Durandal's Destiny Plan. Overall the idea Durandal presented was different than any that had come before it. A world where war was an idea of the past, merely a concept mentioned and taught to the young with history was desirable, none would deny that. The way Durandal put, a life without uncertainties, to live peacefully for the foreseeable future sounded wonderful. However, it was the common sense and logic possessed by humans that brought up the point of what would be paid to achieve that type of world. That collection of information was left out by Durandal and it being left out said one of two things. Either Gilbert Durandal didn't know or see what would be given up achieving his ideal world, or he didn't admit or say what would be given up for various reasons. Which one was the truth was debatable, but in the end, neither was really acceptable in the long-run.

The real issue with Durandal's Destiny Plan was what would vanish along with war and the other things Chairman Durandal claimed would go away with the plan. Yes, war could potentially be removed, but so would peace as it couldn't exist without understanding of what peace is not. The principle of contrast was the crux of the matter and why the Destiny Plan as a whole was such a problematic idea, it took away contrast in everything. Between the leaders, it was agreed that doing such a thing would not be a step forward for anyone definitely not for the human race, it was one of the largest steps back humanity could ever take. Ellen's closing statement summed up the idea well, "If one isn't moving forward, whether it is due to standing still or are heading in a backwards direction, they are not moving towards a future. The Destiny Plan will have the human race at a standstill for generations and that is not progress in any way, it is the opposite," Ellen said firmly.

There were mutterings of agreement, "Yes, such would stunt any growth that can be made from the lessons learn from the strides made including those from these recent conflicts. To wave the fighting off would make all those that have died and given their lives meaningless," Siegel remarked.

"Indeed," agreed Markus, "however, with the world in the unstable and vulnerable state that it is, there will be those who will be led blindly into this idea without comprehending what they are letting go of and they will unlikely be told."

"It goes to show that Gilbert Durandal has been leading and playing many for who knows how long. The man cares nothing about anything other than his ambitions, his more righteous than thou act is as ridiculous as it is his plan he claims will save the human race," commented Diana.

Stegmeyer hummed, "Agreed, though this Destiny Plan is clearly well-thought out and that's not something that one does in a short period. This had to be in the works for an extended period of time, the question would be how long has it been in development," he said.

"Back to the main point, our united rejection of the Destiny Plan will stand," asked Marina.

All turned to look at Marina, "Having some second thoughts Marina," posed Uzumi.

Marina shook her head, "Oh no, nothing like that," she assured. "I've seen more than enough brave men and women sacrificing their lives to make a path towards the future. To agree with the kind of world that Gilbert Durandal paints would be a dishonor and a failing of those that gave everything for those still alive to have opportunities."

"Were it so easy to refuse the Destiny Plan and leave things at that, then we would unlikely be meeting like this now," stated Ellen tiredly. "There are those that are unwilling to let a simple refusal stand without as it's being put 'an explanation and justification' to go along with it. The voices that cry out in favor of the Destiny Plan are attempting to rally as many as possible to their given cause. Hence why we are gathered today, to make it clear why the Destiny Plan is an idea that we nor our citizens will follow as it is being stated."

"Then let us get to that business and waste no more time on this matter," replied Diana.

The room and seating were rearranged while recording and broadcasting equipment were brought in. Once everything was ready, the broadcast began where the explanation to why the Federation was rejecting the Destiny Plan. Ellen was the one that started the broadcast when the signal that what was being recorded was being transmitted. "We, the leaders of the Federation member nations are using the media to answer those who are insistent on an explanation and justification for our unanimous refusal to agree and endorse the Destiny Plan put forth by Gilbert Durandal." Ellen paused and took a breath, "All of us seen here still stand firm in our decision of the rejection of the Destiny Plan as presented by Chairman Durandal eleven days ago."

Markus spoke next, "We ask that none mistake our decline as us saying that we don't wish for a world without war. We also are working towards the goal of peace for the human race as a whole. However, we see the Destiny Plan as it has been iterated as not the best way to have lasting peace for as many as possible."

"With that fact stated," Diana chimed in, "Chairman Durandal's Destiny Plan may work were it employed for a while. However, as it is stated by him, it leaves too many questions unanswered and those we shall not ignore for our citizens nor humanity as a whole."

Brian Stegmeyer nodded and took up the narrative, "Chairman Durandal stated that the enemy that we have yet to overcome is the ignorance we possess and selfish ambition. Yet, ignorance can be changed with knowledge, ambition is a different subject, neither of which are addressed much in the Destiny Plan."

Uzumi Athha took over the message after Stegmeyer's piece, "It is true that there are those that let their desires and emotions get the better of them and tragedy follows such individuals. Nevertheless, the lessons learned from hardship is how we can grow and progress forward with new found understanding."

"To pretend that the events that have happened in the recent years didn't occur is no different than denying or forgetting the brave men, women and children that have given their lives already," Marina entreated. "For those that have put forth everything they have to protect not just those who are alive, but those who have yet come, their sacrifices cannot be forgotten."

Siegel came in next, "The reason that the Destiny Plan is being refused as presented, is that it is a form of control, done through the manipulation of each individual's genes. Coordinators may have an amount of their genes altered, but it is not to the extent that is being proposed by Chairman Durandal. Flawed as we human beings may and can be, is it not better to be flawed than merely being something akin to dolls or puppets? That is what the Destiny Plan will do as it has been stated, were there further detail provided, perhaps that could clear up things, but as it stands that is what has been proposed."

The message delivered was simple yet powerful, each leader saying their thoughts of the Destiny Plan. Again, the political leaders of the member nations of the Federation showed their united front in what they believed. They were shortly followed by the Atlantic Federation and the Eurasian Federation in refusing the Destiny Plan.

 **-Line Break-**

In space, the fleet assembling to assault Requiem was growing by the day with ships both from the Alliance, the Federation and even from ZAFT. The meeting point was a moderate distance from the beam cannon's first relay station, out of view of Daedalus itself. The growing fleet was hidden as a optical camouflage field had been erected, which was keeping ZAFT and Durandal none the wiser. Information was flowing in from Luna base about what there was on Requiem along with the movement of ZAFT's lunar fleet. The fleet overall was under that command of Lanus Treize though there were sub-leaders which managed and delegated to different parts of the growing fleet.

A week went by with things somewhat quiet yet felt long for many people with the ominous air that was present. There were whispers of unrest as tensions built between ZAFT and both the Federation and the Alliance. It was unsaid, yet it was becoming not a matter of if the tension would break out into fighting, but when it would turn into battle. The coming battle was one that would determine the fate of Humanity and its future, even a child could comprehend that.

Durandal during that week kept promoting the Destiny Plan enthusiastically through every media outlet he could get to or influence. The response from the Federation political leaders had been a blow to the credibility of the Destiny Plan. It was taking a number of people working hard to fix and patch up the arguments that were sprouting up. Yet, Durandal kept claiming that with the Destiny Plan, there would come a world where war would be nothing but a fear of the past. The picture that Durandal and those he delegated to painted was of a 'perfect world' where everything would be peaceful and happy. The way the Destiny Plan was being advertised by the PLANTs made it sound wonderful and had many questionings why others were refusing it. That translated into pressure from people to those that were saying no to the Destiny Plan even after explanations as to why it was being refused.

Nevertheless, even with the pressure, not a single member nation of the Federation budged, nor did the major states of the Earth Alliance. There was digging in of heals and firmly hold positions and entrenching in the beliefs held by those against the Destiny Plan. Preparation were steadily being made for the planned assault on Daedalus and the beam cannon Requiem by the allied fleet. Tension broke somewhat when Requiem fired, and the beam bent around and struck the Earth Forces' Arzachel lunar base. The Alliance base was destroyed by the beam, much in the same way that Ptolemaeus Lunar base had been in the previous war.

However, the beam wasn't sustained long, just for a mere few seconds in fact before it ceased firing. When Durandal contacted those at Daedalus which was the Ricter Team, in order to find out what had occurred for the beam to stop so suddenly, they informed him that the cannon had been badly damaged. According to the team commander, there had been explosions inside Requiem's firing chamber seconds after the cannon had initiated a firing sequence. The explosives had seriously damaged key power conduits that would need to be fixed before Requiem could operate again. Durandal asked where the explosive charges could have come from though he already had a good guess. When the Minerva had attacked Daedalus, there had been a group of Federation mobile suits, they had probably set the charges before appearing on the battlefield. The team commander had much the same guess as Durandal himself as to where the explosives came from.

Rough estimates for need repairs were figured to come out at about a month, which wasn't what Durandal wanted to hear. Yet, that would give the time to prepare and check the relay stations to make sure they worked correctly. The fifth station especially needed work and repairs from the damage the Federation force had done to it. Although, what worried Durandal most was there was still no solid evidence of what the Federation's military was doing or planning. He wanted to be as ready as possible for what possibilities existed with the Federation as they were the most likely to hamper things. Durandal did put the ZAFT intelligence department on the task to find out what they could about the movements of the Federation's military. There were some watching the Federation's Luna Base from a distance as well as others looking around for evidence of the activities of the Federation. But, they were turning up only unfounded rumors and weak guesses as to the activities of the Federation's military and the Earth Forces.

When the estimated time of Requiem returning to operational status came over the Information Network, the time for the assault against Requiem was set. The Archangel, the Dominion, the Eternal and the Normandy launched from Serenity City along with Orb's space fleet the day the operation was set for. All but the Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal sailed towards Daedalus to meet up with the fleet and join in with the assault. The other three began making their way towards the first relay station, for if that station failed in bending the beam, then the progress of the beam would stop.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **And I'll leave off there for this Phase. I know this is a cliff hanger, but had I kept going with what's coming then this chapter would be super long! I do apologize for leaving of just before the epic battle, but this was the best place to pause, before the plunge. And as I said at the beginning authors note, the reason this Phase took so long is I get less time to write between work and the rest of life, I'll spare more details about that.**

 **So then, on to the points of interest from this Phase to go over. The first, Durandal's views of those interfering with the Destiny Plan. The man does seriously believe the Destiny Plan is the only way to save the human race from destruction, that is an important fact to state. The reasoning that is stated about Dr. Ulen Hibiki is also the reason he dislikes Kira. It is more about what Kira represents that Durandal detests than Kira as a person. Also, Gilbert Durandal is a former student of Tyler's father Lance and he respected him as a scientist and mentor. And no, Tyler has no idea that Durandal is one of his father's former students, Tyler doesn't know most of them honestly.**

 **On to Djibril's fate, no his not going to die yet, probably going to wish he had soon enough. His capture and the trial that will follow I intend to be more fitting a close for him. I'll say it this way, Azrael took his fall with some dignity, Djibril will not be doing so gracefully. The next point I want to clarify is Shinn's position, he has growing doubts if that hasn't been made clear. I will neither confirm nor deny that he believes he's being lied to, will spoil the surprise now wouldn't it? You will see the results of this argument in the next Phase, I assure you.**

 **For those that like Mu, hope you're happy that I have him back to himself now, planned for that. Plus, I like the scene where he saves the Archangel in the same way he did with the Strike so I kept it in this story. The response of the Federation leaders was something I've been working on and it took me time to write it. It is kind of the first point that the side opposed to Durandal stated their view of the Destiny Plan. Final note, for those that are rooting and demanding more detail on the situation between Tyler and Sakura, be patient, it comes in the next Phase. The reviews that have been coming are appreciated and please keep them coming my way! Until the next Phase!**

 **REVANOFSITHLORD**

Honestly, I hadn't considered the idea until rather recently, though if I do, then it would be either a side chapter or later on a flash back of some sort.

 **Flaxj**

I do plan for Meer to have a part, it's just not going to be in the battle coming, more afterwards, that's all I going to say for the moment.

 **Just a Crazy-Man**

I'm glad you like this story, it's fun to write.


	45. Phase 45: Race Against Time

**A/n**

 **Earlier than expected, but here is Phase 45 all. The action is coming and the story is building towards the climax! My normal disclaimer applies, do enjoy this Phase!**

* * *

Phase 45: Race Against Time

June 20th, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Around Requiem's First Relay Station, Lunar Orbit

The Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal began their approach towards Requiems first relay station Gounod shortly after parting ways with the Normandy and the Orb fleet. They would keep going on towards Daedalus and link up with the allied fleet and assist in the assault and handling of Requiem. Both tasks of attacking the relay station and going to destroy Requiem were dangerous even if for slightly different reasons. The three ships would be going against a good portion of ZAFT's lunar fleet after while attacking the first station. It was to not only delaying any reinforcement for the defenders of Daedalus and if successful, the station disablement would make the beam unable to target at long distance. If the attack on the first relay station was finished before the assault on Daedalus, the three ships would then proceed to Daedalus and help their allies. If their allies destroyed Requiem, then they would come to the first station and assist against ZAFT's lunar fleet.

The direction that the human race was going required choices to be made of what was considered the best path forward. Durandal had been talking up his plan and how it was 'the only option' that would have success and so it was the best way to the future. However, for those that had taken the time to apply cool logic, the Destiny Plan as stated was full of holes. Those holes could be filled by what would be paid as the price or what would be given up if the Destiny Plan came to pass.

So, when the Archangel, the Eternal and the Dominion had gotten into effective attack range, the ships readied themselves for battle. Pilots boarded their assigned mobile suits, even Lacus got into the Xevonia to go out to the battlefield as she refused to sit by and do nothing. From the Eternal launched the Burst Freedom, the Eternal Justice and the Xevonia, while from the Archangel came the Akatsuki, Cormag's Excel fighter and the DOM Troopers and a few Orb Murasames. Out of the Dominion came a number of Excel fighters along with the X88S Gaia Gundam.

Once the mobile suits had launched Andrew ordered the METEOR units to detach from the Eternal. The units moved forward and reoriented themselves, weapons and thrusters shifted to make the METEORs ready to dock with mobile suits. Kira had the Burst Freedom link up with one of the units, its wings moving out of the way as to not interfere with the unit. At the insistence of Athrun, Lacus had the Xevonia hook into the other METEOR unit to use, and like the Freedom, the Xevonia had its backpack section moved out of the way as so not to interfere with the METEOR's operation.

As mobile suits from the three ships assaulting the first relay station began heading towards the colony structure, the part of ZAFT's lunar fleet that was there also deployed their own mobile suits. Lacus wanted to try and reason with those that were being fooled by Chairman Durandal, so that the most could return to their loved ones. The breaking down of Requiem was necessary as it posed a threat to every single living thing and that was determined by whoever controlled it. The beam cannon was on the same level as nuclear weapons in most ways, so it shouldn't be used to threaten people. Lacus opened a channel for all to hear, "My name is Lacus Clyne. I know that there has been another that has been using my name and face to help Chairman Durandal. I too wish for a world without war as much as any would, but the way that Gilbert Durandal has in mind will not work in the way that he claims. So please, move aside so that we may breakdown all parts of this useless weapon of mass destruction. It serves no purpose, it can't protect nor do anything but destroy and ruin. If you truly wish to fight for the sake of peace, if you have pride in the uniform you wear and what it really stands for, you will let us accomplish this task."

A portion of ZAFT mobile suit pilots hesitated at hearing Lacus's words, but most kept going forward towards those attacking station one. " _What are any of you thinking, these people don't want to hear the Chairman's message of hope and a future. They just want to hang on to their old privileges and care nothing but for themselves. This is their last stand, open fire and shoot them down, we must stop them here for the sake of ZAFT and the future of the human race,_ " stated the commander that was over ZAFT's lunar fleet.

The two groups shortly clashed in battle, Kira and Lacus using the METEORs to target their opponents en mass. Athrun fought close by Kira and Lacus doing more the close-range fighting while the other two were doing the mid and long range. The other from the Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal fought in groups against ZAFT forces. The battle around the first relay station quickly grew heated, neither side giving any amount to the other. The machines from the ZFMS series proved that they stood apart and in a different league than ZAFT mobile suits, even the newer GOUF models and that was before taking into account their pilots.

The fighting went on for close to half an hour by the time reinforcements arrived for ZAFT, including the Minerva. The sight of the fighting in the proximity of Requiem's first relay station was different from what expectations and reports implied. Yes, the reports stated that three ships were involved in the assault and no more than that. However, it hadn't been said that the three ships were none other than the two known Archangel-class ships and the Eternal. Then there was the 'new' Freedom and Justice among the enemy mobile suits and those two showed around Orb that they couldn't be taken lightly. Then there was a new unknown unit with the Freedom and Justice, it had a framework similar to the X09A Justice.

ZAFT's reinforcement jumped into the fighting, the Osiris and the Impulse launching from the Minerva. The Destiny and Legend had gone to the space fortress Messiah at the request of Chairman Durandal as he wanted to speak to their pilots. Messiah and the forces with it were a distance behind those that came to help their allies defend the relay station. The Minerva headed towards the Archangel, her crew determined to succeed in sinking the ship this time where they had failed the last two attempts.

Meanwhile, after Luna and Aila had launched out, Aila made her way towards the unknown gundam-type suit on the field while Luna headed for the Justice. Luna was still shaken from the events that occurred at Carpentaria, the events had her questioning if what she was doing was right or wrong. She saw the Justice near by the Eternal and was going in that direction with doubts in her mind. At the same time, on the Eternal's bridge, Meyrin saw the Impulse coming at the ship and her guess was Luna was piloting it. After all Shinn and Rey had been using those to new mobile suits and Aila worked with the Osiris. Meyrin didn't want her sister Lunamaria to die for any reason, so she opened a com-channel to the Impulse. "Luna, please stop this!"

Luna came to a halt at hearing Meyrin's voice, looked down and saw the com-channel was coming from the Eternal. "Wait, is Meyrin on the Eternal?!" How could Meyrin be on the Eternal? She had died with the destruction of the Saviour, right? Not to say that Luna wasn't overjoyed to hear her sister's voice as it said she was alive, she was very happy to learn Meyrin wasn't dead. But, her little sister was on a ship that was designated an enemy of ZAFT, what kind of circumstances could have gotten Meyrin there?! Anger began filling Luna at the thought of Athrun Zala being the one that had involved her little sister in the first place. It was because of him that Meyrin had been put in danger and worried Luna and put her through so much stress. Granted, Meyrin had a bit of a crush on Athrun before, Lunamaria did for a time as well, which had gone away with getting to know Shinn. Athrun seemed nice enough and came off as trustworthy and loyal, but past events said otherwise.

As Athrun was fending off those attacking the Eternal, he spotted the Impulse gundam, figuring that Lunamaria would be piloting it now with Shinn and Rey being assigned to the Destiny and the Legend. Of course, Athrun didn't want to harm let alone kill Lunamaria if there was any way not to do that. However, that point was put to the test and stressed when the Impulse approached the Justice and began attacking. " _Why… why did you take Meyrin away Athrun,_ " Luna screeched.

Athrun evaded the attacks from the Impulse as closed the distance between them, the Justice's superior mobility giving Athrun an advantage. Yet, Athrun ended out raising his left beam shield as the Impulse drew a beam saber and slashed downward at him. Athrun blocked the saber with his beam shield, "Stop this Lunamaria, I don't want to fight you," he stated.

There was a pause, " _Too bad, you are not getting away this time Athrun Zala,_ " Luna snarled.

The Impulse fired its chest level CIWS guns and Athrun gritted his teeth, "Don't be a fool! You are better than to be so willing to throw your life away," he shot back. He had always disliked seeing people losing their lives for so little, Athrun had seen more than enough of that already from the First Alliance-PLANT War. The Justice brought its Valor system to bear on the Impulse before the GN particle vulcans fired shots off.

Luna felt the Impulse being shaken by the weapon fire and watched as an amount of the Impulse's power supply was drained through the phase shift armor. The memory of Aila telling Luna herself to be careful around the gundam-types that there were images on file for since Orb were coming back to Luna now. This 'new' Justice was one of those specifically that Aila had been referring to and the reasons why Aila warned Luna were becoming clear. The addition of four pods detaching from the Justice's wings and then taking up the task of peppering the Impulse with rapid fire weapons didn't help, the phase shift was just draining the Impulse's battery faster. However, before Athrun could force Luna to retreat, the Osiris swooped in and the Justice had to back away a short distance. The Justice's assault bits flew back to position themselves slightly behind their mobile suit along with the two smaller pods detaching and joining their fellows. Then Athrun waited for his two opponents to make the next move, preparing to counter the incoming attacks.

At the same time, Neo was working with the Excel fighter that had come from the Archangel, the one piloted by Cormag Swift. The two of them were being pushed against the wall hard by ZAFT forces attacking the Archangel, the Minerva especially was trying with vigor to hit the Archangel. Still, there was something about this whole situation that was naggingly familiar to Neo, almost like he had been in the position he was currently before. He couldn't place what the feeling was referring to though he felt he should much in the same way he felt around the crew of the Archangel. Yet, when Neo spotted the Minerva swinging her front around to aim its positron cannon at the Archangel, he reacted on instinct. He moved the Akatsuki to be between the Archangel's bridge and the path the positron cannon's shot would take.

On the Minerva, it at last looked like they had gotten the Archangel in a position that it couldn't get out of. The Minerva's positron cannon had the ship in her sites there was nothing to do but pull the trigger. Talia had nothing against the Archangel or her crew, they had shown themselves to be fine men and women. But, they had ended out on opposite sides and so, that had brought them to face off like this. To show respect, Talia saluted the Archangel as she gave the order, "Fire!"

The Tannhäuser fired and its beam zoomed towards the Archangel with time seeming to slow down. Murrue knew that when the Minerva had pointed her bow at the Archangel they were trapped. Should the Archangel move, the Eternal would be struck along with other allies and Murrue wouldn't do that. That meant that this was it, the Archangel was facing its end, but her service was outstanding and Murrue would have had it no other way. Nevertheless, the beam was stopped by the Akatsuki appearing in front of the bridge and using its shield. The gold mobile suit stayed where it was, hauntingly reminiscent of how the Strike had blocked the shot intended to destroy the Archangel during the Second Battle of Jachin Due.

Neo clenched his teeth as he rode out the positron blast, "You're not getting the Archangel!" When the beam began disbursing, images went through his mind, but this time they all seemed to connect to each other and everything began making sense. Memories became clear where they had not been before, "Murrue… I remember," he muttered. All the feelings and urges Neo had been having, they were from the past he had been forced to forget, the past of Mu La Flaga, his own past. Mu had been nearly killed while blocking a plasma cannon shot aimed at the Archangel in the X105 Strike, but he had made it through that by some slim margin. He had then been 'saved' and then used by Logos for their plans.

He had done many horrible things while working for Logos under the identity that they had given him. Many people had died due to his action as Neo Roanoke and he had thought nothing of it during those times. There had been points that he had questioned who he was as something hadn't felt morally right. Now all those instances made sense to him, and it wasn't too late for things to be put right.

Mu pointed the Akatsuki's rifle at the Minerva and put a shot through its positron cannon, effectively disabling it. Then he connected a channel to the Archangel as no doubt they were worried, he had just about done what he had before during the Second Battle of Jachin Due. "I'm okay," Mu said before the video connected and he saw there were expressions of relief. However, Mu quickly focused on Murrue's face, "I'm never going to leave you again captain," he said with a smile The Akatsuki detached its DRAGOON bits and they formed a barrier around the Archangel, "So, let's finish this up and go home Murrue."

Murrue could hardly believe her ears for this was a wish come true as it sounded like Neo had remembered who he really was Mu La Flaga. The man had once again saved the Archangel from destruction, pretty much exactly like he had in the last battle in the First Alliance-PLANT War. " _It's bout time you get your head straightened out La Flaga,_ " remarked Cormag. " _Was startin to wonder if someone needed to smack you upside the head to help you along._ "

A few on the Archangel's bridge chuckled at the remark from Cormag, " _Welcome back Mu, though technically you still owe me a drinking outing and you're buying for Jachin Due,_ " came the voice of Krystal McAlester.

The Archangel, the Dominion, the Eternal and their mobiles suits were making progress forward towards the relay station. ZAFT was doing what they could to slow them down but wasn't having a great deal of success at the task. The Freedom and the Xevonia were thinning out the ZAFT ranks with the METEOR units they were linked with. All those attacking the first relay station were pushing forward much to the dislike of ZAFT. No matter how hard ZAFT forces fought, they couldn't seem to bring the attacking forces to a halt.

And as Messiah drew closer to the fighting around station one, Durandal wasn't liking what he was seeing at all. Then there were reports coming in from Daedalus as they had been approaching that said they were under attack by a massive force and things were getting bad as time when on. A portion of ZAFT's lunar fleet had gone ahead at receiving that report to help the Ricter team and their allies. Even with that being the case, there was a need to settle things at the first relay station in a timely manner so that focus could be shifted to Daedalus. If Requiem was damaged more or destroyed, that would hamper things for a time and in Durandal's view there was already more than enough issues currently.

Kira was making his way towards the relay station with a few allies helping him though ZAFT forces were making it difficult. The METEOR unit did make the task less time consuming as it increased the number of offensive options the Freedom had. Kira still didn't like killing others, he never had, but he understood the need of it right now. If Chairman Durandal to get his way and bring about his Destiny Plan, then the human race would be lost for generations and it would take still more generations to get back to where humanity was currently. The only way to prevent the massive digression the Destiny Plan would push the human race to was to fight.

Kira did keep an eye on the Xevonia and Lacus as he could while he fought his way across the battlefield. He didn't want to lose Lacus though Kira knew there was the risk with her on the battlefield, that she might not come back. Kira had started to realize that a life without being able to be by Lacus's side was a world that was existence. That was the world that Durandal's Destiny Plan, a world of existence akin to living death as nothing would change. There would be no future as future needs to have people moving forward which requires change. Events that happened 'by chance' or due to the choices made would vanish, such as Kira meeting Lacus as a personal example.

At the same time, Lacus was doing much the same task as Kira but was a distance from where he was. Piloting the Xevonia was different from the previous mobile suits she had flown, it wasn't exactly easier, though it wasn't harder. The mobile suit was unique yet was also equip to be flexible for different types and ranges of combat. The Regenerate had been kind of like that, but the Xevonia was even more designed to be so. The improvements that had been put into the Xevonia were interesting to Lacus, and she had looked at the non-combative systems. The solar reactor in particular was fascinating, for it had many potential applications, she could see that even if she didn't understand a great deal of scientific subjects.

Although, Lacus detested fighting and the battlefields that such took place upon, right now it had become necessary. The Destiny Plan of Gilbert Durandal could not be allowed to come to pass, it would destroy the future of the human race. It would rip away the qualities of Humanity that were not just the worse parts of humans, but also the greatest capabilities. To stop such things that would being those results, those who were able must fight to protect and defend what good there was in humanity! That included Lacus, and she would do what it took to defend the future that the human race could have given an opportunity.

She still didn't like or wish the lives being taken to end as they were, few if any of them deserved the death that came on a battlefield. Each ZAFT pilot had a life, friends, family and loved ones, who would feel sorrow at their life's end. And yet, those that were spurring this war to keep going said they were doing what was best, but they showed they cared in no way about those that were dying because of their vendettas. It brought sorrow to Lacus to see the signs of the lack of caring about the lives being lost. Lacus still firmly believed that mutual understanding was not just possible but also what would have humanity moving forward further than it ever had.

Back with Athrun, the Impulse and Osiris rushed forward together and Athrun used both the beam shield on the left arm of the Justice and the deflection field on the right to block them. A pair of assault bits aimed at one of the two mobile suits and began firing while in their barrage mode. The bits attacks forced both Aila and Luna to back up a small distance trying to get out from under the storm of weapon fire. With the Impulse and Osiris backing up, that gave Athrun the opportunity to draw and combine the Justice's beam sabers. So, when the assault bits retreated back and stopped firing, Athrun zoomed forward with combined beam saber in the right hand and ignited beam sword on the left arm.

Aila managed to avoid the swing of the beam sword, but she was fairly sure that Athrun wasn't aiming to kill, just disable. That opinion changed a bit at the sound of an alarm and Aila seeing one of the DRAGOON pods from earlier flying towards her with a beam cutting point formed at the front, the other pod was doing the same from the opposite direction. She dodged one that shot from behind and deflect the other pod with her shield, but there was a gash in the shield in exchange for the blocking move. Aila had known that Athrun wasn't a run of the mill pilot or even just a skilled pilot, he was good, and his service record left no doubt about that. However, battling against someone that had earned that record is quite different than reading about what they are capable of.

At the same time, Luna was being kept busy by the Justice's two other assault bits and the two smaller DRAGOON pods. Dodging the smaller ones was not easy, but they only had beams and they couldn't fire in rapid succession. The other two pods could fire beams and beam machine guns which could sweep and that were harder to avoid Luna was finding. The Impulse's shield was able to block beams fine, but that was only effective in the front not for the rear. The maneuvers she was being forced to do were leaving her to seriously wonder how Shinn had pulled off the moves he had before, for this was taking most of what she had to keep up.

However, as the battle went on, the three mobile suits rapidly got separated to different parts of the field. Athrun had recalled the assault bits and pods before he lost sight of the Osiris and the Impulse. He ended out on a different area of the field and had deployed all his assault bits to fight against other ZAFT mobile suits, two Nazca-class destroyers and a few Laurasia-class frigates. Athrun was doing fine at first, the Justice's assault bits were helping keep his opponents at a reasonable distance. Yet, ZAFT forces kept coming and the situation changed to where Athrun was pushed onto the defensive.

It was as a swarm of missile was closing in on the Justice that the missiles were intercepted, yet most not by the Justice but by others. Athrun glanced over in the direction the missiles had been shot down from and saw a group of three mobile suits. One was a black colored ZAKU Phantom with the Blaze equipment set, while another was a white GOUF Ignited. The last one of the trio was similar in design to ZAFT's GOUF though its weapon load-out was different. The suit's coloration was red with the framework being near identical to the GOUF. Its arsenal was made up of a whip, but unlike the GOUF whip it had a ball at the end of the whip which was a spherical breaker. The whip part worked like the GOUF's slayer heat rod, yet the ball had a rocket thruster for extra kick for the target. The other attached weapon the suit had was a claw or vice mounted on the left forearm. A beam rifle was stored on the back skirt of the red suit as well Athrun did note.

The next thing that Athrun registered, there was a growl over an open comm-channel, " _Athrun, what in the hell are you thinking, being out here on this battlefield,_ " snarled none other than Yzak Joule.

Athrun would have replied, but he was beaten to it, " _Yzak, one could ask that question of you a portion of the time,_ " remarked Nicol.

" _That's the truth, no offense Yzak,_ " piped up Dearka.

Athrun was trying to come up with a possible explanation as to why his three former comrades and friends were doing here now. The last time he had seen the three of them had been when he had been at the Aprilius One colony. However, he could come up with nothing, "What are you three doing here," he questioned.

" _Originally, we were out to stop the movement of these O'Neill colonies being done by those loyal to Logos,_ " stated Nicol. " _Technically, our current orders are to defend this station while we travel towards Daedalus to assist our allies in the defense of Requiem against the combined fleet assaulting it."_

" _Because by the reports coming in, they are getting not just hammered, but whipped badly,_ " Dearka added.

What they said made sense, still something nagged at Athrun, "Okay, how did you know that it is a combined fleet assaulting Daedalus Nicol?"

There was a pause, " _Well, getting that kind of information is a perk of being an informant for the Federation's Information Network,_ " Nicol replied simply.

" _Can't argue with that point Nicol,_ " Dearka agreed.

Athrun was kind of shocked at what he was hearing, for it sounded like Nicol and Dearka were serious when they said they were informants for the Federation's information network. " _And you two claim to be loyal ZAFT soldiers, are you listening to what you're saying,_ " snapped Yzak.

" _We are still loyal and dedicated to protecting the homeland Yzak, we just don't fully agree with what Chairman Durandal is proposing,_ " Nicol stated.

" _Besides, we were working on breaking these things down after that first shot was fired as per your demands, were we not Yzak,_ " posed Dearka.

There was a grumble on the line, " _Would you shut it Dearka, I don't need to hear that from you,_ " Yzak replied.

Athrun couldn't help the smile that was coming to his face at hearing the exchange. The dynamic between his comrades hadn't changed much, and it was comforting in a way. "After all the years that have gone by, the four of us haven't changed that much," Athrun said.

There was a brief pause, " _No, I suppose we haven't, but there's work to be done before we catch up,_ " Nicol replied.

" _Yep, let's brake this thing down,_ " agreed Dearka.

The four moved toward the first relay station, and Athrun spotted the Xevonia and the Freedom already inside the colony with METEOR units still linked to them. Athrun spun around to face the upper colony wall and ignited the Justice's beam sword having it extend out farther, which took more power. As Kira and Lacus started slicing the colony wall, Athrun began cutting into the upper colony wall and kept flying forward cutting as he went. And with that, the first relay station for Requiem was broken down into three pieces, its deflection system completely unusable.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

The Normandy

The assault on the Daedalus Lunar Base would begin soon enough, which the Normandy would take part in. Like in the last Alliance-PLANT War, events had ended bringing about the forming of a fleet made up of vessels from all factions united in purpose and cause of survival. Said fleet was on its way towards Daedalus, while the Normandy was traveling with Orb's space fleet going towards the same destination. It had been close to a day since leaving Serenity City and heading out to get down to business. We had parted ways with the Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal hours earlier as they flew towards the first deflection station for Requiem. I bid them the best of luck and told them we would meet back up around Daedalus where the fleet would be taking care of the beam cannon.

With "Requiem" now under the control of ZAFT, those with common sense could comprehend that it's not much different than when Logos controlling it. The proof of that had come when the beam cannon fired once more though the shot was shorter than the first volley. The reason the shot was shorter was because of the explosive charges that the team that had been sent before to disable the weapon went off and damaged Requiem enough to stop it from working. However, the shot fired was enough to hit the Alliance's Arzachel base and destroy those that had not evacuated already, which wasn't many by what I am to understand. Arzachel had been mostly empty since the Alliance leaders not at the beckon and call of Logos were secretly cooperating with the Federation. Yet, the disablement of Requiem provided time for an assault on the beam cannon so that it can be destroyed once and for all. There was the need to stop such from being used as a threat to conform to Durandal's ideals or else.

The upcoming battle would be a harsh one, much like the Second Battle of Jachin Due had been if not more so. That being the case, there is a more than moderate chance that I won't be coming back from this looming battle alive. Of course, I certainly intend to do my utmost to survive and come back alive from this fight. I still have things I wish to do before my life comes to its end if I have the opportunity.

And yet, I was now left to ask myself some of the most serious life questions, like what do I do after this if I do come back and the like. Lately, I've been reminded that I'm not getting younger and my life is moving forward whether I want it to or not. In other words, I've been doing some thinking on the next chapter of my life would potentially look like. I've been adamant up to this point that I had no interest in getting or being in a serious relationship with a female, most due to Sakura stalking me as she does. However, I do want a family in the near future, kids and all that comes with it, there is no question about that. The memories I have with my own family are some of the most treasured ones I have, and I wish for more like that, but military service has kept me busy and made such more difficult among other factors.

So, when I finished my shift and went off-duty and went to my quarters, instead of cruising the decks of the Normandy. There, I found Sakura which kind of sped along the decision to have a serious talk with the woman which I admit I've been avoiding. I mean, the woman has been actively stalking me for years and I haven't figured out how this ever started. And I assure you, I've tried to think of what could have started, yet I've never come up with anything solid. I focused on the pink-haired woman that had been insisting to be around me, "Sakura," I said evenly, to which she glanced over at me. "We need to have a talk before we get into the assault on Daedalus and now is as good a time as any I suppose."

I floated further into the room and stopped by the bed while Sakura was by the sofa that is in my quarters. The woman was giving me her attention rare as it was for her to do so in this particular form as she's usually more focused on getting her hands on me. Honestly, my mind was a jumble of thoughts right now, but I began with what was clear within my brain. "Sakura, the battle ahead… well, there really isn't a doubt that it will be harsh with what's at stake. That in mind, to tell the truth, there is a chance that a number of us man not come back, including you and me." I paused, as I tried to contemplate and decide what I wanted to say and convey, "So, I've been doing some serious thinking." I stopped again, having issues of putting into words the ideas that were swimming around my head.

To have trouble putting my thoughts and views into words is unusual for me, I normally don't have trouble talking to others, not even Sakura Clyne my stalker. Before now, I could say precisely what I wanted to Sakura without any problem and normally with few if any filters. But right now, words were not coming to me like they would in times previous, "I know I have said no and to cut out to your advances before in various ways. Yet, I guess I've kind of gotten use to your efforts surprisingly, even if I don't like or appreciate what can result from them," I iterated, but my voice caught again, and I stopped.

Sakura was paying complete attention to me by this point, which is quite rare with her around me. It's like I stated before, she tends to be more focused on getting her hands on me and fulfilling her desire to have contact with me and more if she can get away with it. I took a breath, "Nevertheless, after time to contemplate, I was thinking that… if both of us make it through and back from the battle and however long this war lasts," I started but paused again. Sakura was just staring at me as I attempted to say what was on my mind. The tension in the air was building quickly, "I was thinking that I might… seriously consider… well, we could," I trailed off. Admitting what I was trying to, was much harder than I had thought it would be, but I wouldn't stop with how far I've come. I took a deep breath, "We could start courting for the intent of building a relationship with effort coming from both sides."

The silence in the air after I had said what I did was much deeper than I would have imagined it would be. Wondering why Sakura hadn't said anything at all in response to my admittance, I glanced at her and she had an expression that I hadn't seen before. It was an expression of what could be described as growing hope for her I think. "Do you really mean that," questioned Sakura after a few minutes as well as floating a bit closer to where I was.

Sakura wasn't acting exactly like she normally would around me, it was weird though it was a nice change from the stalking behavior. Still, I hesitated for a moment for whatever I would say would and could not be taken back, Sakura won't let me do that, I personally guarantee it! After a minute, I did give my answer, "Yeah, I do. Honestly, you've shown that you are willing to go the distance that so many are not and beyond, annoying as it has been at times. Nor are either of us getting any younger really, so it's time to start looking forward and not dwell on the past I guess," I summed up.

The next thing I registered, Sakura shot forward at me and closed the rest of the distance between us pulling me into an embrace, which I figure she would. After all, I had pretty much acknowledged her attempts to get the two of us together that she's been doing for years. Heck, I hadn't thought I would ever give that acknowledgement in any way while I was of sound mind and breathing. But, after serious consideration, it is clear that if I want a family that Sakura has made it either her or no family at all. It pains me to admit that, but I doubt I would be able to change that with her. Her other response however, took me by surprise and then some! I mean, I had expected an embrace, but that wasn't all I got. Nope, less than a second after she hugged me, Sakura latched her lips to mine and began smooching me with VIGOR! …And truth be told, Sakura kissing me felt good actually. Where she learned this art, I haven't the faintest idea and I don't ask on this kind of thing especially not with Sakura.

Sakura didn't release me from her hold as we floated and as the gesture kept going, my arms of their own accord wrapped around Sakura going with the flow of the moment. We sailed through the air due to the force Sakura had collided with as we stayed together. The kissing session lasted a while with us only parting for long enough to take in air before it continued. If this was one of the things we could do, then I'm kind of left to wonder why I'd been so against this before since doing this with Sakura was nice I admit. Not saying that Sakura kissing me, made what she's put me through during the years of stalking she's done to me worth it. Anyways, the passage of time became lost and I can't say I exactly minded with what was ahead being distracted was helpful to an extent. When we finally parted, Sakura kept looking at me, "I'll hold you to that Tyler," she said softly, and I wouldn't doubt she would keep me at my words.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Sakura was genuinely filled with joy for one of the rare times since the First Alliance-PLANT war had begun. All the effort and all the work along with the time spent was all now worth it with Tyler saying he would consider having a relationship with her. At first when he had said there needed to be a talk, Sakura figured it would be the usual leave him along lecture. She had heard it in its variations multiple times before now, not that she listened to it much, she couldn't leave him alone.

Tyler may not remember how or why she started pursuing him, but Sakura would never forget their first meeting. He had been younger at the time, mid-teens likely sixteen or seventeen perhaps and they had encountered one another on Earth around Victoria. Sakura later found out that Tyler had been on an undercover assignment back then, while Sakura had been inspecting the base. She had recently lost some teammates a week before, so Sakura hadn't been in a good mood and the terrified air of the soldiers around her made that clear. What Tyler had actually been around Victoria for, she hadn't the faintest idea and she didn't care anymore. She remembered their meeting like it was yesterday…

 _-Flashback-_

Sakura was miserable and didn't want to be here at Victoria at all and that was coming off as near constant killing intent. She knew Lanus was trying to give her time away from the battlefields because of the loss she had gone through recently. Her best friend had been killed by a shot meant for Sakura herself and she was not taking it well, it was nice of Lanus to try and help nonetheless. The ZAFT personnel were leaving her be, the dark air she put off made sure of that and Sakura preferred that right now. The call from her little sister Lacus has not helped much with the pain though her concern was nice. If not for her family, things that came from the battles would be much harder to deal with.

Sakura was lost in her thoughts when someone crashed into her and knocked her to the ground. If Sakura was in a bad mood before, then she was in a worse one now and whoever it was that had come into her path would feel her wrath that had been building! Yet, before she could slowly rip apart whoever it was that had been unlucky enough to knock into her, there came a voice. "I do beg your pardon miss, wasn't paying the attention I should have when I bumped into you. I was on my way to somewhere in a hurry and stopped looking as to where I was going."

She glared at the speaker, finding that they were a male teenager with messy tan colored hair and green eyes. Where normally Sakura's glare would shut up anyone and get them to do whatever she wanted them to do, this teen wasn't reacting like the rest. Instead, he seemed to study her for a moment, then he spoke again, "Hmm, you know, I would bet the glare you're giving me would terrify most people under most if not all circumstances. However miss, I'm not most people nor does your glare scare me in the least," he said taking a small step back from Sakura.

Sakura blinked at the reply, mostly since it was so rare to the point that it was close to unheard of for someone to not be scared of her. Up till now, the group that didn't outright fear her had included some of her fellow champions, Lanus and her family, that was it. But the surprises didn't stop there, "Still, has anyone told you that such a glare mars your face, which is a pity with the pretty one you have," the teen stated.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat at being called pretty in such a carefree tone, yet before she could reply, the teen looked at his watch. "Oh, dearie me, is it that time already," he remarked before he looked back a Sakura and gave her a smile, "Sorry to run, but I have somewhere I really need to be very soon. I do apologize for knocking you over, it wasn't intentional, but I got to go," he said in a rush and ran away in a different direction.

Sakura stared after the teen as he ran before he slid at an intersection and then went to the left and disappeared. The encounter was more than odd for her in many ways, and this was the first time that Sakura could remember her heart skipping a beat like it had. She put the recollection in the back of her mind for the rest of the day, returning to it from time to time. However, it was in the evening that things changed in that. Sakura was about to go off-duty, when the sound of a blast rang out, breaking the quiet of the night.

Upon getting outside, Sakura view a blaze coming up from an area that had been under the influence of Earth Force sympathizers. ZAFT personnel were scrambling to get things under control, while Sakura went looking for what had started all of this situation. While she was looking around, she heard gunshots ahead which had her taking out her own pistol. As she kept moving forward, someone suddenly rushed past her, using the shadows to hide themselves while running away from the blaze. Sakura managed to catch ahold of the running and found that it was the teen from earlier today. The force that he pulled against Sakura was more than she would have expected from this teen.

But as she looked this teen over, there were signs that he had been around the blaze, perhaps even around the source of the fire. He didn't have any burns, but there was ash on his clothes along with other covert things that told her of this. The quick glimpse inside his pack showed Sakura tools for infiltration and sabotage. She looked back at this teen curiously as he hadn't come off as the type to be able to do such things. However, Sakura had little time to contemplate as the teen slipped out of the pack, dropped to the ground spun around sweeping Sakura's legs out from under her. She caught herself before she hit the ground, but the teen had made distance from her by that time.

"Oh, it's you again," he said. The teen bowed slightly, "As nice as it would be to chat, afraid I don't have the time. By the way don't think we were introduced, name's Tyler McGregor." There came an angry shout from the direction of the blaze, "Do believe that's my cue to be on my way miss. Not interested in being caught tonight by those chasing me, wouldn't end well," the teen said, then ran off again.

Sakura was left where she was, wondering what was going on that would have a teenager acting like he just did. It wasn't more than a few minutes that a ZAFT soldier came up and informed her that the Earth Forces sympathizers had suffered problems and were looking for the one responsible. At hearing that and suspecting the teen was the one that had pulled the stunt, she couldn't hold back the laugh that came out. She had clearly underestimated that male teen, and such hadn't happened for a long while and it intrigued her more than just a passing interest.

She wished to know more about this teen that she had encountered today, for is seemed that he was quite interesting. Not only had he not reacted like pretty much everyone else did around her, but he also had a talent or not arousing suspicion about himself. Plus, he had called her pretty and so few did that and actually meant what they said. So, Sakura decided she would find out more about this Tyler McGregor that had caught her attention!

 _-Flashback end-_

A meet of fate Sakura saw that as now, it was the beginning of her pursuit of Tyler which stretched out for years. And all of that time and effort was paying off as Tyler had gone on to say that he would give her a chance at a relationship between the two of them. At first, she had thought she had heard him incorrectly for before now Tyler had fought against and refused her advances and expressing her interest. She had even asked if he meant what he said about considering a relationship. His acknowledgement of her efforts and agreement of the potential relationship had been the tipping point for her and she could stop herself after that.

Sakura had just moved forward and hugged Tyler, truly happy for the first time in a long while. Of course, she had kept going and kissed Tyler, she wasn't about to let the opportunity slip away for that. What's more, he had hugged her back and he didn't normally do that, which served as reinforcement that he meant what he had said. Oh, if only the moment could last longer, Sakura didn't want it to end really. It was these feelings she wished for Lacus, the real reason that she had gone to the lengths she had to shoo away those that wanted to use Lacus for their selfish pursuits. She could see those that wanted to use her baby sister to benefit themselves, and she disliked such. Kira Yamato had shown himself to be different from those before, he had no motive to use Lacus and he made her smile genuinely and that said a lot to her. Plus, Tyler spoke highly of him and she had come to learn that Tyler was a fair judge of character.

After Tyler and Sakura parted slightly, she kept looking at him, "I'll hold you to that Tyler," she said softly, fully intending to hold him at his words.

The two ended out around the bed and spent the rest of the time remaining before reaching the battle around Daedalus. Just before arriving at the destination, they both got up, Tyler headed for the bridge and Sakura went to the pilot locker room. Sakura made her way to the hanger after that and towards the X32 Phoenix which was assigned to her. Tyler was going to the bridge first to get a bit of a picture of the current situation. When he arrived on the bridge, Tyler felt a bit of pride at seeing everyone was where they needed to be.

After taking that in, Tyler focused ahead to the growing number of explosions and the lights of beams being exchanged between both sides of the battle that had broken out. The magnitude of the battle wasn't the same as the Second Battle of Jachin Due had been yet, but it had just started a short period ago, so given time it could become the same scale. The allied fleet outnumbered the ZAFT forces that were defending the base and Requiem by a large margin, just don't see a reason to state it to be nice. However, information coming in said that a portion of ZAFT's lunar fleet were on their way and would arrive soon to reinforce their forces.

Still, even with ZAFT quickly being hard pressed, it had to be said that they were hanging on hard as they defended the beam cannon and the base. Yet, the sheer force they were going against wouldn't be pushed back by them and conclude this battle if things go unchanged. The reinforcement would help the defenders for a time, but it wouldn't change the situation enough as things stood. However, there wasn't any expectation that this to end quick with Durandal at the helm and giving the orders to those fighting back.

Lisa turned in her chair and saw me viewing the battle, "I see that you intend to go out to the field," she posed.

Tyler just nodded, "Yep, by the look of it every qualified pilot will be needed on there to end this as fast as possible before that beam cannon can fire and end lives again," he responded flatly.

Lisa paused after his answer, "Come back alive Tyler," she said, catching Tyler's attention. "The world… no, humanity needs those like you who can see and believe in the potential that it still has. The world Durandal paints is not living, it is death without the curtesy of allowing rest at all."

Tyler was flattered to be told that, and he gained a smile, "I'll return Lisa, I still have things I plan to do before I kick the bucket hard once and for all. And I ain't letting Durandal bring about the world he's been advertising since it is not what he says. Plus, I wouldn't get to see it anyways," he stated firmly.

After his statement, Tyler turned and left the bridge and went to the hanger and found that all the pilots that the Normandy had there preparing to go out to the battlefield. He did tell the pilots that they were to do their best out on the field to help where and how they could and to come back alive as he sailed towards my mobile suit. The Rapture was the first to go to the catapult, and the lineup that would follow was to be as follows: the Kyrios, the Virtue, the Phoenix and the Exalt for launching order. Thankfully the Normandy's catapult system is efficient for consecutive launches of machines, so the launching process was not slow.

When the Exalt zoomed out to the field, the fuller picture of what this battle was and would likely become before its end sunk into Tyler with the view of the scene before him. ZAFT defenders were dragging out this battle and making it clear that they would keep doing so to the very last one of them was stopped or taken down. For whatever reason, and Tyler couldn't for the life of himself explain the logic, ZAFT saw Requiem as a necessity for the future that Gilbert Durandal had envisioned for all those who listened to him. Why a weapon of mass destruction would be needed in a 'peaceful future' made no sense at all in Tyler's mind and he doubted he was the only one that thought that way. The only reason he could come up with would be using the cannon as a means of force against those that will be against Durandal. The beam cannon had certainly proven that it would rain down horror and destruction on wherever it was fired upon, there is nothing else that needs to be said about it.

Unfortunately for the allied fleet, thus far, the first couple of attempts to destroy the cannon had been unsuccessful, due to two reasons. The first point was that ZAFT was doing everything they could to halt and make the approach extremely difficult with the few mobile suits they had to work with. The second reason added to the first, which was the triad of positron reflectors that covered Requiem's barrel made hitting it will something with decent power ineffective while they were up. Hence why the ZAFT defenders were being targeted and then taken down by teams of mobile suits from the allied fleet.

Those from the Normandy and the Orb ships dived in and joined the fight to destroy Requiem and stop any chance of it being used again. Tyler found himself was quickly split up from those from the Normandy he had started with and forced to fight ZAFT machines and ships. Nonetheless, Tyler ended out with some of the new models that had something similar to the GN Solar reactors that the Exalt had. The mobile suits had something like the solar reactor, but the color of the particles was different from the green that the machines he'd seen before now. These suits were putting out orangish particles instead, which made me think that perhaps there had been progress made in somehow mass-producing solar reactors. The mobile suits were streamlined and looked similar to the Delta Fighter's flight mode and looked to have somewhat a similar frame to the Delta Fighter as well. There was blue version of these new machines, although that one appeared to have two reactors like the Exalt did, but readouts were much lower than even what the other suits from the Normandy.

The point and priority for those assaulting Daedalus was to make it so Requiem couldn't fire again, whether by its destruction or disablement don't think any really care which. There was little to no doubt that ZAFT has been repairing the damage done by the explosives in the cannon, so it could fire again. That inferred to Durandal intending to use Requiem as a way to intimidate and/or eliminate any that would disagree with him. Even with numbers against ZAFT being a large margin higher, ZAFT forces were fighting a losing battle with sheer desperation.

Tyler was working on getting closer to the former Alliance base that ZAFT now controlled, but the progress was slower than he really liked. Working alongside others, Tyler was picking off ZAFT mobile suits with both the Exalt's sword rifles and the particle cannons mounted in the shoulder shields. However, it seemed that each opponent he took down, another appeared to take their place in seconds later. The problem is the longer this dragged on, the more likely ZAFT's lunar fleet will show up and reinforce the defenders. The siting of more ZAFT forces showed that things would only drag out longer. And were the defenders to get more reinforcements, that will buy even more time for them to get the cannon operational again, which is likely what they were bargaining on.

At the same time, the Phoenix was in a different area of the field doing much the same as the mobile suits of the allied fleet were doing. Sakura had to admit that the gundam-type suit was quite impressive, much better than a CGUE machine. The nuclear power source was one thing, but the solar reactor was something else. Still that didn't change the mentality Sakura had when it came to battle, the machine used is not the absolute determining factor like some thought they were. Skill and experience tended to make far more a difference rather than what model of mobile suit one used. And if anything could be said, then it was such a mentality was being proven right by Sakura heavily.

She was putting the Phoenix through its paces, utilizing all the offensive options it had to work with, including ones that were probably not built-in intentionally. Sakura found it somewhat intriguing to use the Phoenix's flight mode to crash through Nazca-classes and Laurasia-classes without incurring any damage to her machine at all. The mobility of the Phoenix was more than interesting as it made avoiding incoming weapon fire simpler. The ZAKUs were easy for Sakura to cut down, though the normal battle lust that would take the forefront of her mind wasn't coming. For whatever reason, there was none of that, maybe the progress made with Tyler might be having a good affect with her, she couldn't say.

Even ZAFT's new GOUFs were having serious trouble against the Phoenix, they were as pushovers to Sakura. The pilots were depending far too much on the capabilities of their machines and much less on their piloting skills if they have much. The GOUFs that approached her, tried using their duel swords, machine gun and heat rods but with no success. Heck, Sakura used the GOUFs' heat rods, grasping them as they wrapped around the Rotonda weapon systems, then swinging her opponents around as the slayer whips were attached to them. She would take a duel sword and use it against the owners and their comrades with more finesse than them. In short, Sakura was ripping through her adversaries with ease and caused them to try and avoid her within a short period.

Tyler did catch glimpses of Sakura's work against the defending ZAFT forces and it was scary to a degree to watch. He could blame the ZAFT forces for attempting to avoid the Phoenix, Sakura was scaring them good. It brought to mind several thoughts about his soon to be 'potential girlfriend' with her ripping mobile suits into pieces with gusto to say the least. Having her pilot a gundam-type may have been a decision made by a higher up, but that person could be regretting the choice. It wasn't that Sakura wasn't helping the progress being made forward, it was more that she was contributing a great deal to it, more than many were. Tyler was going between horror and fascination at how Sakura was pretty much showing up most of those on the field with how she's performing along with putting the Phoenix through its paces.

Sakura also would pull maneuvers that used that tail whip to slice ZAFT suits like a hot knife through butter. The assault bits were just as frightening as Tyler had believed they would be, if not more so as he caught sight of them. Lacus's older sister used two bits as spears, punching hole in mobile suits and ships alike. The other two were firing particle beams at their targets they were assigned to aim at.

So, those that were assaulting Daedalus were giving those defending it the harshest gauntlet they have probably done or imagined. Although, one had to hand it to the ZAFT defenders, they were fighting with all they had, even if it wasn't enough against those they were fighting. It was really a matter of time before they were wiped out, which it was likely they knew that. The gamble of this situation was if ZAFT defenders could hold the allied fleet off until their lunar fleet arrives, then they have a chance to fire that cannon again.

 **-Line Break-**

Lunar Orbit

The mobile suits of the three attackers of the first relay station returned to their respective ships after the destruction of the relay station. Those ships began heading towards Daedalus and the battle going around there to disable Requiem. The breakdown of the station was a morale booster for those against the Destiny Plan and that was helpful. Hope was beginning to grow that things could work out in this and there wouldn't be a weapon firing at Earth or the colonies. Meanwhile, the ZAFT forces that had been defending the station regrouped and regained their bearings after the battle had ended with the destruction of the relay station.

It was upon this scene that the fortress Messiah came onto and to understand that it was caused by just three ships and their mobile suits hurt. The loss of the first relay station wasn't nice, but it could be replaced with some time as long as Requiem itself wasn't destroyed and that was questionable outcome right now. The reports of a 'massive force' attacking Daedalus base hadn't been well received. Part of ZAFT's lunar fleet had been sent ahead to help out those at Daedalus before the others headed for the first relay station. Yet the cries for help that had come not all that long that those sent should have arrived at Daedalus weren't encouraging. The Ricter team along with a portion of the lunar fleet were outmatched by more than ten to one according to reports and that was being extremely optimistic. The rest of ZAFT's lunar fleet was trying to hurry up to reinforce their allies being hit hard and barely hanging on. However, the attempt had been delayed by the assault on the first relay station along the way had failed.

Chairman Durandal really wasn't liking this turn of events, especially not the attack on Daedalus by a 'massive force'. Losing a relay station wasn't preferred, but it could be recovered from in the long-run. However, if Requiem was destroyed itself that was an entirely different matter and that was not so easy to undo. Still, the massive force could explain why there had been nothing from both the Federation's military and the Earth Forces. It wasn't a helpful change in situation by any means, yet as long as that force could be occupied for long enough to get Requiem charged and fire, then things could still work out. With that in mind, the rest of ZAFT's lunar fleet set out for Daedalus to assist their allies defending it.

When the Archangel, the Dominion and the Eternal, the battle that was playing out before them was quite similar to how the Second Battle of Jachin Due had gone. The allied fleet was made up ships from all three factions working together in the purpose of handling Requiem much as the threat of nuclear weapons had been. It was surreal to see mobile suits of all factions working together in teams against ZAFT forces. That it would take this type and level of threat for a uniting to occur was sad yet good to see. But there wasn't long to take in the sight as the three ships began launching their now resupplied mobile suits back out to a battlefield. If the rest of ZAFT lunar fleet arrived and reinforced those defending Daedalus, they might buy enough time to charge Requiem and fire the cannon.

The second the mobile suits pilots got onto the field, it was obvious that the defending ZAFT forces were close to being defeated and overwhelmed by their allies. Nonetheless, Requiem wasn't destroyed or disabled and that still left Earth and the colonies in looming danger. Progress on dealing with Requiem was slowed by the system of three positron reflectors defending the cannon and its bulkhead. The reflectors projected three fields that covered the cannon's barrel and the immediate surrounding area. The defense prevented enemy mobile suits' weapon fire along with ships guns from reaching the cannon. That combined with ZAFT suits keeping any ships from getting into range to bombard the area by whatever means necessary.

The METEOR units were kept by the Eternal instead of being disconnected for linking up with a mobile suit. Kira and Lacus stayed close to each other as they went into the thick of the battle assisting where they could. The Justice joined up with an allied group that he came across and helped them in the fighting. The other mobile suits of the three ships stayed as close as they could to the ships that sent them out. For a time, it appeared that the allied fleet would get to Requiem before it was made operational and charged for use. However, as the defending ZAFT forces dwindled the allied fleet was pushing forward at a steady pace towards the goal such changed. As good and real progress was being made, the rest of ZAFT's lunar fleet began coming into range to join the fight. With the ZAFT defenders being bolstered by the rest of their lunar fleet, the battle became much more intense. And yet, ZAFT forces were still outnumbered even if it wasn't by the large margin it had been at the start of the assault.

Nevertheless, the hope of things not being so bad dwindled as the sight of the battle above Daedalus came into view for ZAFT. Durandal was much less pleased at seeing the force that was assaulting Daedalus closer up and what made it up. He had glanced at the reports that had been hastily sent, that a 'massive force' was attacking the base. But seeing the point with his own eyes hammered the idea home more and just who would likely end out standing against the Destiny Plan. Granted, Requiem was still intact for the moment, but the Federation and those with them had made more progress forward to get to the cannon than Durandal liked or felt at all comfortable with. Requiem's defenses were being stressed and while that was the case, it was too dangerous to open Requiem's barrel to fire the beam. There was the option of using Neo-GENESIS to start thinning out the Federation and their allies, but after using that they would target Messiah just as much. That would put the database that the Destiny Plan required at risk and Durandal would like to avoid that if possible. It would be best to save that card from being played for later if at all possible and not put Messiah in the scope of targets yet. Plus, Messiah wasn't in effective range to use Neo-GENESIS to the utmost effect it be put to.

Ahead in the midst of the battlefield, the fighting between the mobile suits wasn't slowing down at all, more picking up the pace. Some pilots and mobile suits had quickly become popular targets when the rest of ZAFT's lunar fleet came and reinforcement them. The gundam-type suits especially became magnets to enemy mobile suits as well as for allies to gather around with a few notable exceptions. Of those said exceptions, Sakura Clyne and Kurt Gream were the foremost as they were each akin to a one-person army.

On Messiah, Shinn and Rey had just talked with Chairman Durandal and were preparing themselves to sortie out to the battlefield. Shinn was having more doubts the longer he thought about the Chairman's Destiny Plan. It sounded really good, a world without war, without worry or concern, Shinn liked the idea of such a world. And the way Chairman Durandal had explained it, the Destiny Plan really did seem like the perfect solution to the current woes of the world and colonies. But, there was one point that nagged at the back of Shinn's mind, that being 'what's the catch to the plan' or what is the price. A lesson of life Shinn learned early on, there was no such thing as a free ride or hand-out, everything came at a price whether that was putting forth effort, work or something else. That thought combined with the things that Athrun had said were bouncing around his brain and wouldn't leave him alone.

Rey entering the room and speaking snapped Shinn back to the present, "Did you get some rest Shinn, we should be getting ready to go out. Once this battle is finished, then everything will fall into place Shinn."

"I'm fine, but what do you mean Rey," asked Shinn.

"When those fighting the enviable are dealt with, then the rest of those who are blindly resisting that which will bring about a better world will start to understand." Rey gazed at Shinn, "You can understand Shinn, a world without war, without suffering and just living peaceful and happy lives is the best future for the human race."

Shinn hesitated, and what Athrun had said about the words that Rey and the Chairman said sound right but there being more to them came to mind. "I do understand that, and I don't disagree that such a world isn't desirable. But, can the Destiny Plan really do what has been stated, and at what price would it come," he said.

Rey moved over to Shinn and put a hand on his shoulder, "The Destiny Plan will change the world for the better Shinn. The Chairman has entrusted us to defend that and help push this forward because he knows that we can succeed," Rey assured.

Shinn nodded, yet the nagging thoughts going around his mind wouldn't be silenced by Rey's assurance. The two boarded their machines before the Destiny and the Legend did launch from Messiah as soon as they could and entered the fight. Rey quickly got down to hunting for the Freedom and the Justice for he wanted to take them down once and for all. But finding specific mobile suits in the maelstrom of the battle was much easier said than done. The fact still was that the ZAFT defenders were still outnumbered by a decent margin even with the reinforcement of their lunar fleet.

Shinn was helping his allies as he made his way forward for ten to fifteen minutes before he took in his surroundings again. He found he had ended out in the area that the second Archangel-class, the black one along with other vessels. It was hard to tell with ZAFT vessels in this battle which were ally or foe, they all looked the same in the end to Shinn and he doubted he was the only one that was having issues in that. He also spotted the Justice close by the second Archangel-class, helping in its defense. Flashes of the last encounter with Athrun went through Shinn's mind, of how Athrun had not blamed him for trying to kill him as he attempted to escape from Carpentaria along with the things he had said.

Athrun had sounded so reasonable and logical like he always seemed to, but that clashed with the claims of him being a traitor. Perhaps that was where the confusion began, where two very different picture of Athrun Zala was portrayed. The chase from Carpentaria had happened and the arguing sides had been harping at each other had been awful. It seemed that Rey had known what was going on and hadn't said anything when he should have. The scene at Orb that was so similar to when the Alliance had attacked during the First Alliance-PLANT War and that was only adding to the mess in Shinn's mind. What stuck out was the question Athrun had posed, 'what kind of future do you wish to see and are willing to fight for'. It had been going through Shinn's brain off and on since it had been asked by Athrun though Shinn hadn't said anything to anyone else.

Shinn did the best he could to clear him mind and focused in on the Justice as he closed the distance between them. The Destiny took out its beam sword and was moving to attack, yet the Justice turned and blocked the swing Shinn made downward with its deflection shield. The Destiny's beam sword bounced off the Justice's Valor shield. While Shinn was recovering from the deflection, Athrun drew a beam saber and slashed at the Destiny forcing Shinn to draw back a margin to avoid getting hit.

Athrun had no real desire to kill Shinn, he still saw him as someone with a good heart that was simply being tricked by others. Yes, Shinn was blinded by the lies that Chairman Durandal was feeding him, and Rey was helping that along, but he wasn't a bad person. The sadder thing about circumstances as they were, Shinn had no idea that he was fighting for a world he would never be allowed to see. In Durandal's world, those who were different wouldn't be a part of it and those with SEED factor would definitely fall into that category of different. So, the Justice rushed forward to attack the Destiny in order to disable it, but Athrun had to dodge when the Legend began firing its weapons from behind at him.

Athrun's attention shifted to be on the Legend and its DRAGOON pods that it had deployed and was using against him. In response, Athrun detached the Justice's own six assault bits and engaged the Legend. Athrun didn't hate Rey, he could be as blind as Shinn to the truth about the Destiny Plan for all he knew. However, he had interfered frequently lately with situations that didn't concern him and made things worse. He had been helping Chairman Durandal to trick others like Shinn into believing what Gilbert Durandal was creating was right. Blinding people of the truth by just not telling them all the facts is not all that different than lying about what is being done in this type of thing.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

I was going around the battlefield fighting to try and get closer to Requiem, but not having the greatest success as I was popular with ZAFT defending forces. As with most gundam-types, I was automatically a prime target and it quickly got irritating to be a constant target. But, I dealt with my sudden popularity being as flexible as I am doing my job and whipping rear as I did so. I was working my way across the field for I believe the third time when I spotted the Dominion, which meant those who had assaulted the first relay station had arrived.

I had made my way over toward the Dominion, it was in the general same direction of Requiem. My goal was still to get to that cannon and make it, so it could be taken out, whether I did that myself or simply opened the way for it to happened. By the time I had gotten in the vicinity of the Dominion, I noticed that the ship was in need of a little help and relief from its attackers. So, I deployed my sword bits sets to speed along the task of shooing these ZAFT machines away. Some bits generated shields to block shots from hitting the Dominion while the others were shooting at the ZAFT suits as I was using my sword rifles to do too.

It didn't take me all that long to either send the attacks running or simply take them down, thus helping the Dominion out. That would mean that Natarle owes me, not that I'm exactly keeping track or anything, but I don't have the nicest record with the woman. Of course, I well-earned my reputation with Natarle Badgiruel with the time we were made to be around one another, can't deny that without lying. As I recalled the Exalt's sword bits, I connected a channel to the Dominion's bridge, "How lucky for you and your crew Natarle. No need to think I'm keeping score, this save is on the house and me, just don't get use to this," I stated.

I didn't wait for Natarle's reply as there were high stakes in this battle and so there was work that needed to be seen to as soon as possible. In less than five minutes, I came upon a scene that caused me a bit of a pause. The Justice was fighting a blue, red and while gundam-type mobile suit, and by the look of it Athrun would do fine in the skirmish against the suit. However, then a second mobile suits that was also a gundam-type suit got behind Athrun and began adding and interfering.

The second suit caught my attention for a moment as there was something about it that was somehow familiar. At first, I couldn't place the familiarity, that is until it had pods on it detach and then they attacked the Justice. That action brought to my mind non-nice memories from the First Alliance-PLANT War, specifically when I had been taking on the dirty rat Le Creuset. And the longer I looked at the mobile suit, the more it reminded me of the one Creuset used and I don't like recalling the rat if I don't have to! But, I focused back on the other machine going against the Justice as it was moving up behind Athrun. As I'm not one to just sit by and watch a friend potentially get hurt and I do nothing about it, I shot forward. I shifted the Exalt into its flight mode and then aimed my flight path at that machine with the full intention to ram it!

And oh, like it always seems to be, was it ever satisfying when I crashed into one of those that were assaulting my friend in the Justice and plowing them forward. I took my opponent by complete surprise, they just glimpsed me when I was about on top of them before I rammed hard. The mobile suit's torso became caught on the left wing between the main body of my suit and the left shoulder pack. Then a moment later, I slammed on the breaks and hurled my 'passenger' off flying a short distance away. I next turned my attention to the other machine attacking one of my best friends, which was irking me as it looked similar to Creuset's suit. So, I zoomed towards them and used the Exalt's vulcans in the nose section and unloaded at the other doing what I see as wrong.

The wannabe Creuset machine turned and faced me, the trained their beam rifle on me. I decided it would be better for me to change my suit over and so, I shifted it to its suit form. Bringing up my sword rifles, I began taking shots at the wannabe, making him dance away from Athrun. I then moved over to be next to the Justice and opened a channel, "Yo Athrun, happened to be passing by and saw you having a bit of trouble with these two," I said. "And as you should know, I'm not one to see a friend in need and standby simply watching, so I rushed in as is my normal style."

It was true, just sitting by and watching a friend in a bind struggle and do nothing when I could help them had never sat well with me. It wasn't right, and it certainly wasn't a practice I was going to pick up while I'm still sane! " _Yes, and thanks for the help,_ " Athrun replied.

There was a pause in which Athrun and I noticed the two mobile suits that had been attacking Athrun recovered and starting to move in on us. It was a more even fight with these two versing Athrun and me, but there was a growing time restraint that we must keep in mind. " _So then, any good idea of how to convince them to leave us alone quickly,_ " Athrun posed to me.

A number of ideas went through my head at that question, ranging from reasonable to ludicrous. The main point was the beam cannon at Daedalus needed to be disabled and not fire and getting into that cannon would really help that be sped along. I mean, I had been making my way in that direction when I had been coming this way, "Well actually, I was on my way to getting inside that nasty cannon that ZAFT is so desperate to shoot off," I stated. And yet, I have a feeling, call it a hunch if you like, but I don't think the two gunning to fight us will be inclined to just let us pass. "Yet, my intuition tells me that these two wouldn't be inclined to just let either you or I go and do that. What are your thoughts," I questioned.

There was a moment of silence from Athrun, " _You're not wrong on these two not letting us accomplish what is needed, I personally guarantee that from experience,_ " Athrun returned.

Personal experience Athrun says, should I ask what that infers and entails, or would it be better for me not to know. That has been becoming a common question I've having to ask of my two best friends as of late now that I think about it. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm seen as the reckless one of the trio that is Kira, Athrun and me. And yet, my two best friends are getting ahead of me in this, I would rather the tough stuff be left to me honestly. Still, I just couldn't hold back my curiosity, "You saying that you know the pilots of these two machines then," I posed.

" _Yes, I used to work with them,_ " Athrun replied, " _It was also these two that got me close to kill while leaving Carpentaria._ "

Wait, then that would mean that the two pilots we're going against nearly killed Athrun and I don't appreciate that idea at all! "So these two gundam-type pilots put you in the haggard condition you've gone through, and yet, they still aren't satisfied," I asked losing almost all the emotion in my voice.

" _Apparently not, I fought them around Orb as well,_ " Athrun remarked.

I took a moment to calm down and reign in the desire to make the two that had gotten close to killing Athrun in. Getting irritated wouldn't help in this situation and I knew that, so I instead focused on the irony of this. "Hmm, with what you've been getting into lately, one would almost think you had the same kind of talent I do at getting people to dislike you and want you to be seriously hurt or die, which is ironic as you're far nicer than me in general. However, I think I have an idea that could work for us in getting to Requiem and hampering these two interlopers," I mused in a sly tone.

To say I was coming up with a plan was not wrong, I was cooking up something that would be good. The idea was that Athrun and I zoom off to the beam cannon to get the job done as soon as possible. If these two want follow, then they are more than welcome to do so though it won't do much for them. They would have to watch what they do, especially inside the beam cannon, or risk taking the cannon off-line. Athrun was quiet for a bit but then spoke, " _Whatever your plan is Tyler, I'm in,_ " Athrun answered.

A somewhat dark chuckle escaped me at hearing Athrun's answer, "Glad you're onboard without hesitation my friend, Kira always takes coaxing to agree to my plans. So, on to business," I replied, before gaining an air of seriousness. "We fly to Requiem, get inside and open up that cannon barrel like a tin can, therefore allowing others with more firepower to start blasting down the cannon. Those two by the sound of it will follow us and I say let them. When we're inside the firing chamber they have to be careful where and how they shoot or else risk the cannon losing functionality. We on the other hand aren't limited in the same respect whatsoever, meaning that we can fire as we like without any issue."

The plan was sound enough and followed my usual way of plans on the fly, which was crazy yet logical, a perfect balance. So, I set my sight on the lunar base, "Follow my lead," I said before shooting off towards the lunar surface.

Athrun and I made a close to be b-line towards where the service tunnel that would lead to the inside of Requiem laid. Sensors did rapidly indicated that as expected, the two that we had been going against were pursuing us. Yet, when it comes to speed, the Exalt and the Eternal Justice can outstrip our hunters, in that I'm confident. So, to prove the point, I shifted the Exalt into its flight mode and Athrun followed suit with the Justice. The streamlined flight modes increased out cruising speed and we began gaining distance from our pursuers.

We leveled out our mobile suits a short distance above the surface of the moon, still heading in the direction we had been. However, our current position also put us below the majority of Daedalus automated interception network's effective range. Not to say that the defenses weren't leaving us alone, they were shooting at Athrun and I, it was just less than it would be where we higher up. The two ZAFT mobile suits were still chasing us, but they were being force to dodge the defenses too. Although, on a side note, I applaud the effort that both the ZAFT pilots were putting forth in their pursuing of us, it takes guts and dedication. It makes me wonder what it is that they fight for or if they know the truth about Durandal's Destiny Plan.

Back to the present, I spotted the tunnel entrance ahead just beyond the first line of automated defenses. And speaking of the automated defenses, they were having difficulty getting close to hitting either Athrun or I. It might have to do with the GN particles produced by the solar reactors, I don't know enough about them to say. Nonetheless, the defenses were helping the Exalt and the Justice get even more of a lead ahead of our chasers. So, we had a healthy lead built by the time we zoomed past the first line of automated guns and shot down the service tunnel's mouth. I took point while Athrun flew behind me in a near single-file manner as the tunnel was not the most spacious. But, we had a rough map and that was helping Athrun and I navigate the space well enough to get through it. Sensors still indicated that the two pursuing us were not letting up in their chase and were following us down the tunnel.

Once Athrun and I came into the cannon's firing chamber, we shifted our machines out of their flight modes. I glanced upward and saw the bulkhead was still in place, and I knew that needed to change, the sooner the better. Maneuvering the Exalt to move towards the bulkhead, I focused in on the task at hand. Athrun followed me, probably getting an idea as to what we were about to do. Along the way, I deployed both the Exalt's shield sword bit sets and the flight array's set as well. The shield sword bits combined with my sword rifles while the other set split up into two groups of three. The Justice also detached its own assault bits and they positioned themselves in tandem with the two groups of three sword bits. The trio of sword bits would generate fields to block incoming shots, while the Justice's assault bits would give the return fire.

When the autonomous equipment was positioned behind Athrun and I, we ignited our beam cutting weapons, the Justice its beam blade, me my sword rifles in the blade mode. The Justice's beam blade extended farther than it would normally, while my sword rifles with bits were able to generate long beam blades. The sparks began flying as we dug our blades into the metal of the bulkhead, but it was satisfying when our weapons penetrated the cannon's cover I will say. The plan was to cut out a ring that was the shape of the cannon's mouth so that others could fire down this barrel and destroy the cannon. It was as Athrun and I were starting to cut a ring out of this bulkhead that our pursuers entered the firing chamber.

The two ZAFT machines when they spotted us moved our way, shooting at Athrun and I as they came. Their shots didn't reach us as the sword bits I had out formed triangular GN particle field between them which intercepted the beams. The Justice's assault bits kept our opponents from getting too close to us by firing beams at them. The teamwork of the Justice's and the Exalt's autonomous bits was close to perfect and made what they were doing look like a dance of sorts. It was certainly stopping any interference with the task Athrun and I were seeing to currently, though that didn't stop the two ZAFT suits from trying.

We were halfway through slicing a ring when the movements of our two attackers began changing subtly. The Creuset wannabe was becoming more erratic, likely due to growing frustration at not hitting Athrun or me and not being able to stop us. But, with their dancing and evading, they weren't effectively able to line up many shots and the ones they did were intercepted. It took in total between five and ten minutes for Athrun and me to cut our ring section out of the bulkhead. The squealing of metal being ripped apart was awesome to hear, but the job wasn't done, just a major step forward. Alarms began blaring with the bulkhead now not seal and secure, and it provided a wonderful distraction.

With such opportunity presented, Athrun and I began slicing the section we cut out into smaller pieces. And once we had the bulkhead into many more pieces, we had all our weapons pointing at them, I even switched my sword rifles over to their heavy particle rifle mode. When we both had all we got brought to bear on the metal slabs, we fired our weapons. Our beams slammed into the metal slabs and pushed them forward opening up Requiem's barrel further. I would bet that the flash of our combined weapon fire drew the attention of the ZAFT suits back to us. Of course, we kept up firing at the metal slabs out of the way so that this cannon can be taken down.

As the cannon was opened, the view of the field that the positron reflectors were projecting became visible. That field generated by the triad of reflectors is the last defense standing in the way of Requiem's destruction, so it's got to go! Athrun and I zoomed out of Requiem's firing chamber through the hole we made to deal with the reflectors. Our autonomous weapons kept with us, flying next to us as to not get separated. We could dock them, but we were likely about to use them, so what would the point be of doing that? And since we're below the field the three positron reflectors were projecting, we had clear access to the generators from where we are with little interference.

Athrun aimed at the nearest reflector's emitters and fired at them, while I targeted another, our autonomous bits sweeping around us. I highly doubt that the two ZAFT machines will stop trying to attack Athrun and I, not after following us this far. My assumption was proven right when the sight of the two said machines coming up from the barrel was visible. Still Athrun and I were not wasting time with shooting the reflectors, Athrun was working on disabling one as I was taking another down. The blue and red suit headed towards me and the Creuset wannabe went for the Justice.

I had brought up the shoulder shields and pointed the particle cannons to bear on the positron reflector network, when a beam shot past me. I was forced to evade as the ZAFT mobile suit was closing the distance. As my opponent drew closer, I had the sword bits combined to my sword rifles detach and some of my other sword bits fire at them keeping the pilot on their toes. I had to use my sword rifles in a X formation to block the beam sword from my opponent. The ZAFT machine tried pushing forward, but I shoved back and then slashed outward forcing the gundam back. I shot beams from my sword rifles making my opponent dance farther away from the Exalt. And from there, I had the Exalt's sword bits move around and fire at the blue and red mobile suit.

It quickly became apparent that the pilot of the ZAFT mobile suit had difficulty with remote weapons attacking from multiple directions. I was actually kind of taken aback at the erratic reaction from my opponent, their inability to adapt to dodging the incoming fire from my sword bits felt weird. I will admit, whoever the pilot of this mobile suit was, they weren't fully in this battle by what I was seeing. What I mean is that their heart isn't in this, whether that was due to doubts or something else, I can't say. But the surprises didn't end there, " _Damn it! These things just keep attacking,_ " said a voice over an open com-channel.

I stopped for a moment, for I had heard the voice before, I glanced down at the main display and say the voice was indeed from my opponent. "No way, the pilot of this ZAFT machine is the kid from before," I asked myself incredulously.

The kid Shinn Asuka, the one that had come on the Normandy temporarily to see Stella Loussier to Shangra-La. He had seemed like a good kid, kind of like Kira, but didn't have the naïveté my other best friend does in abundance. I hadn't thought about Shinn much since he was sent back to Gibraltar, been kept kind of busy since then. The conversation we had did come back to my mind more than once since then for it had been on subject matter that teens don't normally think about. He had understood a good portion of what I had told him, and I hadn't been talking about pleasant stuff. However, I never imagined that I would encounter him in a place like this and not as an opponent. And yet, here we are exactly in such a position, and that we were brought to this didn't sit well with me.

I recalled the sword bits and they came to float behind me slightly and Shinn faced me once again. I decided it would be better if I break the ice in this and see where this would go, "I'll admit that I'm honestly shocked," I opened. "That it is on this battlefield that we should encounter one another again Shinn Asuka, for I would never have expected it."

There was a pause, " _Who are you and how do you know my name,_ " Shinn asked.

I exhaled, "Let me give you a hint kid, I don't prefer or like formalities, so if you insist on being so, sir will do and not captain," I returned.

I heard a gasp, " _Wait, but that's what,_ " Shinn said trailing off.

"I said to you when you were on the Normandy, indeed," I finished. "My name is still Tyler McGregor, and I would be surprised if you've forgotten about me. I'm told I am very memorable, if not by my words, then by my actions alone as they speak for me, usually very loudly."

" _But,_ " Shinn spoke up, " _What would you being doing out here?_ "

I sighed, "One could ask you the same thing you know kid. Did you even understand what it is you're fighting for right now in this battle, what Durandal is planning to bring about," I posed.

" _The Destiny Plan will bring peace,_ " Shinn replied in an unconvincing tone.

I shook my head, "You don't sound confident in that answer, so do you really believe what you're saying?" I gestured around with the Exalt's right arm, "There is an old phrase that says far more about how to judge a man, 'by their fruits, ye shall know them'. Around you are the results or fruits of that Gilbert Durandal's efforts have wrought, this battle is what his Destiny Plan is forcing onto us all!"

Beams came my way and I had to evade to not take damage. I looked in the direction that he beams came and saw the Creuset wannabe coming out way. " _Shinn don't listen to such things! Those words are from ignorance and shouldn't be heeded,_ " said the pilot.

I pointed all the Exalt's weapons at the wannabe, "Listen to yourself, words from ignorance shouldn't be heeded, that is pretty much the definition of ignorance. And let him decide for himself what words he listens to, that's a right of every single human being still, so kindly hush would you," I said flatly. "Besides, if what I say is from ignorance, then do elaborate on how this battle isn't at least in part Durandal's fault and doing. If you don't have anything to show that, then I have lots of reasons to prove my point that Durandal is not the hero or savior that he has been portrayed to be and that he has played a part in keeping this war going."

" _Humanity will never change on its own,_ " said the wannabe pilot. " _Ambition and ignorance make sure humans will never learn. That is why this fight is happening, it is why the Destiny Plan is required, it is the only way to change."_

Flashes of the fight against Le Creuset came to my mind, his ranting that he had done that had sickened me. Even if the dirty rat was dead, apparently his ghost insists haunting the human race as a reminder of what can come from madness and ruin. Athrun and I switched up our opponents, I took the wannabe and he took Shinn. I rushed forward and closed the distance and slammed into the other ZAFT suit, "What you say makes me sick to my stomach in more ways than words can say! Not only do I reject them with every fiber of my being, but they bring to mind bad memories," I snarled.

" _Oh, and why is that,_ " asked the wannabe pilot.

"Because the crap you just spouted is like what the rat Le Creuset ranted before he met his end. The mentality of that madman is wrong, and I say good riddance to dirty rubbish when it comes to him! It was a pleasure to stop his plans and be there to witness his fall and following demise," I stated firmly, and the clash between me and the wannabe began.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The fight between the Justice, the Exalt, the Destiny and the Legend kept going underneath the positron reflectors. Shinn at seeing the magnitude of the firepower the two gundam-type mobile suits had, he was apprehensive about them. They had shown that they had more power to use than previous gundam-types had displayed. Whether that was due to the odd light that the two were putting off or something else Shinn couldn't say. The new Justice was powerful, and Shinn had personal experience in going against it, but its companion was something else. The blue and white gundam was letting out more light than the Justice did, it had an unknown number of DRAGOON pods AND, those pods could also combine with the rifles the suit had.

On the other hand, Rey was fuming about the turn of events that he and Shinn had been fighting to prevent. Not only had these two mobile suits been difficult dealing with, they were literally setting up things for others to hamper if not ruin Gil's plans! Rey had promised Gil that he would do his utmost to help him bring about the Destiny Plan, just as Rau had been doing in his own way. Yet, Athrun Zala and whoever it was that was assisting him were destroying all the work that had been going into helping the Destiny Plan along. Who it was in the blue and white gundam-type, Rey didn't know nor care honestly. It wasn't the abomination Kira Yamato as he was piloting the new Freedom, so it didn't matter who they were. But they had insulted Rau and Gil and Rey wouldn't let that stand!

The battle of the Destiny and the Justice was going similar to what it had the time the two had clashed around Orb. Shinn was doing a tad better than the battle on Earth against Athrun however, Shinn knew that if their mobile suits were compared, then the Justice was better with its capabilities. The fact that the Justice had superior mobility, defensive and offensive abilities hadn't changed in any way since the last encounter. Then, Athrun wasn't a novice or average pilot, he was skilled and Shinn and seen proof of that and so, it was taking much of what Shinn himself had to keep up.

Still, the strong doubts that Shinn had were what was affecting him the most right now. His heart was saying that there was truth to what was said against Chairman Durandal and his plan. Yet, his mind denied that, and the argument was not permitting ignorance of it as it went on, even as Shinn traded blows with Athrun.

Athrun noticed Shinn's hesitation and decided to not use the Justice's remote weapons even though he knew that Shinn had trouble against such. If he could convince Shinn through talking, then all the better in Athrun's opinion. "Have you come up with an answer to what kind of future you want to see Shinn," Athrun posed.

" _I… I am working for the future that is best for all,_ " Shinn replied halfheartedly.

Shinn was still not answering the question as it was posed, it was a personal question, not a question meant for a group. "My question is about your future Shinn, no one else's," Athrun insisted. "I am not inquiring about what Gilbert Durandal had said about what his Destiny Plan is supposed to bring about. I am putting to you to state to yourself and me what you work and fight for, not what others tell you. Understand what it is you fight for and know for yourself what you chose to stand for, don't just others guide you to do what they want."

Shinn could not come up with any answer to what Athrun had said, though his heart was burning in need to have an answer to this. Meanwhile, the Legend and the Exalt still were fighting each other and were going hard at it. Tyler had come to realize that his opponent wasn't the rat, but likely someone who had been around him more than others were. That was the best explanation as to why they carried the similar mentality as Creuset had. However, this young man didn't have the skill Creuset did from what Tyler could to tell. As the fight continued, Tyler did manage to destroy one of the reflectors and the field it had been generating faded.

Rey, gritted his teeth as one of the three positron reflectors was taken down, weakening the defensive field over Requiem. Gil had said that Requiem must be protected and preserved, and yet the Justice and this other gundam-type were ripping down its defenses and open the way for other to destroy Requiem. Shinn was fighting the Justice, but Shinn was not fighting as hard as previous times. Perhaps he had been affected by Athrun Zala's words along with what others had said. Rey himself had tried to explain to Shinn why Gil was right and why the Destiny Plan was the best way to help the world and the colonies. The human race had shown that it couldn't help itself and would be driven to extinction if left to their own devices as they were. The Destiny Plan was the solution that would change humanity for the better and save them from themselves and destruction.

Things slipped further as the Justice shot one of the two remaining reflectors destroying it and weakening the defense of Requiem more. "Shinn, we have to protect the last positron reflector, Requiem must not be destroyed," Rey insisted.

Rey was forced to activate the Legend's beam shield as the Exalt attacked him again, " _Oh, is that right rat wannabe,_ " posed Tyler. " _And why would Durandal need this thing if his goal is peace as you say it is? It more sounds like he is doing the same as those who've come before now, crying that they are right and that their way is the only solution for the woes and problems._ "

The last two lines caught Shinn's attention as they got him to think about things differently. The Minerva had disabled Requiem because it had shot at the PLANTs, and even if it missed that a weapon could potentially do that was too dangerous. So, why would such a weapon be repaired by ZAFT and be used again? It didn't make logical sense now that Shinn thought about it. Then the last line, it made the Chairman be portrayed as not a good man, but a deceiver and a despicable individual. Gilbert Durandal hadn't seemed like that type of man, but some of the actions he said were necessary didn't feel like they should be.

" _This cannon Requiem is a weapon of mass destruction period,_ " Tyler stated firmly. " _Such things are NOT deterrents in any way, and the fear they cause should never be a way to sway others. This cannon is capable only of destruction as its classification clearly states, hence why it is a weapon of mass destruction. It will never bring peace, it is a means for Gilbert Durandal to eliminate those that won't agree with him so that he doesn't have to listen or tell lies and part truths to contradict the truth that would come from them._ "

" _Lies, all of what you say is untrue and how dare you spout any such lies about the Chairman,_ " Rey challenged.

" _Then provide multiple piece of solid evidence that proves me wrong,_ " Tyler replied. " _History of weapons like Requiem clearly agrees with my iteration and not yours. Durandal's actions show that his goal isn't peace as he says, his Destiny Plan is the shining piece of evidence that peace is the last thing he is working for, that's not what his plan will bring._ "

" _You know nothing of the Destiny Plan,_ " Rey snarled. " _Your ignorance and blindness is the reason this battle is occurring at all!_ "

There was a moment of silence, " _Fine, if you aren't willing to even try and talk civilly, then let us see who is right,_ " Tyler posed. " _Let us find out what Chairman Gilbert Durandal will do when he's shoved up against the wall. That will stand as a clear testament as to what kind of man Gilbert Durandal really is more than his words._ " After saying that, the Exalt pointed one of its particle cannons at the last reflector and fired. The last reflector exploded and the field over Requiem finally faded completely exposing the cannon's barrel fully.

Tyler and Athrun quickly left after the field went down, the orders from the allied fleet to move into an attack formation to assault Requiem directly providing motivation. This left Shinn and Rey there, but the sight of a number of ships moving to be above Requiem got the two to move out from being above Requiem as well. Rey was unhappy that things had taken the turn that they had, but at the moment there was nothing more Shinn or he could do. "Shinn let's head back to the Minerva and resupplied while there is the time," Rey suggested.

Meanwhile, the space fortress Messiah drew closer to the battle, coming into effective range to enter the battle. The station's structure was a rough diamond shape overall though the upper section kind of looked like a classic fortress or castle shape with a large central section and two side parts. The fortress was made up of a what had seemed to be a former asteroid or space rock with other man-made parts to fill in here and there. Three rings were connected to the structure, the smallest at the lower spire the medium sized ring at the central fortress section and the largest close to dead center of the fortress. All three rings attached by multiple long spars, rotating in a clockwise direction.

For its arsenal of weapons, Messiah had quad laser-cannon turrets as well as a smaller version of the GENESIS weapon Patrick Zala used in the previous war named Neo-GENESIS. The Gamma emitter was the third version of the type of nuclear weapon it was. The major difference between this one and the previous was that its external mirror would not need to be replaced after each firing, thus it is able to fire more rapidly than the previous GENESIS models. There was still the need to have the array charged before use, but it consumed less power and can fire two shots using half of the charged energy on its power supply. The main defense for Messiah was a powerful beam shield, capable of engulfing and thus protecting the whole station from weapons fire. The shield could possibly be perpetrated by some mobile suits were they to get close enough, which the quad laser-cannon turrets were to heavily discourage. Combine that with ZAFT's lunar fleet, Messiah would be hard to take on and deal with.

On Messiah, Durandal sat in the command center gazing at the scene that was the battle unhappily. He had to applaud the Ricter Team, they had held out better than had been hoped when the first call for help had come. The fleet that was assaulting Daedalus was larger than he would have thought such a thing could be, comparable to that which had been in the Second Battle of Jachin Due. Like that fleet, this one was also made up of ships and forces from all three faction. Durandal had known something like this could come to pass, but he had been doing what he could to curb such from occurring.

Requiem still was where it was supposed to be, and it was charging currently, yet its defenses had been mostly removed or disabled. By recent reports, two enemy units had managed to infiltrate Requiem's firing chamber and gundam-types no less. They were being pursued, but that wasn't going well clearly as the cannon's barrel had the bulkhead covering it removed. Then the three positron reflectors had been disabled leaving nothing to block a bombardment. In fact, Durandal saw ships moving into a formation that would have them shooting down Requiem's barrel.

Durandal order that Neo-GENESIS be readied to fire at this fleet assaulting Daedalus as quickly as possible. He still watched when the last reflector went down, barely able to see four mobile suits breaking up their fighting with one another. Two of those suits were the Destiny and the Legend, one of the others was the new Justice that had appeared around during the operation against Orb. The other mobile suit was one that Durandal hadn't seen before, but it was putting out light, which fit the descriptions that had been in recent reports. What the light was remained unknown, scientists had been attempting to breakdown the idea, yet they had come up with nothing solid other than guessing it was a new type of power source that the Federation developed recently.

The ships positioning themselves to fire at Requiem were waiting for the allied mobile suits to move out of the way. However, as they began opening fire on Requiem, Messiah transmitted a warning to ZAFT forces to move out of the path that Neo-GENESIS would fire in. Shots were striking the area of Requiem when Neo-GENESIS was fired, and the gamma beam surged forward and washed over a portion of the vessels attacking Requiem. The ships that the beam engulfed were destroyed quickly as the beam began shrinking and fading.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **Okay, know I'm ending on a cliff hanger and it can be seen as mean, but that's how it goes, not sorry about that. Now, on to a few points that I want to get into for one reason or another. Collection part one, the battle around the first relay station. I thought it would be neat to have Lacus using a METEOR unit and not Athrun. Plus, honestly, the Eternal Justice is cooler fighting without it against multiple opponents. Next, the scene with Mu recalling who he was, I kept that scene as I really like that scene from canon as I think it really does play a part in the story.**

 **Next collection, and one that some have asked about and kind of requested, the interaction between Tyler and Sakura. As it had been suggested before now and implied, the two are on the road to ending out together and this makes it pretty much official. Yes, Tyler is coming to accept that he'll end out with her, though he hasn't forgotten what she's put him through. Also, you now have a glimpse of how the relationship started with the flashback. There might be more to it later, I still haven't decided if I will yet. Plus, we saw how the Phoenix gundam which Sakura flies can do and, in her hands, it's SCARY. Last section, the change to Tyler and Athrun infiltrating Requiem instead of like in canon where Mu and Athrun break through the shield. Honestly, I thought that breaking through the shield, while nice was lacking in a way. So, I thought why not spice up how the what leads up to the disablement of Requiem with my version. Plus, I wanted to have a fight of Athrun and Tyler versing Shinn and Rey and this was an opportunity.**

 **Anyways, I do hope you readers are enjoying this story thus far as I've put lots of time into it and where it is fun to write, it's nice to have others enjoy it too. That being said, please some of you write a review and tell me your thoughts, such is very much appreciated. Peace out until the next Phase!**


	46. Phase 46: The Potential of Humanity

**A/n**

 **Okay, the Phase that many readers have been waiting patiently for, the climax of the Seed Destiny part of this story. This chapter is a tad longer than average, but it will be worth it and I hope you readers will think so as well. My standard disclaimer still applies, enjoy the Phase!**

* * *

Phase 46: The Potential of Humanity

June 21st, 74 C.E.

* * *

-Neutral pov-

Above Daedalus

Rey and Shinn had returned to the Minerva for resupply, but the light from Neo-GENESIS firing was clear against the black backdrop of space. Shinn could not easily rip his eyes away from the sight, the line that had been said by captain McGregor stuck in his mind. That Chairman Durandal would use a nuclear weapon was a harsh mark to say the least and only seemed to lend credence to what had been said against him. It also fed the doubts that Shinn was having and the arguments that had been against them were far less sensible than before. It made him wonder if the Destiny Plan was really the solution that it was being said to be. Shinn didn't voice his thoughts yet, as whenever he did, Rey would wave them off in some way that he was worrying unnecessarily.

At the same time, Rey was contemplating on the ongoing battle for it was pointless for so many reasons really. The resistance to the Destiny Plan and Gil's attempt to save the human race from bringing about its own destruction was foolishness. It brought to mind some text from what was thought to be one of the most ancient records that the Human race had written. " _Thou may freely eat of every tree in the garden, but never touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for the day thou eatest thereof, thou shall surely die. But the serpent who was the most cunning creature brought forth at that time had this to say. Ye shall not die, for God doth know, that the day ye eat thereof, thine eyes shall be opened. Ye shall know of good and evil and ye shall be as god is and that god knows that fact._ " The tale of 'original sin' and loss of innocence was one that had stayed with humanity since its conception and it was said that the first humans ate of the fruit was the start to where things had come today. Perhaps the tale was the way to explain when the flaws in humans were noticed, it was hard to say how true the story was.

However, those that believed that the human race as it was could still save itself were only fooling themselves. That pilot with Athrun Zala, this Tyler McGregor as Shinn called him was one such individual. He was blind to what the Destiny Plan would do for the Human race just as others that wouldn't listen to Gil were. McGregor was just worse as he actually took action against Gil instead of merely voicing his complaints. It was very similar to Athrun Zala now, he couldn't keep quiet and accept what was best for everyone. Then of course, there was the abomination Kira Yamato and he was another matter that needed to be dealt with. And if possible, Rey wanted to be the one that dealt with Yamato, partially for Rau and Gil also partially to help the Destiny Plan.

That was not to say that Tyler McGregor and Athrun Zala weren't issues that needed to be handled. The two would cause problems if they were left to their own devices, there was no doubt in Rey's mind about that. The issue with them as was with Kira Yamato, was that they were skilled mobile suit pilots and the mobile suits they used were well-designed and powerful. There was a reason the three were considered and seen as war heroes from the previous war, they certainly could fight well. Nonetheless, they had to be defeated for the future that the Destiny Plan would bring, they would ruin things if they weren't dealt with.

Meanwhile, on Messiah in the control center, Gilbert Durandal was looking out to where the battle was still raging on and he became lost in his thoughts. 'I have to admit, it's amazing when observing this as well as beautiful in a way' Gilbert mused to himself.

' _What is,_ ' asked a voice and the ghost of Rau Le Creuset appeared by Durandal.

The work faded around him as Durandal considered the question, "The fights that seem to keep occurring, the battles that pop up and the wars that always seemed to follow. It seems that it is the only way that human beings are able to test their limits, yet never seem to be satisfied and so don't stop. So why do people enjoy fighting one another?"

Creuset stared at Gilbert and chuckled, "And how are _you_ different," he posed.

Gilbert returned the gaze, "All I want is to win, to change things for the better preferably without fighting at all. True progress is obtained through trying what other says isn't possible, daring to challenge the status quo," he replied.

Creuset sighed, "Quoting that mentor of yours Professor Blass? I won't deny that such a mentality can be true, but you know, there are some things that you can't win," Creuset commented.

Thoughts of Talia came to Gilbert's mind, of how he and a friend had been courting Talia and she had chosen his friend. Gilbert didn't blame or hate his friend, nor did he Talia, he blamed himself for not doing more. "Yes... I lost that day. Sometimes even when you fight you can't win, an unobtainable victory. But if that is so, then why do people fight even when death is inevitable? Why are we even born or bother living for that matter," questioned Durandal.

Creuset smirked and laughed, "Like I said before, humans exist only to find out that reason even if they claim others, they are driven to learn that truth for themselves. However, you probably don't like that answer, but that's what it is," Creuset posed.

Durandal frowned, "That's right. I'm sorry, but I'll have nothing to do with it. I will not be caught in an internal struggle, nor the suffering you went through, I will not lose… like you did Rau," Gilbert finished.

The ghost of Rau Le Creuset faded, yet the insane smile was clear on his face, saying that Creuset didn't believe that Durandal could win in the struggle he was facing. Durandal focused forward on the events playing out and not on these thoughts. Neo-GENESIS's shot had cut down a portion of the enemy fleet, but the advantage of numbers was still with them over ZAFT. The battle was long from being finished, that was clear, but for the human race, losing this battle wasn't an option.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

Okay, let's recap a bit of how the current situation is going as I want to confirm what had just seen. Athrun and I had gotten into Requiem and had cut it open to allow access the barrel, check. The two of us even disabled the positron reflectors that had been left defending the beam cannon leaving Requiem wide open, check. Ships from the allied fleet had moved into position to start bombarding the beam cannon to destroy it and prevent it from shooting at Earth or the colonies, check. Then, light came from a distance away and engulfed ships starting to blast Requiem and they vanished, unfortunately another check. So then, the viable explanation as to how the last item occurred, Durandal proved me absolutely right and pulled a nasty move with a weapon he shouldn't have.

The light had been familiar to me, how could I forget, it was the same as that gamma beam weapon used towards the end of the previous war. Heck, I had personally made sure that the weapon had been destroyed and had been a pleasure to inform the Rat of that. Still, to see that the concept of the weapon was around despite what it had done before did not sit well with me at all. I had lost a personal friend to this type of weapon, so I was angry at seeing it again even if in a form that was different from before. I don't like the fact that I had pegged Durandal exactly right as no different than other villains history has known. To the contrary, I wish I was wrong on reading those I do more of the time in cases like this, but I rarely am.

I know that I wasn't the only one that felt more than irked at the type of weapon used or the effect it had. I may not know pretty much any of those that had been killed, yet they were humans and so people as much as any. Such was enough in my book to make the action done by Durandal wrong and give me the desire to stop him in any and every way I can! Now, the best way to give the time to those that could take down Requiem is of course, distraction. Rest assured, I can distract amazingly when I put forth the effort, it's more how far I go. You see, there's just such a fine and blurry line between distraction and getting someone to dislike you. And, I often toe that said line… and will neither confirm or deny that I might step over it for a short period from time to time.

Case and point, Natarle was the last one I played this dangerous 'game' with and there had been a time or a few that we got close to going too far. Like I had mentioned to Athrun, I have a talent at getting people to dislike me to varying degrees, sometimes to the point that they want to kill me. It hasn't happened for a while with the exception of the rat, but that is different from this idea. Yet, I'm seriously considering screwing with Durandal to the point that he will want to kill me by the end. Like Chairman Zala had shown wonderfully, when you find the right 'button' you can press it over and over as hard as you can to get that kind of result!

So, as vessels were regrouping to shoot at Requiem again, I decided to do what I could and disappeared from sight and dove into the ZAFT lunar fleet. I was looking for a victim-I mean first unwilful test-subject to see how Durandal would react to me, best to gage what range I'll get and plan accordingly. Once I picked out what I wanted, I zoomed towards it and latched the Exalt to the Nazca-class I chose. Now why did I attach myself to a ZAFT destroyer? Well, I may have polished my skills of wreaking havoc with systems against the Earth Forces with their vessels and mobile armors, but that by no means implies that I can't do the same against ZAFT forces. I made sure to study what I need to in order to uh… take the reins of ZAFT vessels if the need ever presented itself.

So, it took me half a minute to seize the navigation and lock out most of the other controls from the crew with my hacking skills. When I was steering, I turned the ship around and pointed it towards the space station that Durandal had and had the thrusters put on speed. After closing some distance, I had the ship's guns open up on the fortress. True, the guns weren't having a great deal of effect with the station's shield, but that's not my intention. I'm testing what Durandal will do when some of his loyal forces turn against him even if I'm the one in control.

The fortress's defenses did begin to shoot the Nazca-class I was using once we got closer. I locked the controls with the commands I had in them to keep going forward and shooting before I shoved away from the ship. I did notice two shuttles leave the Nazca around the same time I abandoned ship. The Nazca did get destroyed a minute after I left it by the fortress's guns, telling me that Durandal would eliminate anyone that got in his way. That wouldn't deter me from using ZAFT vessels against Durandal by any means, but that wasn't making him hesitate. So, while thinking on where to go next in finding what gets under Durandal's skin, I went from ship to ship taking their controls and sending them at the fortress.

All the while, I was doing my thing with trying to find and push Durandal's buttons, ships were repositioning and began bombarding Requiem. As that was starting, ZAFT defending forces were fighting more desperately in attempting to stop the bombardment. Athrun and Lacus were assisting in stopping that effort, while if my eyes weren't deceiving me, then Kira was making his way slowly to where I was. And while I can appreciate Kira wanting to help me, I'm doing just dandy on my own and the job I'm doing is extremely risky in a life-threatening sort of way. And yet as time kept moving forward, the rain of weapon fire coming down on the beam cannon produced a column of orange flame coming from Requiem's barrel. To say that it was a satisfying sight was an understatement in my view! It meant that the bombardment had been successful in the disablement and fall of the weapon of mass destruction. The control center of the former Alliance base quickly came under attack after Requiem's destruction so that nothing but ruins would be left of the weapon.

I continued with my testing Durandal's temperament and just seeing what it would take to get Durandal to lose it. And I can attest to you, finding someone's breaking/tipping point is a fine art of which I have been practicing off and on for years. I'd moved on from using ships to literally sending pointed insults to the fortress over any and all communications channels I could work with. I was also having the Exalt giving the finger as much as I could when facing the fortress just to see if I could get Durandal to lose his cool. Thus far, I hadn't gotten much in terms of a reaction from the man I was attempting to tick off as much as I possibly could. And that I hadn't gotten anything both frustrated me and gave me a hunger to keep going until I succeed!

It was as my frustration grew, a fact came to my mind, Durandal is or was a scientist, and it sounded from what I've heard like he's proud of that fact. If that is so, then maybe that is where I should start aiming the blows for the desired results. I changed the content of the insulting messages I was sending to include shot made against scientists. And with my dad being a rather famous one, I've heard an abundance of slander and crap aimed at insulting science-types. I avoid using such as I have nothing by shinning respect for scientist because of my dad, but lives are at stake, so my dad would forgive me and not hold what I am about to do against me. The first message and those that followed went along the lines of 'Durandal had lost sight of what his work was doing to everyone else'. I went with that because of something my dad would often say, 'if a goal and its results costs are too high, then was the intended goal really worth pursuing?'. I kept fighting as I waited for a response to gage if I had hit a nerve as I hoped I had.

What I got was the weapon fire I was dodging got heavier, which I took as a sign that I was getting somewhere in my intentions. Before now, the beams and projectiles coming my way had been pretty consistent, but it had increased not too long after I started sending the changed messages. That being the case, I kept going with renewed vigor and gusto in my taunts and insult throwing to draw as much attention to me as possible.

It was as I intercepted more and more communications of ZAFT's that was pretty much to shoot me down, that I knew I had hit more than just a nerve. From what I was observing, I had hit a raw solid gold button with a huge 'press me pretty please' engraved on it, that made it too tempting to me to not press as hard and as much as I can! Honestly, I wanted to prove that the rat wannabe was dead wrong about Durandal and that he wasn't infallible as he is portrayed. And that I had finally gotten a reaction from the intended target, I wasn't about to stop until I get Durandal to do something plainly stupid and/or nuts! We'll see how far I get before I'm forced to stop, now won't we?

I redoubled my effort to screw with Durandal, and things kept getting more interesting to me, and I was starting to have fun with the challenge I was working on. I don't know how much time passed by, but once I got the impression that I had riled up Durandal and/or those around him enough, I decided it was time for the gauntlet to be cast out. I gave that in the form or an ultimatum as follows:

' _Duuurandal! Your foolish stupidity is so large, that it's swollen your head to the point that I'm amazed that it hasn't exploded long before now. However, it's beyond tiring to listen to that it makes me actually want to pierce my eardrums to not have to hear you anymore. So, I say to put your effort where your mouth is Durandal, your words won't cut it, follow through with what you say. So, if you have balls like the majority of men do, then let's see you use them and show me what you got!'_

Perhaps a bit poignant and uncouth, but it got the point I wanted to get across to the intended recipient I believe. And oh boy, did I get me an answer! The dish on the fortress was pointed in my direction and I saw the same subtle signs of the charging of the weapon like the much large GENESIS had put off. Plus, ZAFT mobile suits were leaving me be and getting away from me, kind of says I'm the target of the gamma weapon. At seeing there were signs that the gamma beam was getting ready to fire at me, I knew that I had scored pay dirt! Durandal was about to be stupid and prove me right. What might I mean by get Durandal to be stupid? Let's say I think I've shown that I can really tick off another if I put forth the effort, I just usually restrain myself. Natarle was the last one that this had come up with and that woman had one tough skin that I did get under sometimes!

Admittedly, I was making a very dangerous gamble with my life as collateral for the bet shoving Durandal as I was, I knew that. My assumption that I'm banking on is the GN particles produced by the solar reactors will be able to block the gamma energy. It's gutsy, more so than my normal risky bets and my life will be on the line too. Still, it's the best way I can think of to get the human race to see Gilbert Durandal for the real kind of individual he is!

So, I had all the Exalt's sword bits move to be in front of me in somewhat a web-like formation with me in the middle and slightly behind them. I shifted the shoulder packs to be in front and had them pouring out particles ahead of me. The sword bits help in the deployment of the field that would hopefully protect me from being vaporized by nuclear gamma energy. I gazed forward and waited to see what Durandal would do to my screwing with him. As I waited for whatever would come, others were heading my way and not just enemies, but allies as well. Apparently, with the destruction of Requiem, the battle's focus was moving in the direction I was in and Durandal's fortress. It was all the more reason and acted as motivation for me to not be moved from where I was, should I do so then many more would die. Yet, my attention was once again pulled away from what was about to come in my direction when the particle field began to suddenly strengthen.

Upon glancing around my immediate area, I found the new particle drive carriers behind me, contributing their own particles to the field I was projecting. " _An impressive thing you are doing Tyler,_ " said the voice of Graham Aker. " _Putting your life on the line for so many you don't know._ " I would have answered him, but he beat me to speaking, " _And we members of the Soul Braves will join you in your efforts to fight and save the human race come what may!_ "

For one of the few times that I have had to tolerate being around Graham, I could think of nothing to say in reply. I was well-aware that I could and very-well may die for the gamble I was making against Durandal and I planned for it to just be me in this bet. However, I'm really not in a position to say no to those who are willing to help though I don't want to admit it. And Graham and those with him weren't the only ones that joined into my suicidal attempt, more kept appearing as Durandal's GENESIS was charging. The other pilots from the Normandy popped up, including Sakura, but there was also Lacus and another machine which was white and green that appeared to have a solar reactor on it. And then there was the Burst Freedom and the Eternal Justice taking places on either side of me. All of us contributing the particles that our mobile suits used to build up and reinforce the field that was the best chance we have to block the gamma beam.

The field had become much denser than when it was just me making it, which gave me more confidence in the chances we had. When I had faced forward and saw the beam shoot out of the hole in the center of the dish of the GENESIS weapon saying that this was it. That beam hit the forward mirror and reflect in many more beams back to the dish. Then came the gamma beam exactly like the original GENESIS weapon had put out, just smaller than what was used by Chairman Zala. The gamma beam slammed into the particle field but was halted there and did not progress beyond though the energy kept coming. However, none of us were budging any, not with what was at stake should we fail, and the beam get past us.

I can assure you, riding out the nuclear beam was no picnic by any means, nor was it nice to have to go through from my perspective. Any vision forward was blotted out by the red magenta light from the gamma beam as was much of the side views. Nonetheless, the beam was stopped and didn't continue beyond us blocking and that point will not be dismissed! I can't say how long we were blocking the beam, I doubt it was as long as it felt like. Still, the red magenta light finally faded, and the particle field was still there in front of us and none of us blockers were gone, and that's significant!

Yet, now that the nuclear weapon had been fired and the shot subverted, I had some of the choicest word for Gilbert Durandal and he would hear me out whether he wanted to or not! I went as far as to use as many communication channels as I could, a number of them being ZAFT's to make sure that Durandal would hear me. I glared forward in anger at the fortress as I began, "Gilbert Durandal! Enough is enough you scheming punk, and it is high time that every single human knows what kind of man you truly are!"

There was total silence, the battle had come to a halt as every pilot on the field stop as did every vessel. I didn't stop with the single line, I was going to tell Durandal my view and he would hear it right here, right now! "You _sir_ are a hypocrite and have shown the definition of the term with your actions since they don't match your words. And I highly doubt that I'm the only one that is sick and tired of the silver-tongued lies you keep spouting," I snarled in a near shout as anger filled me with the thoughts of how many lives have been lost because of the lies. "You claim you wish for peace for everyone, but this battlefield says the opposite. Your honey flavored words that tell of sympathy that you say you feel, let me be frank, cut the crap as you don't feel it. That you are willing to use and defend not one, but two weapons of mass destruction, shows that you want your way and see nothing wrong nor show remorse at silencing any that disagree with you! Lord Djibril is a horrible individual and has done much wrong, but you are no better than him. Your actions show that you are worthy and can aptly be called Humankind's True Enemy Gilbert Durandal just like Djibril!"

It felt good to call Durandal what he was, humankind's true enemy, better than I thought it would. And yet, I was just getting started, and Durandal would be extremely uncomfortable by the time I'm done, I'll make sure of that! "And as to your prefect solution to the 'problems' the human race has, your Destiny Plan, I have many words for it and none of them are complimentary or meant to be an endorsement. So, sit and listen Durandal and be uncomfortable, because you will hear the truth of what sort of world that your Destiny Plan would bring."

I took a breath and then began the railing on the Destiny Plan with nothing held back, "Your Destiny Plan is one of the worst machinations ever conceived. Your claims that it is our ignorance and selfish ambitions that have us fight one another, why don't you just say the true that you mean, our capabilities to improve and our dreams. That's what you're referring to after all, oh but then, were you to say it that way selling your plan as a good thing would be much more difficult, now wouldn't it? Plus, is it not your own ambition to see your Destiny Plan brought to pass, showing that you the plan's creator is just as flawed as you claim we all are and so, the plan is too?"

I took a moment to reign in my emotions, before I kept going, "It is our ability to choose that makes the difference in how life is, and your plan would take that away from all of us. You never mention that as it's another point that would show your plan for the horrible thing that it is! And the biggest hole and unsaid lie of the Destiny Plan, you try and convince others that you can program people through their genes when their genes are only a part of what makes us human. There is so much more that shapes us than how are genes are and how dare you think or say otherwise, especially having been a scientist! The future that you guarantee is mere existence trapped in a cage that none would be 'allowed' to leave."

My voice had grown in volume as I had kept going to close to a shout again, "Well guess what Durandal, I SAY THAT EXISTENCE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH, LIFE IS BETTER THAN IT!" I was breathing hard after shouting that, then went on, "No matter how bad things get, life is still better than existence in your world Durandal. Your world makes all those that have sacrificed their lives meaningless! No, it slaps them in the face, laughs at them and demeans each and every one of them. Your Destiny Plan takes everything that makes life worth living at all without the curtesy of informing anyone about it. To that, I say screw freaking you Durandal and your Destiny Plan too!"

I grabbed one of the Exalt's sword rifles and pointed it at the fortress, "But mark my words and mark them well Durandal, today will be a day that will never be forgotten no matter how hard you deny it or try and hide it from anyone else! Today will be the day, that even if it is but for a moment, the majority of humanity will be united. Today will be the day that Humanity's potential will shine forth, brighter than it ever has before! This day will be the day that the human race will choose to either move forward or regress. So, prepare yourself Gilbert Durandal, because I'm coming for you, and there is nothing that will stop me, not even ZAFT's lunar fleet!" I tightened my grip on the control sticks, readying to throw them forward hard, "THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY HAS JUST BEGUN!"

I rushed forward and changed the Exalt over to its flight mode and flew towards the fortress, focusing in on getting to Durandal. It was a moment after I shot off to get to Durandal, that I came to realize that all in the allied fleet had begun advancing forward as well. Heck, the Freedom was on my right and the Justice was on my left both just a little behind me. I knew the fight was about to get harsher, but the way this would end would be confronting Durandal, the sooner the better!

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

Durandal was furious as well as mortified at the turn of events and what had developed from them. The first shot from Neo-GENESIS had gotten the direct attack against Requiem to stop for a time. Then as the enemy had been regrouping, a single enemy mobile suit had popped up and had been causing havoc among the lunar fleet, which had been a gundam-type. They were likely the ones that had made some of the Nazca-classes to do odd things. The pilot, whoever they were, also was doing actions that were clearly meant to be insulting. Durandal had learned to ignore such childish attempts to get under his skin quite some time ago, but he would applaud the persistence for it was notable.

The issue was that while that had been going on, the attempts to stop Requiem from being destroyed weren't working. And so, when the column of flames erupted out of the mouth of Requiem, it said that the efforts to prevent the destruction of the beam cannon had been in vain. The loss of Requiem did not sit well with Durandal, for it cut down on future option to protect the Destiny Plan. The continued taunting from the blue and white gundam pilot was beginning to wear too as messages had been coming in through multiple communication channels. The content of the messages had made it even more clear that the sender was trying to see if they could get under Durandal's skin.

The sight of the mobile suit showing one of its hands with only the middle finger pointing up caused pause with many in Messiah's control center. Honestly, Durandal hadn't been aware a mobile suit could do that gesture, stupid as it was. However, it was as the content of the messages changed, that Durandal's patience and discipline were put to the test. The contents switched over to taking shots at Durandal's scientific background and experience. To be frank, some of the insults were quite similar to what Gilbert used to hear during his days as an intern.

There was a particular line that struck home for Durandal, that being 'losing sight of what his work was doing to everyone else'. It was not just and insult against him, but the mentor that he respected a great deal, Professor Blass. That line had hit a nerve which had Durandal ordering the destruction of the blue and white mobile suit. The laser turrets targeted the machine but were still having trouble hitting the unit which frustrated Durandal. Then came a particular message:

' _Duuurandal! Your foolish stupidity is so large, that it's swollen your head to the point that I'm amazed that it hasn't exploded long before now. However, it's beyond tiring to listen to that it makes me actually want to pierce my eardrums to not have to hear you anymore. So, I say to put your effort where your mouth is Durandal, your words won't cut it, follow through with what you say. So, if you have balls like the majority of men do, then let's see you use them and show me what you got!'_

That message had irked Gilbert though he kept himself in control, the sender was definitely pushing their luck. Then he had been told that Neo-GENESIS was just about ready to be fired again, and that provided a way to turn the tables back to going better. Not only could Neo-GENESIS get rid of that gundam-type suit, it would also persuade those that were resisting to back off. The blue and white mobile suit did start to emit more of the odd light in front of it, but that wouldn't change what was going to happen. Other enemy units did appear around the machine that had been an annoyance, not that it would make a difference to the result.

Neo-GENESIS fired, and the beam zoomed at the growing circle of light that had been forming and towards the vessels behind it. Yet somehow, the shot from Neo-GENESIS had ended out being blocked, which shouldn't have been possible to begin with. It displayed that the odd light from a number of the Federation mobile suits possessed capability to do things that were thought possible. But what came next took Durandal by surprise even more, " _Gilbert Durandal! Enough is enough you scheming punk, and it is high time that every single human knows what kind of man you truly are,_ " came the voice of none other than Tyler McGregor.

The communication was coming through multiple channels and the tone that it was being said in was clear. In fact, the battle seemed to pause as McGregor spoke, the fighting came to a halt. " _You sir are a hypocrite and have shown the definition of the term with your actions since they don't match your words. And I highly doubt that I'm the only one that is sick and tired of the silver-tongued lies you keep spouting,_ " McGregor snarled.

Gilbert was somewhat speechless at the accusation, for it wasn't one that he had faced, and it be viewed as anything but a joke or nonsense. Oh, being a dreamer or a fool, Durandal had been called those, but a hypocrite or a liar no. " _You claim you wish for peace for everyone, but this battlefield says the opposite,_ " McGregor line wasn't nice to hear for Gilbert, not exactly a slap in the face, but not far from it. McGregor kept going, _"Your honey flavored words that tell of sympathy that you say you feel, let me be frank, cut the crap as you don't feel it!_ "

The more that Gilbert heard, the less he was able to just wave off the subject matter, and yet, McGregor continued. " _That you are willing to use and defend not one, but two weapons of mass destruction, shows that you want your way and see nothing wrong nor show remorse at silencing any that disagree with you! Lord Djibril is a horrible individual and has done much wrong, but you are no better than him. Your actions show that you are worthy and can aptly be called Humankind's True Enemy Gilbert Durandal just like Djibril!_ "

To be compared to Lord Djibril was disgusting for Durandal, and to be called and labeled as one of humankind's true enemy was worse. It was infuriating to say the least, and from a young man that if record and assumption was correct, was but a decade younger than Gilbert himself. The single meeting that Gilbert had with McGregor, he had found the young war hero to be very straight forward. Tyler McGregor told things like they were, and Gilbert could respect that however, reports about him did state that he had an 'attitude' that was troublesome. " _And as to your prefect solution to the 'problems' the human race has, your Destiny Plan, I have many words for it and none of them are complimentary or meant to be an endorsement. So, sit and listen Durandal and be uncomfortable, because you will hear the truth of what sort of world that your Destiny Plan would bring,_ " McGregor stated.

The ranting didn't stop there, it kept coming, " _Your Destiny Plan is one of the worst machinations ever conceived. Your claims that it is our ignorance and selfish ambitions that have us fight one another, why don't you just say the true that you mean, our capabilities to improve and our dreams. That's what you're referring to after all, oh but then, were you to say it that way selling your plan as a good thing would be much more difficult, now wouldn't it? Plus, is it not your own ambition to see your Destiny Plan brought to pass, showing that you the plan's creator is just as flawed as you claim we all are and so, the plan is too,_ " the young man snarled.

Durandal could handle the insults aimed at him, they weren't nice, but he could take them and not lose his cool. Nevertheless, to have to hear some of the very same reasons others had used to contradict the Destiny Plan before in its earlier stages was infuriating. " _It is our ability to choose that makes the difference in how life is, and your plan would take that away from all of us. You never mention that as it's another point that would show your plan for the horrible thing that it is! And the biggest hole and unsaid lie of the Destiny Plan, you try and convince others that you can program people through their genes when their genes are only a part of what makes us human. There is so much more that shapes us than how are genes are and how dare you think or say otherwise, especially having been a scientist! The future that you guarantee is mere existence trapped in a cage that none would be 'allowed' to leave._ "

It was taking much of what Gilbert had to not show how angry he was at having to listen to what was being said. Yes, this young man Tyler McGregor was one of those that couldn't exist in the world that the Destiny Plan would create, he was too different, stuck out too much. But, he was now shouting his thoughts and there could be those that would heed what he was saying and that was dangerous. " _Well guess what Durandal, I SAY THAT EXISTENCE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH, LIFE IS BETTER!_ " There was a pause before McGregor continued, " _No matter how bad things get, life is still better than existence in your world Durandal. Your world makes all those that have sacrificed their lives meaningless! No, it slaps them in the face, laughs at them and demeans each and every one of them. Your Destiny Plan takes everything that make life worth living at all without the curtesy of informing anyone about it. To that, I say screw freaking you Durandal and your Destiny Plan too!_ "

Gilbert gritted his teeth as he watched the blue and white gundam grab one of its rifles and pointed at Messiah. " _But mark my words and mark them well Durandal, today will be a day that will never be forgotten no matter how hard you deny it or try and hide it from anyone else!_ " Durandal focused in on the mobile suit that McGregor was likely in, glaring at it with contained anger, " _Today will be the day, that even if it is but for a moment, the majority of humanity will be united. Today will be the day that Humanity's potential will shine forth, brighter than it ever has before! This day will be the day that the human race will choose to either move forward or regress. So, prepare yourself Gilbert Durandal, because I'm coming for you, and there is nothing that will stop me, not even ZAFT's lunar fleet! THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY HAS JUST BEGUN!_ "

The blue and white gundam rushed forward towards Messiah, bypassing a portion of the lunar fleet before they came out of their daze. Yet, all of the enemy force quickly followed McGregor forward which proved that Tyler McGregor was dangerous more than just being a pilot. His ability to influence others was impressive, heck, if the young man had gone into politics, who knows how far he could have gone by now and it would not be a small distance. The gundam McGregor was flying changed over to be a space craft gaining more speed on its approach toward Messiah. The fighting resumed and became more intense than it had been moments ago and didn't look like it would end anytime soon.

 **-Line Break-**

Lanus Treize had seen many things in his years of military service, upon many battlefields and off them, both believable and ludicrous. But seeing a number of mobile suits block a nuclear-powered beam was certainly much closer to the ludicrous end of the spectrum. And yet, that was what he witnessed, a number of the mobile suits that possessed the new particle reactors and drives used those particles to shield the vessels in the allied fleet. He would applaud the courage that was shown by those that put themselves in the path of the fortress's beam, it was close to suicidal. In fact, the fighting had stopped after the beam had been halted and most just stared at the after effects.

" _Gilbert Durandal! Enough is enough you scheming punk, and it is high time that every single human knows what kind of man you truly are,_ " growled a voice over open com-channels.

The voice belonged to Tyler McGregor if Treize wasn't mistaken, though he had never met the young man face to face, so he couldn't be sure. He had heard and read about the young soldier and had been fairly impressed with what information there was on McGregor. He had enlisted while in his teens, unfortunately not uncommon in the last decade, but had also made a name and record of himself rather quickly. His work to subvert malicious efforts of the Alliance were nothing to scoff at, even Lanus had to admit McGregor did great work though most wouldn't ever hear or know of it. However, something in Treize told him that whatever was going to be said would be important and should be heard by as many as possible. His intuition hadn't led him wrong before now, so he heeded it as he had before.

Treize sent a quiet order to have what would be said to be broadcasted to both Earth and the colonies, no matter what words came. McGregor kept going as the conversation began to be broadcasted unbeknownst to the participant to many people. " _You sir are a hypocrite and have shown the definition of the term with your actions since they don't match your words. And I highly doubt that I'm the only one that is sick and tired of the silver-tongued lies you keep spouting,_ " McGregor snarled.

What Tyler said was being heard by many both on Earth and in space and the human race seemed to pause and listen. Even his own mother Minister Blass was caught listening, somewhat surprised to hear the voice of her son as she had been working on keeping the Republic's citizens calm. The tone in Tyler's voice was one that was unusual for him, it only came when he fought on battlefields and the horrors that existed on them. Ellen had been aware that her son was going to a battlefield, things had been building around the moon quickly after all. And of course, she worried about if he would come back like she always did when Tyler went off to battle. He was the only family she had like Ellen was the only remaining family member he had after Bloody Valentine as well.

Nonetheless, what he had said didn't make sense as there had been no reference to whom Tyler was talking about that Ellen had heard. Tyler's voice continued, " _You claim you wish for peace for everyone, but this battlefield says the opposite. Your honey flavored words that tell of sympathy that you say you feel, let me be frank, cut the crap as you don't feel it!_ "

Ellen held in the sigh that tried to come out of her, Tyler had always had colorful language even though she had discouraged it the best she could. Where her son had learned such, she had never found out, he had just seemed to pick it up. Tyler kept going, " _That you are willing to use and defend not one, but two weapons of mass destruction, shows that you want your way and see nothing wrong nor show remorse at silencing any that disagree with you! Lord Djibril is a horrible individual and has done much wrong, but you are no better than him._ "

The two lines caught Ellen's attention, particularly 'weapons of mass destruction' and the mention of Lord made her all the more curious about who Tyler was talking about or to, though she had an educated guess. " _Your actions show that you are worthy and can aptly be called Humankind's True Enemy Gilbert Durandal just like Djibril!_ "

The stating of Durandal's name explained a bit to Ellen, as well as the references made about him now. Ellen wasn't saying that Gilbert Durandal was completely evil, nor was his Destiny Plan without some merit. And Ellen understood the general methodology that Durandal's Destiny Plan would employ better than most political leaders would. Having a scientist for a husband had made sure of that and Lance had definitely been scientifically minded. However, the premise that an individual's genes determined everything about a person was wrong to Ellen. There were many more factors to the nature of human beings than just their genes.

" _And as to your prefect solution to the 'problems' the human race has, your Destiny Plan, I have many words for it and none of them are complimentary or meant to be an endorsement. So, sit and listen Durandal and be uncomfortable, because you will hear the truth of what sort of world that your Destiny Plan would bring,_ " Tyler went on.

Siegel entered Ellen's office as the broadcast kept going and he had listened to some of it, but he noticed a smile creeping onto Ellen's face. It was much the same kind of smile that his late wife Tasara would get when she watched their daughters doing something she was either impressed with or happy about. " _Your Destiny Plan is one of the worst machinations ever conceived,_ " Tyler stated firmly.

Siegel focused back on the broadcast at hearing that, " _Your claims that it is our ignorance and selfish ambitions that have us fight one another, why don't you just say the true that you mean, our capabilities to improve and our dreams. That's what you're referring to after all, oh but then, were you to say it that way selling your plan as a good thing would be much more difficult, now wouldn't it? Plus, is it not your own ambition to see your Destiny Plan brought to pass, showing that you the plan's creator is just as flawed as you claim we all are and so, the plan is too?_ "

Tyler wasn't wrong about the Destiny Plan, Siegel and Ellen knew that in the general same way if not with different details. And Tyler pretty much began to iterate the major reasons why the Destiny Plan was a bad idea. " _It is our ability to choose that makes the difference in how life is, and your plan would take that away from all of us. You never mention that as it's another point that would show your plan for the horrible thing that it is! And the biggest hole and unsaid lie of the Destiny Plan, you try and convince others that you can program people through their genes when their genes are only a part of what makes us human. There is so much more that shapes us than how are genes are and how dare you think or say otherwise, especially having been a scientist! The future that you guarantee is mere existence trapped in a cage that none would be 'allowed' to leave._ "

Ellen's smile had been growing as Tyler had talked, his realization was nothing short of clear and right on the money. His skills in coming to a conclusion and the logic that worked with it were being shown off well. Tyler's voice then got to a shout, " _Well guess what Durandal, I SAY THAT EXISTENCE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH, LIFE IS BETTER!_ "

Siegel chuckled, "I don't know if there is a better way to say what needs to be said. That is quite a son you have Ellen," he remarked.

Ellen giggled openly which she so rarely did, "Indeed, he certainly is. I can clearly hear my husband Lance laughing gleefully claiming something along the lines of "that's our boy" with great pride. My daughter Lana would be cheering her brother on saying to keep telling the "bad guys" how they're wrong. And honestly, I find myself agreeing with both images, for I am proud of Tyler right now proclaiming the truth as he is," she replied.

Siegel's smile faded a small margin, "I do understand being able to clearly picture those that are not here anymore and what they would say and do. I know my late wife Tasara would be beaming with pride knowing that both of our daughters are fighting for the future of the human race. She would also be pacing back and forth with desperate worry at what they are facing at the same time switching between the two emotions," he commented.

As Tyler kept going on life being better than existence, Ellen's smile also lessened, "I would assume that you miss your wife like I do my husband and daughter Siegel. The conflicts of this era have taken so many lives as the fighting and wars from history have done. So, why do we humans not learn and work harder to not keep causing and getting into such things," Ellen questioned.

Siegel walked over and put a hand on Ellen's shoulder, "The human race seems to need to repeat some lessons multiple times to understand, and yet we also forget some of those lessons. It takes individuals like your son that fight for the good to change the cycles that we can get stuck in," Siegel stated.

" _But mark my words and mark them well Durandal, today will be a day that will never be forgotten no matter how hard you deny it or try and hide it from anyone else! Today will be the day, that even if it is but for a moment, the majority of humanity will be united. Today will be the day that Humanity's potential will shine forth, brighter than it ever has before! This day will be the day that the human race will choose to either move forward or regress. So, prepare yourself Gilbert Durandal, because I'm coming for you, and there is nothing that will stop me, not even ZAFT's lunar fleet,_ " Tyler was saying. " _THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY HAS JUST BEGUN!_ "

Ellen nodded slowly, "Let us pray that enough listen to the truth that is being said right now," she said.

 **-Line Break-**

Above Daedalus

Shinn and Rey launched out from the Minerva when they were resupplied to the field, Neo-GENESIS fired at those that had destroyed Requiem. The gamma beam was halted however which was unexpected and in the end was blocked. It was unreal to see that the nuclear-powered beam stopped for it should have been impossible. Rey's frustration was rekindled at seeing the impossible sight while Shinn was just gawking at the sight. But it was what came afterward that took Shinn by serious surprise and sharply increased Rey's fury.

Tyler's opening statement was enough to gain the attention of most if not all on the battlefield, some of the lines that followed were unlike anything most had heard applied to Chairman Durandal. Calling Durandal a hypocrite was one thing, and it settled uncomfortably among those that had been around the Chairman and had seen his messages. The insults that came after that were just as hard to swallow, but the evidence provided was downright hard to argue with truthfully. Yet, to compare Chairman Durandal to Lord Djibril seemed a bit much to a number of those that fought to help bring about the Destiny Plan. Even when Tyler labeled Durandal as one of Humankind's True Enemy none moved to stop him in his talking.

Rey was getting angrier the longer he was forced to listen to the insults being thrown at Gil by this Tyler McGregor. He then had the gall to compare Gil to Djibril and call him one of Humankind's True Enemy, when Gil was trying to save the human race. If there was a way, then Rey would make McGregor retract or pay for the words that he was saying. And yet, Shinn was finding himself believing some of what it said, it didn't settle well in his mind, but his heart kept telling him that there was truth in the words said. " _And as to your prefect solution to the 'problems' the human race has, your Destiny Plan, I have many words for it and none of them are complimentary or meant to be an endorsement. So, sit and listen Durandal and be uncomfortable, because you will hear the truth of what sort of world that your Destiny Plan would bring,_ " Tyler continued.

What followed that was an entirely different spin on the Destiny Plan than many had heard or even imagined. The word change from ignorance and selfish ambitions to improving and dreams brought completely different meaning to the Destiny Plan and what it could do. And the accusations of Durandal leaving out details to "sell" the Destiny Plan were like some of the other insults, hard to swallow but also hard to dispute. Yet, Rey was one of those that wanted to silence McGregor but doing so would make the action look to prove what he was saying had truth to them.

Tyler kept going in his 'speech' by justifying that choice was important and that the Destiny Plan would steal that away from everyone. Then claimed that there was a 'hole' in the Destiny Plan, implying that there could be those that could go against the gene manipulation that the Destiny Plan utilized. Rey knew that to be rubbish, the gene manipulation was flawless and would do what Gil said it would, the only factor that could ruin things were those like McGregor that were abnormalities. And after comparing the Destiny Plan to a cage, McGregor shouted the one line that seemed to send this all into a bad spiral for the Chairman. " _Well guess what Durandal, I SAY THAT EXISTENCE ISN'T GOOD ENOUGH, LIFE IS BETTER!_ "

Rey had to control himself at that and not rush forward and attack McGregor and shut him up and stop him from insulting Gil. But it didn't end there, Tyler kept going, " _No matter how bad things get, life is still better than existence in your world Durandal. Your world makes all those that have sacrificed their lives meaningless! No, it slaps them in the face, laughs at them and demeans each and every one of them. Your Destiny Plan takes everything that makes life worth living at all without the curtesy of informing anyone about it. To that, I say screw freaking you Durandal and your Destiny Plan too!_ "

Shinn was taken aback at hearing that the Destiny Plan was supposed to take away things that make life worth living. The tone that all this was being said was anger, but not the anger that would say it was lies or being said by someone that was blinded by their emotions. Things changed when the Exalt took out one of its rifles and pointed it at Messiah, " _But mark my words and mark them well Durandal, today will be a day that will never be forgotten no matter how hard you deny it or try and hide it from anyone else! Today will be the day, that even if it is but for a moment, the majority of humanity will be united. Today will be the day that Humanity's potential will shine forth, brighter than it ever has before! This day will be the day that the human race will choose to either move forward or regress. So, prepare yourself Gilbert Durandal, because I'm coming for you, and there is nothing that will stop me, not even ZAFT's lunar fleet! THE FIGHT FOR THE FUTURE OF HUMANITY HAS JUST BEGUN!_ "

McGregor rushed forward and changed his suit over to the space craft form and flew towards the fortress. It was a moment after McGregor shot off that pretty much the rest of those that had assaulted Daedalus surged forward as well. The fighting had resumed and ZAFT forces under the command of Durandal were quickly finding themselves extremely hard pressed to do anything about the advance of their opponents. And having difficulty with resupplying wasn't helping the ZAFT forces in this battle at all.

Rey and Shinn zoomed forward towards the advancing enemy forces, Rey aiming for the three in the lead which were the Exalt, the Freedom and the Justice. Those three were the ones that were spurring on the rest in this battle. So, take down those three and it would be a blow against those that were in opposition to the Destiny Plan. That would be no simple task Rey knew, but for the future Gil was doing his utmost to bring about it had to be done, failure was not an option. If the three mobile suits could be separated, then defeating them would be more doable. Rey was confident that Shinn and he along with any that would help could overwhelm the three gundam-types. Right now, the issue was the three gundams had better speed than their pursuers and being in their path wasn't wise as they barreled past or destroyed any who were in front of them.

As the Destiny and the Legend drew closer, the saw that the Freedom, the Justice and the Exalt had joined hands and had increased their speed collectively by doing so. However, it was as the Impulse joined the Destiny and the Legend when the three enemy gundam-types broke apart. The Freedom went to the left and forward, while the Justice dropped back and headed towards the three mobile suits from the Minerva. This left the Exalt still going forward with a small number of allies with it aiming for Messiah. Those from the Minerva were separated somewhat as they kept pursuing their quarry. Rey when for the Freedom while Luna found herself forced to defend against enemy forces pressing in on her. Meanwhile, Shinn found himself facing off against the Justice once again, this time one on one.

Shinn raised the Destiny's beam rifle, while Athrun brought the Valor system up and trained it on the Destiny. To Athrun this was a chance to help Shinn see the truth that he was blind to, Rey wasn't around to interfere or interrupt and that was the problem last few times. "So, tell me Shinn, have you come up with an answer to the question I put to you the last time we faced each other? Have you figured out what kind of future you wish to see and are willing to fight for," Athrun posed. "It is important to think about this Shinn, even if you don't have an answer to the point yet."

" _What would you know,_ " Challenged Shinn, " _I bet you can't answer the same question._ "

Athrun felt a small smile come to his face as he had given the idea an amount of time and thought, "I want to see a world and future where as many human beings have the opportunity to know and experience genuine happiness and joy. For myself, I want a family and be able to have what was taken and denied me while I was growing up, that is the future I fight for," Athrun replied with firm belief.

Shinn was taken aback at hearing such a firm and clear answer for he hadn't expected it at all and he was left to consider the question as he had several times before now. It had really not left his mind, just bounced and stewed there, what kind of future he fought for and wanted to see. Honestly, Shinn hadn't really thought about what the future could be like, it had been Athrun's question that had started the consideration. Aside from the fighting and people dying, the world and what it included wasn't all that bad. Sure, things could be better than they were, but it wasn't a horrible place to live. Shinn had encountered and interacted with many people, including those in the Minerva's crew like Luna, Aila, Rey, and others. Then there had been those that weren't on the Minerva, like those from the Normandy and Stella. If things changed in the ways stated by Chairman Durandal, then would such meetings not occur again? It was an ominous yet burning question to be sure and it nagged at Shinn in a way he couldn't ignore.

Athrun sensed Shinn's hesitation, "Shinn I'm not demanding an answer from you on this question," Athrun said. "I ask it so that you can know and decide for yourself what reasons you have to fight. As I said, fighting for its own sake is meaningless and does nothing but bring regret, I know that from personal experience. Don't let the past chain you down but don't let the potential future hang over your head or on your shoulders."

Shinn was confused and all sorts of things that he had been told recently began playing through his head. Having been told he had the power to change the world for everyone for the better and to use it. Thoughts of his family, his friends and Stella flashed through his mind adding to the volatile state he was coming into. The voice of Rey came to Shinn, " _And that's a weakness, you will not be able to protect any as long as you hesitate._ "

This was countered by the voice of Athrun, " _Shinn, make the judgement for yourself, don't let others cloud your vision,_ " interjected Athrun's voice.

And as the war of views went on inside Shinn, the battle between the Justice and the Destiny started. Yet, no matter the weapon Shinn went with, the Justice countered it and honestly one-upped the Destiny. And during the clash, Athrun was trying to help Shinn see the truth, "Shinn I know that the Destiny Plan as presented by Chairman Durandal sounds wonderful. The way that put it sounds too good to be true and I'll admit that I was tempted by what is offered. But it's what he doesn't say that really is telling, nothing comes for free, you yourself know that, the Destiny Plan is no exception."

" _Shut up, what you say can't be true,_ " Shinn exclaimed shakily.

Athrun's heart fell, knowing that Shinn had to hear the truth that he had been trying to be gentle with. "Shinn, in the world that the Destiny Plan would create, those like you or I would never exist, we're too different and that is a risk to it. Differences are unacceptable variables, that's how it will be seen but those that will managing it all. So, how different would things be if you didn't exist Shinn? Do you truly believe that you haven't made a difference by what you've done," question Athrun.

At around the same time, the Legend managed to get into fighting range of the Freedom and Rey didn't waste the opportunity, he shot at the Freedom. Kira evaded the beams sent his way, but what he noticed was there was a sensation that went through him just before the shots came. It was reminiscent of his encounters with Rau Le Creuset for the tingle was near identical for whatever reason. In fact, images flashed in Kira's mind of the final fight he had with Creuset as he dodged. 'What's this, what is going on here? There is no way that he can have survived the destruction of his mobile suit and gamma beam it was in,' Kira thought to himself.

Rey kept up his assault on the Burst Freedom, determined to take the mobile suit and its pilot down for certain this time. It was not just for himself that Rey fought, it was for Gil and for Rau, to make up the difference that others couldn't. It was this time that the human race must be ended as it was and be born anew to be freed of their flaws. That was Gil's goal and mission, to save humanity from itself before it was too late. He even deployed the Legend's DRAGOON pods to add to the pressure that he was putting on the Freedom.

Kira was trying to figure out just who he was fighting right now, the style was near identical to Creuset's and yet it had a slightly different feel to it. But other than that, there was little else that differentiated his opponent from Creuset. There just came a point where Kira had to ask the question over an open com-channel, "Who is that, just who are you?"

There was a pause, " _I'm sure you recognize me now Kira Yamato, I am Rau Le Creuset,_ " Rey replied.

"Rau Le Creuset," exclaimed Kira in disbelief. It wasn't possible, Le Creuset had died at the end of the Second Battle of Jachin Due, that was fact. "I may not know who you really are, but you are not Rau Le Creuset, that I do know," Kira shot back. He was using the Freedom's beam shields and detached the Freedom's own assault bits to join the battle.

Rey was forced to evade as the Freedom had its DRAGOON pods come out and get shots in at him. Such didn't discourage Rey at all though, "Mankind's dreams… mankind's future! You are the splendid yet cursed result Kira Yamato! And because of that, your existence must come to an end, for the greater good! You will disappear along with those of us that carry the burden of the past. For the sake of the new world that is to come, it must be," Rey snapped.

The memory of the talk he had with Gil shortly after the end of the Second Battle of Jachin Due came back to Rey's mind. He had met with Gil after being told that something had happened to Rau, "Gil, where's Rau," the young Rey asked.

Gil had frowned at the question, "Rey, I am sorry to tell you that Rau… is no longer with us. He fought bravely, and he will be remembered for the good he did. But then Rey, you are also Rau," Gil had been saying, finishing up with, "That is your destiny."

It had not made sense at the time what Gil had said, yet Rey had been young at the time as well. But over time it had begun to be understandable, that Rey was a clone like Rau had been, that he could do what Rau could. So, when Gil had explained to Rey what he intended to do with the Destiny Plan, Rey was quick to agree to help. One line that Gil had said to him over and over, " _The one thing you cannot run away from is yourself._ " It was true, one couldn't run away from themselves as much as they might want to, that was why the Destiny Plan was the solution.

" _That human beings keep resorting to this conflict with one another, it's why we must put an end to all of this, to sweep everything away! So, we shall return what we were meant to be! Humanity…_ _the world as they should be,_ " Rey exclaimed.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

My focus was still locked onto the space fortress that Gilbert Durandal was sitting in and getting to that man. I would make him listen to what had to be said and either he would understand what he was attempting to do to the human race or I would educate him on that! My allies were doing a good job at keeping ZAFT defenders busy so as to have no time to face me or slow me down from getting to Durandal. And I was using the skills I'd acquired over the years of my military service to keep up my cruising speed and take care of mobile suits and ships that were in front of me.

At first, Athrun and Kira had been flying next to me, and we had our mobile suits link hands to combine our output to increase overall cruising speed. The idea had worked nicely, but then some of the ZAFT forces got ahead of us and attempted to hamper our course. We broke apart and Kira had moved to the left and forward to deal with those trying to stop us from getting to Durandal. Athrun was doing the same behind leaving me to rocket forward and do the job of reaching Durandal. I did catch glimpses that Athrun got caught up fighting one of the two he and I had danced with earlier, the blue, red and white one specifically. Then Kira got stuck with the Creuset wannabe mobile suit and pilot, which sucks as Kira had to go against the Rat and it wasn't nice.

So, while my friends and other kept those loyal for whatever reason to Durandal busy, I made my way closer to the fortress. Of course, I was whipping and kicking rear as I went, I wouldn't be me if I didn't have that style quirk which comes on at times. And with the Exalt's capabilities, ZAFT machines did little if they managed to get close enough. Heck, I would simply shift out of the Exalt's flight mode shoot or slice as I went and then go back into flight mode and not change speed much if any. Their vessels didn't fare much better than their mobile suits as I disabled them too and a few of them I just plowed through a section of them and kept going.

The Xevonia and the Phoenix did help me along the way off and on in fending off would be hampers to my task. Lacus tended to disable the mobiles, which I expected of her, whereas on the other end of the spectrum, Sakura was just destroying them outright. Both attitudes I have come to expect from these two ladies. It brought to mind the thought that as things were going towards official in Sakura and me being together, how would Lacus take that one? I mean, let's say Sakura and I tie the knot as unknown as that is right now, that would make me Lacus's brother-in-law. I don't have an issue with that, it's just we've been friends for a period of time and it might make things awkward.

Anyways, I put aside the thought and brought my mind back onto the situation at hand, getting do Durandal. The going was becoming more difficult the closer I got to the space fortress as the weapon fire got heavier. I had to make it so that the Exalt to project a particle field around itself to intercept shots being sent my way. Not to say that I was hurting for power supply, I wasn't as the levels of particle production between the two reactors the Exalt had were a close to equal to the rate at which I was consuming them. So, I kept making steady progress towards Durandal, sure, I would like it to be going faster, but as long as Durandal is confronted and dealt with in the end, it's fine and I'm patient.

Now Durandal's space fortress did have a network of emitters that created a large beam shield that surrounded the fortress. However, should enough of those emitters be disabled or destroyed I wouldn't doubt that the shield would fall. My big beef is there's a nuclear energy weapon that can kill en mass and one that I'm familiar with. To see the gamma beam type weapon again did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling, quite the opposite really. That said, I have plenty of motivation to do damage to this fortress to say the least and I fully intend to do that. So, I didn't stop when I reached effective combat range, I surge forward and slammed into the beam shield hard.

I had shoved the Exalt's throttles to the stops as far forward as I could put them and yet, my forward progress was hard to see. The shield was definitely slowing me down, BUT it was not stopping me from moving. I believe that the particle field my mobile suit was projecting was allowing me to move against the shield, a slow crawl, but still forward movement. It took a minute but as the view of the fortress kept sharpening, a smile grew on my face as my target was getting closer! I opened a channel, and honestly, I don't care if Durandal hears me, but should he, this will be fun. "KNOCK KNOCK DURANDAL! I'LL JUST LET MYSELF IN, SO NO NEED FOR YOU TO GET UP AND OPEN THE FRONT DOOR FOR ME," I shouted as the Exalt's flight array started breaking through to the inside of the beam shield.

Activating the GN Vulcans in the nose section, I began making marks on the fortress walls, giving a show as to me getting through. Once all the way through the beam shield, I shifted the Exalt into its suit form to get down to business! Of course, the laser turrets all swiveled to point at me and started firing seconds after I broke through the beam shield. I moved to the right and began making my way towards where the GENESIS dish was located. Along the way, I had the Exalt's left shoulder pack keep its sword bits, just have them flip out and form a particle field to block incoming fire. The right shoulder pack's and the flight array's bit sets detach and combine with my sword rifles to give more power to my rifles.

I was shooting as I went along keeping attention on me and not giving the time for others to figure out where I was actually aiming to get to. The sight of the dish and its aiming mirror for my target and I had the sword rifle in the Exalt's right hand switch over to its blade mode. Drawing closer to GENESIS the beams coming my way lightened ever so slightly, my guess is that there were less defenses around GENESIS. My target was the aiming mirror for past experience told me that if that mirror is out of position or gone, the weapon doesn't work anywhere near as well if at all. This GENESIS's aiming mirror is small than the previous one I dealt with, so this in theory should be easier to take down. However, theory and practice I've found can be two entirely different ideas that don't always agree, I've personally learned the lesson several times.

So, when I was just about to the aiming mirror, I ignited my right sword rifle, raised it up and brought it down at the cone structure it was in. My beam blade was stopped momentarily perhaps by anti-beam coating, but a moment later my blade slowly cut forward. It took me a little over a minute to slice the cone structure in half in the middle. Then I moved to the left and saw the actual mirror and thrust my beam blade and used it to destroy the reflection surface. After that was done, I turned to the main dish of this weapon, for when it comes to the job and task of dealing with this weapon, I fully intend to be thorough in making sure it doesn't fire again!

And speaking of which, the short view I got through the opening into the firing chamber of this GENESIS, it was getting ready to unload. Even with the aiming mirror unusable, I wasn't about to let this thing be used in any way to hurt another! Nevertheless, getting inside would be difficult as well as dangerous, I would like to avoid adding to the current life-threatening circumstances I'm dealing with right now. However, as energy became visible inside the firing chamber, I knew that action was required now! I took aim and tossed one of my sword rifles combined with a sword bit set.

They sailed away from me and flew through the opening in the dish and into GENESIS's firing chamber and was on course towards where the nuclear power supply should be. I had the sword bits detach from the sword rifle while they still took commands from me as the nuclear radiation was quickly starting to interfere with signals to them. The last order I gave them was to fire shot after shot at the nearest object or structure to them that wasn't the sword rifle. After doing that I backed away from the dish a distance and waited for what would result, for either the weapon would fire, or my sword rifle and bits will start the event of this thing being destroyed. And let me tell you, seeing the flash from inside the firing chamber gave me reason to hope that I had made the money shot. However, it was when chunks of the fortress exploded outward that got me to smile with satisfaction and made my sacrificing the sword rifle and bits worth it.

I recalled the sword bits that were combined with my remaining sword rifle back to their docks and shifted the Exalt into its flight mode. Heading off in a somewhat better mood from taking down the nuclear weapon, I flew off to see where I could help out for a bit before going and confront Durandal. The battlefield had grown harsher while I had been working, expected yes, but not to the extent I was seeing. ZAFT was still hard pressed, more so since the fighting resuming, but they were hanging on.

As I was going along, I spotted Kira still duking it out with the rat wannabe which the two had been going at each other for a period of time now. Don't get me wrong, Kira was holding his own, but the fight for some reason didn't sit well with me. So, like with Athrun, I moved forward to assist one of my best friends in the predicament he was in. As I got closer, I switched the Exalt out of its flight mode and deployed my sword bits as I could see that autonomous bits were a part of this fight. " _You keep denying the truth right in front of you Kira Yamato,_ " the wannabe was saying as I came closer. " _But how appropriate of the perfect human and ultimate coordinator to deny humanity's blatant flaws!_ "

Hearing the rhetoric of the rat Le Creuset irked and infuriated me quite a bit in multiple ways. I mean, can't that dirty punk shut up, he's dead for goodness sakes but his ideals are still around so it's like he's still alive. I had personally helped in the efforts that had ended Creuset, and like most I don't like to see my efforts to be shown as not completely valid. So, I focused in on assist Kira in whipping this wannabe in a way and extent that even he won't be able to deny! The stats of this, on one side there's the Burst Freedom and the Exalt, on the other is the ZAFT mobile suit. The Freedom has eight autonomous weapons while the Exalt is down to twelve with the loss of one sword bit set. That puts Kira and I at a grand total of twenty remote weapons to work with. On the other side, if I'm seeing right our opponent has eight bits to use, do the math, the advantage is with Kira and me and not the wannabe.

I took aim with my particle cannons and sent a stream in between the Freedom and the ZAFT suit. That also happened to catch two of the rat wannabe's DRAGOON pods in my shots and take them out. "Howdy freaking duty, our paths cross again rat wannabe," said in greeting and in a firm yet flat tone, "I mean, it's like fate wants one of us to die, or perhaps in your case you can call it destiny."

There was a short moment of silence, " _McGregor,_ " exclaimed Rey.

I smirked, "That's my name, don't wear it out, so let's pick up where we left off," I returned.

Not a word was said between Kira and me, kind of like with Athrun, we worked well-enough together that we could read and predict the other's movements. Kira went to the left while I went to the right side of the ZAFT suit both of us attacking from different directions. Admittedly, the wannabe rat wasn't half bad fighting against multiple opponents, he was at least holding his own fairly well. And rest assure, fighting more than one opponent isn't as easy as some of us make it look. " _How can you two not see the need of the changes that the Destiny Plan will bring to the human race? Are you both so stubborn and blind that you don't understand it will save humanity,_ " the wannabe snapped.

That comment irritated me, "Save? How does enforcing existing in a cage save anyone?! It's a form of living death that Durandal is trying to sell off as something it is not," I shot back. Kira and I were dodging beams and firing back, trying to take out our opponent's DRAGOON pods. The fight was quickly growing pointless and was getting none of us anywhere from where we were.

" _Why do this,_ " challenged Kira, " _What's the point of this? It does nothing but bring misery!_ "

" _For the world and humanity, it must be,_ " the wannabe shouted.

I rushed forward and slashed with my sword rifle at the ZAFT suit, but only got a shallow gash in the left backpack. I moved to be above where the Freedom was in an upside-down orientation both of us facing the ZAFT suit. The rat wannabe had recalled his DRAGOON pods to be next to him, waiting for us to make the next move. " _No, you're wrong,_ " Kira stated firmly.

I was in complete agreement with Kira, "Damn right he's wrong," I barked. "We all have one life, one chance to live! And how we live our lives is something that each and every individual chooses that for themselves!"

" _You are not Le Creuset,_ " said Kira.

"And thank goodness is what you should be shouting," I finished. "Rau Le Creuset was a dirty rat regardless of what others say of him or claim he was like. He attempted to destroy all life on Earth and the colonies while cackling with maniacal glee as he did so!"

The ZAFT suit appeared to hesitate as Kira and I made our voices heard and didn't attack us, which gave us time. Kira and I brought all of our suits' weapons to bear on our opponent, neither of us aiming for the cockpit but at everything else. ""This is your life you're living, it's not his,"" Kira and I said together at the same time. We fired are combined arsenal at our opponent and made good hits with what we had. The ZAFT suit for a moment seemed frozen with beams hitting it before it was blown apart, yet the torso, waist and some of the backpack sections intact to an extent.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

The fight between the Destiny and the Justice was still going though blows were being traded as the conversation kept going off and on. Athrun could see that there was serious hesitation on Shinn's part and the doubts that was fueling it were growing. The way the Destiny was swinging around its beam sword only announced the doubt Shinn was having. "Shinn, you have a good heart and that's why points of the Destiny Plan don't feel right, your heart is telling you there's things that aren't being said that need to be," Athrun stated. There was silence from Shinn, but that spoke for him in a way to Athrun, "How many lives have been affected by your choices and action Shinn? I can assure you, you would be surprised at how high the number is, for there's the members of the Minerva's crew alone, they might not be here if not for you."

Shinn was left to consider what Athrun had said, for he had given a great deal of thought about what kind of effect his actions could have. And now that he did, it was kind of shocking to think about just how many lives he had saved or affected. Shinn had just been doing his best to protect others, it was as simple as that to him. " _What are you trying to say,_ " Shinn asked.

"As I said," Athrun started, "The world that the Destiny Plan would create wouldn't accept or allow those like us who have power like we do. There would be too much of a chance that those of us that are different toppling that arranged world." Shinn was processing what Athrun had said as beams started to fly by both the Justice and the Destiny. Athrun rushed forward blocked the shots that went towards the Destiny while Shinn was not fully aware of what was going on around himself.

The battle kept going on around Shinn, but he was trying to make sense of what information he had been getting recently. The world that Chairman Durandal painted sound wonderful, a world without worry, no war or fighting. That's how Rey and others put what the Destiny Plan would bring about anyways, and Shinn couldn't deny that such an idea wasn't desirable. And yet, the things that Athrun had said only seemed to contradict the Destiny Plan. Athrun's question of what kind of future did he want to see had been relentlessly bouncing around his mind. Warring thoughts were still going at each other and they were tearing him apart! Then a single line clawed its way above the rest, " _An individual can only be how they are with their choices, period. If you are letting someone else make decisions for you, then you are but a puppet of another. Remember it is important that you use that right and ability to choose, not just follow what someone else tells you without agreeing with it._ " It was something said by Captain McGregor when Shinn had been talking to him while on the Normandy.

That idea seemed to quiet the rest and things started falling into place to form an understandable picture. The Destiny Plan as given by Durandal wasn't exactly wrong or a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth as to what the plan would do. That was what Athrun had been trying to tell Shinn, there was more than portrayed and it was clear if one took a moment to look at the Destiny Plan from the standpoint of what wasn't being said and honestly avoided being mentioned. True, the Chairman made the point to say over and over that the Destiny Plan would rid the world of war, but that couldn't be all. War wasn't good or nice, but if everything was arranged, then wouldn't that mean the things learned from the unexpected turns and hardships wouldn't occur either?

Shinn knew for a fact that if he and his family hadn't gone through what they had back in Orb, he wouldn't be where he was right now. Nor would he have met many of the people that he had during his short military service. So then, if that was also taken away by the Destiny Plan, then was it really worth going with it in the end? No, if such things as meeting the friends from the crew of the Minerva and the other individuals Shinn had met had to be given up then it was not acceptable! No matter how safe or comfortable a world could be made, if you didn't have genuine friends and family, not arranged or setup versions, then it amounted to nothing.

With this clear vision set, Shinn came out of his thoughts in time to see the Justice intercepting weapon fire coming toward the Destiny. It was a surprise after what Shinn had done to Athrun and tried to do and yet, Athrun was defending him. Still, now was the time that Shinn would do what was right no matter what, that was his decision in this! Shinn's mind became clearer than it had ever been before, even more than during the times that he had done amazing things. Shinn rushed forward past the Justice and used his beam sword to slice through the ZAKU that had been approaching the Justice. It was like he could see a move ahead of his opponent, which had never happened before now. Somehow, Shinn had already known that the ZAKU would be there, he couldn't explain how, it was some sort of intuitive feeling.

As the Destiny shot forward, Athrun took that as Shinn was done thinking, and no matter what decision he had come to, he was in it completely. Athrun was hoping Shinn had come to realize the truth of the Destiny Plan. Shinn had been fighting for a world that he would never see after all and that was a tragedy in itself. And now was his opportunity to not just admire those that fought for what they believed in regardless of orders or anything else, but to be one of those individuals. The Justice moved forward working alongside the Destiny heading in the general direction of Messiah.

At the same time, the Minerva and the Archangel were still locked in combat with one another, neither giving an inch. The battle was still going on around them, the allied fleet was advancing towards Messiah and ZAFT defenders weren't slowing them down much. Neither ship had gotten in critical hits to their opponent, but they were both stubbornly keeping going at each other.

Yet as time kept moving on, the Minerva managed to fire one of their Tristians and strike one of the Archangel's Gottfrieds destroying it. With a credible shot scored the Minerva surged forward renewing their assault on the Archangel. However, as the Minerva was attacking the Archangel, the Xevonia appeared and began attacking the Minerva to draw attention away from the Archangel. ZAFT mobile suits attempted to thwart the Xevonia, but none were successful, especially when the Xeviona detached the Prometheus-01 and it joined in the fight. While the Prometheus had split into its three vectors which attacked the ZAFT forces, the Xevonia itself blocked shots at the Archangel.

Even the Osiris came and fought against the Xevonia in the defense of the Minerva, but Aila was finding herself hard pressed against the unknown Federation mobile suit. And that was before taking into account the three DRAGOON pods that were assaulting the Minerva. This enemy unit has similar qualities as the new Freedom and the Justice which made it a difficult opponent to face. And yet, Aila was holding her own against the Xevonia, that had to be said in this which was a tall order.

The Osiris was joined by other ZAFT suits in the attempt to overwhelm the Xevonia for even if the suit was powerful, it wasn't undefeatable. And for a brief moment, it appeared that the Osiris and its allies just might overwhelm the Xevonia, but that changed in an instant. It came when the Phoenix appeared and began destroying the ZAFT suits that were with the Osiris. Lacus had caught glimpses of the mobile suit that had popped up that was now helping her on the battlefield. It was seemed to have many of the same qualities that the Xevonia shared with the other machines from the same series. But what was the most telling for Lacus was what came shortly after the suit's appearance, " _Hey Lacus, these suits haven't been bullying you too much have they,_ " asked Sakura. " _Because if they have, then I'll make they understand the folly of that fully before this is done._ "

Lacus had expected her older sister to be somewhere around this battlefield, but not piloting a gundam-type. And although, this was by no means the first time her sister Sakura had been protective of her like this, Lacus wasn't ignorant of everything that her sister did when it came to Lacus herself. However, there was something in her voice that hadn't been in it before now that was faint, but Lacus could hear it. What it was Lacus couldn't say exactly, but there was a happiness that had definitely not been there for a very long time. "No Sakura, I'm doing fine," Lacus replied as she blocked another shot aimed at the Archangel.

Sakura stuck around the fight between the Archangel and the Minerva, helping in what ways she could. Said ways were cutting down the number of ZAFT mobile suits that were in this fight and that didn't go unnoticed for long but the Minerva or her allies. Aila was kind of horrified as she witnessed the newcomer rip suits apart, use their own weapons against them and even getting ZAFT forces to shoot one another. It was clear that the pilot of this new gundam-type was experienced and had skills to overwhelm their opponents to say the least. So, Aila was cautious as she approached this machine, beam javelin and the ready to thrust. However, as Aila tried attacking, the gundam raised an arm and deployed a beam shield on the gauntlet shaped part on the right arm.

The gundam countered a split-second later with a beam saber igniting on the other gauntlet and it swinging at the Osiris. Aila flew back to avoid being sliced up by the gundam-type, but her opponent moved forward after her. Slowly but surely, the Phoenix drew away most of the mobile suits that had been assisting the Minerva away. This gave the Xevonia and the Archangel the opportunity to push forward against the Minerva. Lacus had the Xevonia's vectors move in on the Minerva attacking from multiple directions as she approached as well. As they got closer, the vectors fell into a single file line with the main vector in the front followed by the sword carrying vector and the cannon vector bringing up the rear.

The leading central vector locked in a flight path that aimed at the triple-barreled cannon the Minerva had and deployed its screaming nimbus field to cover all three vectors. The Minerva's bridge crew took notice of the vectors approaching and attempted to intercept them, but the screaming nimbus blocked the shots. And then the three vectors began firing their weapons at the Minerva starting with their vulcans and the lead vector also using its high-energy beam cannons. Then when the three vectors got much closer to the Minerva, the sword vector extended the anti-ship swords out and activated the beam blade in the front section of the vector. The vectors broke out of their line the main vector went up the cannon vector went left while the sword vector stayed on course. The sword vector then punched straight through the Isolde's mounting structure, slicing it completely free of the rest of the Minerva. The cannon vector had brought the barrel of its particle cannon to aim at where the Minerva's positron cannon was and fired. The hole made in the Minerva was more than enough for the disablement and destruction of the Tannhäuser.

The Archangel went into a barrel roll as the Xevonia's vectors were attacking the Minerva as attention was on them. Murrue ordered missiles fired to cover their maneuver the Archangel was going into. The Minerva's CIWS guns intercepted the missiles before they were able to strike the ship, but it created a smoke screen. As the Archangel turned a hundred-eighty degrees the Valiant linear cannons were pointed upward so that they would be aimed at the Minerva. So, when the smoked cleared Talia found the Archangel sailing to go over the Minerva and was upside-down. When the Valiants were right over the Minerva's Tristan beam turrets, Murrue ordered the Valiants to fire. The linear cannons rounds slammed into and through the beam turrets the Minerva had and destroyed them. The effects of the Archangel's linear cannons didn't stop at the Tristans, but also took the missile launchers on both sides to go offline.

On the bridge of the Minerva, the crew was holding on as the ship shook from the hit from the linear cannon rounds. Losing the Isolde was harsh and the loss of the Tannhäuser made things worse for the Minerva. However, the destruction of the Tristans shook the ship hard, Arthur looked at his console, "Captain, Tristan 1 and 2 are damaged, launchers on both sides have gone offline! Ma'am the Minerva can't take much more of this!"

Meanwhile, Aila had been fighting the magenta gundam-type, having lost most if not all those that had been fighting with her. This mobile suit had proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was not to be underestimated or death would be the outcome. However, an explosion caught Aila's attention, and upon looking back to the Minerva she saw that the other Federation machine's three DRAGOON weapons had assaulted the Minerva taken down two weapons. Then the Archangel rolled over and used its own linear cannons to destroy the Minerva's beam turrets. Aila tried to get back to the Minerva, but the magenta suit stopped her and also detached its four wings which flew towards the Minerva. Said wing pods ignited what looked like spear edges and they were aiming for the Minerva's rear, specifically the engines.

The Phoenix's autonomous bits punched right into the Minerva's engines and carved paths through them. The extensive damage to the engines forced them to shut down almost immediately which caused the Minerva to lose helm control. On the bridge if the Minerva, Malik Yardbirds who was the Minerva's pilot gripped the helm harder as the navigation systems stopped responding to his input. "Main thrusters offline, we've lost attitude control Captain," exclaimed Malik. "The helm isn't responding to any commands any more ma'am, she's going down!"

The Minerva fell towards the moon's surface caught in its gravitational pull and crashed then plowed into the lunar landscape. It soon came to a stop from the friction of the rocks that the Minerva had plowed through and many of the ship's systems started not working correctly. The ship was left where it was as it had crashed and been put out of commission by this point.

 **-Line Break-**

After Kira and Tyler had defeating the Legend, they turned our sights on the space fortress where Durandal was. They were joined along their way by a number of our allies including the Eternal and the Normandy. The fortress's shield was still up at the moment even after the damage that Tyler did after destroying the GENESIS weapon. The shield was providing a difficulty to those assaulting the fortress and getting down to business of reaching Gilbert Durandal and it was quickly getting irritating for a number of individuals. Even when Sakura joined in the efforts there was little progress made and images of Durandal with a confident smirk on his face was irking Tyler internally.

More allied forces kept adding to the efforts against the fortress, but it wasn't making the needed headway that was being fought for. Even as the Justice and the Destiny came and started assisting those trying to get into the space fortress. The ZAFT defenders hesitating somewhat at realizing the Destiny and the Impulse were now fighting against them. None of the forces that were attacking Messiah voiced a complaint or qualm about two of ZAFT's gundam-types working with them now. Still the Destiny was disabling and taking down ZAFT suits with seemingly the greatest of ease and little to no hesitation shown.

To Lunamaria, the way and style of fighting Shinn had now and before were close to night and day in comparison. Lately, Shinn's fighting spirit had been almost snuffed out or at least he had not had his heart in the battles he went into. He had been like that since what had happened with Meyrin and Athrun back at Carpentaria by what Luna figured. But whatever it had been holding Shinn back, it was gone without a trace and he was dedicated to seeing this fight to the end. What that end would be, Luna couldn't say, Athrun might have said something to Shinn to help him, she couldn't be sure.

Nevertheless, the lack of progress being made in the task of breaking into Messiah was reaching a breaking point. The level of irritation Tyler was feeling grew quickly and he was getting fed up with getting really no closer to Durandal as time had kept moving forward. He wasn't the only one becoming frustrated at the lack of progress that those who were putting forth the work were seeing. " _Damn, we're still not moving forward, time is running short the longer we take,_ " cursed Kira.

Tyler gritted his teeth at Kira's curse, as much due to the truth of the line as the mirrored frustration that Tyler had in common. There were only two outcomes that this battle would end in, either those fighting Durandal defeated him, or he wins. Tyler had the firm determination of not letting Durandal win with the amount of work that has already been put into this. Tyler glanced down at the Exalt's main forward display and brought up an option that he had until now not use or even considered doing so. But right now, Tyler knew it was coming to the point of this being all or nothing, "Then Kira, we put all our chips down and go all out. Either Durandal emerges victorious or we do," he stated, and then Tyler activated the system option that he had brought up.

The Exalt's main display went magenta with two blueish half circles one on the top half of the screen and another on the bottom half of the display. On the center of the screen was a circle with angel wings and part body in the middle with a halo above. In front of that symbol came the words "TRANS-AM system". The particle output and consumption of the Exalt increased to a much higher rate along with raising every stat the suit had as well as making the Exalt glow with a reddish/magenta tint. At the same time, Tyler felt the onset of his own SEED mode which made the increased output of the Exalt more manageable. Now, Tyler guessed there was a limit as to how long this would last as the power usage was greater than the rate particles were being generated at. And the timer at the bottom of the main display reinforced that, so he shot forward and to get down to business!

With the Exalt operating at the level it was now, Tyler didn't really slow down when he made contact with the large beam shield. No, the Exalt punched through it and was inside the defenses of the fortress, leaving Tyler to just start working on taking out the shield generators. Messiah's laser turrets that made up its defenses tried to shoot the Exalt down, but their aim was not good as they aimed at the afterimages that the Exalt was leaving behind as it moved.

The Exalt wasn't the only the mobile suit working on disabling Messiah's defensive shield in the way it was for long. Sakura after seeing the Exalt activate its increased output, she scanned through the Phoenix's systems and found the Trans-Am mode. She activated it and the output of the Phoenix's solar reactor skyrocketed and that gave more power to all systems of the suit at the price of higher power consumption. The Phoenix gained a reddish sheen to it as the Exalt had done when its Trans-Am mode had activated. And the sight of Tyler dodging inside Messiah's shield, Sakura gained a focus beyond any she had before. She finally had gotten Tyler to say he would give her a chance at a relationship with him, she wasn't about to let anyone take him away from her! Sakura had always had the knack of predicting where her opponent would end out being. But suddenly, it was no longer predicting where her opponents were going to be, it was as if she knew their future location before her opponents did.

Shortly after the Phoenix shot forward towards Messiah, Kira decided to see if he could do more to help Tyler as well. It didn't take him long to find the Trans-Am mode option and after watching two machines activated it and noting the improvement in performance, the mode seemed a good option to go with. So, Kira put the Freedom into Trans-Am mode and all systems of the Freedom increased their output. He also noticed that a time that was set for one-hundred-eighty seconds did appear at the bottom of the main display counting down. Kira focused back forward as his SEED mode activated for the second time in this battle and he went after Tyler.

When the Phoenix and the Freedom came into contact with Messiah's shield, like the Exalt the shield didn't slow them down all that much, they still punched through it. Tyler focused on the upper and middle rings Messiah had, Kira took the lower ring and helped with the middle ring, while Sakura focused on the middle ring alone. All three used every weapon at their disposal to attack the rings as they seemed responsible for generating the shield.

Durandal watched from Messiah's control center as the three enemy mobile suits were attacking Messiah, his fist clenched as he did so. The three of the gundam-types had suddenly gotten more powerful after they had started to glow as there were now. They moved faster gaining afterimages, their firepower had increased with all their weapons and the beam shield Messiah hadn't prevented them from advancing. Now they were wrecking the shield generation system and its emitters, which would open the way for the rest assaulting Messiah.

The defensive measures of the fortress couldn't seem to hit any of them, yet the suits were leaving afterimages behind them confusing the targeting sensors. If the shield were to go down, then Messiah would be in a far worse position than it already was, but it was looking more a matter of when rather than if. The upper ring was the first to lose functionality, the shield weakened as a result, but it was still up. The lower ring could normally go down as well, but that required the middle ring to be in good working order and it was becoming less so very fast. The magenta mobile suit was crashing through the ring over and over as was its DRAGOON pods. So, the shield after another couple of minutes of the attacks dropped, allowing enemy ships to begin their attacks which consisted of lots of missiles.

 **-Line Break-**

-Tyler's pov-

As the assault of allied ships started, I flew the Exalt in its flight mode inside the nearest entrance which got me into one of the hangers that Durandal's fortress had. The Freedom and the Phoenix stayed outside working while I flew in and that was fine with me. Once inside I began unloading the flight array's vulcans and particle cannons, shooting up the docking and control facilities. When I was done dealing with the places of interests, I shifted the Exalt into its suit form and landed in the free space I could find. I then rose out of the cockpit, got out and locked the cockpit as I started my journey into the bowels of this fortress to get to Durandal.

There was gravity inside this place, it was apparently close enough to the moon to be affected by its pull, so I was moving with hops, skips and leaps. I knew that once Gilbert Durandal was confronted about the Destiny Plan however that would end, this battle would then head for a close. I can't say how that confrontation would go, or if Durandal would be alive by its conclusion, that will depend on him and his decisions.

Moving into a corridor from the hanger area, I proceed slowly forward, my SMG out and at the ready to fire. As I was going forward, I did come across some ZAFT soldiers who I did shoot as they were clearly going to do to me if I gave them that chance. However, it was when I around a wider hall that I glimpsed what looked like elevators that I was forced to duck behind the wall as a high number of bullets zoomed my way. Soldiers were at the other end of the wide corridor and they were shooting my way and there were more of them than little old me and had better weapons than my SMG. Heck, just trying to glance around the corner into the hallway was a serious risk with bullets flying around.

Nonetheless, my gut feeling is that the lifts that I'd caught a glimpse of will get me to Durandal, so this hallway was the best course to take. A sonic grenade should do the job of clearing but getting it into the hall would be more a hassle I think with all the bullets zipping past. As I was trying to come up with an idea to get to one of those lifts I had spotted, I saw a figure come into the corridor I was in. I pointed my SMG at the one approaching but was surprised to find it was Kira coming up to where I was. He stopped on the other side of where the corridor opened to the wider hallway as bullets were still flying. Kira did have a pistol in his hands to work with, but a pistol and SMG won't really do well against several assault weapons being used against us.

I got Kira's attention and signaled him to follow my lead, so that we were going to get into the hallway and to one of the lifts. Then, I got a sonic grenade out and armed it before lobbing it into the hallway and drawing back. The thud from the pressure wave shot past where Kira and I were before the gun fire stopped, meaning I likely got the soldiers with the grenade. I popped out into view of the wide hallway and saw soldier floating unmoving before I hopped forward towards the middle lift with Kira close behind me. A commotion ahead drew my attention and there came more ZAFT personnel with guns in hand. I had my pilot suit's thrusters flip out and give me extra pushing power towards the lift. As I closed the distance, I kicked an object that hit the switch for the lift, which opened the door and I zoomed inside with my feet hitting the opposite wall of the lift. I shot out a hand for Kira to grab, which he did, and I pulled him into the lift and he hit the button to close the lift door and have us start going up.

While the lift ascended to the control center of this fortress, Kira and I removed our helmets, "So what now," asked Kira.

I looked to my friend, "We confront Durandal, he needs to understand what he's trying to do and what effects it will have. How he takes that is up to him as is how this confrontation ends, but this has to happen, only then will this battle come to an end," I replied.

When the lift reached the destination, the door slid open and a view of the control center was in front of us. Kira and I moved forward, guns at the ready, sweeping around from side to side, but we found there was only one person in the room still alive, Gilbert Durandal in a chair in the center of the area. Durandal gazed at Kira and me, "I have to admit, I am surprised that both of you made it here, I confess that I had doubts that you would make it this far," Durandal admitted.

Kira and I trained our guns at the man in front of us, "It's your choice if you leave here Durandal and how you do," I stated flatly, "So recommend that you consider your next few choices carefully."

"Oh, I see," Durandal replied dryly. "But are you sure that is the only choice in this situation?" The man raised his own gun to be directed at Kira and me, "Is what you two fight for the best solution to the problem that humanity clearly has?"

"Whoever says that humanity has ever been without flaws or problems or can be so is blind and delusional. Humans are imperfect beings that are a constant work in progress that are improving as they go. Problems and/or challenges are opportunities for us to learn and grow, even if some don't see it that way," I retorted firmly.

Neither Kira nor I lowered our weapons in the slightest as Kira spoke up, "And what you offer is not all that different than the issue you refer to."

Durandal frowned slightly, "It is a chance at real change, you two at least can understand what a rare idea that really is," he said. "True progress is made when facing the unknown and a world without war is something that has never been faced by the human race. This cycle of fighting will not end will if things go on unchanged and that is fact."

Kira and I kept our guns pointing where they were, though it was a tad difficult for me to keep in control at hearing a line my dad would say. There were two reasons that hearing an idea that my dad believed in and would say often affected me. The first was that my dad's belief being used to justify existence being better than living and that is not what my father believed in at all. The second point was that it inferred that Gilbert Durandal was likely a former student of my father and I would have never guessed that. After I reigned in my emotions I spoke, "Yeah, neither of us are denying the facts that you have stated. And I'll admit, never would I have thought that you were one of his students Gilbert Durandal."

Durandal stared at me, "To whom are you referring McGregor," he asked curiously.

I took a deep breath, "I'm talk about Lance Blass, a professor and a scientist. He's had many students, but I would have never imagined that you were one of them," I replied.

Durandal blinked, "I'm surprised that you would guess that or bring it up," he said. "Why would you bring up Professor Blass? For I was a student of his for a time, he inspired me to give my best which was the start of the Destiny Plan. However, you are too young to be one, his death from the Bloody Valentine was extremely unfortunate, humanity lost a great mind that day that will never return."

I kept my gaze on Durandal, "Take a good look Durandal, I'm told by a number that I look like my father Lance Blass," I returned.

Durandal looked at me for a moment, then he gained an expression of comprehension, "Ah, that explains a great deal about you Tyler McGregor, or I suppose it would be Tyler Blass really. Your talent for inspiring others you learned from your mother, the Prime Minister of the Republic as she is an expert at it," he iterated.

I nodded, "My mom taught by example as is her style, that's for sure. Nevertheless Durandal, I can assure you that my dad would never endorse your Destiny Plan were he alive right now. Although he would applaud that you notice and admit the negative, for most it's either something they won't do or can't see. Still, you're not helping the pursuit of a way forward, you're making things worse," I stated.

Durandal hesitated momentarily, "Don't do this, we're so close to overcoming the flaws the human race inherently has. Humanity could be free of what has chained us down for so long, is that not a goal worth pursuing," questioned Durandal. "If you kill me and stop the Destiny Plan, then you doom the human race to fall back into the cycle it has never been able to escape for very long! Is that what you two want, to consign humanity to darkness and chaos for its future that will end in destruction?!"

Words that my father used to tell me were coming to my mind right now for the Destiny Plan went against many values that he taught me. The kinds of paths humanity could take towards the future fell into three basic types of outcomes. The first and darkest of course, was the complete and utter destruction and extinction of the human race, something to be avoid if at all possible. The second is a set future which was what Durandal would bring with the Destiny Plan, but that came at a cost. The third and final type of future was an uncertain future of possibility, which would be what could come if the Destiny Plan was stopped.

The true difference between Durandal's world and the world as it is right now is the ability of choice. Durandal would take away the ability for human beings to choose to live and how they would live their lives. Instead all would be forced to exist by a written script assigned to them before birth, in essence, life in an inescapable cage. It is predetermination versus possibility, choice and uncertainty against absolute assurance and nothing left unknown or discoverable. With predetermination there is but one path to move on, yet it is neither good or bad for that would require more than one path. That was my biggest beef with Durandal's idea that was the Destiny Plan, it took away everything that made life worth living along with what makes it hard.

"You both know and can see that I'm not exaggerating, I speak the truth," Durandal reasoned.

I gritted my teeth for there was a huge point that was being left out, "You say that us stopping you would plunge humanity into darkness and chaos Durandal. However, the future that you would bring about is not that much different, it can be in a way worse. But above all, humanity has the right to choose, and they will have the facts first, all of them," I shot back.

 **-Line Break-**

-Neutral pov-

After crashing into the surface of the moon and coming to a stop, the Minerva was left where it was unable to do much of anything. Talia could see the outcome of this battle by this point, ZAFT forces would lose and Messiah would likely be destroyed. Yet, she wanted to see Gilbert one more time before the end of all of this and there may still be time. She faced second-in-command, "Arthur, the battle is over, and I know it is difficult right now, but please make sure everyone gets off the ship and to safety. I have something I need to take care of," she said. Talia left the bridge after that, leaving the bridge crew rather baffled as to what the Captain had been talking about. Talia headed to the hanger and took a shuttle from the Minerva and made her way towards Messiah.

Athrun and Shinn had fought their way to be around Messiah and had joined in alongside the allied fleet's forces. Offers of surrender were being extended to those remaining which at first were rejected. However, when the mobile suits that had the colors that were registered to Lanus Treize, the offers were taken more.

When the way was cleared, Athrun moved forward, leaving the Xevonia, the Destiny and the Phoenix in front of Messiah. Athrun piloted the Justice inside Messiah's docking facilities and spotted both the Burst Freedom and the Exalt already there. So, Athrun found a clear spot to land the Justice before he exited his mobile suit and began the trek further into the fortress. Athrun was adamant that he would stand with Tyler and Kira against the Destiny Plan and all it could take from the human race. It would serve as a way to forgive himself for those that had died that Athrun had known, their sacrifices and work wouldn't be in vain.

Nevertheless, as Athrun headed inside Messiah he missed that another had seen him and took up following him. Talia Gladys had watched the new Justice go into Messiah's docking facilities and she had flown the shuttle quietly in behind it without being noticed. She had even caught sight of Athrun going deeper into Messiah, why she couldn't say. The destruction on the outside of Messiah had looked worse than what Talia saw around herself on the inside. She did see that the new Freedom was already here as was the odd blue and white gundam-type as she took a similar path as Athrun.

At the same time, Rey had made his way into Messiah and to the control center through one of the service lifts. None notice him enter, but he instantly felt the tension in the air and he was on-guard because of that. Rey inched his way to see what he could of the situation that was causing the air in the room. So, seeing Gil facing-off against none other than the two who had beaten Rey himself, Tyler McGregor and Kira Yamato didn't sit well with Rey at all. However, even with the three pointing guns at one another, they didn't appear to be about to pull the trigger just yet, so Rey didn't reveal himself wondering what was going on.

"You may be right in a way Durandal," Kira said, "But as we have said already, we have the ability to choose a path where that doesn't happen, and as long as we live in a world that we have a choice that is possible."

Durandal's expression faltered ever so slightly, "I once believed and shared such a view that humanity could overcome the cycle of fighting and war. I too had the faith that the human race could work towards a bright future full of possibility before them. But as the hatred and conflict kept coming, I came to realize that enough people won't make the right choices to have peace happen left to their own devices," Durandal challenged. "They are quick to forget and then they repeat the same mistakes over again. So many say they won't let it happen again that they'll change the world for the better this time around and move forward. However, humanity's history is a clear testament, there is not guarantee nor even a likelihood while there are those that would continue the hatred and other factors that contribute."

Rey was somewhat stunned at hearing that Gil had thought that humanity could save itself at one time. He never had given that impression, he had always talked about the Destiny Plan was the solution for the human race. "And your Destiny Plan gives us no future as your world never permits or allows change, it would fail otherwise. So, how is your Destiny Plan providing any different Gilbert Durandal," Tyler posed.

That drew back Rey's attention to the conversation, "No one can guarantee it, No one knows what the future holds. Not either of you, not those fighting out there or any that lead parts of the world today for none know what the future holds. My plan can give a guarantee for every single person, that all will survive," Durandal replied.

"That is no different than what I said just now, though it sounds more to me like you have given up on humanity and what it has within itself," McGregor challenged.

Durandal glanced at Tyler, "Oh, and what makes you say that Mr. McGregor," he asked.

"Have you ever taken the time to think about how many choices and decisions have been made by you and others to bring you to where you are now as you are? The answer regardless of what it would be, I can tell you that it would've never happened if you had been existing by a script written into your genes," Tyler said.

That statement caused Rey to pause to consider the question, how many choices had been made to bring him to this point right now. Rey had never thought about the idea before, the Destiny Plan and bringing it about had always been the goal he had worked for. Had there been opportunities and chances missed because of the focus that Rey had placed on helping Gil?

"The world that you talk about where everything is laid out is tempting, even I'll say that," Tyler stated. "Nonetheless, what would the point of such a world be? In essence, everyone is going through the same day over and over again with nothing changing. You say that in the world that you would bring all people will be happy and will live perfect lives. Yet, you would be wrong for the simple fact that there would be no happiness as none would even know what that is without the contrast of sorrow and misery. If there is no contrast, then the emotions and feelings that we humans have right now would cease to exist. There would be no value of any of it for there would be no work or effort put in to achieve anything."

"Look, we know what you're saying, but we can learn to understand, and we can change," Kira insisted. "That's why we want a tomorrow no matter how much we may suffer, we don't want a world that nothing changes."

Rey recalled what the two had said to him before, that it was his life he was living and no one else's. That there could be more as long as there was a tomorrow and the Destiny Plan would likely take that away. "Indeed, a future that can be better requires the ability to choose even if that means that we might stumble and mess up as we move forward," Tyler finished.

Rey was left in a state of confusion, with part of himself still saying Gil was right and yet another screaming the desire to have the world that those against Gil talked about. Before now, Gil had always been right, maybe not exactly right in everything, but overall, Gil had been right on things. However, something in Rey pulled strongly in the desire for a world with possibility and chance of something better just wouldn't go away or leave him alone. "How arrogant, yet how appropriate for the Ultimate Coordinator and one of the foremost defenders of humanity as it currently is," returned Durandal.

"Arrogance? You really should think about what you're saying Durandal, for you believe that not only can you change the human race completely, but it's your calling. That is an example of the definition of arrogance last time I had to check," Tyler shot back. "So, what makes you think that you know better than everyone else, that you can determine what is best for anyone else besides yourself?"

"Exactly, it is you that is arrogant Durandal, we are nothing more than single human beings. And as I told another that was insistent that I was different, I'm no more unique than anyone else is and can be," Kira added.

Rey was trapped between two voices that were shouting at one another, one claiming that Gil had to be right, the other saying that he was wrong. And as the standoff was climbing towards its climax, the two other lifts to the control center of Messiah opened. In one of them was Athrun, a pistol in his hands ready to you as he stepped out of the lift, out of the other came Talia much the same with pistol in hand. The two swung their guns to point at one another as they noticed each other.

Tyler moved his gun to point at Durandal's chest and flicked off the safety, "I say it again Gilbert Durandal, it's your choice how this ends for you. Whether you leave here under your own power, or in a body bag or you go down with this fortress, that is for you to decide," he stated. "And if you don't think that I have the determination to follow through to put a bullet hole in you, then I say this, I put two of the bullet holes in Patrick Zala including the shot through his head that killed him."

That drew all attention back onto the face-off between Durandal, Tyler and Kira as the climax to this was almost palpable. "Then tell me, between the world you two describe and mine, which do you think people will prefer," questioned Durandal. "Say one or both of you shoot me here, what will you do when the world plunges back into chaos and darkness?"

"We'll do what we have to," Kira started answering.

Tyler picked up where Kira had started, "While we move towards the future we wish to see, that's the gift of human potential."

Durandal gained a bit of a smirk, "Then we will see here and now, the strength of your determination." Everything started occurring in the next instant, there were cracks of guns firing and blurs of movement. The next moment the scene had changed completely, Durandal had lost his pistol and had a bullet hole in his chest. Tyler had pushed Kira to the left and now had a bullet-sized hole in his shoulder both front and back. And finally, the presence of Rey was brought to the notice of everyone else there and he was pointing his gun at Gilbert himself.

Athrun rushed forward to Tyler and Kira to check on them to make sure that they were okay after the exchange. He got out patches to close the holes in Tyler's pilot suit made by the bullet he took. Kira was also by Tyler, "Why did you," Kira began but he was silenced by Tyler smiling at him even if his face showed pain.

"I would have thought by this point you would have realized that I won't hesitate to take a bullet for either one of you. And now I've taken a bullet for each of you, perhaps you both can try not to get into situations that require me to do so. It would be nice if I don't have to get shot though I'm willing, I prefer not to," Tyler replied.

While this was going on, Talia had moved forward toward Durandal who had collapsed to the floor with the moon's gravity affecting him. When she was over him, Durandal opened his eye and after seeing her he smiled, "Talia… were you the one that shot me, or was it McGregor," he asked.

Talia shook her head, "No, it was Rey that shot you Gilbert," she answered.

That fact shocked Gilbert honestly, "Rey?"

There was the sound of sobbing, "I'm sorry Gil, but I… their… tomorrow, the world that they described… I wanted that world of possibility too," Rey sobbed.

Gilbert shook his head, "No Rey, it is fine, perhaps it is better this way," he breathed. "Talia, I'm glad that I was able to see you one last time," he said, before his eyes closed and his final breath left him.

The room shook around those there accompanied by explosions bringing back attention to the point that the fortress was not going to hold together for a great deal more time. Kira, Athrun and Tyler got to their feet and were looking towards the lifts that would go down to the hanger level. "Kira, Athrun, go on, I'll catch up with you both shortly," Tyler said. Athrun and Kira stared at Tyler for a moment, then nodded and headed for the center lift.

Tyler watched the lift door slide close and then turned back to where Durandal lay and Talia was over. He took one step forward, to which Talia pointed her pistol at him and Tyler stopped, "I promise you, I will do nothing to Gilbert Durandal, he has faced his fate. And honestly, I applaud and respect those that do without running away from it as so many choose to do," he said.

"Then what is it that you want McGregor," Talia posed.

Tyler bowed, "To offer a parting prayer, it is a tradition from my homeland and even if Durandal isn't from the Republic, I feel that it would be right to give him the prayer though he won't hear it," he replied.

Talia lowered her pistol, for she had heard rumors of such traditions from some places, but this was the first she had seen or heard solid evidence of the idea. "Gilbert Durandal, you who have fought the fight that so few do, have fought it valiantly and honorably. You have faced an evil that many have fall to and done so with zeal. For such valor, may you find rest in the place that awaits your arrival. May you be welcomed by those there as a brother and a hero which you have shown yourself to be capable of being. May the journey that you embark on be a joy and a pleasure for you as you pursue your future," Tyler said.

Tyler glanced at Talia, "I may not agree with what the Destiny Plan would do to the human race however, I don't deny that Durandal was right in saying that we humans have issues we need to admit exist and then fix," Tyler stated. "That he spotted these facts at all and brought them to light can be the start of change for the better. And for that, he should be remembered and honored as one of those that help bring about change."

Talia nodded, "Then perhaps you could Captain Ramius a message for me." Tyler gestured for her to go on, "I have a child, a son, please ask her to visit him, he will have no one now."

Tyler was quiet for a moment, "If she doesn't then I will, he will be told of how his mother was a hero in the end and that he should be proud to be your son," he said, then saluted. "It's been an honor and a pleasure Talia Gladys."

Tyler then turned and headed towards a lift, but as he was passing where Rey was still quietly sobbing he stopped. "You claimed to be Rau Le Creuset did you not," Tyler posed. Rey glanced at Tyler as he continued, "You are wrong about that, you are better than that man ever was. And the reason why that is, when you were faced with the same choice of doing what is right and what is easy, you chose what was right rather than what is easy. You chose to save humanity and not destroy it as Creuset did, that is the difference. As I recall your name was Rey Za Burrel, correct?"

Rey slowly nodded, and Tyler inclined his head, "I will remember that name, for today, you have been a hero and history will remember you as such, not that you were a clone." After saying that, Tyler moved into a lift and made his way down towards the hanger area to leave the station that was collapsing around him.

Talia couldn't help the smile at what Tyler McGregor had done for Rey just now for it made a real difference. "Rey, come here," Talia said. Rey walked over to where Talia was and knelt down to her level, before Talia hugged him, "Dear boy, you did a wonderful job. What you were told just now about being a hero was correct, for you are one," Talia said in the same tone she would use with her son.

Rey felt warmth at being told that, it was unlike anything he had felt before now, even with Rau. It was pleasant somehow and fit the description of what others had talked about when they had been with one person in particular. Rey smiled, "Mother," he whispered. Explosion quickly surrounded them and the three were seen no more.

Phase end

 **A/n**

 **Alrighty then, I'm leaving off there for the next phase, which may be mean of me, but this was getting long, and I didn't want to keep going on with what will be the next phase. So, points to clarify and point out, there are a few of them in this phase. The battle overall does 'loosely' base upon what happens in canon, specifically "Gundam Seed Destiny: Final Plus". Two particular examples of that is Rey's reference to original sin as that's in Final Plus and I liked that comparison. The other is the conversation between Durandal and Creuset as that's not in the final episode.**

 **For the points of Durandal's character that I showed off in this Phase, mostly that he didn't see what he was doing as wrong I did for a reason. First, Durandal saw the problems that the human race repetitively faced and set off to break that cycle. I wanted to have Durandal seen as one that was doing what is noble but hadn't thought through every detail of what would result. I also wanted to make it clear that Tyler doesn't hate Durandal specifically, it is the Destiny Plan he detests. That is displayed with Tyler giving Durandal a prayer in the end. The rant that Tyler gives is out of anger and frustration.**

 **Next point to highlight, Shinn finally coming to the realization that the Destiny Plan is wrong. I know that a number of you have been saying that Shinn is better in my story than in canon and I don't disagree. Shinn not acting out of anger and hate is much better, but he was being tricked as should be obvious by this point. It is the combination of things that help Shinn come to the realization of what the Destiny Plan. I planned to have Shinn switch sides in this battle some time ago and the stuff before has been leading up to it. Also like Kira in Seed, Shinn's Seed mode has two different versions, one that comes from desperation and the other from resolve. Resolve will beat out desperation most times as proven with Shinn versing Athrun around Orb.**

 **Point number three, the Trans-AM system introduction. Some of you might have guessed that this idea was coming at some point after I brought in GN solar reactors, so good assumption. However, there is a caveat to Trans-Am in my story that isn't in Gundam 00, that being handling the increase Trans-Am gives takes more than just pushing some buttons. This can be seen by Tyler, Kira and yes, even Sakura going into SEED mode when they activate Trans-Am. Trans-Am doesn't affect the nuclear power source on the Phoenix or the Freedom, if any ask that. Side note, I had debated whether to have Sakura have Seed Factor before now, but this made more sense in the end.**

 **Finally, the confrontation between Tyler, Kira and Durandal for there is significances to it. Yes, it is the philosophical argument should human beings have free will and choice, but there is more to it than just that. The conversation shows firmly that there was a connection between Tyler and Durandal, Tyler's father. The other point that I kind of bring up is again with free will, without it can we have a future or will it be like being in a cage. In the end, I did have Durandal killed like in canon, but I wanted it to feel different with Rey questioning just following Durandal was right.**

 **Thank you to all you readers for taking the time to read this Phase and I hoped you enjoyed it. as usually, some of you please take the time and write a review, tell me what you think, ask questions whatever you like. Reviews are helpful to me at improving my writing skills. The next Phase will likely be the last one for this story for a while at least, but no promises whether that will be true, we'll see. A off topic note, my next project for those that have read the White Dragon Chronicles, I will be polishing it up and combining it into one store instead of two parts. Peace out everyone until next time!**

 **KakeruPB**

Glad you enjoyed the last Phase, but I think I made Sakura even scarier now that I have revealed that not only does she have SEED factor, but she also has one of the same skills as Tyler, Tactical forecasting. I'm hoping that the blocking of Neo-GENESIS was to your liking like the change with how Requiem was destroyed.

 **Guest**

Glad you like the character development it takes work and effort to do right. I thought about having Durandal in a mobile suit, but it just didn't feel right to me, though it would be neat to see. It wouldn't be a fair match, Kira is good at piloting the Freedom, but Tyler is in the top five pilots the Federation has, so again not fair fight.

 **REANOFSITHLORD**

Hope you like this update as much as the last one.

 **Flaxj**

Thank you, hope you like this one too.


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